2015 Barcelo Maya Beach Palace

[MacyLyn]

Hi! I am getting married on June 8th at barcelo Maya beach palace! & we chose the mint breeze package because we will have around 50 guests!

Photographer is booked as well! Amy tips on basically EVERYTHING would be much appreciated

A few things I can think of now would be, getting your wedding dress on the plane safely, where is the best place to rent groomsmen outfits without a hellacious fee for having it for more then a weekend, did any of you do gift bags for your guests and what did you put in them (or planning to)

[cometgirl]

Congrats! I too am getting married at the Barcelo but we will be staying at the Beach resort and are doing the Mint Breeze package! 

 

Depending who you fly with, they may have a compartment for your dress.  As for the groomsmen outfits, we havent figured that out yet.  We will be doing OOT bags, but are still putting ideas together on that.  Things like advil, pepto, gum, hand sanitizer etc. will be in there. Along with either a tumbler or coozie and some other goodies. Nothing too extravagant.

 

Which coordinator are you working with? 

[RickJ]

Hi MacyLyn,

 

I'm a Travel Agent who loves the Barcelo Maya property and have sent many couples there to get married.  I promise you this is not a sales pitch.  

 

This resort is in a gorgeous setting and they do a great job with just about everything.  The biggest piece of advice that I can give you (this pertains to any destination wedding, not just the Barcelo) is to be 'PATIENT'.  As with any wedding, the closer you get to the wedding date the more stressed you may become.  The fact that this ceremony will not be in your back yard may add more to your stress level since you can't simply drive to the facility and speak with the wedding coordinator.  Please remember that the wedding coordinators are planning scores of weddings and are devoting more time to weddings that are happening on any particular day.  These resorts have wedding ceremonies practically everyday, sometime multiple weddings per day, every day of the week except Sunday (if it's a Civil Wedding).  Your wedding is not the only wedding they have to coordinate!  When you call, they simply can't drop what they are doing and immediately call you back (you would not appreciate that on your wedding day if they did that too you).  Unfortunately, this waiting time for them to call you back can be stressful to you, especially if they don't call back the same day.  Relax, be patient!!!   You should also always use email to have a paper trail even if it's a follow-up to a phone call. They are professional, very good at what they do and they will eventually get back to you.  What may seem like a major problem to you is probably a very easy fix for them to take care of, they've seen it all.   Remember, they have to deal with great brides (like you) and some bridezillas that require more attention than others.  In the end, if you're patient, you will be very, very happy with the final outcome and the overall experience at this resort.  

 

They even provide excellent customer service after the event.  I had a bride accidentally leave a beautiful shell floral arrangement there. Her Mother made it for her and she brought it with her from the States. There is no way it would have gone through customs without the receipts that it was bought and made in the States, so shipping it back was not an option.  I asked the wedding coordinator to hold it for me and I picked it up when I personally went there about 6 months later and I brought it back.  They actually secured it in a safe place and bubble wrapped it if so it would not break until I got there.  Hopefully nothing like that will happen to you, but it's stuff like that, that show they go above and beyond.  

 

Tips for the resort.  You've made a great choice.  If possible, remember to reserve your dinner reservations for your entire stay the first day you get there (they fill up fast). Those staying at the Palace section should be able to use the restaurants at the other four sections too, so you'll have lots of choices.  Don't forget that they have an adult-only pool set back behind the walkway to the two buildings in the middle of the resort (Palace section).  It is quite lovely and serene.  You can rent a Cabana bed on the side of that pool for the entire day.  They have pretty good free snorkeling right on site in front of the Beach/Caribe and Tropical/Colonial sections of the complex so you may not have to pay for a snorkeling excursion elsewhere if you or your guests want to snorkel.  They have a 'shuttle bus' that goes between the lobbies of each section of the complex if you don't want to walk from one section to the other for dinner, shows or the disco (some ladies may be wearing heels).  

 

I hope this helps a little!

[MacyLyn]

@@cometgirl Estrella is our wedding coordinator, she's been great so far:) who is yours?

I asked about having them set the lot bags in our guests rooms and there is is charge for that so we decided to just give them to everyone ourselves!

@@RickJ thanks so much! That was so helpful!!!!!

[Moments That Matter]

Welcome to our forum community, MacyLyn, and Congrats on your upcoming Barcelo Maya Palace wedding!!! 

 

Yes, you've chosen a Wonderful Wedding Venue, and will have amazing backdrops for your Wedding Day Love Story told in photos!!! You can see what I am talking about in these magical wedding "moments that matter" Linc captured there.....with more at the album link here: Barcelo Maya Palace Wedding 

 

 

 

 

Well done on having so many plans in place already, and all the best with the rest - Cheers!!! team MTM

[cometgirl]

@@MacyLyn We have Lilian as ours. We actually just did a vacation there in Sept and got to see the resort and meet our coordinator.  It is a beautiful property and we are so excited to go back. There is soo much to do on the properties and all renovations will be done so  all 5 properties are open. 

 

We too talked about doing the delivery of OOT bags but it was about $4 per bag, so we are going to do a welcome party (aka meet at the lobby bar at x pm) and just hand them out there.  

 

We will also be emailing out 2 weeks prior and then putting in their welcome bags, a week snapshot that will show what events are happening when. 

 

We are just using our ipod for the ceremony and reception to keep the costs down, and then head to the disco for an after party! We are getting married at Playa Azul, which is the most private and in my opinion the prettiest. We are staying at the Beach resort so it is easy for us to get to. People from the palace will most likely want to take the trolly or they can do the 15 min walk down the beach. 

[Stephanie2015]

Just got back from my wedding there on Jan 7th!! As far as your wedding dress I would recommend folding it carefully into a suitcase and taking it out once you arrive to the resort as the humidity there will take out any wrinkles. I ended up going to my local JC Penny's store and buying the guys attire there when they went on sale, therefore it didn't matter about renting when you can own for pretty much if not cheaper than an actual suit or say Men's warehouse. As far as gift bags I did a beach bag filled with a beach ball, cheap sun glasses both from oriental trading. Beach bag from amazon. I also did room key holders that had a stretchy arm band which was also waterproof. And finally I gave everyone a bubba mug. Everyone used these and the bags went over better than imagined. Any other questions let me know if I can help. Happy planning!