Barcelo Maya Palace Brides

[cfinkenbine]

I am so excited to find this forum, as I have been searching high and low for more information and reviews! I am getting married at Barcelo in Riviera Maya on May 16th, 2015. We are staying at the colonial/tropical resort. We have family who have stayed here and just told us how amazing it is. We are having a symbolic ceremony @ 6pm, and are expecting around 30 guest, maybe more maybe less. We choose the strawberry passion package. We have picked out our menu, and cake but that is about it as far as details go. Our wedding coordinator is Estrella, she has been wonderful so far, and very quick with responses. She almost always responds within a few hours of me e-mailing her! Anyone else getting married around this date? Feel free to e-mail me also! [email protected]

I did have a few questions regarding the dance floor and extra hours for reception. Any comments regarding these two topics? We still haven't decided if they are worth the extra cost! Also, does anyone have any pictures of the ceremony/reception locations to choose from?? Thanks so much!

Can't wait to hear from everybody!

Edited September 17, 2014 by cfinkenbine

[BarceloJan2015]

Hello,

 

I am getting married in Jan!! Time is going so quickly. My wedding coordinator was replying very quickly now it has slowed to maybe every two weeks. Can be frustrating. Other than that they are good. We are extending our reception by 2 hours. We have the strawberry passion package. I am getting styling trio for my hair and makeup. And hired an outside photographer/videographer. I might also get an external DJ. most recently I am having problems with giving my hair and make up package that came with the package to my mom. My friend did it when she got married there and I know other brides have done it. But they are saying I can't. I am tempted to just book it and send my mom to the appt. lol I feel like they really punish you for going with outside vendors. But I think for some things it's worth it. Anyone doing any events during their wedding week for guests?! Or doing OOT bags?!

[cfinkenbine]

I posted on here about a week ago but I thought I would update where i am at. Originally I booked my wedding for Saturday, May 16th of 2015. I began talking to my wc Estrella about my location ceremony and reception only to find out the one I wanted was booked for that day! Most of my guests are coming on Wed or Thurs, so we actually have changed our wedding date to Friday May 15th, 2015, just a day before. Luckily I will be getting my first pick for ceremony and reception site (Playa Azul). Anyone have any comments, tips, etc re: this location? Also, switching the day switched our coordinator, now we will be going through Xhail, and she is on vacation for three more weeks! So I will not even be able to talk to her until then, and this forum seems to have many people that said she is slow in response to e-mails. I am working on booking a photographer and DJ at this time…any suggestions would be great! E-mail: [email protected]

[Stephanie2015]

So glad I have found this, I have so much to do and plan. I am getting married January 7th at the Barceló Tropical! 

As I have been reading though I have found out that Barceló doesn't allow any outside vendors, is this true? Can family take pictures for me? And as far as Barceló's make-up and hair do they do a good job? Is there an absolute must that I should take with me from home, such as any decorations etc... ?

Thanks for any help ladies

[cfinkenbine]

So glad I have found this, I have so much to do and plan. I am getting married January 7th at the Barceló Tropical! 

As I have been reading though I have found out that Barceló doesn't allow any outside vendors, is this true? Can family take pictures for me? And as far as Barceló's make-up and hair do they do a good job? Is there an absolute must that I should take with me from home, such as any decorations etc... ?

Thanks for any help ladies

You ARE allowed outside vendors, there is just a fee. (I have just gone over all of this with my WC Estrella) Outside photographer: $500 dollars/company. Make up/hair team: $150/company. DJ: $105/hr. I actually just booked with the best moments make up team, and am booking ivan luckie as my photographer tomorrow. The vendor fees suck but i would rather be safe then sorry and hire people I have read do amazing work! I am bringing a lot of my own decorations. Where is your ceremony and reception??

Here is my wedding website for anyone who wants to check it out! 

http://rcstromberg.wix.com/rosscelestewedding

[cometgirl]

If one of your guests is a photographer and is staying at the hotel then you don't have to pay the outside vendor fee. But if they are from outside of the resort then I agree with @@cfinkenbine as they do allow outside photographers for $500. Photos was one thing I insisted we spend more money on if necessary as that is the one thing we take away with us. We just did a vacation at our resort to check things out and met with both the resort photographer and an outside one.  We booked with Octavio Montes (www.octaviomontes.com)  as we figure he is worth the outside vendor fee. We were quite happy with his work and that there is 2 of them (a main photographer and assistant) to capture all the moments. He has a 10% deal off right now for brides which helps with the vendor fee!  I know he does weddings in Playa del Carmen, Cancun and Riviera Maya. 

Edited October 2, 2014 by cometgirl

[cfinkenbine]

Can anyone give me details on welcome dinners for all of our guests? We really would like to have a welcome dinner in an actual restaurant, not the buffet. Can we just make reservations, does it cost extra, etc. Any tips or experience with this at Barcelo would be very much appreciated!

[bluecastr1]

Hi Everyone!

I'm so excited to find this board! I'm getting married at Barcelo Maya Nov 21, 2014, and I would appreciate any advice you all have! I am planning to bring most of my decorations from home, as there seems to be an added fee for everything! 

*Is it "worth it" to have a cocktail hour and/or mariachi band? We would love to do this but our budget has gotten a little out of control and we are trying to cut back.. already eliminating the dance floor (we are having the reception poolside). 

*Has anyone brought lights to hang/string above? I asked our WC about the length needed..and all she told me was that I could rent them for approx $300 (set up/rental fee). We would also have to hire someone to do this if we bring them ourselves, apparently. 

*Is the hair/makeup team okay? Once I started reading the posts on Barcelo, I quickly found that many people hire external hair/makeup artists (styling trio, best moments?). I wasn't planning to do this before b/c with the Strawberry Package it is included..but I'm wondering if it might be the way to go. Anyone that has used the spa at Barcelo- I'd love to hear how your hair and makeup turned out.

Thanks so much, and really looking forward to the wedding, despite setbacks with communication and budget concerns. I want it to be personal and for everyone to have a wonderful time!

[cvincent84]

Hi Everyone!

I'm so excited to find this board! I'm getting married at Barcelo Maya Nov 21, 2014, and I would appreciate any advice you all have! I am planning to bring most of my decorations from home, as there seems to be an added fee for everything! 

*Is it "worth it" to have a cocktail hour and/or mariachi band? We would love to do this but our budget has gotten a little out of control and we are trying to cut back.. already eliminating the dance floor (we are having the reception poolside). 

*Has anyone brought lights to hang/string above? I asked our WC about the length needed..and all she told me was that I could rent them for approx $300 (set up/rental fee). We would also have to hire someone to do this if we bring them ourselves, apparently. 

*Is the hair/makeup team okay? Once I started reading the posts on Barcelo, I quickly found that many people hire external hair/makeup artists (styling trio, best moments?). I wasn't planning to do this before b/c with the Strawberry Package it is included..but I'm wondering if it might be the way to go. Anyone that has used the spa at Barcelo- I'd love to hear how your hair and makeup turned out.

Thanks so much, and really looking forward to the wedding, despite setbacks with communication and budget concerns. I want it to be personal and for everyone to have a wonderful time!

Here are my two cents on some of your questions. Paying for a cocktail hour is so not worth it. It's pretty expensive and guests can walk from the ceremony to the lobby bar in under two minutes. There they can lounge, drink for free, enjoy the air conditioning, and munch on the snacks there. No one had an issue with this at my wedding, it worked out perfect and saved a ton of money! I also wanted a mariachi band but they were, I believe, $500 to rent for 30 minutes! CRAZY! If your guests go to the hotel lobby they will be just fine without the added cost and entertainment until the reception starts. I didn't bring lights for decor but I did bring puff ball that I made out of tissue paper. They put those up through the palm trees for the ceremony and reception and it looked AMAZING and added a great pop of color that I wanted. They charged me $40 to just set it up, a steal I think! The lights would be trickier, trying to find electric outlets etc...and sounds like way more expensive. With the other resort lights around, the reception was very bright and we definitely did not need more lighting. If you're trying to save money I would recommend just going with the puff balls or paper lanterns (without lights), they looked adorable for a good price. I gave a review earlier about the salon...not impressed. My mani/pedi was pretty awful and I gave my hair/makeup package to my Mom since I also hired Styling Trio. My Mom's hair turned out O.K. but she ended up taking all her make up off...she said she looked like a clown. I haven't heard very many good things about the salon, not to mention it's VERY hard to communicate with most of the workers there. I would HIGHLY recommend hiring Styling Trio...they were so fun and absolutely amazing.

 

 

Some other questions people have asked...I'm not sure about the welcome dinner. If your group isn't too large (under 20 or so) tell everyone to make a reservation when they check in for the same restaurant same day/time. If the group gets over a certain number I do believe they charge you more, but I can't tell you how much.

 

 

The DJ I used was Disco Movil ([email protected]). They were pretty decent. I was able to rent a generator with them so they ended up being cheaper than the resort DJ but I heard you can no longer do that. However, their light up dance floor, which was awesome, was cheaper than the resorts. So something to check into. My photographer was Ivan Luckie. We had a great time with him and so far, I've gotten three pictures back (for thank you cards), and they are really beautiful. HOWEVER, per his last email, I may have to wait 6 months from the time of my wedding to get all my pictures. That is something to consider...he takes a REALLY long time to get photos back which is really disappointing. I’ve been emailing a couple other girls and they are finding the same thing. So if you are a REALLY patient person you might not mind…but I’m starting to get a little frustrated.

 

 

Let me know if anyone has any additional questions!

[bluecastr1]

@@cvincent84 Thank you so much for the thorough response! I hadn't even thought about using an outside DJ! With just over a month to go I'm nervous and don't want to make any big changes, so I think I'll stick with the resort DJ. I am definitely considering the styling trio I'm leaning towards nixing the official cocktail hour and mariachi band, and going to the lobby bar like you suggested. It seems like a lot of people stuck with that plan and it was fine. I'm wondering if I could get the acoustic guitarist to play at the bar for the hour? (Wonder what THAT charge is....).

 

 

 

 

We are planning on a beach ceremony (Capitan Morgan?) and poolside reception (Cocos?)..but having not been there and basing the decision off one photo is tough! Anyone have any suggestions on best beach and poolside locations? I'm also wondering if there is any type of overhead for the poolside or if its all in the open.. there would be no need for hanging decorations then If anyone can share photos of their setup/decor for ceremony on the beach or poolside reception I would be SO appreciative! I've been scouring the different photography sites trying to get little bits and pieces Also- how did you all take care of handing out welcome bags? We are bringing them, but the resort charges $3 per bag to deliver for you (huh??). 

 

Thanks again!! Loving reading through all the replies previously!