Curls2013

We definitely didn't pay for plates.

Thanks....... 1) I didn't have the room numbers on the bags. I had the guest names on each bag a list of who was coming and when. 2) We made as many dinner reservations as possible. I got some for people just getting there that day knowing they wouldn't get good ones the same day. There is no penalty for not using them. I made big reservation if they were available then told people they were more than welcome to join us if they wanted to. 3) I attached my welcome letter for your reference. I put times for everything I knew and TBD for the things I didn't know until I got there. Hope that helps! Welcome Letter.doc

Trivera, Thanks! We had the typical dinner options she gives everyone. We chose the capresse salad, tenderloin, and creme brulee. We had a bunch of people scared of fish in my group or I probably would of chose fish, but I figured if you don't eat beef you wouldn't mind the vegetarian option. The food was actually ALOT better then the resort. Ben and I have a picture with the Chef because he came out to see if everything was okay. We ordered the Creme Brulee for dessert, but because I had the monkey for a specific time I told them not to worry about it. Once the monkey arrived everyone got up and the party got started. I figured with the cake it would be fine. Nobody complained. As for the extra hours, yes we did 3. The wedding was at 4PM and I told her I didn't want the reception to start until 6PM. (They had welcome cocktails that matched the girls dresses I didn't even ask for when guests arrived.) It seemed like we just finished eating close to 8 and it would of been over at 9PM........so we kept it going until 12AM. The options for after are the disco opens at 11PM, but for me there was a different bride at the disco every night and I didn't want to be in my dress there. I've also heard of people taking a party bus into a club in a cave in town, but that was a bit risky for my party. We partied until 12 at Bar Hughey then I changed and we went to the casino for awhile. They had a bottle of champagne, tons of flowers, and some other stuff in our room when we got back. They even filled the hot tub and put rose petals in it. Unfortunately we were so exhausted we just went to bed though! Hope this helps.....

lalala, We has a symbolic wedding 1.11.13 and I brought my own vows. I highly suggest going with the cookie cutter vows they have because the minister knows them in English. My WC had to translate them to Spanish for him, he read them in Spanish, then my WC read them in English.......it took forever and I don't recommend it. If you are having the symbolic they will walk you through everything when you get there.

I spoke with someone today that said even brushing your teeth in the water can make you sick and be sure when you shower you don't swallow much. Hopefully that will help!

Just an FYI ladies........not to freak you out, but I've had 2 people from my trip have to go to the doctor for antibiotics that can't get over the stomach deal. We had over 30 people sick for at least a day. I wish we knew what caused it, but we can't seem to pinpoint it. Just be aware of what you are eating and make sure everyone knows not to drink the water!

Thanks for the compliment on the pictures! I'm not sure what extra drapery you are talking about. I had a head table for 20 and they decorated it beautifully. I didn't tell them to do anything extra.

I wouldn't pay for the extra hour up front......they quoted me $1050 originally and when I added the extra 3 hours the night of it was only $650 an hour.

The mugs were my husband's online job and he forgot where he got them........I'm sorry. I know he got them online. Try discountmugs.com maybe?

You can do all the deciding when you get there! Don't worry about it.

Alright ladies...........here goes! First and foremost I am extremely type A and I plan weddings for a living so keep that in mind as you read this. We had a total of 63 people from 8 states come down to Barcelo. I'll give you as many details as I can and feel free to message me with any additional questions.We got in on Saturday a few things to note..... Customs to get in the country as super easy, but be sure all your guests have $10 cash. That's all they care about! My biggest advice is to be SUPER organized and SUPER nice! They deal with bridezillas everyday and they don't speak our language so simply being kind goes a LONG way! I had a list of every guest arriving by room and date they were coming in as well as put labeled names on the welcome bags and when I brought everything down they said "No Problem!" I tried to tip them and they wouldn't even take it. The welcome bags were in everyone's room when they arrived. I HIGHLY recommend getting Club Premium if you don't have it. You basically have a personal concierge at your fingertips the entire trip. They will make calls for you, give you change, and basically help you with anything you need. The regular front desk doesn't speak as good of english and can be extremely difficult to communicate with. Club Premium = VIP I met with Club Premium on Sunday morning to discuss details. I was extremely patient and planned all our dinners for the week. My husband's birthday was Tuesday so I had my wedding coordinator reserve 2 hibachi tables for me. Highly recommended we had a great time! I also suggest you make your dinner plans for the entire week the first day you get there or you can't get one until super late. Again I think it was just being nice, but she told me to come back at 3PM to see if she could get us upgraded. (I tipped her $20 too.) She got us the Oceanfront Master Suite and it was fantastic! We spent the rest of the day moving and hanging poolside until dinner later. I planned all our excursions through an outside company called Group Palmera. The owner's name is Anders and he lives 5 minutes from Barcelo. We texted when I arrived and he met me in the Club Premium lobby on Sunday to finalize all the details. He is extremely organized and speaks fantastic English. We scheduled Bavaro Runners for Monday, a private catamaran for Wednesday, and deep sea fishing for the guys Thursday. He made me a sign-up sheet for my guests that I emailed to everyone before I arrived. We actually charged everyone $10 more than he was charging me for the private catamaran and it paid for our excursions. (Business lady in me.) We ended up cancelling the deep sea fishing and he was totally cool. He even arranged transportation for us to our honeymoon resort from Barcelo. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Tuesday I met with Marlene because Susana was out of town........honestly the meeting ended up with me telling her how they could run wedding more effectively. I'm emailing her my wedding information packet and told her all about this website. I told her the more information she can include in a packet the less busy work she will have to do answering the same questions. She was super sweet. We verified everything.......she showed me the beach location and Bar Hughey. I also paid for everything and spoke with the photographers. I negotiated 170 pictures instead off 150 and decided against the additional photo shoot. They also agreed to do a picture I really wanted of everyone in the group in a heart shape with us in the middle from an aerial view. (Check it out on FB.) I can't say enough good things about Marlena with Tropical Pictures. She is the biggest sweetheart and was so excited to do it. I paid for all the girls in my wedding to get their nails, hair, and make-up done the day of the wedding. We basically took over the spa because I had 8 bridesmaids. The Bridal Room is small, but they pulled a couch in for us and everyone used to it get ready. The only part that sucked was they wouldn't deliver room service and you couldn't have alcohol. They give you a book of coupons when you get in and I definitely used them for like $150 off. It was perfect. Be sure you keep receipts for everything and double check all their numbers. Ex. They tried to charge me for all my stuff and its included in the Tangerine Package. I just had a folder and notebook where I kept everything in my beach bag. I'm really proud of myself, but as a surprise I got a spider monkey for the reception. They charge you like $15/picture at the pool and I got them to bring one to my reception for an hour for $350. It was AWESOME! Everyone used it as a party favor and they let me keep all the pictures. We have a monkey in our cake cutting pictures........fantastic. Let's see.......what else. I didn't pay for any additional decorations. Unless you REALLY care nobody remembers what your centerpieces looked like anyway. I also didn't pay for any additional hours up front for the reception, but they quoted me $1050/hour before and we ended up extending it 3 hours for $650/hour. It was totally worth it and the DJ didn't charge us any additional. The day of the wedding I asked Susana to get pizzas delivered to the reception at 9PM. She didn't promise anything, but definitely came through. I guess my biggest suggestion is DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. If you are nice, organized, and easy going they will make sure you have the wedding of your dreams. If I think of anything else I'll post it, but it was unbelievable. The only thing that sucked was at least 30 people got sick at one point. We couldn't figure out was it was, but even I did. It was about 3-5 hours of puking and then you felt better. I know you don't want to hear it, but bring Pepto Bismo for sure. I emailed the Director of the hotel and he assured me they are up to standard. I would just stay away from anything you don't know. Any questions let me know.

Alright ladies.........I'm back and it was absolutely AMAZING. I will post all the details soon, but if you want to see my pictures you can FB me. (Niki (Vens) Palmer) Tropical Pictures did a wonderful job and I have a lot to share. Niki

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I leave Saturday! =)

Alright ladies that have been there..........I'm leaving in 14 days! What are your options for the actual ceremony? We are having a symbolic wedding, but how did the sand ceremony work? Did they provide the stuff? (I already bought stuff.) Also we've written our own vows......will they let us read them? I'm having the Caribbean Trio play at our ceremony. Does anyone else have experience with this? For the reception. do they provide cake cutting utensils? Champagne glasses for the toast? Thanks in advance for your replies! I love this blog. Curls2013