2011 & 2012 PLAYACAR PALACE BRIDES!!!!!!

[sharkyak]

Wilma is awesome! For hair I didnt use the resort. I didnt want to move offsite on that day. Didnt want to get sweaty. Also, the airconditioner in the rooms can go even lower if you have maintnance come in and adjust it. For hair I brought in Doranna. She was on time, quick, very friendly and you dont have to purchase a day pass for her since she's only coming up to the room, doing hair and leaving within a couple hours.

[chelsandjack]

Hi Everyone!

 

My fiance & I will be getting married at the Playacar Palace in April & we're so excited that we found this forum because at this point, there are still a lot of unknowns as we haven't yet had a chance to have an actual conversation with our wedding person at the resort.

 

I know that the answers to our questions are probably in one of the 39 pages here, but going through them all is a little bit daunting - we hoped you all may be able to help!

 

First, we had booked the the Diamond collection, but now that they've revised their collections, we actually think the complimentary package looks the cleanest & is pretty classy, but we would then have to purchase all the "extras" that we want, including the photography, as "extras".  It was our impression that you could not hire an outside photographer..is this really the case?  If so, is the photographer provided by the resort good?   We'd hate to spend $1500 on one of the resort wedding packages only to have them turn out a little, you know,  blah.  Any advice?

 

we've qualified for the unlimited private functions - can you suggest the best places to have those?  We were thinking of a "welcome" cocktail at the cielo bar or south solarium the first night all of our guests arrive, another the night before the wedding (location unknown) and then a Private dinner on the north solarium after the ceremony.

 

Fireworks - one of us LOVES fireworks, but we don't know if the fireworks provided are worth the extra money - does anyone have any experience with the fireworks?

 

I'm sure we'll have a ton more questions -  we appreciate all of your advice!!!!

[sharkyak]

We purchased the Diamond collection and used the resort credits. We only used the resort photographer because it was included in that package. I used Blue Lense Caribe from outside of the resort. I just had to pay the day pass for them. I would NOT reccomend the hotel photographer. I was glad I brought somebody from outside. If you go with the hotel photographer chances are you wont be happy. They came nothing close to the photographer's we brought in.

 

Welcome cocktails at the Ceilo Bar will be great. We got unlimited private functions as well. We had a rehearsal dinner at the South Solarium, Wedding Reception at the North Solarium, and a Farewell Brunch in the ballroom.

 

 

DO NOT think you cant do something. Dont listen to a word the Miami office says. It will be completly opposite when you get to the resort. Our coordinator was Wilma. She was fantastic. She also responds to emails very quickly. She is so sweet! Anything in question I would send her an email and ask. [email protected]

 

 

Fireworks, we did what the Diamond Package included which is really more like sparklers. We saw a wedding happen and they had the fireworks. It was daylight, couldnt see them really good. Maybe something to end the night? I dont know if that's an option, but I probably wouldnt reccomend it.

 

Any other questions just ask away! ou can also contact me at [email protected].  We married 11-12-11 at Playacar.

[Lola2012]

Hello All !

 

Just wondering if anyone can tell me how windy the Playacar Palace is? I am trying to consider various hair styles and wind might be a something I should factor in...not to mention that a few of our guests are sensitive to the heat and we are getting married in May.

Any thoughts from those that have either been married there or have been to the resort???

 

By the way Chesandjack, I would NOT recommend using the resort photographers.  I am going with La Luna (Jonathan) .  They are the sister company of Del Sol and they do amazing pics but are cheaper than Del Sol.

I am doing the Diamond Package and I am also bringing turquoise to add to the white which should look great!

I also thought about doing the complimentary package but I think I would have to do so many add ons that I think I might just stick to it.

I am so glad I locked that price in before the new "pure" collection came in...it's way overpriced!  Plus the diamond collection includes a soloist. 

Can anyone comment on how good the solist was?  I want to have a sax soloist.

Cheers!

 

[chelsandjack]

Thanks for the response - we were afraid we'd hear that about the onsite photography    Do you remember roughly what the cost of either Del Sol or La Luna was?

 

Obviously, the photos are pretty important to us, but in looking at some of the suggested photographers in the area, it seems crazy expensive.

 

Does anyone have any examples of the quality of photos (or lackthereof) of the onsite photographers?

[Ziki]

Hi ... I'm also getting married at PP in April. We're doing the welcome reception on the wedding terrace and on the day of the wedding we are getting married at the wedding terrace with a cocktail hour in the Cielo bar and then a private dinner in the North Solarium. We also switched from a 2011 package to the 2012 complimentary package. I am using Luckie Photography for and Fernando Fuentes for hair and makeup (I just booked him today and am so excited). Del Sol had great photos but their peicing is outrageous. I am from NYC and a top notch photog there doesn't even cost that much so while I am sure their work is woth every penny I just couldn't justify the expense and by all accounts Ivan Luckie is amazing too. You can absolutely have outside vendors for photos, hair and makeup ...it is a 93 usd day pass per person. Keep in mind though that day passes cannot exceed 20 percent of your total party ... i.e. if you have 20 in your party no more than 4 can have day passes ... but they often make exceptions for vendors. I have juat made sure to get everything in writing prior to making my deposits. Hope this helps and congrats to another PP April bride

[Ziki]

Ps ... I was originally using the resort for hair and makeup until I found out they won't come to your room and it is off site ... so then I found Fernando with the makeup pros and switched to him!

[Lola2012]

Hi ... I'm also getting married at PP in April. We're doing the welcome reception on the wedding terrace and on the day of the wedding we are getting married at the wedding terrace with a cocktail hour in the Cielo bar and then a private dinner in the North Solarium. We also switched from a 2011 package to the 2012 complimentary package. I am using Luckie Photography for and Fernando Fuentes for hair and makeup (I just booked him today and am so excited). Del Sol had great photos but their peicing is outrageous. I am from NYC and a top notch photog there doesn't even cost that much so while I am sure their work is woth every penny I just couldn't justify the expense and by all accounts Ivan Luckie is amazing too. You can absolutely have outside vendors for photos, hair and makeup ...it is a 93 usd day pass per person. Keep in mind though that day passes cannot exceed 20 percent of your total party ... i.e. if you have 20 in your party no more than 4 can have day passes ... but they often make exceptions for vendors. I have juat made sure to get everything in writing prior to making my deposits. Hope this helps and congrats to another PP April bride

Hi Ziki, I totally agree about del sol...way too much! I love them but I found that la Luna was almost as good and cheaper but definitely not cheap! As far as Fernando , I emailed him but haven't heard back. Im not sure I have a good contact number for him... Can you provide me with his email? I would really appreciate it! On a side note, just wondering what you ladies are doing for your guests as a thank you if anything. I am not doing Oot bags because it would just be too heavy to transport but we are going to do a catamaran cruise one day before the wedding. It seems like a really great company. They are called Paradise Catamarans, and are really well rated on tripadvisor. Just curious what everyone else is planning!

[chelsandjack]

Seriously...sooo glad we found this forum!!   Ziki - when in April are you getting married?  We're on the 28th!!! 

 

As far as "thank you's"  -  We think we're doing monogrammed beach towels with our names & wedding date along with a thank you note for each of our guests

 

 

[perry1217]

Hey girls!!  I am recovering from our trip back from Mexico on Thursday and then our AHR last night!!!  Everything was absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!  Wilma was the best - so sweet!  And she is also very creative!  I was pretty laid back in that I didn't go down there with specific ways I wanted things to look and thank God because it was all way better than I could have ever dreamed!!! 

 

I did use the resort for hair and makeup and I loved it.  Nayarit did my hair and makeup and I would totally recommend it.  No matter what Miami says you CAN use your resort credits to pay for it and that's just what we did.  I would just recommend a picture because the English isn't always the best.

 

We had our cocktail hour at the Cielo Terrace which was perfect because it was outside and already had very cushy chairs and lounge areas.  It was awesome!  We brought an iPod dock for the trip and it was great to have for the cocktail.

 

We did not qualify for private functions so had the dinner in the Italian restaurant which was perfect.  With doing an AHR, I didn't want anything big.  We REALLY lucked out that the Brazilian dance and fire show was that night so right after dinner we went out to the pool area to see the show.  It was like an afterparty!!!

 

The one thing I would DEFINITELY recommend is to get the sound system.  Since we booked before April of last year when they started charging for the sound system set up on the beach, we were able to get it for free.  Without it, people would definitely not have been able to hear a thing, especially with the wind coming off the ocean. 

 

Any questions, just ask!!

 

OH!!!!!  And we did a First Look session --- totally recommend this!!!  When you walk out of the resort (which is literally a minute walk from the town!), make a left and walk along the road where it says Playacar Palace on the outside of the building.  After a minute of two, on your right you will see a beautiful park area with palm trees and little ruins.  We did the first look session there and it was absolutely perfect!

 

Also, I did ask for a courtesy room to get dressed in, which Wilma got for me with no problem - for two hours!!!  She is the absolute best!

 

Site of our first look

 

 

Sneak Peek Pro Pic!