Guests: We had 35 guests ranging from 19-74. 

Date & Time: August 13, 2012 at 11am
            - We decided on an early ceremony due to the fact that the majority of our guests were 30 and younger.  We were worried about them having "too much fun" with the free drinks at the swim up bar before!  And 11 turned out to be PERFECT!  It gave the girls enough time to get ready in the morning and it wasn't too hot by then. 

Package: Coconut Package
            - We were doing a reception back at home so we were on a budget.  We added on several
              things and it all turned out perfect!!! More than what I expected!

Hotel:
We stayed at the Tropical.  In hind sight, we might have stayed at the Colonial.  This is only because you are closer to the middle of the resort and are more apt to take advantage of some of the Beach/Caribe's amenities.  But, the resort blew away everything we had read about it.  The grounds were perfect, the food was great, the pools were perfect, and the beach was gorgeous! We went back and forth at first about which section to stay at and we are so glad we upgraded to the Tropical/Colonial.  The price difference was well worth the difference.  The air conditioned buffets, extra bars, pools, restaurants, and general feel of the resort was miles ahead of the Beach/Caribe section.  Even with the huge age gap the Barcelo Tropical had something for everyone.  Plenty of bars/pools for the younger generations, great restaurants for the older generation, and plenty of beach for everyone!

Meeting:
We got there on Thursday and had our meeting with our wedding coordinator (Jillian) on Friday.  I can not say enough about Jillian.  She was very responsive in terms of emails but make sure she changes things on the spreadsheet if you change anything after you fill it out.  I know she has a million other wedding and that spreadsheet was her saving grace. 

Wedding Day:
We brought our own photographer and hair dresser so it was easy to get everything set up for that!  It was cheaper for us to pay for the trip of our photographer than it was to pay the outrageous prices of the onsite photographer. We didn't have to pay the outside photographer fee because she was a "guest" of the wedding.  My hair dresser and make-up artist just happened to be my best friend!  So that was easy!  Lillian brought our flowers to the room and they were PERFECT!  Spend the extra money and get them from the resort.  They were better than expected!  Lillian brought us down to the Playa Azul on a golf cart right before the reception.  The rest of the wedding guests and wedding party (men) road on the shuttle to Playa Azul.  

When I go there, we were told by the Lillian that there was an issue with the sound system and they were on their way with a replacement.  About 15-20 minutes later, there comes an employee RUNNING and pouring sweat with a new sound system.  Problem solved.  The only thing that was irritating about the situation (which I didn’t find out until the next day) is that Lillian failed to tell my husband or the wedding guests that there was a delay.  My husband said he was beginning to wonder if I wasn’t coming.  Talk about stress for him!!!

The ceremony was PERFECT!  The set up was gorgeous and the minister did a FABULOUS job!  We went with the symbolic ceremony and were so glad we did.  It was spoken in English- with an accent that we could actually understand.  It was just the right amount of time and she was very well spoken.  We got to exchange rings, recite vows and kiss at the end.  I was worried that the ceremony would not be what I expected or wanted because it was in a different country with different traditions but I was pleasantly surprised!  But there were also some “destination type” traditions that still made it feel like we were getting married somewhere else.  We were able to do the sand ceremony during this ceremony.  It was awesome!

The only thing I would suggest is go to your wedding coordinators office the day after to pick up your wedding certificate and the sand ceremony vial.  We did not and now are left with nothing!!! I emailed Lillian and she said she could mail the certificate but not the sand.  But, no certificate yet L  We just kind of figured that they would deliver them to the room or something!  

They had champagne on the beach as we walked back down the isle.  It was a nice addition to the end of the ceremony.  Our guests were able to congratulate us and chat a little bit. 
Our cocktail hour followed.  Because of the tornado the week before, we were not able to have it directly under the papula at Playa Azul.  But, we did have it at the bar right on the beach.  It was PERFECT!!! It was a little reception on the beach without the $65 per person charge!  We had music playing from a PA system and a few CDs my sister had brought with us.  We could have done speeches at this time also but decided not to.  The bar was staffed with 2 bartenders and they were wonderful!  We asked for mojitos to be ready and waiting at the beginning of the cocktail hr so there wasn’t a huge rush of people waiting for drinks.  This was a perfect idea!  We had the Mexican option for the meal.  There was so much food that you could of used it as a full meal!  It was wonderful!!!  

The cake, which was BEAUTIFUL, was waiting for us also.  I did not specify really what I wanted for the cake at all.  Too many decisions- I told Lillian to do whatever she wanted but just to make sure it was classy.  It was the best cake I have ever had.  My mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law make cakes on the side for wedding and they even raved about how tasty it was!  It was decorated beautiful too!  We were so glad we decided to spend the extra money on the cocktail hour.  I really felt like my guests had a great experience and we also wanted to make sure we had a private event (since we weren’t doing a private reception).  This was a perfect option on a tight budget. 

After the cocktail hour, everyone hopped on the shuttle and went back to the Tropical.  My husband and I went back to the hotel for a little bit of alone time.  The rest of the guests changed and went down to the pool to cool off and have a few drinks before dinner.  

We decided to wait to take photos until later because the sun was way too bright after the ceremony to keep our eyes open.  Since we brought our own photographer, this was not an issue.  We met her about 430ish and walked down to the Palace beach.  It was a gorgeous place to take photos!  We were very impressed with the results.  

Right after we were done taking photos, we headed to the buffet for the dinner.  Since we had 35 people we were not able to do one of the al a carte restaurants, but truthfully it worked out for the better.  We were the ONLY people in the buffet and they had set up a section for us with champagne to toast and a PA system for speeches.  The waiters were so attentive and were constantly asking if we wanted anything else, wanted more drinks to toast with, etc.  We were pleasantly surprised by the outcome.  

Afterwards, we went to the air conditioned bar at the colonial to have drinks and listen to music.  My cousin, who happened to be on the trip, is a FABULOUS singer and piano player.  Since there was not a piano player from the resort that night, it was perfect!  We enjoyed music, drinks and a little bit of dancing until the disco opened.  About 11:30, of our guests went there and the other half stayed at the colonial.  Truthfully, I’m not sure how long everyone stayed up because we went back to the room around 12:30.  We were beat! And we wanted a little bit of “alone time!!”

The rest of the week was spent saying good-bye to guests, bellying up at the swim up bar, and eating at the fabulous restaurants.  Anyone who isn’t staying at the Palace, I would highly suggest paying the extra charge to go the Brazilian restaurants.  My husband and I did on our last night there and it was perfect!  It was unbelievably romantic and the food was great!  After a walk on the beach down to our ceremony site, our trip was complete!  A perfect end to a perfect trip!!!

Sorry for the extra long review and the fact that it took so long to finish form my first post!  But, if anyone has any questions feel free to let me know.