T&A_alltheway

Thanks for the head's up Tylersgirl!

We are expecting a group of 100 or more guests, has anyone been able to negotiate free or reduced price receptions or at least a cocktail/appetizer hour for having a large group? Thanks for the input! ~Tony and April

Has anyone had luck negotiating a free or reduced price reception for bringing a large group? How about a free cocktail/appetizer hour? We plan on having a very large group (around 100 guests) and can't imagine paying the extra per person charge for the reception ($4,000-$5,000 extra cost to us) but we would still like to have something for our guests considering they traveled all that way to be with us. It makes sense to us that we should receive some sort of perk for bringing so many guests. We've even considered the Riu Riviera Maya Palace simply because they offer a package that includes all of the wedding guests for the same price as Barcelo's packages that only include 10 people. We are having a low key at home reception, kind of a back yard barbecue type of event, so it would be nice to have some dinner and dancing and other traditional reception happenings while in Mexico. We considered just having the ceremony and sending everyone off on their own to eat and then meeting later at a bar but that just doesn't seem right (April would LOVE to wear her dress for more than 20 minutes during the ceremony ;-) Thanks for your input! ~Tony and April

Has anyone had luck negotiating a free or reduced price reception for bringing a large group? How about a free cocktail/appetizer hour? We plan on having a very large group (around 100 guests) and can't imagine paying the extra per person charge for the reception ($4,000-$5,000 extra cost to us) but we would still like to have something for our guests considering they traveled all that way to be with us. It makes sense to us that we should receive some sort of perk for bringing so many guests. We've even considered the Riu Riviera Maya Palace simply because they offer a package that includes all of the wedding guests for the same price as Barcelo's packages that only include 10 people. We are having a low key at home reception, kind of a back yard barbecue type of event, so it would be nice to have some dinner and dancing and other traditional reception happenings while in Mexico. We considered just having the ceremony and sending everyone off on their own to eat and then meeting later at a bar but that just doesn't seem right (April would LOVE to wear her dress for more than 20 minutes during the ceremony ;-) Thanks for your input! ~Tony and April

harv0136, how did you go about booking your Jan. 25th wedding date for 2010? We would like to book our wedding for Jan. 21st 2010 at the Palace but have been told by our TA that we can't even get prices for 2010 yet, let alone set a date. Are you using a travel agent? Did you book directly with Barcelo? Thanks for your help!

Hi, my name is Tony. My fiancee April and I live in Wisconsin and are trying to plan our January 2010 destination wedding in the Riviera Maya. I have been put in charge of finding a resort that fits our needs as I very much enjoy the "hunt" involved with finding reviews etc. We are looking for an All-inclusive that is child friendly with a good beach/pool, good service and has plenty of activities available to keep our guests happy. Like many here, we chose a destination wedding to avoid the hassles that generally come along with traditional weddings. Our goal is to have a "summer camp" feel for our guests (50-100 friends/family) so we would like to stay away from the huge resorts. Some of the places we are seriously considering include Barcelo Maya Palace, Playacar Palace, Iberostar Paraiso Maya and Riu Palace Riviera Maya. Any suggestions or inside info on these or other resorts would be greatly appreciated!