Catfoxinabox

@@zillakas I had the Tailor Made package back in October and I believe the food was more then enough. The cocktail appetizers were amazing (the few my bridal party were able to sneak to us)! I could see most of my guests finished off the appetizer, entree, and dessert that came with the meal, but almost nobody touched the actual wedding cake once it was cut and served as they were stuffed already. I really wouldn't worry about food options. Being at an all-inclusive resort, if the party ends and they are still hungry they can stop by a quick buffet line or order room service. I hung out with most of my guests long after the reception and none were going to get more food though only drinks! @@bamachicke Do not worry about your 4 year old nephew being able to come to the welcome bbq. On site they asked me again about kids and said they would be escorted over if I had any. I did not have any, but they are more then welcoming for the romance packages. Especially considering the gazebo is so private area, a single kid isn't an issue. Yes, the Miami office is a complete pain to deal with, and I changed many things from the LAFS visit. BUT, once I got on site, their coordinators did everything that I asked for originally with no problems! They do a very thorough job to make sure everything goes as planned and even asked questions for things we might have missed. Just get through the Miami office and life will be easier. I was so completely stressed out from the Miami office and I am not even a picky person or asked for a ton of details. I don't have any pictures of just the setup in a easily shareable space, but there some scattered throughout our highlight reel if you would like to filter through: My theme was everything white as far as decor, but have red roses and yellow calla lilies to go with aqua bridesmaid dresses.

I just got back from my wedding at Paradisus (Oct. 26th) and had an amazing experience! We chose the Gazebo and Gabi Club for wedding/reception. We did the Tailor Made package. We used their provided vendors Alquimia Events, JSAV, and Blue Lens for decor/audio/photography. Some tips along the way: 1) We took advantage of the LAFS package and visited back in March '14. At the time we thought it was amazing and we accomplished so much there. What we failed to do during this though was confirm everything in writing from the meeting. We thought we had the menu done, locations hammered away along with some miscellaneous things. Problem was that this manager eventually left the company and none of our decisions were documented and we basically had to start over. Lots of tribulations later, we eventually had to settle on menu choices and other items that were not what we wanted. So in the end, we treated this as just a cheap vacation where we only paid for airfare! 2) Communication between Miami office and the onsite office is extremely slow and frustrating to get answers back from. Be very patient and take everything that they say literally. Don't try to read between any lines and think what they said is what you wanted. Re-ask the question in a different manner if it doesn't quite sound right. 3) Once in contact with the onsite office, information does seem quicker. Aurora was my onsite person and she was fantastic as a couple of others have mentioned. You will meet with her when you arrive at the resort and hammer out all other questions that there might be and decide on all of the timelines. Extremely helpful! She even cleared up our confusion from the LAFS meeting before about our menu options and changed out menu on the spot to exactly what we had previously wanted! Aurora and all other romance coordinators on site are always walking around and will ask everytime if there is anything they can help with. Don't hesitate to ask as they accommodated every one of our requests! 4) We did go with the Bridal Suite option to prepare us for the day. Makes hair/make-up very easy for the spa personnel to work with and allowed for a large space for family or friends to walk in and out of. I knew the suite would have fruits, coffee, and mimosas provided, but what I did not know was that a ton of club sandwiches would be delivered later (My bridesmaids and I all ordered room service prior to this since we didn't' know). 5) Alquimia Events - very poor communication back and forth. I was 2-3 weeks late in giving my proposal to the romance office. I started an email chain in May and it took through September to get it all squared away. In the end, everything turned out ok, but patience was extremely key in dealing with it. Probably my biggest point of stress throughout the entire planning and I am not a picky person by any means! I thought I had everything discussed with what I wanted, but I was still missing pieces the day of. So if you want specifics for your wedding, make it very clear and go over it yet again during the on-site planning meeting once at the resort. The outcome was very pretty and more then we hoped for so I really can't complain. 6) JSAV - we only had a very basic setup with a projector and audio equipment. Absolutely no problems! We used the projector to just play a slideshow of pictures throughout the entire cocktail/reception and everyone loved it! The slideshow randomized pictures of the bride/groom together and each growing up, along with group pictures of family and friends that would were attending. So many callouts happened when somebody saw a picture with them in it. For the music, we created a playlist and just hit random for the reception. We hate dancing, so we weren't trying to encourage it. By the end of the night though, guests of course were dancing and the engineer for JSAV started acting like a DJ and taking requests even though we didn't ask for it or pay for it! Exceptional service! 7) Blue Lens - They were on-time for all of the events. Even 15-20 minutes earlier then we agreed on! We had 2 photographers and a videographer. We received a 10-minute slideshow and ~700 pictures 36 hours after the event before we left the resort! It will be another 3 weeks or so before we get the video, but so far we are very pleased! It did feel very pricey, but they worked with us and made it all fun for our special day! 8) Random info - Make dinner reservations! The food is very good at all of the restaurants. My guests did not enjoy the family-style dinner at Mole, but anybody who ate off the regular menu thought it was their favorite place! We specifically requested room 1008 (Master Suite - Swim-up) after visiting. This room is right next to the gazebo and Bridal Suite and in the closest area to the restaurants and rest of the resort. Best decision, as we constantly had friends stopping over for board games and swimming. You can order drinks straight to the room or through the pool. About all I can think of right now. I would do it again in a heartbeat as having a vacation with all of my friends was a ton of fun and I only wish it didn't go by so fast! If anybody has any questions, feel free to ask!

I am currently planning for Oct. 26th, 2014 (eek, so close!) and have run into the many of the same issues with Alquimia Events. I had a deadline of Aug. 26th to get their proposal to Bianca in the Miami office. Now, I met with Perla in March when I visited the resort and began an email chain from there to discuss options. It was on average a 3-4 week turnaround per email for a response from Perla at Alquimia. Needless to say, I was 2 weeks late in getting a proposal to Bianca, because I wasn't a priority until 2 weeks before it was due. All of the portfolios and pictures that I saw when visiting were gorgeous, so I am not afraid of it being anything less for my wedding, but I do feel like I am getting robbed for the cost of the flowers. I am re-using my bridesmaid's bouquets as centerpieces and still $1000+ on flower (even with Tailor Made package). The process was very frustrating as apparently I chose very expensive flowers (red roses and yellow calla lilies) even though I had discussed them in person when I visited and was told they would not be too expensive. Unfortunately, you are basically stuck with Alquimia Events at this resort for any decor. All other teams have been very informative and quick to respond. I has JSAV proposal done by June, photographer in July(only slow because I was debating bringing my own), and bridal suite within 2 weeks of asking.

I am booked for my wedding Oct. 26th, 2014. I booked a room block through a travel agent (found on this site) back in February. At the time they were able to offer 75% the charging rate of what the hotel could offer in their room blocks. This 75% of the rate also includes all of the goodies that the hotel was offering back in February as incentives to book. In reading the contract, I saw that I could release as many rooms as I wanted up until July 14th. After that, there would be some kind of fee. So, I sent reminders to my guests over the months and this week sent them a note saying they either book through the travel agent by July 14th, or they will be responsible for their own booking. Some guests did book through expedia or some other site that they found a better deal. The travel agent did say they could usually match the better price if presented to them. If you can't release rooms from the contract free of charge to a certain date, I would be extremely leary of that room block. Right off the bat of sending out information about my room block I had guests booking through other sources even though they were counted towards the block. Yes, I too get 1 free room for every 10 booked through travel agent, up to 3 and room upgrades for myself so I encouraged everyone to go through them (also makes it easier making the list to send to resort of who is going and dates and all too). Hope that helps!

I do not have the spreadsheet handy any more of comparing the packages, but the Welcome BBQ in the Tailor Made package is a big cost difference in the 2. I also wanted to throw in the extra spa massages and discounts for my wedding party which added up as well. Guests (Adults) have access to both La Perla and La Esmeralda at all times. If kids (under 18) are involved then they can only be on the La Esmeralda side. Both resorts share all of the same food options which are all in between the 2 resorts. The reception areas do not limit your guests to a certain hotel. Supposedly in the past, kids were not allowed at all on the La Perla side even for the ceremony or reception. When I visited in March, she mentioned a couple of kids(limited) are now allowed to those things, but will be escorted to and from each event. I didn't ask how many as my group is not travelling with kids.

@@asabatino Hello, I am in the process of planning my wedding for October 2014 at the Paradisus! I couldn't view much at Alquimia Events either, but had the advantage of being able to do a site visit and talk with Perla in person. She is great and very reasonable. She had a ton of pictures when I visited and now we are in the process of sending pictures back and forth of what I have in mind and how much it would cost! Fair warning, it is really high wedding season for them so her response is not very quick right now. @@aferr15 The $120/per quest does cover everything additional required. It does not however cover any additional decorations, i.e. flowers, drapes, lights and so forth. It does cover food, alcohol, tables and chairs! We ended up going with the Tailor Made package once we compared cost of everything side by side. Thanks, Cat