Barcelo Maya Palace Brides

[jess102784]

Meggers,

 

You look absolutely stunning!!  So happy that everything (minus the wind) went without a hitch for you!! 

 

I do have a couple of questions for ya.  What package did you use?  When did you decide on the reception location?  Claudia is my WC and we were in frequent communication and I had the beach at the Palace booked for a couple of months (well at least I thought).  When I asked what the name of the beach was (Coral Beach), she asked me if I wanted to reserve it.  Here I thought for months we had this location reserved (according to the title in our emails).  I haven't yet discussed our reception location with her, and I wasn't sure if I needed to do this asap.  Our date is December 1, 2011.  I know you mentioned that your bridesmaid flowers were from an outside company, but was your bouquet part of your package and was there an upgrade?  For the huppa is that the one that is about $400 from what I can remember?  What time was your ceremony and did you feel that you had enough time from the ceremony, pictures and reception.  Our ceremony is at 3pm in December and the sun begins to set at 5ish.  Sorry for all the questions!!  Thanks in advance!

 

Jess

[Brenners]

Meggers you look so happy!  That is what every wedding should be!  So excited for you!
 

Originally Posted by Meggers7484 

Oh and I brought in Planner 1 events for the chair and lounge furniture rentals as well as the girls' flowers and guys bouts. I have no pics of the lounge furniture yet but a there are a bunch of pictures still pouring in from friends and family.

 

I used the salon in the hotel for hair and make up and couldn't have been happier with the result. I  do have to say though that it is the luck of the draw. The first make up girl I had was horrible, but another one stepped in when they saw I wasn't happy and she was incredible. They used all MAC products and the make up held up really well.

 

Sorry if I'm babbling, we got in at two am and I'm back at the office this morning! I'm just trying to address some of the questions/concerns I know I had.

 

[Meggers7484]

Thanks Everyone!

We used Ivan Luckie as our photographer for the wedding and Del Sol for our TTD session.

 

We also got the Huppah from Planner1 - It was cheaper than going through the resort and the netting is included.

 

I'm not sure which flowers you mean - We got some throught the resort (my bouquet and table centrepiece) and the rest through Planner 1. In most cases, they can pretty much do whatever you want so long as the flowers are in season. If there is something you really want I suggest sending the pics to whomever you plan to get them from in advance to find out if what you want is available or if not if the florist will order it in for you. I sent the pics of the bouts and bm flowers to Planner 1 in advance so she could order what I wanted. For my bouquet and the table flowers I was less picky so I just worked it out with Grecia once I got there and was very happy with how they turned out.

 

Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by JoanneIreland 

Meggers you look stunning!! Thanks for the posts and can't wait for full review. Who did you use for your photographer? For the huppa, did you have to pay extra for the white wrapped netting? Did you have options of flowers?

 

[Meggers7484]

We had the strawberry Passion package. It is the least expensive option if you want your reception to be in a beach or grill instead of a banquet hall.

 

I would choose the location as soon as possible and nail it down with Victoria because it is first come first serve and I don't want you to be dissapointed. They do receptions at coral beach as well but it is quite small there so your group would have to be around 50 people or less I think. Are all of your guests staying at the Palace? I can't be sure since I didn't use Coral Beach but if they are staying at the other hotels on the property they may have to pay a pass to get into the Palace and therefore Coral Beach, but I'd definately check with your WC on that.

 

There was no extra charge for my bouquet - as I mentioned I was really not picky about my bouquet and saw the white flowers I used in one of the binders in the wedding office once I was there (which worked out well because the white flowers were native to Mexico and I'd otherwise never have seen them). I wanted some colour mixed in and love hydrangea so that's what they did for me and I was thrilled.

 

I go tthe Huppah from Planner 1 as well because it was cheaper than the resort by about $150 or so.

 

We had our ceremony at 5pm and sunset was 7 pm so like you we had 2 hours from the start of the ceremony until sundown. The ceremony started a bit late we did end up feeling a little rushed, but we also had to get ourselves, our guests and the wedding party to the reception location on the other side of the resort which took time. Looking back though I don't think I would have changed the timing, only because the earlier in the day you go, the hotter it will be for your guests roasting on the beach!

 

Phew - sorry for the long reply!!!
 

Originally Posted by jess102784 

Meggers,

 

You look absolutely stunning!!  So happy that everything (minus the wind) went without a hitch for you!! 

 

I do have a couple of questions for ya.  What package did you use?  When did you decide on the reception location?  Claudia is my WC and we were in frequent communication and I had the beach at the Palace booked for a couple of months (well at least I thought).  When I asked what the name of the beach was (Coral Beach), she asked me if I wanted to reserve it.  Here I thought for months we had this location reserved (according to the title in our emails).  I haven't yet discussed our reception location with her, and I wasn't sure if I needed to do this asap.  Our date is December 1, 2011.  I know you mentioned that your bridesmaid flowers were from an outside company, but was your bouquet part of your package and was there an upgrade?  For the huppa is that the one that is about $400 from what I can remember?  What time was your ceremony and did you feel that you had enough time from the ceremony, pictures and reception.  Our ceremony is at 3pm in December and the sun begins to set at 5ish.  Sorry for all the questions!!  Thanks in advance!

 

Jess

 

[Brenners]

Meggers - congrats!  I know it costs a fee to use an outside vendor for your photography but did it also cost a fee to use Planner 1 as your wc?  I have thought about using them but thought that the fees for Planner 1 as well as any fees that the resort charges you may make not make it worthwhile to go that route.

 

Also, when we did our site visit, we were told that guests staying at the lower end hotels did not have to pay a day pass for your wedding day to attend the wedding and reception at the Palace but check to make sure that your contracts state that.
 

Originally Posted by Meggers7484 

We had the strawberry Passion package. It is the least expensive option if you want your reception to be in a beach or grill instead of a banquet hall.

 

I would choose the location as soon as possible and nail it down with Victoria because it is first come first serve and I don't want you to be dissapointed. They do receptions at coral beach as well but it is quite small there so your group would have to be around 50 people or less I think. Are all of your guests staying at the Palace? I can't be sure since I didn't use Coral Beach but if they are staying at the other hotels on the property they may have to pay a pass to get into the Palace and therefore Coral Beach, but I'd definately check with your WC on that.

 

There was no extra charge for my bouquet - as I mentioned I was really not picky about my bouquet and saw the white flowers I used in one of the binders in the wedding office once I was there (which worked out well because the white flowers were native to Mexico and I'd otherwise never have seen them). I wanted some colour mixed in and love hydrangea so that's what they did for me and I was thrilled.

 

I go tthe Huppah from Planner 1 as well because it was cheaper than the resort by about $150 or so.

 

We had our ceremony at 5pm and sunset was 7 pm so like you we had 2 hours from the start of the ceremony until sundown. The ceremony started a bit late we did end up feeling a little rushed, but we also had to get ourselves, our guests and the wedding party to the reception location on the other side of the resort which took time. Looking back though I don't think I would have changed the timing, only because the earlier in the day you go, the hotter it will be for your guests roasting on the beach!

 

Phew - sorry for the long reply!!!
 

 

 

[june11bride]

Yes we also confirmed that guests not staying at the Palace do not have to pay a day pass to attend a wedding in the palace...but we did have to book ourselves in there, which we were ok with

[Meggers7484]

They tried a few weeks before the wedding to tell me that I would have to pay the guest pass fee for each of the people that came with Planner 1. I threw a complete fit because I had asked the Barcelo for the flower and decor options like 8 months ago and they NEVER sent them and that is why I went with an outside planner in the first place. After my tantrum I didn't have to pay the day passes, which is good because they came with a big crew and I'm not sure if I would have had to pay a pass for each of them or just one for the planner. So we saved a lot of money going the Planner 1 route (the chairs were $2 per piece cheaper, the huppah $150 cheaper etc.) While Grecia, our WC was a complete sweetheart you definately get the impression that they do not like you bringing in any sort of outside vendor and our vendors got some attitude.

 

OH MY that reminds me... if you are bringing in an outside photog BEWARE! While everything I had read before me said that the Barcelo photogs will harass you for the $300, most brides seem to have been fine to pay after the fact. Well I did get 3 harassing phone calls from the photogs the day before the wedding, but I was so busy I figured it would be fine if we waited until after the wedding to go pay. WRONG!! They held our photog at the gate and wouldn't let him in until my DH went down to the front desk and paid the $300!!!!! This not only made our photog over an hour late by the time it was all sorted out, but it completely stressed out my DH before the wedding because he was running around trying to sort it out when he should have been relaxing with his GM's!
 

Originally Posted by Brenners 

Meggers - congrats!  I know it costs a fee to use an outside vendor for your photography but did it also cost a fee to use Planner 1 as your wc?  I have thought about using them but thought that the fees for Planner 1 as well as any fees that the resort charges you may make not make it worthwhile to go that route.

 

Also, when we did our site visit, we were told that guests staying at the lower end hotels did not have to pay a day pass for your wedding day to attend the wedding and reception at the Palace but check to make sure that your contracts state that.
 

 

 

[june11bride]

Wow that really sucks about the photographers! I hope we don't have to deal with that but ours are staying as guests for 7 days so technically noone needs to know they are our photographers!

[Brenners]

Gosh, I want to say that I read on here somewhere (or maybe in the materials they gave me....) that a $300 fee was waived if the photographers were "guests" and staying at the resort???  Or maybe it was just simply that the resort never knew.  Sorry - I guess I am really not much help. 

 

Originally Posted by june11bride 

Wow that really sucks about the photographers! I hope we don't have to deal with that but ours are staying as guests for 7 days so technically noone needs to know they are our photographers!

 

[JenRZ]

I'm getting a little nervous. The last reply I have had from my WC Victoria was Feb. 18. I have only done step one. No confirmation about my wedding site or reception site. Should I be worried? My wedding is 2 months away.