Any Grand Palladium brides?

[dawnkyeknod]

Hi ladies.

I am new to the forum... just joined yesterday but I think I have read about a million posts already. My brain is quickly getting overloaded. I dont know where to start. We just got back from a vacation in GP so I am familiar with the resort etc but I wish that I would have gone to see Rocio or someone to show me the "books" with the photos of cakes and flowers etc. I didn't know about that until I got home. Oh well...

We have picked a date, called the travel agent and I am looking into STD cards. Any advice? I thought about making them myself but I am already feeling overwhelmed with choices and costs....

Also, I found a picture of the perfect dress but I have no idea of how to find out where it came from....any ideas?

1 more thing - photographer- how do you decide? The choices are all about tje same price etc so how do you pick??

Thanks for any help you can give. If I can help with the layout of the resort or anything - let me know

[Ayla]

Hi Dawnkyeknod, welcome to the forum!

 

When I was at GP, I met with and set up everything through Erica. She told me that if I find pictures with flower arrangements I like, etc, to send it to her. Also we have to get to the resort 2 business days before the wedding in order to finalize everything.

 

I have a small group that's flying in from, literally, around the world, so I'm not using a TA. I sent email STD, with a link to my wedding website so everyone can get all the necessary info at one central location. I'm also making my own 'message in a bottle' invitations to cut costs. I purchased parchment paper and sea shells from an art supply store and bottles online. Now its a matter of going to the beach and getting some sand

 

I don't know how you would find the dress if you do not know the designer and stuff but half the wedding dress shops I went to told me that if I find a dress I like, they can custom make a knock off for me Now I don't know the costs associated with that.

 

Photographer - no idea! I haven't gotten that far yet

 

Happy planning!

[dawnkyeknod]

Thanks Ayla! You sound like you have it all together. I feel like a frazzled mess right now... I know it will get easier - it is all so new .

Thanks for the dress idea. I might bring the picture to someone to have it made. This dress is haunting me - I see the pic of it everywhere but it never lists the designer or anything...it is usually on articles about destination weddings etc.

I found some templates on this forum for making boarding passes and passports for STD cards and invitations - I might do that if I am feeling a bit Martha Stewart anytime soon.

The photographer is going to be tough- I have watched a million slideshows and I still cant decide. I think an important factor will be whether I can own the rights to my pictures - some of the photographers still own them and you have to order but some give you the full set of pics on a CD an dyou can do whatever you want them. I like that. I dont want to be calling Mexico everytime I want to order an 8 x 10

Good luck - keep me posted. I am so excited for you...

[finzup]

dawnkyeknod, post the picture up here and see if anyone can identify the designer? (or maybe in the general chit chat forum or something? )

[GoCubs!]

Dawn - I read a lot on the forum about different photographers and checked out a lot of their work online and finally chose Claudia Rodriguez Photography (www.claudiaphoto.com). I'm using Erick (I think it's her brother) b/c she wasn't available on my date. She has a few associates and IMHO they all do really good work so it was a tough decision. An added bonus was that after I booked them I found out that the GP actually recommends Claudia Rodriguez Photography so they are very familiar with her company and vice versa. With the package I purchased I get 250 images on a CD so I won't ever have to worry about calling them to order more. Anyways, I'm really excited about Erick - his work is really good!!!

[dawnkyeknod]

Thanks finzup - as soon as I can figure out how to post a picture I will do that LOL. Great idea!

GoCubs- I got the price list from Claudia too - I really like her stuff. That is a great choice! I admit, I am struggling with the cost issue though. This is my second marriage and we are trying to do things in a very realxed and laid back (and cheaper ) sort of way. I like that you get to keep your CD of all of the pics and I love her work so she is at the top of my list... just a bit more than I wanted to spend. I guess as I get used to the idea of getting married and all of the other costs it will all sink in but for now it is all so new and surreal.

Thanks for all of you help

[dawnkyeknod]

 

 

Does anyone know this dress? I am trying to find it... Thanks

[ChristinaP]

Dawn,

 

I tried on some that looked very similar to that dress. the fabric that is on the bottom is on a lot of "beachy" type dresses that I saw- I'm sure you won't have problems finding something very similar. Definitely bring in pics to a larger bridal store to start with, and they should be able to help you find what you are looking for.

[ChristinaP]

To all Pallaium brides:

 

We had some problems securing a date with Rocio. We were originally told that a date was available (but not the time we wanted). My TA responded right away to hold the date for us, and then FIVE DAYS LATER, we were told it was not available any more.

 

I found the phone number to the resort on the palladium addict site, and called myself to confirm that they were holding another date for us so I could book the photgrapher I wanted (worked out o-kay, as my first choice photog. was booked the first date). Point of my story- when I phoned and asked for the WC, I had absolutely no problems getting through to her, and in total took me about 3 mins. on the phone to Mexico as opposed to the week and a half before to secure a date that no longer was available.

 

I would highly reccommend phoning Rocio if you are frantic about something and you're not getting a response for over a week, and then ask for an e-mail follow-up.

[Noveau]

Hello everyone! I just got back from photographing a wedding at Grand Palladium (White Sands) yesterday and thought I'd give you all the update/thoughts I had about this location. I've been following this thread for several months, so thanks to all for the advice up till now!

 

First of all, the resort is absolutely amazing. Gorgeous, great service, wonderful location... amazing. This particular wedding party had maybe 40-50 guests in attendance plus the bride and groom, and everyone agreed it was paradise. So A+++ there.

 

The wedding location- very nice. It is a beautiful gazebo/pavillion area with gorgeous views. The only con I could see is that it was pretty close to the beach with all the chairs so it wasn't totally private. But it was actually kind of fun to see all the guests at the resort congratulation the couple after the ceremony and it really gave it that whole "beach" vibe. So... probably B+ here.

 

The flowers from the resort were amazing. In fact, they were better than some of the weddings I've shot here in the states. Gorgeous. The bride was glad she changed her mind and decided to order them.

 

Reception: nice. The bride told me that they do charge about $20 per person for the place she chose to have her reception. This apparently covers things like chair covers, cake, champagne, ect (even though it's an all-inclusive resort), so it wasn't horrible. Just kinda funny they'd charge for that. But it was a pretty site and a nice, intimate dinner.

 

The biggest snafu that I saw was actually regarding the weather. After the ceremony, we were trying to snap a few quick family/friend portraits and it started pouring. Literally raining buckets. Most of the guests were already headed up to dinner at this point, so it was just a few of us left. We were trapped under the gazebo for about 20 minutes, hoping it would die down. The wedding planner/coordinators had already left so we were pretty much at the mercy of the weather. Finally, my photography second-shooter ran to the beach cantina to ask them to call a shuttle to come get us since it was quite a walk to the lobby. The resort workers were more concerned with putting plastic bags on the chair covers than assisting the bride to move to a more covered area. So she wasn't happy that the service was pretty poor in that aspect... that the wedding coordinator didn't stay till the end or help us move to a better location in the pouring rain.

 

BUT... if it hadn't been raining, I think the whole ceremony would have gone off perfectly. All in all, it was a great location for a destination wedding, and I'd recommend it. If anyone wants to see some pictures, feel free to message me and I'll send you a link... I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post them directly on here.