smartinez

Barbo, You have to do one of the packages that will let you eat outside EVEN if you want to eat at one of the grills. We did the ocean scents and we were happy with this choice. I also did not want to be in an inside room. We did not do anything when we got home so we were ok with spend more money on are guest down in Mexico. I did post some pictures somewhere on this link. Happy planning. Let me know if you have more questions

dearmaya and other brides, WELCOME DRINKS: We had welcome drinks the night before are wedding this is where we handed out welcome/gift bags that we did not have delivered. Our WC had us pay the bellboys $2 (bring EXTRA $1, we never seemed to have enough) to deliver them BUT they do not have a key so if they were not in the room the bag could not be delivered SO that is why we handed most out at the welcome drink. There are TWO bars in the front of the resort that work well for the welcome drink one is an open air place it has a few TVS with lots of chairs and little tables and the other one is closed in with AC (which was a bit cold at times) you do not need reservations at these two places and I am sure you could find out the names I am sure I have them at home since I still have the map. WELCOME DINNERS: We were going to have one BUT then we changed our mind because are guests wanted to take advantage of the tickets to check out the different restaurants. The other thing was that you cannot make a reservation for a large group the restaurants so your only choice is the buffet. The meeting for a drink worked best and it let are guest meet up but still do their own thing. DANCING: We had are dinner in one of the grills on the ocean it was 5 courses and by the time we ate had speeches and stuff there was not time for dancing. YOU can ask for a time extension which I am sure you have to pay for. WE just went to the CLUB and danced there (With lots of fog, they love the fog machine!

TrishB12 We were in the outside grill and we did an ipod and even a CD. The sound system was good quality. I thought that worked best because by the time we had are 5 course meal there really was not much time to dance or enjoy a DJ. I had also heard from a bride before my wedding in Oct that they did do the DJ and it was not really what they wanted.... he did not do much. We did have the mariachi band come through and our guest really like this and we got some great pictures!

TrishB12, YES you need to book the dinner on the beach in order to have your dinner in one of the outside grills. This is what we did and it was SO worth it. It was nice because we will still kind-of outside up not sitting on the sand! I am not sure about the pool thing it was not given to us as an option... I am not sure you would want this it pool stays busy for a while even after the sun goes down and many people in the pool have had a few drinks! We also did not purchased travel insurance. We thought about it BUT we decided we would go even if something came up. We did have a guest that was 7+ month pregnant and I know they got it...

Trish I think you can do the under the stars I know another couple did what you are wanting to do when we were there with no problem! Enjoy!!!

Carie Before getting to the resort for the wedding all that I had planned was our meal and the package and where the dinner would be held. I don't think I had anything else planned! When we got there and meet with WC for about 45 mins in this time we picked out the flowers, music, set-up of wedding chairs/table etc for the beach, bow colors, center pieces, back up location, if we need anything at the dinner like sound system, over projector and screen....finalized meal for adults and children (they were able to add extra courses) WE really left all of it for when we got their and I will have to say this was best for us we were not to concerned about all the extras we just wanted to get married and enjoy are time with our guest!!! I also think our WC appreciated our style because she was not dealing with a "crazy" bride. I even picked out my hair style from one of books in the salon on the day of the wedding. You have to remember that these WC do 100's of weddings and they are very organized when you get there. They had TON of books with pictures of everything. We had 50+ people with us and I can not think of ONE thing that went wrong that they could have changed! I WISH I COULD DO IT AGAIN IT WAS SO FUN!!!!! and all of are guest loved it!!!!!

HI harv0136 We found a women who worked for Travel By Nelson. They have a website. The TA's Name is Sharon. She was the second TA we worked with. We really liked her and we had almost all of are guest book with her so... which was super nice because she kept track of everything and we were able to get a list of all the flight times and dates of our guest. She also made sure that we were all in the same part of the resort. We did almost everything over the phone or email. We only went into her office for our first visit which helped us both put a face to the actual person(s) we were working with. Hope this helps!

We are from Mn and for most of our guests it was about $1100-$1300 per person for one week including: flight, transfer (the resort was about 45 min from the airport) and hotel/All inclusive. IT TOTALLY Depends what time of the year you go..... We went in October which is considered the off season because of the possibility of rain SO I am sure it was cheaper when we went. It was also nice because it was not full so we were able to get into the restaurants we wanted without a problem. Have you asked around about a travel agent? That is how we found ares BUT we did have to switch after the first one we found was not getting what we wanted! Don't be afraid to shop around!

We had that menu also sent to us. You can mix and match we had The Sea scallops salad with lime vinaigrette Cream of asparagus sauce Lemon sherbet with vodka Surf & Turf (Beef tenderloin with lobster tail) Crème brûlée Coffee, petit fours (this was the chocolate covered strawberries) I am in the food business so I knew what most of there were BUT some I had to look up. What items were you wondering about? EVERYTHING we had WAS GREAT and it was way more food then we thought! Let me know how I can help!

We were married on Oct 17 2008 and started getting dark around 615ish... Our wedding was at 5 and it was perfect! Enjoy your wedding we wish everyday that we could be back there!!!!!

We did and it was CLEAN and EASY. My Husband did have some bruising BUT he has had problems in the past with giving blood. Over all WAY easier then I thought!

We did the welcome drink thing. we were going to do a welcome dinner BUT the only place you can make a reservation for a large-ish group (we had 50+) is at the buffets. And you have to do it early. If you have a smaller group like 10-15 I think you could have a welcome dinner at one of the other places (with reservations). We got there on a Saturday and had our wedding on Friday. We did not really have to be there until Monday (for the 4days to count so it could be legal) BUT we thought since we did not have to take more days off work why not go early! In total we were there for 11 days!!! It was GREAT! Wish we could go back!

Carie, we were legally married there and it was easy for the most part. When we arrived we had a letter at the desk about the appointment with WC (Gabriella) and a appointment with the DR for the blood work/paper work. When we went to see the DR. we both had to pay and give blood. The Dr needed our passports (they made a copy of them) then Gabriella need both our passports and tourist card. She also needed this from the 4 people we were having as are whitenesses. The all needed to be done 4 days before the wedding. It was very EASY! We did not need our birth certificates... you only need this if you have been married before. But if you are both getting married for the first time you should only need what we needed the tourist card and your passport. They do NOT have to be translated. Everyone speaks English. My husband does speak Spanish BUT This is not a must and I who speaks a little Spanish was just fine. Keep asking questions!

Lets see if this works........ If it does I will add more later saraamartinez - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting[img ]http://s361.photobucket.com/albums/oo59/saraamartinez/[/img]

Hi, We were all about enjoying are trip, family and friends and getting married... chairs and center pieces we low on our list. I know they had more then three colors for the bows. We had an off white/cream. All the resorts have the same WC they all share a office right next to the gym and spa. I am sure you have all the same options. There is NO EXTRA fee for the chair covers and bows (for both on the beach and the dinner) I tried to upload picture BUT I keep getting this "Upload of file failed." WHAT they heck?? any pointers? I am going to keep working on it!

Carie, I was surprised to find that the WC had way more options in linens/colors then they stated in email. I am very low key (we were very relaxed about the whole thing) so we picked out everything when we got there. We meet with Gabriella the day after we got there (she let us a note at the desk when we checked in) At this meeting she planned the whole thing... like music, readings, vows, flowers, cake, Beach set up, center pieces, review the meal menu (this she did ask us to pick two weeks before), chares and chair bows. She then also took us on a tour of the place and showed us where the wedding would be ... where the back up places if rain was to come (it did not) where the dinner would be... For the meal. It was extra for each person over 20 BUT well worth it! Everyone thought the food was great! and there was a lot of it! KIDS are FREE and you can pick their food we had pasta and chicken fingers/fries) we did the FREE fruit center pieces and LOVED them. Very simple BUT very beach-y tropical. Really you are only in there for a few hours and they look so fresh and fun! I have pictures I promises I will try to get them on tonight when I am at home. ( I dont have the disk here at work)

OMG Ask all the questions you want.... I was just like you. I needed to ask someone that had been there and seen what I wanted to know!

Are you staying in the palace part? It might have different grill options..... Ask your WC.

There are only two grills on the beach and they are the exact same BUT I think only one is free and not used at night. The grill was great it was nice to be by the water BUT no on the sand. We did not get a DJ we brought a CD for dinner and then used an Ipod. By the time we ate the five course meal we were a bit full to dance! They have both the CD and Ipod you can use and it is not extra. They have a sound system in there and you can use the microphones for speeches also, everything was very easy to use and figure out (we had one of the best men do it quick when we got to the dinner). I did have my hair done in the salon and it was good.... They have LOTS of pictures and you can also bring your own. I had heard that the makeup there was something to skip so I just did my own. BUT the hair was good my sister also got her hair done and she loved it! The salon is very nice and most days not very busy. Man I wish I could go back! YOU are going to LOVE it!

We also worked with Gabriella. She was great once we got there. The resort is all connected as one BUT the palace is privet and you can only go their if you are a guest. We had some guest staying there so we checked out the place. The rooms were nicer and up to date. BUT the main part (colonial/tropical) are great. Everyone liked it! Have you seen the map of the resort? I think the WC emailed it to us. You could ask for it. Our wedding was on the beach by the palmeras grill. We then had our dinner in the grill. This grill is someplace you can have your dinner because at night because it closes around 630/7. We did the Ocean Scents package so we were supposed to eat on the beach BUT we did not want that.... because if it rained we would have been in a banquet room (which we did not want)!!! Our WC also emailed us pictures of this area. The FOOD was great and the presentation of the food was unbelievable! Everyone was very happy, even the kids loved there options. I will need to work on getting some pictures up. Please keep asking questions! I know when I was still planning I picked brains since they have been there and seen and experienced everything. How many people do you think will attend? We had about 56. LIke I said I will working on getting pictures up... I just need to figure it out! ?

I also live in MN and just got married there in October. Feel free to ask me any questions. Who is your WC? I think they have 3 working now. We had a great time and have lots of pictures!

I am having my wedding at Barceló Maya Colonial Beach resort. Does anyone have any helpful info on this location?

Hi all I am new to this site and I am excited to gain some information from all of you for my Barceló Maya Colonial Beach wedding on Oct 17th 2008! Let me know if you know anything about this resort! Sara