Nicolew412

Originally Posted by cheryllau 

 

 

Hi Nicole!

 

It's good to know that you still get all the rehearsal/cocktail/reception for free with only 61 room nights!! Is this something you asked for or did BP offer you? Because I read you need 75 room nights to get all of those? I think I'm at about 63 nights right now and it'd be great if I can get what you are getting too!!!

 

Thanks in advance!!

Cheryl

At 60 room nights you get a 2 hour reception free + the cocktail hour. I had one more person book today, so we got to 65 room nights total, 24 guests.

I think my planner told me since I wasn't using the "private dinner" that the Pearl Shimmer Package came with, that I could use that as my rehearsal dinner. So it's not an actual "private event" (which you get at 75 room nights) but it's just a private dinner at the restaurant. What's nice about getting to 75 room nights, is you can do a welcome dinner on the beach or another terrace the day your arrive, + a rehearsal dinner on another terrace and have your reception and cocktail hour.

I leave on July 9th for Cancun and my wedding in on July 12th! Only 1 month to go.

We got to 61 room nights, so we get a welcome/rehearsal dinner at Tequila Restaurant the night before the wedding, and a cocktail hour + 2 hour reception the day of the wedding for free. We only have 23 people (including my fiance and I). I am a bit disappointed that there aren't more people coming, but I guess that's our fault for choosing such an expensive hotel. I think it will end up being perfect.

Beach Palace is actually SOLD OUT completely for the week of our wedding. I know it's a smaller hotel, but I'm shocked they are completely sold out. That's a piece of advice I have for future brides- have your guests book early, because this hotel sells out fast!

As far as the rehearsal dinner goes- do they run through the actual ceremony with you? Or is it just a dinner? Just wondering if there's a walk through or anything the evening before.

I'm still working on getting all my music together, finalizing wedding favors + OOT bags, ordering guest book, and finalizing the wedding program. I still feel like I have a lot to do...I'm such a procrastinator!

Any last minute advice?!?

I can't wait! I'm getting so excited!! :-)

Originally Posted by KristieT 

 

Hi Nicole,

 

This is exactly the setup that I had, and it worked perfectly.

Oh great! I'm glad to hear that!

Has anyone had their cocktail hour and reception both on the South Bar Sky Terrace?

Originally I was supposed to have cocktail hour on North Bar Sky Terrace and the dinner reception on the South Bar Sky Terrace, but Margarita said she made a mistake and they don't do private events on the North Bar. So she's switched my cocktail hour to the ocean side of the South Bar Sky Terrace and my reception dinner to the lagoon side of the South Bar.

Anyone else have this set up? I hope people don't get sick of being up there for 3 + hours. I was hoping the cocktail hour would have a little different setting.

What do you guys think? I'm a bit worried now.

Hey guys,

So I rented the IPOD dock for our cocktail hour and reception so we're not doing a DJ. I was wondering what  you guys did regarding announcements, like first dance, cake cutting, throwing of bouquet, etc...?

Did you have a family member announce these things?

And setting up this music on my IPOD is stressing me out. Did you guys do one long playlist? Or separate playlists for cocktail hour, reception, etc...

I think I'm going to need someone a little more tech savvy to help me with this.

- Nicole

Originally Posted by KristieT 

 

Hi Ladies,

 

I am back! I had the most amazing week of my life! Like brides in the past have said, everything may not go as planned but it will all be perfect in the end! I don't have my professional photos back yet, but I will post some for you ladies once I get them. For now here are some pics from my Mom's camera. I know I loved seeing other brides setup's etc.

 

Ceremony -Sky Terrace:

 

I choose the "old" complimentary package. Added silver sashes from Zuinga. I brought programs and paper fans to be put on each chair. I also brought the silk rose petals. I believe they actually glued them down, as it was pretty windy and most seemed to stay put.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cocktail Hour- Beach Side South Terrace

 

I don't have any pics of the cocktail hour yet I had them set up tall tables and they served the appetizers, I cannot comment on the food as I missed this entire part taking pictures.

They did serve my signature drink to all the guests as they arrived. NOTE they call LIMES LEMONS. My signature drink was a vodka, lemonade with grenadine and they asked if i wanted a lemon or orange added, i said lemon, but it was really a lime. Apparently a they call limes lemons and lemons, oranges? I am still confused!

 

 

 

Reception- Lagoon Side South Terrace

 

When they suggested having dinner on the lagoon side, I was turned off, of course I though the ocean would be better, but once it gets dark the ocean is black and the lagoon side is full of lights really beautiful!

 

I rented almost all of the decor for the reception from Zuinga. I brought my own starfish place cards, m&m favors, candy for the piñata, cupcake wrappers, cupcake to go bags and monogram stickers for cupcake to go bags.

 

Zuinga didn't get everything right here. I wanted one long SKINNY table (one table wide) they put two tables wide instead. The linens were alot darker then I expected, I was shown a much lighter grey photo. Also the large square candles on the table were supposed to go around the pool, i assume they decided the table looked empty and decided to add them to the table. I ordered a piñata that was supposed to be yellow and it was pink. Also my seating arrangement was wrong although I believe it was Beach Palace who took care of this part. 

As i said earlier, this all didn't go as I planned but in the end, it didn't matter at all. I was the only one who knew what wasn't right. I received so many compliments from the guests.

 

The Pinata was a HIT! Zuinga charged me $100 for the pinata and the stick (stupid expensive but I wasn't going to lug one down on the plane!) I brought all my own candy to fill it, I think the adults had more fun then the kids trying to get the candy free. Worth every penny!

 

The Gobo (monogram light) only cost $80 I believe from JSAV and just pulled everything together! Really made the area personalized and helped keep wedding crashers out when they could clearly see it was a wedding.

 

We used JSAV for the IPOD setup and extra lightening. Do it! They ran our ipod for us and basically worked as a DJ, when everyone was dancing they were quick to change the song if the crown wasn't feeling it. The extra tree lights we rented were amazing. They had colored lights which created a really good mood for the dance floor.

 

For Dinner we choose the Italian Buffet, to be honest I didn't really like it but perhaps I was too busy enjoying my day. All my guests said they liked it..maybe they were just being polite?

 

We opted and paid for cupcakes instead of cake ($3 per cupcake) We are obsessed with Red Velvet cupcakes so naturally wanted them at the wedding, My wedding planner said they did not know what this was. I sent them an example reciepe and they said they could make it. This worried me but they really turned out great!

My wedding coordinator even packed up the left over cupcakes in my togo bags so my guests could just grab them as they left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please let me know if anyone has any questions. This thread was the most helpful to me so I will be happy to pay it forward.

Enjoy the planning ladies, it comes and goes quick!

 

-K

Congratulations!! Beautiful pictures. I'm so glad everything turned out well. Who did you go with for photography? I love the monogram light. I just asked Alex from JSAV if we can add this. $80.00 is nothing :-)

I'm so glad you had such an amazing time! Did you do any tours while you were there?

- nicole

Originally Posted by mandir30 

 

Hi ladies,

 

We just got back last week from having our wedding at the Beach Palace at the end of April. I have no idea if I am posting in the right spot, but I wanted to post a few pictures of my wedding ceremony and reception  to give upcoming brides an idea of what I used. I think you can just see them on my profile.

 

I did the ceremony on the Sky terrace, cocktail hour and reception were on the other sky bar area. We used the Pearl Shimmer package and added a few decorations through Gama? (whoever the resort suggested for decor). We used J&S for music and just did the ipod dock with speakers. We loved everything about it and wouldnt have changed anything! If you have any questions feel free to ask. I know I had a ton the whole time I was planning!

 

OMG, your pictures are GORGEOUS! Your photographer was amazing. Who did you use? We're sticking with the resort photographer- Ocean Photo Studio because they're the most affordable, but they're def not as good as your photographer.

How many guests did you have? It looks like quite a few! How great!

What favors did you do? OOT or wedding favors?

I'm also doing the Pearl Shimmer package. I love it even more after seeing your pictures. We aren't doing the reception table decor the package comes with though, because it was $300.00 per table, so we decided to do something similar through Zuniga, that's a bit less money. But the reception looked gorgeous!!

What time was your ceremony? Right now, my ceremony is set for 6:00 p.m. on July 12th. Sunset isn't until 7:30 p.m. so I thought this would give us enough time for pretty sunset pictures, but now I'm hearing the hotel completely blocks the sun, so the sunset pics aren't even possible. I'm thinking I should move my ceremony time up. What do you think?

Congratulations! I'd love to see more pics. Does your photographer have a website?

- Nicole

Originally Posted by nursebrooke 

 

I did not bring favors. I brought OOT bags and I did not even get them to all my guests. I kept carrying them around and missing people so I finally just stopped worrying about it! I have no idea if the front desk will do that. But it would be way easier.

 

I carried my dress on the plane and it went well. My dress is very small though I was able to put it in a small carry on with my two childrens bridesmaid dresses and some shoes.

Thank you for all the information! I checked out the pictures on M&J photography- beautiful! It looks as though you had an amazing trip. Thanks again for answering all my questions- so helpful. Congrats again!

- Nicole

Originally Posted by Nicolew412 

 

 

Oh how exciting! I'm so glad you had an amazing time! I can't wait to see your pictures.

 

Here's some questions I have...

 

1) I've heard the same thing about the sun being blocked by the hotel. My wedding isn't till July, and my ceremony is at 6:00 p.m. Sun doesn't go gown till 7:30 p.m. in July, so I'm hoping this gives us enough sunlight and time to get good pictures. What do you think? I didn't want to do an earlier ceremony time because of heat. Was your dress heavy? Were you burning hot? I'm scared I'm going to be sweating up a storm lol!

 

2) Did you do a colin cowie package theme? I'm doing Pearl Shimmer.

 

3) I'm glad to hear the food was good! I went to an all-inclusive resort (Dreams Resort) in Cancun about 5 years ago, and the food was not very good. I'm hoping since the Beach Palace is a 5 star hotel that the food will be better. And from your review it looks as though it is! Exciting!

 

4) Did you use Ocean Photo Studio for your photography? If so, which package did you choose?

 

5) I'm glad to hear the sky terrace didn't need much extra lighting. What other decor did you use through Zuniga?

 

6) I was debating a beach ceremony. Was it private enough, or were people walking by?

 

7) I'm glad the IPOD setup worked out well. We're doing an IPOD setup with an extra speaker for cocktail and reception. You didn't have a DJ right? I don't think it's worth it to hire the DJ. Did someone in your family do the announcements?

 

8) Did you have a 2 tier cake? Was the whole thing cheesecake? I'm doing a marble cake with the chantilly cover, but if it's 2 tier I'm wondering if they can do one tier with cheesecake. From what you said the cheesecake is awesome! It's making me want to choose that one! lol

 

9) Did you get a massage in the spa? I just reserved a holistic couple's massage for my fiance and I the morning after the wedding. I'm excited for that!

 

10) Did you go on the Cancun strip at all? I have good memories of partying at some of the clubs and bars on the strip. I just want to make sure Beach Palace is close to all of that?

 

Congratulations again on everything! Please post a link to pictures or your facebook so we can see pictures from your trip! So glad everything turned out perfect!

 

- Nicole

Two more things! haha

11) Did you bring wedding favors for your guests? If so, what kind of favors did you do? I want the hotel staff to put all the favors in my guests rooms as they arrive. Do you think that's a possibility?

12) Did you carry your dress on the plane? How'd that go?

Originally Posted by nursebrooke 

 

Hello girls! So I just got back on Monday!! I already want to go back. We had an amazing trip and wedding!!!

 

I had my wedding on the beach at 5:30. I wanted to have the beach because I felt as though I had gone to Cancun I better get married on the beach which I do not regret. My wedding was supposed to be at 6 but there was another party that was larger so the coordinator asked if we wanted to do it early. The ceremony was a little different. We had legal. We wanted to do our own vows but the judge did not want us to say those before we said the legal vows, so it felt off to us. We basically really early on in the ceremony said our I do's and then went back to our own vows. Then we did this fingerprinting part that was different and then the sand ceremony. I think since it is a Mexican legal ceremony it is just a little different. Things were far from perfect during this ceremony but we are a pretty easy going couple so we just went with it and everyone who knows us thought it was perfect for us. The music was off for some reason, I chose to just forget about it because it was done already!! LOL

 

I brought all my own centerpieces and my coordinator set them all up for me. I had to take them to her office and show her what I wanted it to look like but she was very helpful! My Zuniga rentals were great and Lily was super helpful she met me one day at the resort so I could pick colors for tablecloths (I was worried they would clash my colors and bridesmaids dresses). I did not rent extra lighting on the sky terrace and there was plenty. I did not end up tipping my coordinator. It was in my to do list but fell through the cracks,

 

Then we went for pictures while our guests went up to the sky terrace for cocktail hour. We did not get there for any of this by the time we came up everyone was ready to sit down and eat. I never heard if the food was good.

 

We were very rushed during pictures because the sun was getting ready to set and WARNING!!!!!! At beach palace you cannot get good sunset pictures on the beach. The hotel blocks the sun so it just goes down and there is really no good place to take pictures. So for this fact I would say do the ceremony a little earlier so you are not rushed during pictures with the sun going down just to get sunset pics.

 

Then we sat for dinner but even at dinner we were trying to finish pics so we let everyone start before us. We had 30 guests so things move very quickly with such a small group. We had also all been together for multiple days prior so everyone had already been together and gotten to know each other already. Dinner was good. We had yucatan menu. I would say go for another menu because you get a lot of Mexican during your stay already. During dinner everyone did speeches and we had a LOT of talkers which we were enjoying because it goes to show the love people have for us. There were tears all around the entire place!! It was really special. We then did cake cutting. Cake was so yummy, we had cheesecake! I wish I had enjoyed some more of it.

 

Then we had dancing. We only had first dance for us and then moved on to dancing for everyone. We did things less than traditional. The ipod dock setup was PERFECT! It had great sound and all the music we love since we had made the playlists. We just gave the guy running it directions on the dinner playlist, first dance and then dancing playlist and he ran it great.

 

The people at the resort that served us during dinner were fabulous! They took great care of the two of us as well as our guests. There was never a shortage of drinks.

 

The wedding day went SO incredibly fast. I always hear that is how it goes but for some reason I thought it being a smaller group and destination wedding it would not feel like that but no! It flew by and I feel like I am trying to remember details everyday!!

 

I think the biggest word of advice I can give you girls is to try to relax and not worry everything. I spent the first few days of my vacation worrying about wedding details that in the end I did not even notice and did not really matter. I wish I had spent the time just enjoying my vacation. I did not feel completely relaxed until after the wedding which left us only 2 days. I had an amazing time but it would have been that much better.

 

So for the beach palace review. It is amazing. It is gorgeous. The people there are so nice!! They remember drinks that you ordered the day before. They go out of their way to help you. We tipped very well the entire trip because they work so hard to make your vacation even better. None of the staff ever mentioned us being married there. I had heard that this would happen but it did not. But honestly it did not matter because it was great anyways!! The beach is so perfect!!! Every morning I would wake up and think this beach and water is not real!! LOL

 

The food is very good. The steakhouse, not so much. It was my least favorite. We spend many days just going to the buffet or ordering poolside food or room service because we did not want to leave the beach or the pool until late and when I finally got to the restaurants (the Italian and the Japanese) I was very mad at myself!!! These two restaurants were SOOO good!! Get the bananas foster at the Italian. I only ended up eating once at Japanese The sushi was so good! I wish they opened for lunch that would have been better. The bad thing I can say about beach palace is the pool bars and the pool closes up very early. For poolside food the cheeseburger was very good, the chips and guac are good. For room service it is the same as the pool food with some added stuff. The pizza is very good! They start shows at night so I am not sure if this is why they shut it all down early but it is a major bummer!! We frequently continued our party down at the beach with our ipod dock and we would ask for an entire bottle of alcohol and mixers before they closed and they happily obliged...I do think my husband tipped very well though! The Michael Jackson show is good.

 

For resort credits we barely used any of them. Myself and all my guests used all of the spa credits but not much of the others. My kids wanted to do the dolphin swim but in order to use resort credits you have to do an almost full day tour which includes stopping at some water park that looks not that great. So we opted to get our own transportation and pay out of pocket which ended up costing almost $400. But it was worth it to not waste an entire day on an excursion and for my kids to do the one thing they really wanted to do! I did not want to waste full days on excursions. I like to do my own thing so if you like excursions then using the credits will probably work out ok. Every night we ate at the restaurants I got a nice bottle of wine with my credits which was nice. I should have ordered more of it!!

 

I don't know what else to tell you all!!! I am having post vacation depression and looking at pics and talking about it on this review makes me want to go back! It was so nice. I cannot wait to go back!!

 

Sorry if this is jumbled or does not make sense I have tons of thoughts in my head and am frantically typing. Let me know if you would like to know anything else. I think you will all have your own experiences and a fabulous time I wish I could rewind...

Oh how exciting! I'm so glad you had an amazing time! I can't wait to see your pictures.

Here's some questions I have...

1) I've heard the same thing about the sun being blocked by the hotel. My wedding isn't till July, and my ceremony is at 6:00 p.m. Sun doesn't go gown till 7:30 p.m. in July, so I'm hoping this gives us enough sunlight and time to get good pictures. What do you think? I didn't want to do an earlier ceremony time because of heat. Was your dress heavy? Were you burning hot? I'm scared I'm going to be sweating up a storm lol!

2) Did you do a colin cowie package theme? I'm doing Pearl Shimmer.

3) I'm glad to hear the food was good! I went to an all-inclusive resort (Dreams Resort) in Cancun about 5 years ago, and the food was not very good. I'm hoping since the Beach Palace is a 5 star hotel that the food will be better. And from your review it looks as though it is! Exciting!

4) Did you use Ocean Photo Studio for your photography? If so, which package did you choose?

5) I'm glad to hear the sky terrace didn't need much extra lighting. What other decor did you use through Zuniga?

6) I was debating a beach ceremony. Was it private enough, or were people walking by?

7) I'm glad the IPOD setup worked out well. We're doing an IPOD setup with an extra speaker for cocktail and reception. You didn't have a DJ right? I don't think it's worth it to hire the DJ. Did someone in your family do the announcements?

8) Did you have a 2 tier cake? Was the whole thing cheesecake? I'm doing a marble cake with the chantilly cover, but if it's 2 tier I'm wondering if they can do one tier with cheesecake. From what you said the cheesecake is awesome! It's making me want to choose that one! lol

9) Did you get a massage in the spa? I just reserved a holistic couple's massage for my fiance and I the morning after the wedding. I'm excited for that!

10) Did you go on the Cancun strip at all? I have good memories of partying at some of the clubs and bars on the strip. I just want to make sure Beach Palace is close to all of that?

Congratulations again on everything! Please post a link to pictures or your facebook so we can see pictures from your trip! So glad everything turned out perfect!

- Nicole

Originally Posted by KristieT 

 

Me too!

Today is my last day of work, so i have 3 days to figure it all out! Good luck with your packing and have a safe trip! I am sure I will run into you around the resort!

Gooood luck! Can't wait to hear your reviews and see pictures. Everything will be perfect for both of you!

Originally Posted by Chacie B 

 

What's the deal with the tres leche? It melts? My wedding is at night too.

What is tres leches? I've never even heard of it. It's a Mexican milk cake, right? I've heard good things about it too. But I decided to go with them marble cake because it's a mix of vanilla and chocolate, so it will appeal to everyone.

Originally Posted by JenniBassler 

 

Thank you!! Okay - Here's what we did as far as events went... We arrived Tuesday morning and it was just an easy play in the sun day. Every day drank and we just took it easy that night. Had dinner at the steakhouse which is just a few tables outside. It was good, and don't take this to mean it wasn't but of all the meals I had all week it was my least favorite. Tuesday lunch was the only lunch I ate at the buffet bc I was starving from traveling. I just ate random stuff and it was good, but nothing exceptional. At every meal at the buffet theres like a made to order station - waffles or omelets at breakfast and at lunch fajitas or something - he waited for those on Tuesday and said they were great. I was too hungry to wait. Every single day I ate lunch by the pool and it was SOOOO GOOD. Quesadillas, chicken tacos, cheviche, GUACAMOLE. I ate guace and pico with every meal (even breakfast) and now I havent had it in like 72 hours and I am having withdraws, burgers by the pool are also great, but the french fries, not so much! The pool water gets a little warm and by about 2-3 in the afternoon the sun is on the other side of the hotel so we would move to the beach, or I recommend the roof top pools, they are small and there aren't a lot of chairs but it wasn't crowded at all up there and the drink service was faster too! 

 

Wednesday - Dinner girls had a private cocktail hour at 7 and dinner at 8 on the Sky Terrace. When I met with Mario on Tuesday he said for this he had planned one long table with white clothes and turquoise napkins. I didn't know they ever did anything but white so I was happy to have some color. They also add little hurricane lanterns with candles and then my BMs had some bachelorette decor to add too. He also had recommended mojitos as a passes cocktail which I dont much care for, but to have trays of cocktails I thought would be nice so I went with it. Turns out they were different flavors and were a huge hit!!!

Worldwide Hors Doeurves and Italian Menu - Both AMAZING! The Worldwide had this Mushroom au von vent things... it was like a puff pastry with some mouse inside, I don't like mushrooms - but since it wasn't a mushroom really OMG - I want one right now. It was awesome. Then we went to sports bar at 10 when that was done to drink for a little while before we went out in town. 

 

Thursday - Private cocktail hour at 7 and dinner at 8 also on Sky Terrace as a Welcome Dinner. For this Mario had planned white long cloths on the big round tables and orange cloths on top. Worked for me because I had brought maracas to decorate with so it looked really mexican (he suggested the passed cocktail be margaritas) and they had those candle lantern things for this too! (non of that did i pay for - they just did it) for this I had International Hors Doeurves and BBQ menu. I loved the potato skins on the BBQ and all the guys loved the wings appetizer! Every one kept saying how good the food was both nights!

 

Friday - This day for lunch I missed poolside and ordered my trustee quesadillas room service and my little sister ordered sliders. I took one bite of her sliders and told her it was my day and she had to have quesadillas because those were soooo good I wanted them. HAHAHA. I wasn't bridezilla, I was joking but she didn't care and let me have them. What a sweet baby sis! Friday we had our ceremony on the Sky Wedding Deck at 5:30 - I did hair at 1 and I felt like it was a perfect slow paced day. We did not do any first look photos though. The cocktail hour after was on the Infinity Terrace (passed cocktail different flavored martinis) and the Reception was on the Beach. People went ON and ON and ON about how good the Hors Doeurves were at the cocktail hour on Friday which was Superior. I literally didn't get to taste ONE. We had some trouble getting my dress to bustle so that took a bit, then we did pictures and then they had already removed them from they warmers but by far those must have been the best because I kept hearing how amazing different things were. Something about these shrimp and pineapple skewers and beef medallions. We had the International Buffet at dinner and it was excellent also. The snapper was great and so was the roast beef. I HATE chicken cordon bleu so I wish I would have swapped that out for something. We did tres leches cake with butter cream icing and did not pay for a bigger cake even though we had 60 people. We have MORE THAN ENOUGH CAKE! Plus, there is other desserts! I wouldn't bother upgrading cake. The cake is way prettier in person then in the photos too!! Much more elaborate. 

 

It never rained one time. It was beautiful always. The only time the wind was an issue was Thursday night's dinner. It was really annoyed that night - but I think it picks up later. The ceremony at 5:30 was fine. I did not wear a veil though - for that very reason. I anticipated it blowing out of smearing lipstick all over my face so I just wore flower in the hair. 

 

Yes, my dress was big. I was really worried about being hot too and I wasnt at all. By night it is mid 70s and the breeze kept me comfortable. My mom kept trying to talk me into a reception dress and I was like NO I know I will not want to take off my dress even if I am in misery. I want to wear it to the grocery store, I AM WEARING IT AS LONG AS I CAN!!!! We had a VERY full dance floor and I never thought about being hot once. We moved to the sports bar after and ordered late night pizzas and continued the party and I kept it on all night. Until about 5 AM. No issue!

 

We stayed in room 610. It was right in the center with a perfect view! We had a little issue checking in  - they tried to put us on the first floor and not upgrade us to the concierge level and I am not very good at confrontation so my MOH, who speaks fluent Spanish had to lay down the law and got it taken care of. They were saying there was nothing they could do because the hotel was full. So checking it was a bit of a mess but it all got straighten out. The bride and groom had the same wristbands as everyone else. Our group had different wristbands from others, I heard someone say it has to do with who you book through?

 

Oh yeah, restaurants - steakhouse we covered, husband and I never ate at Wok but my family did and said they ordered a bunch of appetizers and all were excellent and that they really enjoyed dinner (even sushi, said they had about 12 different rolls) and my mom was really skeptical of asian in MX, but was very pleasantly surprised, I LOVED breakfast buffet everyday, everything there was really good. I ate a huge breakfast in there every morning, then just snacked at the pool until dinner, the Italian restaurant (where men must were pants) we delicious also, I had a fettuccine with pesto and asked if they would add shrimp for me - sooo good and husband got salmon with a goat cheese and honey sauce which is WAY outside the box for him - he loved it! Most the other guys with us got the filet there which was far superior to the steaks from the steak restaurant outside! Our last 2 nights there we went outside the resort for dinner. We decided we werent wasting all inclusive money since our stay was free. We went to a place called La Habachuelas (means The Stringbean) which was a beautiful restaurant and we both had lobster (I also had some shrimp and grouper), husband's was cooked flambé table side - it was really fun and great! And our last night we went to Harry's (pretty expensive) but THE BEST MEAL I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE!!! Since we had lobster the night before we both got surf and turf (it's a prime steak house) so we had filets and king crab legs! If you splurge on a nice dinner out GO THERE! I had to close my eyes eating the garlic mashed potatoes. It's right on the lagoon so request a table outside. I took my ipad with me and would goodle these places and make reservations online using open table via the hotel's wifi. I can't tell you how great this meal was!!! I don't have any photographers pictures yet, but if any of you have instagram there are some on there my name is jennibjohnson or you can search #johnsonweddingfiesta

 

 

The only thing I wish I would have done differently is done the champagne toast AT DINNER and not AT THE CEREMONY. They have you wait to walk back down the aisle after the kiss while they pass out champagne and it was really awkward to just stand there waiting when the natural thing is to run down the aisle. Maybe I will feel different because I am sure its great pictures, but our MOHs and Best Men did their toasts at dinner at the reception so I feel like we should have just saved the champagne for that.

 

 

Sorry this was LONG!!!! But fun to relive!! I'm glad I can finally answer questions, I know what it was like to have SO MANY!!!

Oh one more question- what photogrpahy package did you choose? And you went with Ocean Photo Studio right? Were they any good?

Thank you,

Nicole

Originally Posted by JenniBassler 

 

Thank you!! Okay - Here's what we did as far as events went... We arrived Tuesday morning and it was just an easy play in the sun day. Every day drank and we just took it easy that night. Had dinner at the steakhouse which is just a few tables outside. It was good, and don't take this to mean it wasn't but of all the meals I had all week it was my least favorite. Tuesday lunch was the only lunch I ate at the buffet bc I was starving from traveling. I just ate random stuff and it was good, but nothing exceptional. At every meal at the buffet theres like a made to order station - waffles or omelets at breakfast and at lunch fajitas or something - he waited for those on Tuesday and said they were great. I was too hungry to wait. Every single day I ate lunch by the pool and it was SOOOO GOOD. Quesadillas, chicken tacos, cheviche, GUACAMOLE. I ate guace and pico with every meal (even breakfast) and now I havent had it in like 72 hours and I am having withdraws, burgers by the pool are also great, but the french fries, not so much! The pool water gets a little warm and by about 2-3 in the afternoon the sun is on the other side of the hotel so we would move to the beach, or I recommend the roof top pools, they are small and there aren't a lot of chairs but it wasn't crowded at all up there and the drink service was faster too! 

 

Wednesday - Dinner girls had a private cocktail hour at 7 and dinner at 8 on the Sky Terrace. When I met with Mario on Tuesday he said for this he had planned one long table with white clothes and turquoise napkins. I didn't know they ever did anything but white so I was happy to have some color. They also add little hurricane lanterns with candles and then my BMs had some bachelorette decor to add too. He also had recommended mojitos as a passes cocktail which I dont much care for, but to have trays of cocktails I thought would be nice so I went with it. Turns out they were different flavors and were a huge hit!!!

Worldwide Hors Doeurves and Italian Menu - Both AMAZING! The Worldwide had this Mushroom au von vent things... it was like a puff pastry with some mouse inside, I don't like mushrooms - but since it wasn't a mushroom really OMG - I want one right now. It was awesome. Then we went to sports bar at 10 when that was done to drink for a little while before we went out in town. 

 

Thursday - Private cocktail hour at 7 and dinner at 8 also on Sky Terrace as a Welcome Dinner. For this Mario had planned white long cloths on the big round tables and orange cloths on top. Worked for me because I had brought maracas to decorate with so it looked really mexican (he suggested the passed cocktail be margaritas) and they had those candle lantern things for this too! (non of that did i pay for - they just did it) for this I had International Hors Doeurves and BBQ menu. I loved the potato skins on the BBQ and all the guys loved the wings appetizer! Every one kept saying how good the food was both nights!

 

Friday - This day for lunch I missed poolside and ordered my trustee quesadillas room service and my little sister ordered sliders. I took one bite of her sliders and told her it was my day and she had to have quesadillas because those were soooo good I wanted them. HAHAHA. I wasn't bridezilla, I was joking but she didn't care and let me have them. What a sweet baby sis! Friday we had our ceremony on the Sky Wedding Deck at 5:30 - I did hair at 1 and I felt like it was a perfect slow paced day. We did not do any first look photos though. The cocktail hour after was on the Infinity Terrace (passed cocktail different flavored martinis) and the Reception was on the Beach. People went ON and ON and ON about how good the Hors Doeurves were at the cocktail hour on Friday which was Superior. I literally didn't get to taste ONE. We had some trouble getting my dress to bustle so that took a bit, then we did pictures and then they had already removed them from they warmers but by far those must have been the best because I kept hearing how amazing different things were. Something about these shrimp and pineapple skewers and beef medallions. We had the International Buffet at dinner and it was excellent also. The snapper was great and so was the roast beef. I HATE chicken cordon bleu so I wish I would have swapped that out for something. We did tres leches cake with butter cream icing and did not pay for a bigger cake even though we had 60 people. We have MORE THAN ENOUGH CAKE! Plus, there is other desserts! I wouldn't bother upgrading cake. The cake is way prettier in person then in the photos too!! Much more elaborate. 

 

It never rained one time. It was beautiful always. The only time the wind was an issue was Thursday night's dinner. It was really annoyed that night - but I think it picks up later. The ceremony at 5:30 was fine. I did not wear a veil though - for that very reason. I anticipated it blowing out of smearing lipstick all over my face so I just wore flower in the hair. 

 

Yes, my dress was big. I was really worried about being hot too and I wasnt at all. By night it is mid 70s and the breeze kept me comfortable. My mom kept trying to talk me into a reception dress and I was like NO I know I will not want to take off my dress even if I am in misery. I want to wear it to the grocery store, I AM WEARING IT AS LONG AS I CAN!!!! We had a VERY full dance floor and I never thought about being hot once. We moved to the sports bar after and ordered late night pizzas and continued the party and I kept it on all night. Until about 5 AM. No issue!

 

We stayed in room 610. It was right in the center with a perfect view! We had a little issue checking in  - they tried to put us on the first floor and not upgrade us to the concierge level and I am not very good at confrontation so my MOH, who speaks fluent Spanish had to lay down the law and got it taken care of. They were saying there was nothing they could do because the hotel was full. So checking it was a bit of a mess but it all got straighten out. The bride and groom had the same wristbands as everyone else. Our group had different wristbands from others, I heard someone say it has to do with who you book through?

 

Oh yeah, restaurants - steakhouse we covered, husband and I never ate at Wok but my family did and said they ordered a bunch of appetizers and all were excellent and that they really enjoyed dinner (even sushi, said they had about 12 different rolls) and my mom was really skeptical of asian in MX, but was very pleasantly surprised, I LOVED breakfast buffet everyday, everything there was really good. I ate a huge breakfast in there every morning, then just snacked at the pool until dinner, the Italian restaurant (where men must were pants) we delicious also, I had a fettuccine with pesto and asked if they would add shrimp for me - sooo good and husband got salmon with a goat cheese and honey sauce which is WAY outside the box for him - he loved it! Most the other guys with us got the filet there which was far superior to the steaks from the steak restaurant outside! Our last 2 nights there we went outside the resort for dinner. We decided we werent wasting all inclusive money since our stay was free. We went to a place called La Habachuelas (means The Stringbean) which was a beautiful restaurant and we both had lobster (I also had some shrimp and grouper), husband's was cooked flambé table side - it was really fun and great! And our last night we went to Harry's (pretty expensive) but THE BEST MEAL I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE!!! Since we had lobster the night before we both got surf and turf (it's a prime steak house) so we had filets and king crab legs! If you splurge on a nice dinner out GO THERE! I had to close my eyes eating the garlic mashed potatoes. It's right on the lagoon so request a table outside. I took my ipad with me and would goodle these places and make reservations online using open table via the hotel's wifi. I can't tell you how great this meal was!!! I don't have any photographers pictures yet, but if any of you have instagram there are some on there my name is jennibjohnson or you can search #johnsonweddingfiesta

 

 

The only thing I wish I would have done differently is done the champagne toast AT DINNER and not AT THE CEREMONY. They have you wait to walk back down the aisle after the kiss while they pass out champagne and it was really awkward to just stand there waiting when the natural thing is to run down the aisle. Maybe I will feel different because I am sure its great pictures, but our MOHs and Best Men did their toasts at dinner at the reception so I feel like we should have just saved the champagne for that.

 

 

Sorry this was LONG!!!! But fun to relive!! I'm glad I can finally answer questions, I know what it was like to have SO MANY!!!

Hi Jenni!

WOW, congratulations! I'm so happy you had such a wonderful time. I went to a destination wedding in Cancun at the Dreams resort about 5 years ago, and the food wasn't great, so I'm so glad to hear that the food was amazing! I feel like since we're paying so much for this almost 5 star hotel, that everything should be perfect.

The IPOD setup worked out well for you? I'm doing the two speakers and IPOD setup for the cocktail hour and reception as well. I just need to load the music onto the IPOD now. Did you put it in a specific order, for first dance, etc...?

My dress is very heavy and big too, so I'm glad that it wasn't too hot. I was worried about that. You said your ceremony was at 5:30. I asked for that time, but they said they could only do 4:00 or 6:00 p.m. So I decided to maybe do "first look" photos before the ceremony, because I was worried it would be too dark after since my ceremony is currently scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Did it really only last half an hour? And was it too dark for pictures on the beach after the ceremony? Did you carry your wedding dress on the plane?

Did you have wedding favors? I may have them put all the "welcome/wedding" favors in all my guests rooms upon their arrival. Do you think that's a possiblity?

Did you do a themed ceremony? I have Pearl Shimmer. Wondering if you chose complimentary or themed?

60 guests is so many! That's awesome so many people came. I'm having a hard time getting people to book since it's so expensive, but it is what it is. Hopefully everything turns out as good as it did for you!

I can't wait to see pictures! Congrats again!

- Nicole

Hi Kristie,

Thanks for your input!

My wedding is July 12th. Coming soon! Ahh I'm nervous. Still so much to do.

You made some really good points. I'll probably stick with what we have now. I don't want to spend the extra money moving it to the beach. Even moving the music to the beach is additional costs?

We're doing an IPOD setup with two speakers for the cocktail hour and reception, with someone running the IPOD. We haven't added a DJ yet. Are you having a DJ?

Are you worried about lighting at all for your pictures on the beach, after the ceremony? The ceremony should be done by 6:30 so I'm hoping 6:30 to 7:30 allows us enough time to have sunset pictures, etc...but I don't want it to be dark. Hopefully it all works out.

Good luck with everything! Can't wait to see pictures and hear your review.

- Nicole

Originally Posted by KristieT 

Hi Nicole!

I had the same dilemma! My ceremony is on sky deck at 6pm, cocktail hour on South bar terrace at 7pm then Dinner at 8pm on the North Bar Terrace.

 

I also considered moving the cocktail hour, these were the reasons we decided not to:

-$6 per person

-$$ for lightening

-$$ for Music on the Beach (PSAV or JSAV would have to move all their equipment and speakers etc)

-The wind can be really strong, and the Bar Terraces are protected from the wind by the glass walls

-Easier to keep all guests in one general area so the emcee can annouce for everyone to take their seats

-Guests can keep their shoes on all night and now have sandy feet

 

It was a hard decision bc i liked the idea of being closer to the ocean for part of the night.

I am sure what ever you decide will be perfect!

 

When is your wedding?

Is anyone doing their cocktail hour on the beach?

Our ceremony is on the sky wedding deck from 6:00 to 6:30 and our reception is confirmed for the North Bar Sky Terrace from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m.

Right now, I have our cocktail hour at the South Bar Sky terrace from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m., however I'm worried that my guests may get a little bored with the WHOLE wedding on the sky terrace. Which is why I was thinking of switching the scenery up a bit, and having them go down to the beach for the cocktail hour, and then back up to the terrace for the reception.

It's $6.00 extra per person for the beach cocktail hour location, but it may be worth it. Margarita also said I would need to purchase lighting for beach location, but it's dark. So there are additional costs.

What do you guys think?

Originally Posted by JenniBassler 

 

We are leaving a week from Tuesday and I am getting so excited, but feel pretty disorganized too! I am going to get some boxes this week to pack my Welcome Bag goodies, some welcome dinner decor, wedding favors, and such in. Since I won't be bringing this stuff home I can just trash the boxes. Once those are packed and I know I have it all together I think I will start to feel a little more organized. Our wedding is Friday, April 26th. I am doing centerpieces, under table lights, bamboo structures with lanterns, and a dance floor from Zuniga (reception is on the beach), I'm not doing any extra ceremony decor really (sky terrace), and I am just using Ipod and Jambox for cocktail hour (Infinity Terrace). We have about 60 guests and our ceremony is at 5:30, cocktail hour 6:30 and reception 7:30... I know they say outside events are to end at 10, but any past Palace Brides have experience with how strict they were on this? I am hoping they at least let us to until 10:30, 11 would be great! I rented Ipod dock and 2 speakers from JSAV for the reception and paid for 3 hours just in case we can go an extra hour. I am using the complimentary bouquet and boutonniere for me and the groom, but I got bridesmaids & groomsmen's from Marvin @ Maya Floral. He was quick to respond every time and the prices were pretty reasonable. I will give a full review in a few short weeks!! I just got my onsite coordinator last week (Mario) but haven't really had contact. I can't believe the time is already here!

 

Is everyone carrying their dress on the plane? How are you handling that?

OMG, I am sooo excited for you! I'm about 3 months away from mine and feeling so overwhelmed. I feel like there's still soo much to do. And still people that need to book :/ Did you have a lot of last minute bookers? 60 guests is awesome, big wedding for a destination wedding! How much was all your decor? I'm having under table lights, candles in pool, and pretty table decor/center pieces. It's running me about $1,200.00. I was thinking of adding lanterns too. I'm doing the same music wise, for the reception (IPOD dock + 2 speakers and someone running the IPOD). So no DJ? I don't think I'll do a DJ either. I am doing an IPOD and 1 speaker for cocktail party. What's a jambox? I'm carrying my dress on the plane. I heard it isn't too bad. I'm with United Airlines, hopefully they have a closet or something I can hang it in. I can't wait to hear your review and see all your pictures! Good luck!!

Originally Posted by JenniBassler 

 

We are leaving a week from Tuesday and I am getting so excited, but feel pretty disorganized too! I am going to get some boxes this week to pack my Welcome Bag goodies, some welcome dinner decor, wedding favors, and such in. Since I won't be bringing this stuff home I can just trash the boxes. Once those are packed and I know I have it all together I think I will start to feel a little more organized. Our wedding is Friday, April 26th. I am doing centerpieces, under table lights, bamboo structures with lanterns, and a dance floor from Zuniga (reception is on the beach), I'm not doing any extra ceremony decor really (sky terrace), and I am just using Ipod and Jambox for cocktail hour (Infinity Terrace). We have about 60 guests and our ceremony is at 5:30, cocktail hour 6:30 and reception 7:30... I know they say outside events are to end at 10, but any past Palace Brides have experience with how strict they were on this? I am hoping they at least let us to until 10:30, 11 would be great! I rented Ipod dock and 2 speakers from JSAV for the reception and paid for 3 hours just in case we can go an extra hour. I am using the complimentary bouquet and boutonniere for me and the groom, but I got bridesmaids & groomsmen's from Marvin @ Maya Floral. He was quick to respond every time and the prices were pretty reasonable. I will give a full review in a few short weeks!! I just got my onsite coordinator last week (Mario) but haven't really had contact. I can't believe the time is already here!

 

Is everyone carrying their dress on the plane? How are you handling that?

OMG, I am sooo excited for you! I'm about 3 months away from mine and feeling so overwhelmed. I feel like there's still soo much to do. And still people that need to book :/ Did you have a lot of last minute bookers? 60 guests is awesome, big wedding for a destination wedding! How much was all your decor? I'm having under table lights, candles in pool, and pretty table decor/center pieces. It's running me about $1,200.00. I was thinking of adding lanterns too. I'm doing the same music wise, for the reception (IPOD dock + 2 speakers and someone running the IPOD). So no DJ? I don't think I'll do a DJ either. I am doing an IPOD and 1 speaker for cocktail party. What's a jambox? I'm carrying my dress on the plane. I heard it isn't too bad. I'm with United Airlines, hopefully they have a closet or something I can hang it in. I can't wait to hear your review and see all your pictures! Good luck!!

What kind of decor are you guys doing for the cocktail party?
 

What kind of decor are you guys doing for the cocktail party?
 

Originally Posted by KristieT 

 

Hi TinkerSofi,

 

I did!  Try these two ladies: They helped me book mine

 

 

Angie Mononnott <[email protected]>

 

Clarissa Arzola is gone FYI. So Angie may be your better bet.

-Nicole

Originally Posted by KristieT 

 

Hi TinkerSofi,

 

I did!  Try these two ladies: They helped me book mine

 

 

Angie Mononnott <[email protected]>

 

Clarissa Arzola is gone FYI. So Angie may be your better bet.

-Nicole

Originally Posted by brebon21 

 

We are using DJ Mannia. $950 for 4 hours!

Is he through JSAV? They quoted me that amount for 2 hours :-(

I didn't realize we could use other companies besides JSAV, without paying that vendor fee.

Also, are you guys having a DJ? It's close to $1,000  for 2 hours of DJ service and I've heard the DJ's aren't that great.

Any past BP brides- did anyone have a DJ and what was your experience?

Thank you,

Nicole

Is anyone hiring a mariachi band for their cocktail hour?

I thought it would be nice to have the band for the cocktail hour since the reception will be IPOD music, to switch it up a bit.

Margarita quoted me $740.00 for 45 minutes of mariachi band though. Ugh...expenses are adding up. It would be much cheaper to just do the IPOD setup. Hmmm....