Barcelo Maya Palace Brides

[SandRWedding]

We are April 4

The day of your wedding will be our last full day before we have to come home Still over 8 months away, and I already don't want it to be over lol.....

 

Have you selected your ceremony and reception locations??

[Oneeleven]

Yay!  You will have to come have a peek on the 7th and have a drink with us

We are 5 pm in the gazebo. Future hubs is wearing his military dress uniform and he must wear shoes with it so we thought it's best to stay off the sand.  Dunno about reception.

You? Whats your time, location and where's your reception at?

Did you book your trip yet?

[Oneeleven]

Really?  I thought at Dreams you could have the ceremony at the Gazebo for no extra charge, at the Barcelo, unless you stay at the Palace, there is a charge per head.

Also, at Dreams you can have the reception any where you want, and at the Barcelo, if you want it outside, you HAVE to take the $4000 Strawberry package for that.
 

I've been to the Barcelo before but not dreams
 

Originally Posted by Brenners 

We did site visits at quite a few resorts.  Packages at Barcelo were pretty comparable to Dreams, however, their room rates were far better so you save money that way.  The only resort I found where you could create your own unique wedding (meaning no packages) was Ceiba del Mar, however, the cost of roundtrip airfare and a week's stay for a couple cost about $6000.  So in our research, Barcelo was actually the best price for packages and rates.  What Diana from Ceiba told us was that most brides got carried away with the extras - decorations, dance floor, dj, etc...when you really don't need much for decorations (the tropical locale mostly takes care of that), you can bring an ipod with your own music and people can dance in the sand.  But it depends on each bride and what they want and are willing to pay for what they have in mind for their special day.
 

 

 

[SandRWedding]

That would be awesome

I have never been to the resort, but from the pics I have seen the gazebo looks gorgeous!! I also wanted the 5pm ceremony time, but the latest time they offered us was 4.

Our ceremony is at 4 on the Coral Beach, we are having a cocktail hour on the rooftop terrace and the reception at Playa Azul. I have always wanted to get married on the beach in bare feet, so it is perfect for us!!  

 

We have booked our trip, and so far have 21 people with deposits in....have you booked as well??

And I see you are also from Canada?? Are you booking a wedding package through the resort or through Air Transat??

 

Steph

[Brenners]

Dreams had no real private area for a wedding - everything was right in the middle of all of the action and other guests.  Dreams had no gazebo - they had a structure next to the infinity pool but nothing that would really be a real gazebo.  I do have to say that DRC had the most AMAZING spa I have ever seen!  The Strawberry Passion package is $3385 but worth the privacy. 
 

Originally Posted by Oneeleven 

Really?  I thought at Dreams you could have the ceremony at the Gazebo for no extra charge, at the Barcelo, unless you stay at the Palace, there is a charge per head.

Also, at Dreams you can have the reception any where you want, and at the Barcelo, if you want it outside, you HAVE to take the $4000 Strawberry package for that.
 

I've been to the Barcelo before but not dreams
 

 

 

[almostcopeland]

HI! We are planning our wedding for May 26th! do any of yall have ideas or advice for me for booking?

 

[Brenners]

We did quite a bit of research on this particular topic.  What we found was that a travel agent was able to get a us a price comparable to what we were finding online and the resort will honor any lower rates that we find after we have reserved a block of rooms.  You are required to block a minimum of 10 rooms at $100 per room (so $1000) but that money goes toward your package.  You will need to work with your travel agent as well as a wedding coordinator from Barcelo.  If your date is available, then they will hold your dates and locations for two months but will need to send the wedding coordinator your booking confirmation number in order for your wedding to be reserved.  Each package details what is included and for how many people.  Not sure if this is where you were going with this question but I hope this helps.
 

Originally Posted by almostcopeland 

HI! We are planning our wedding for May 26th! do any of yall have ideas or advice for me for booking?

 

 

[780chick]

Ok CANADIAN Transat brides. I've booked March 28, 2012 and we are staying at the Palace. We have coral beach for the ceremony and playa azul for the reception. Some things to know: Euphoria package includes 24 people. Any others above that are $20 per guest. It only includes a banquet room for 2 hours. Then to upgrade to the beach for the reception is $27.50 for all guests (except children under 12). I was told that they do not charge the extra fees for children (upgrades, extra hour etc) If you are staying at Tropical/Colonial the extra charge per hour is $10. If you are at the Palace it is $13 per hour (you get premium liquor). If you are staying at the Palace and others are staying at tropical/beach etc you have to pay an upgrade of $3 per hour for the first two hours for the premium liquor. There is only a 3 course menu (no soup) and there is no surf and turf option for the main. I asked how much it would be to add soup ($6 per person which we are doing) and shrimp/lobster to the main ($35 per person - NO!). I also asked if we could substitute the cocktail hour for an extra hour and appetizer. Was told yes to the extra hour but no to the appetizer. I figure we really don't need a cocktail hour anyway cause coral beach is close to the palace bar and now we have the reception for 3 hours and added the soup to our meal. So I did some math and.... If you don't care about the extra little perks of the strawberry passion package and are creative with asking your WC for substitutions like this, you will save appx $1500. I did a price comparison for 50 guests (40 adults 10 kids). You save more as your guests go up.

[jess102784]

Hi Joanne,

 

When in the late November are you going?  We are arriving on Saturday November 26 with our wedding being on December 1.

[catracer]

Hi! We're deciding between two resorts right now .... could you let me know which package you had at Barcelo, and did it cost extra for you to have the reception at Playa Azul - or was that an option included in your package?

Thanks! Cathy