Paradisus Palma Real Resort All Inclusive
We got married at the Paradisus Palma Real on April 2, 1011 and it was simply beautiful. I would recommend this resort to anyone. The grounds, accommodations, food, drinks, and staff were absolutely wonderful.
Here are a couple highlighted details:
Wedding package: Aqua with Chill Out Chic colors (2011 package which included alcohol)
Number of guests: 57 including bride and groom
Total cost for wedding (just wedding, not room) - $9600 roughly
Total cost for everything, including room - $15000
Resort:
We arrived three days before our wedding day and decided to stay in The Reserve, which was probably the best decision we could have made. Our room was outrageous and this resort has a slightly different vibe – mostly from décor – than the Palma Real. We reserved a swim-up suite and were upgraded to the one bedroom master suite swim up bc we were getting married there and had booked our wedding package with them. There are three restaurants, one grill, and two bars in The Reserve and all were great. My only recommendation would be to hammer out your dinner reservations as early as possible. They have concierges in almost every building, and I would tell them as soon as you decide on a place to eat. You can make your dinner reservations two nights in advance and I recommend you do.
Our room was cleaned twice a day; once for housekeeping and once for a turn down service every night at around 9pm, and the mini bar is stocked once every 24 hours. You can order room service 24 hours a day, which we took full advantage of. Pizza isn’t the greatest, but hit the spot at 3am and when you’re in need of food. There are staff members walking around at all times and if you are hanging out by the pool, they will ask they can bring you anything – drink/food, etc. The spa at The Reserve is lovely. I can’t compare it to the one at Palma Real, but I would imagine it’s the same, if not nicer bc it’s newer. The ladies who work in there are fantastic and did everything from my nails to hair and make-up perfectly.
The restaurants were all great. My husband’s favorite was Vento – at Palma Real. They offered a meat heavy menu with steaks and chops. We ate at Aqua and Mizu (both at The Reserve), Vento, Bana (Asian menu served family style and the sushi bar), the late night buffet by the Sky Bar (open 24/7), and the Gabi Club at The Reserve as well as Gabi Beach at Palma Real. Everything was great. The drinks were also great – top shelf liquor and fun mixed drinks. It’s insanely easy to get between The Reserve and Palm Real – just a golf cart ride away or a 10 minute walk.
Wedding:
Jennifer was my Romance Coordinator and she was awesome! I communicated with Diana via email in the months leading up to the event but once I was on the resort Jennifer was my point of contact.
I visited the resort in July of 2010 and put my deposit down then, reserving the garden gazebo and the cocktail reception and dinner reception locations. It was a little frustrating not getting immediate email feedback to my questions, but after being there for a wedding, you realize how busy they actually are. All of my emails were answered and they were always thorough.
I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and I had my meeting Thursday at 11am with Jennifer to walk around and preview the location one last time. I had emailed them a final headcount before I left and we confirmed it. I asked during the preview if we could do a “rehearsal” Friday evening providing there wasn’t a wedding going on and she accommodated that request graciously.
She took my place cards, wedding favors (which were very last minute – like when my flowers arrived on the day of the wedding, last minute), arranged for table numbers, double checked flowers for ceremony and décor and ceremony music. I didn’t have to think about anything – she had it all covered.
The day of the wedding I got my hair and make up done. I made the spa appointments before I left via email. The ladies in the spa were wonderful. I brought in a picture of how I wanted my make up and they did it perfectly. I hadn’t anticipated wanting flowers in my hair, but they ran outside and picked some and suggested I wear them – and they looked amazing. After my appointment was over, Jennifer came by with my room with the flowers, took the last minute wedding favors and went to set up.
We decided not to go with the photographers that were onsite because the pricing structure was a little strange. Instead we went with HDC Photographers, and they were awesome! Arnoud and Milan were our videographer and photographer. They came to the room (we had to pay for a day pass for them since they were not located at the resort) at 4pm and were there for me getting ready, my bridesmaids getting ready and my mother and aunt who came down to help out. They had us laughing the minute they walked in the door. The two of them put everyone at ease and were so kind and professional. They took charge and started taking photos while I was walking around the room and chatting with everyone. I didn’t know exactly what kind of photos I was looking for so I relied on them heavily to direct me and they did so with grace. Jennifer said we would be picked up at 5:30 and we were – right on time!
Arnaud and Milan were everywhere, taking a ton of photos. I didn’t notice them during the ceremony bc I was too consumed in the actual ceremony – and I cried (more than once) when I looked at the pictures because I was amazed they got some of the shots they did. After the ceremony there was a champagne toast and both Arnaud and Milan instructed all the guests to get together for a great group shot, which turned out great. Our wedding was at 6pm so we needed to make the most of the sunlight and moved quickly from champagne into wedding party photos. We were laughing so hard at some of the poses they put us in, but the photos are stunning! I can’t say enough great things about them. They were comfortable with the resort, and knew just where to take us. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of beach shots (yes, I know we got married in the DR, but something about walking around in the sand in my dress didn’t sit right with me), but Milan said we would regret it if we didn’t take a couple. So, we did, and I LOVE them. They seriously had us all laughing so hard, which made it a much more relaxing and fun time. We took photos in the garden, pool side, on the beach, the main gazebo by the main pool, the entry fountain and then moved on to the reception. They got amazing photos of the reception site, everyone being introduced, first dances, all the guests, and Greek dancing from my husband’s side of the family.
Jennifer met us at the reception introduced us to the DJ (DJ Mania – who was also super great) and were introduced. I had sent the song list to the DJ that morning and he had everything ready to go by 8pm. He was upbeat, fun and took requests. The music was mostly 60’s and 70’s “oldies,” American top 40 dance music and Greek music which we brought with us, although he said he had it on his computer already. He literally has everything. He even brought out big balloons that our guests played around with.
The staff at the reception was simply the best. They anticipated our needs before we did. Every time I thought of getting another drink, it just appeared. They came around with mamajuana shots (which are not my favorite, but definitely celebratory!), were dancing with us, and all around having a great time. The food was on point. We had the shrimp salad, been filet (4 people had fish bc of Lent and being vegetarian and that was no problem – Jennifer made that happen for us) with mashed potatoes and vegetables and white and dark chocolate mouse for dessert, in addition to the cake. We were having such a good time we didn’t even cut the cake – just had them cut and passed it around to everyone. Jennifer delivered the top layer of cake, wedding flowers and remaining wedding favors to my room the next day.
We finished the night by going out to the other bars at the resort until about 4am. Simply put, the best day of my life.
Arnaud met me and my mother and aunt two days later to give us the photos and video. I had asked him to make sure to get some black and white pictures bc I had gotten sunburnt the day before and he honored that request. We cried and cried as we went through each picture and watched the video. He was even taking pictures of us as we all cried..haha. Such a nice guy!
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I wrote this quickly at work and didn’t proofread ?
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