Jump to content

Newly Engaged With Lots Of Questions For Destination Weddings!

GingerBride

By GingerBride
in Newbies!!

 Share

Recommended Posts

GingerBride

GingerBride

Posted
Posted

Hello! So a few months ago my fiance and I got engaged. We had always talked about a destination wedding. Originally my sights were set on Jamaica but his was set on Mexico. in the end after research we decided on Mexico - Barcelo Maya Palace Deluxe! I can't begin to say how happy and excited we are. The resort looks amazing. I was recently at a bridal show and all the travel agents that I spoke with there were saying nothing but great things about this resort. I would love to hear from anyone who has been there :) Our wedding will be relatively small. Maybe 30 guests in total. So we are thinking about the Mint Breeze package...anyone else chose this one? I am curious about how to choose our photographer. I know this resort charges us $500 extra to have an outside photographer. I'm really not certain on prices or what to even look for so any advice would be awesome. Next is welcome bags. Who is doing a welcome bag and what are you including in yours? Congrats to all the newly engaged! It's a fun time to be us :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
arogers315

arogers315

Posted
Posted

Congratulations on your engagement! I actually just have a couple of questions for you! I too recently got engaged about a month ago and I am a little lost on where to start. How did you find your resort to get married at? Was it online or did you meet with travel agents? I don't know where to start on this and am wondering if I should take the time to hire a wedding planner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
AllieH

AllieH

Posted
Posted

hi @@GingerBride & welcome to BDW. Here's some threads on the Barcelo for you - I'd bet you'll find the answers to your questions there. 

 

@@arogers315 - definitely recommend working with a TA (travel agent). If you're in the US, check out Wright Travel (link in my signature). They can help you narrow down your resort selection, get your guests booked and help you through the process. Most DW brides have found a wedding planner isn't necessary for resort-based weddings, but may be more useful if you're planning an event off-resort. 

 

Happy planning! 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
GingerBride

GingerBride

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Hi @@arogers315!  Congratulations to you too!!

 

I did some research first and fell in love with a resort in Jamaica.  But in the end we didn't choose it. 

 

We went to a travel agent who specializes in destination weddings.  No need to hire a wedding planner!  you will get one free from the resort :)

 

We told the travel agent what was important to us and she came back with multiple resorts and the quotes.  We were able to choose from there after we did our own research  It was great because she did all the running around for us, she is even in contact with the resort to set up the package etc and one all is booked the wedding planner will be in touch with us.  

 

We chose destination so we wouldn't have any stress and right now it's pretty stress free!

 

Good luck and I'd be happy to keep in touch so we can compare notes, idea and what not.

 

Christina


Thanks for the link @@AllieH :)

Edited by GingerBride
Link to comment
Share on other sites
cfinkenbine

cfinkenbine

Posted
Posted

@@GingerBride So my wedding is 5/15/15 at Barcelo in Riviera Maya. We are doing the strawberry passion package because it is a must for my ceremony and reception to be on the beach. Our ceremony is at 6pm. We have booked Ivan Luckie for photography, and the Best Moments for hair/make up. We are working on booking a DJ now. We sent our STD's in July, and are sending invites hopefully by next month.  Ill message you on here with my e-mail!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TinkerSofi

TinkerSofi

Posted
Posted

Our wedding has been in the making for a year and a half now. We first picked a hotel based on online research (here and trip advisor), we went down to Mexico to visit a few hotels that were in the shortlist for us and finally we chose one. Then, about 5 months ago, we got together with a TA to finally book our first choice only to find out that it wasn't actually the best one for us for a few reasons. We ended up picking something else and we're 100% happy with it. Moral of the story, and something I wish I had known before was, get a TA before you do anything else. They have been doing this for years and will tell you what you need to know and help you pick the right choice for you. I can give you the name of mine if you'd like. I see you're in Canada so our trips work a little bit different than then US. 

 

When it comes to photographers I think this was the hardest choice for us. We looked around in this site for pictures we liked and e-mailed photographers for quotes. First you need to decide what kind of photography do you like? You'll see around this site that many have different styles so chose one that speaks to you. I went by "pictures that make me feel emotions, even though I have never met the people in the picture". That's what told me what style I liked best. It was tough, because sometimes what I liked my fiance didn't and vice versa. We also needed someone in our price range which wasn't that much really. We finally found it and couldn't be happier :). I'd go through some of the threads on this site where people mention who they like, and the photographer reviews. In terms of prices, set up a budget, that will sort of limit your choices a bit. If you don't care about having too many hours of service you can have a smaller budget, or get a really expensive photographer ;). We had a max. budget of $2000 but there are photographers out there who charge less. 

 

We're still not sure if we're doing OOT bags. If we are, we will keep them quite simple. Maybe a tumbler for each person, some first aid items and gum or something like that. I also want to include one of those word puzzle books for people to relax by the beach :D. I know others are really doing amazing things for theirs but ours will be on the simple side for sure. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...