Any Grand Palladium brides?

[shortcake18]

Hi x,

 

I am getting really nervous as I begin looking at the numbers and the cost. We are having 64 people and there maybe a few more. So we have to have a private reception but I have opt out of a private dinner and I am doing a cocktail party with appies to save on some cost.   I haven't heard back yet from Roico regarding some details and numbers so I am getting a little worried. I feel that I haven't got much down compared to others so I need to get it on. What days are you staying there? 

 

shortcake  

[Sarah_K]

 

Grand Palladium Wedding Review:

I have finally finished my review!!!   I tried to include answers to all your questions...plus talk about things that I was wondering about before we left.  (Sorry, it got a little long!).  Let me know if I left anything out!  

Overall all I have to say is that it was perfect.  The wedding planners really know what they are doing, and everyone on the resort was so helpful.

When we got to our suite (BTW, I highly suggest the Royal Suites.  They are a little more expensive, but worth every penny), there was a letter waiting for us fro Erika.  We were to meet with her 2 days before our wedding.

Meeting with Erika-

The meeting went well.  We went through all of the details of the wedding.  She had a generic FTD book of flowers.  I told her I was just looking for something bright and tropical.  My Grandpa did the ceremony, so she had some tips for him.  We planned our dinner (at Kabah), and our post-dinner cocktail party (La Laguna).  Gave her the name of our photographer, picked a wedding cake, and worked out the rest of the details.  We gave her everything for the wedding (programs, fans, trinkets for the table at dinner, guest book, etc).  Erika forgot to ask me about the dress, and I forgot to mention it.  IF YOU ARE GETTING YOUR DRESS STEAMED AT THE RESORT, BE SURE TO TALK ABOUT IT IN YOUR MEETING. We forgot, and my dress didn’t end up getting steamed. It was fine, my dress wasn’t that wrinkly.The meeting took less than an hour.  Also, it cost $2 to have the wedding dept pass out out OOT bags.  For some reason, we though it would be a good idea to pass them out ourselves...bad idea.  We were carrying them around most of the trip, looking for people.  

‘Rehersal’

We decided to have a make-shift rehearsal because my Grandpa was our minister (we went to the courthouse on our way out of town, because we wanted Grandpa to be able to perform our ceremony without dealing with all the legal stuff).  The plan was to meet the wedding party at the gazebo at 8 for a quick walk-through, and then meet everyone at the Hemingway bar for a little welcome cocktail.  To make a long story shorter, hurricane Alex started dumping on us while we were on our way to meet everyone at the gazebo.  Half of the wedding party showed up, the rest went right to the cocktail.  This caused a bit of confusion...but whatever (not being able to use our cell phones like we are used to really caught us off guard, we never realized how much we rely on them!) .  The rehearsal was more for my Grandpa, and my Mothers nerves, so it worked out.  We then met up with everyone at Hemingway, and then most of us called it an early night.

Day of the Wedding

We went to breakfast, and then hung out in the Royal Suites Lobby to type out our vows (we wrote them the day before sitting by the pool). By the time we got them printed out, and got back to our room, our flowers had arrived.  All the sudden it hit my that it was actually my wedding day, so I kicked Chad (my now-husband) out of our suite, so I could start getting ready.  About 3 hours before the wedding, my Mom and Bridesmaids came over to get ready with me.  (they were staying in different areas, so I had to give Ericka their names to get them into the suite).  I did my own make-up, and one of my bridesmaids did my hair.  Our suite was huge, and had a ton of mirrors, so having 10 girls getting ready in the same room wasn’t a big deal.  

The photographers showed up, and went to the boys first.  They were hanging out at the beach bar, and got some GREAT picts!  About an hour before the wedding, the photographers came to my suite, and took a few getting ready photos, and then started getting picts of me and the girls at different locations around the Royal Suites.

Our ceremony was suppose to start at 3:30, so I was suppose to be picked up at about 3:25.  At about 3:30, our ride had not shown....right about that time one of our favorite (and well tipped) drivers came by.  We asked him if he was our ride, and he said “Looks like I am now!”  So, we all piled in.  When we got to the wedding site, and everyone was still standing around.  My maid of honor jumped out and made sure Chad couldn’t see me.  When Erika saw us, she came running up and asked what we were doing there.  I guess she thought it started at 4.  Anyway, she was able to get everything together in about 5 min.  (impressive).  My aunt and Uncle started playing (yes, we brought our own musicians AND pastor).  The wedding site was more beautiful thank I ever could have imagined.  There were so many beautiful flowers.  Gorgeous!  

Walking down the aisle was better than I ever could have imagined.  There were about 30-50 people from the beach who cheered me on.  (Erika made them leave once the ceremony started).  It was sunny...everything was perfect.  Most of the ceremony was a complete blur.  I guess hurricane Alex decided to join us about half-way through.  As soon as our vows were done (while my uncle was playing), our moms motioned everyone to join us under the gazebo.  All that was really left was the sand ceremony.  It was kind cool to have all of our closest friends and family literally right there for that part of the wedding. Grandpa pronounced us married, we turned around, and realized that our champagne toast was suppose to be outside.  Erika must be half super-hero.  She was able to move the entire table of champagne bottles and glasses to under the covering of the beach bar.

After champagne, the bridal party started taking pictures, and the family/other guests went back to the main resort.  It was raining off and on, so we. would run out to the beach, take a few picts, and run back. We didn’t get all of the pictures we wanted...but we got enough good ones that I’m not upset about it.  After an hour or so we went back up to the lobby for some family pictures, the photographer left, and suddenly it was 6:00, time for dinner.

Dinner was at Kabah.  They had a back corner blocked off for us, so it seamed like we were the only ones there.  I wasn’t too crazy about having a buffet for our wedding dinner, but we figured it was better than expecting everyone to eat the exact same thing. All of the flowers from the wedding, along with some rose pedals and some little trinkets I brought were on the table.  It was beautiful!  Right as we were getting ready to cut the cake, a random trio of guitarists came over and started playing some Mexican dance music.  Everyone got up and started dancing.  Only in Mexico!  Once they left, we cut the cake (Everyone LOVED the tres leches cake) and did toasts.  

We then headed to La Laguna for the reception (we paid $5 per person for a private, cocktail only reception).  It too was set up beautifully.  There were tequila sunrises waiting for everyone when we got there (we picked this out in the meeting with Erika). My little brother did an excellent job as our DJ.  My uncle played our 1st dance, and the Daddy Daughter dance, my brother took care of the rest.  Our bartender was great, the lighting was good, the sound-system didn’t have any issues.  I think everyone had a great time.

At about 10:30 the reception wound down, and everyone headed to the lobby bar we had a drink, and somehow ended up in the disco?  (never thought I’d see my grandparents in a disco!)  I think some of our guests staid at the disco for a while, others ended up at the saltwater pool.  Chad and I were exhausted and went back to our suite.

Our room was SO romantically decorated when we got back.  Literally thousands of flower petals, ridiculously large towel arrangements, chocolate covered strawberries, and champagne.  

General notes:
Our OOT bags included:
-A stainless steel travel mug (perfect for carrying from bar to bar around the resort)
-Oh Shit! Kit - (Pepito, tums, lotion wipes, Imodium, Tylenol, etc).  At first, people thought they were ‘cute’ but the end of the trip, people said they were a lifesaver.  I HIGHLY recommend including something like this.
-a deck of cards (good for drinking games/rainy days)
-mosquito repellent (ESSENTIAL)
-a cute welcome note, telling people about the welcome cocktail

We brought silk flowers for all of the boutonnieres.  They turned out great, and stayed looking nice all day.  I highly recommend this. Our package came with a boutonniere for Chad, and his was a little wilted and beaten up by the time we got to the disco!

My photographer (Luz María Avila - I highly recommend her!) put together a slide-show:
CHAD +SARAH

Let me know if you have any more questions, or need any more information!  Happy planning ladies!
 

[dawnkyeknod]

Hey ladies.

I just got back from my wedding and honeymoon at GP in the mayan. WOW!

The wedding team there is amazing! I admit, I had the same fears that you all have - they were quicklt dispelled once I arrived and met with Erika. They really take care of every little detail. I brought my own chair sashes and buibbles and fans but none of that was necessary.... thay have chair sashes there now in a bunch of colours (and the bubbles etc really were a non-event). I also brought a large piece of fabric for the canopy and that was very cool. It was a turquoise colour and I loved it - otherwise it would be white - which I am sure would still be gorgeous. The flowers that come with the package are nice (although the bridal bouquet is a bit smallish but I still loved it)

We had our wedding on the beach(canopy - not the gazebo), reception dinner at Portofino on the terrace (no cost and totally seperate and nice - the food was yummy) and our cocktail reception at Las Rocas (by the saltwater pool) and it was gorgeous!!!  I brought paper lanterns and they lit them all with little battery lights and hung them up between trees and lined the walk way with them. Wow!  This option wa only $5.00 per person.  I couldnt be happier!

I will answer any questions you have. You can email me at [email protected] and I will be happy to help

[meg444]

Congrats on your wedding! Sounds like you are super happy with how everything turned out - that's awesome!

Can't wait to see pictures!

 

Just wondering if you ladies are in the same predicament as me... I told Rocio I wanted the private reception at La Laguna, but I am seriously having second thoughts!  I am having about 40 guests, and at $55 per person, that really adds up!  I am wondering if I should go the free dinner route, and then do a cocktail reception instead?? Can you still have a DJ if you are doing a cocktail reception, because I have DJ Bob all booked and ready to go, and my crowd LOVES to dance.  Totally torn on what to do.... yikes!

 

Any help would be appreciated!

[dawnkyeknod]

we had originally decided on a dinner at La Laguna too and then changed our mind - no biggie. You just need to let her know so that she can reserve the a la carte that you want.

I think you can still have a DJ at certain places - just ask Rocio. We had a CD player and microphone at Las Rocas ( and there is also a big dance party there every week) so they have the electricity etc do it. We didnt pay any extra for our little sound system -not sure if you will need to pay more for your bigger set up. I am attacing one picture to kinda show you the ceremony set up - this should give you an idea of the colours, flowers etc

Good luck

 

PS - I am also waiting desperatly to see the pics- I had Claudia and she was soooo amazing! I cant even begin to tell you how wonderful she is. When we did the TTD she was sitting in the ocean up to her armpits!!  She showed me a couple pics on her camera (on the little screen) and they were so cool. I have to wait 4-6 weeks...

[dawnkyeknod]

one more thing... just a note - if you get a DJ, keep in mind that no matter where you go (if its not La laguna or Gran Azul) you will only have 2 hours. Thats why we decided to just make some mixed CD's and put them on at the cocktail reception and there was no worries. It was also a lot more cost effective

[meg444]

Thanks so much, that helps me out a lot!

Yeah, 2 hours isn't very long to pay $500 for a dj... definitely going to have to think on that one.

 

You looked gorgeous and I love your dress!

That ceremony set up looks great too!! 

 

[Ellabaja1983]

It's great to hear how wonderful they are!  I'm waiting for TA Wendy (my TA) to come back next week and hear what she has to say.  She is currently down there checking out some resorts and scheduled a meeting with GP to check it out because she had never worked with them or been there.  She's also getting us some pictures of specifics because it will help us and the photographer (we're bringing our own).

 

I'm so unsure of what I want to do for the dinner/cocktail hour.  I guess it's going to depend on how many guests there are and how big the whole group is....  I can't see paying for a DJ when we can bring our own music and have a great time...if that's what we decide to do!

 

I'm curious, what time of day was your wedding?

[dawnkyeknod]

the wedding was at 4, the dinner at 6 and cocktails from 9 -11  it was perfect timing

I also got my hair done at 11:30 - by the time I got in and explained what I wanted and had it all curled etc.. I was finished about 1:30, then went back to my room, had a quick snack, did makeup and then it was 3:00 and the photog was coming at 3:15. Great timing all day

[Ellabaja1983]

Oh, okay... so you did the cocktail hour after.  Is that normal?  I hadn't thought about that at all.  I'm really undecided, but I do think I'm getting a little closer to a decision.  The thoughest part is that our wedding will be at 1:00 or 1:30.