SammyMac

@@smfahey here are a bunch of pics from the wedding . Everything took place at Playa Azul. If you give me your email address I can share some more pics and send you some of the planning docs .hope this helps !

@@yooyooo and @@TaraW - I had the same sort of issues with reception but our experience at Bahia Príncipe was kind of similar so I just kind of chalked it up as part of the resort experience. @@TaraW they forgot our breakfast too and when we got it the next day instead it wasn't very good so you didn't miss out ! One thing I didn't mention which is still bothering me is there was a guy on our 4th or 5th day that kept pouring all his beer on the dance floor at the disco. The staff knew he was doing it and kept mopping up after him but they continued to serve the guy and not kick him out. One of my friends fell hard on one of the spills and fractured his ankle in 2 places and tore through some ligaments. The resort charged them 30 usd per day to use their wheelchair ! They also tried to get one of my friends to sign a letter releasing them from any liability. And then one of my friends went to the disco the next day and the same guy was dumping beer on the floor again. It's like they didn't even care about my friend's well being. I'll probably write them a letter and try and get them to refund the cost of the wheelchair to my friends. It was pretty upsetting.

Yes, our colours were purple. I was fully hoping you were going to creep ! I creeped so many weddings that week ha ha ha .

@@TaraW - beautiful pictures !!!! Wow I love your dress and you guys look so happy. this is going to sound lame but I also really love the upgraded chairs !! Ha ha

@@TaraW it sucks that you had to deal with that added stress but I'm so happy that at the end of the day you had an amazing time !!!! umm and obviously I'd like to see some pictures please !!

Hi ladies, check your mail

@kbehara2016 bride - I think the resort is pretty good at providing whatever you need for decor, but it comes at a price. You have to pay for your centerpieces for each table (which include the vase), and you have to pay for candles as well. From what I've heard just the basic sound system is fine, but we hired a DJ so I can't say from personal experience. It looked like there were lots of locations to choose from. I opted for the playa azul area because that part of the beach is fairly secluded and was a gorgeous location for both the ceremony and reception. I saw other weddings take place on the beach in different locations and they were just kind of in the midst of all the other activity going on. If you send me your email address I can send you some pictures of how it looked. I've heard the gazebo is really pretty for the ceremony or the coral area as well. Happy planning !

Hi!

We got married on Monday, Apr 25th. Ceremony was at 5pm and Reception at 7:30pm both at Playa Azul beach.

We chose the strawberry package and had 58 guests.

A summary of our wedding :

Yasmin our WC scheduled a meeting with us 2 days after we arrived and we just went through the spreadsheet one last time to make sure we didn't want to change anything. We dropped off our decorations - we brought candles, lanterns with lights (it would have been 900 usd to rent them from the resort!!!), seating chart, table numbers, and some stuff for our welcome table. I told Yamin what my vision was and she executed it perfectly. We asked how much staff would be working on the set up, etc and we just made sure to tip them.

Hair and make-up - I hired styling trio. Best choice I could have made! Claudia was so great to communicate with, and she matched me up with Bianca for make-up and Alex for hair. On the day of the trail run I couldn't even decide between the styles he tried on me (and I'm extremely fussy with my hair), and Bianca was incredible with my make-up. The air brushing stayed on all night and had a nice dewy finish. I paid 500 USD for the vendor fee. It was a one time payment even though they came to the resort twice.

Shuttle : picked up guests, groom and groomsmen at 4:15pm in the colonial lobby. Yasmin came to my room at 4:45pm with our bouquets. She drove me, the bridesmaids and dad on a golf cart to the site. She showed me a pic of the set up on the way - breathtaking!!

Officiant : didn't get to meet her before the wedding. It was fine. Jared just told her a few things before I arrived so she knew we wrote our own vows and she let guests know that the ceremony was unplugged so only our photographer took pictures. She did a great job!

Ceremony : 20 minutes long. It was lovely. They had champagne ready for everyone right after. We loved the huppa we picked out and the flowers matched my bouquet. We hooked our phone up to a speaker and we played 4 songs of our choosing. Audio sounded great. 5pm was a great time to get married - wasn't too hot, there was a nice breeze and sun wasn't too bright.

Cocktail hour : we opted out of this and decided to pay for an extra hour of reception time. Do this! It goes by way too fast otherwise. We sent our guests to rancho grille which was a rocks throw away while we took pictures.

DJ : We hired discomovil. He was amazing. He played all the songs we wanted and the songs he chose on his own were great! We used his light up dance floor and even with the vendor fee of 100 usd / hour it was cheaper than using what the resort offers.

Centerpieces - we went with a pretty cheap option. The setting was pretty enough on its own plus we had some nice table numbers and candles of our own that they set up for us. Looked great.

Pictures : lighting was great between the ceremony and reception. I brought my own photographer and didn't pay a vendor fee because he was a guest.

Supper : was delicious! We got the beef wellington and the dessert was a huge hit!! we went with the luke warm half baked choc fondant.

Cake : we went with the basic option - to be honest no one ate any cause we were stuffed. it was really beautiful though. Don't pay more to upgrade it to a bigger size. It was quite big.

Lighting : I worry that without the light up dance floor and lanterns the lighting would have been pretty dull.

After the reception we went to the sports bar and one of our guests brought his guitar. We had a big sing along with everyone in the bar and it was so much fun! Then Jared and I went for a little walk and ended up falling asleep on one of the hammocks

It was the perfect night. If you have any questions let me know! Happy to help.

@@AprilRosemary2016 - I got my guestbook off of etsy as well as printable itineraries for my guests. You don't get charged the vendor fee a second time for the trial run (at least I wasn't charged twice) but I would confirm with you WC just so you have it in writing.

@kirstendw2016 - hang in there I know the lack of communication can be frustrating. I've been waiting for my WC to respond for a couple weeks now to a few questions I had and its daunting with my wedding coming up in less than 2 months now. But I've heard from so many past brides who dealt with the exact same thing and then when the big day finally came everything turned out perfectly so I just keep telling myself it'll all be ok. My problem is I keep changing my mind about everything! I was in a wedding in Tulum a few weeks ago and the sun was blinding. I couldn't even look at the groom. Sensitive eyes. So I've been playing with the idea of a sunset or dusk wedding. It would be so beautiful with tiki lights going down the aisle but with sunset being at 710 and dusk being at 740 that would mean a late supper for guests and hardly any time for pictures. Planning is hard.

@@KirstenChrisDW2016 - I haven't heard anything good about the resort photographer. I've heard great things about Mike Cantarell. Just googling Barcelo Maya wedding led me to getting a feel for the different styles and photographers out there. Personally I'm flying my photographer there from home. Just be mindful of the vendor fee. Don't worry too much about Abraham not being responsive. That's pretty typical. You're in good hands I promise. Where are you at in your planning exactly?

That's a great idea! I'll ask them how close they are. And if the vendor fee is only 150 that's manageable compared to the 500 for photographers. I cannot believe how quickly everything is coming up! It really is flying by isn't it ? I haven't made the welcome letter or bags yet, or thought about centre pieces at all. Oops!

Hey ladies ! I have a question about the vendor fees. So I'm thinking about sourcing out Styling trio for hair and make up for myself and my bridesmaids. There would be 2 stylists and I for sure want a trail run. My concern is that if I have 2 different stylists come in on 2 different days would that be 2000 USD? That seems insane to me. So I'm thinking what if i book a room for the night before my wedding in my name? Would that help avoid the vendor fees? That way they would have bracelets and could do my trail hair the day before. Has anyone done this and is it allowed? Thanks

@@TaraW - where are you directing your guests for cocktail hour? I've asked Yasmin where the closest grill or bar is and having a hard time getting an answer ha ha and I know you and I are getting married at the same location. By the way I just left Mexico today. My best friend got married at Bahia Príncipe Tulum which is only a few minutes from Barcelo. It got me so excited for my wedding and also was a wake up call that I need to finish planning !!

@@Barcelo2016 - that's too bad that's a tough one. My bridesmaid is pregnant so there's a chance she won't be attending anymore because there's just not enough information out there for her Dr to make a recommendation to go or stay, and I don't blame her. Luckily most of my guests aren't pregnant so I'm not having too many issues. Some are planning on getting pregnant but the risk is minimized if you wait 6 months before trying to get pregnant after contracting the virus (although some say 2 years) For anyone else who isn't pregnant or isn't trying to be pregnant the Zika virus shouldn't be a big deal. When is your date and have many people paid already? My wedding is in April and I'm not changing anything because of the Zika virus - I'll super miss having my bridesmaid there but as they say the show must go on.

Wow this thread has been active lately! I love it. I feel you Canadian brides... but at least the Canadian dollar went slightly up today? It is definitely changing my budget a little

@@KirstenChrisDW2016 - we just have been using a private facebook page. Seems to amp people up a bit and it's just an easy way to send updates.

@@ashbuoni - Octavio's work looks great. I'm going to reach out to him, thanks!

@@TaraW - how is the planning going? I know we talked about hair and make up vendors and I'm sort of wishing I didn't put a deposit down for best moments. I emailed Style Trio yesterday, but I am worried it is getting a bit last minute at this point with the wedding coming up in less than 3 months. Ahh!!

@@Panda2015 - I'm extending the reception too. I'm having a hard time pinning down the cost. It is based on per person as well as anything extra you're doing like DJ, dance floor, etc. I think it's a bit pricey, but we are not doing a cocktail hour to make up for it.

Also... tried on my wedding dress the other day. Big mistake!! I'm still carrying some holiday weight haha it's back to the gym for me!!!

Thanks @@Stephanie2015 for all the helpful information!

Are most people doing both favours and welcome bags?

@@TaraW - a map with all the key locations marked it brilliant. I didn't even think of doing that.

I'm almost done the planning process with Yasmin. Still finding it hard to get my questions answered but oh well!

Having some trouble with décor but thinking of bringing some decorations and center piece stuff with us. Still have to buy favours and / or welcome bags, bridesmaid gifts and accessories for me.

Thinking about getting a videographer now too. Does anyone have any recommendations for one?

Hope everyones planning is coming along well! Can't believe how fast time is flying by!!!

Hi everyone, just thought I would check in to see how planning is coming along! I took a bit of a planning vacation and am just getting back into it today. I'm currently working on the reception timeline, decorations and seating arrangement. Also, my dress came in last week and I tried it on for the first time yesterday. I was super nervous and wasn't sure if I would still love it, but when I tried it on I was so excited. Except it was a bit snug so I guess it's time to hit the gym again!

@@TaraW I'm pretty sure we are doing both the ceremony and reception at Playa Azul so if I get any information on lighting there I'll let you know!

Also, trying to think of awesome bridesmaid gifts and maybe even a welcome package for guests. If anyone has any ideas let me know! Happy planning everyone!!

@@TaraW sorry for the late reply. I've been traveling for a little while. Good to know! Thanks for the update. I've confirmed our location a couple times - I wonder if she will try and pull the same thing with me. Are you settled on Playa Azul now for both the ceremony and reception? How is the planning coming along?

@@TaraW if it helps my WC mentioned that they will be providing guests transportation and it sounded to me like guests could leave anytime. She also told me Rancho Grande was nearby so instead of having a cocktail party I could send guests there. Still worried about the lighting, but she said it is fairly well lit up and maybe I'll get some tiki lights included. She sent me all of the docs on centerpieces, huppas, ribbons, etc. Did you decide to go with an outside vendor for chair ribbons? I was hoping they'd have more colours, but maybe I'll just go for white ribbons to keep things simple and save some money.

Martina was really good at responding to me. I put my deposit down a couple of weeks ago and I told her I'd be in touch when I knew when my rehearsal dinner was going to be scheduled so that we could do the trial run then. I found her really responsive, but it does make me nervous that a bride was left high and dry. If she responds to your question about that situation could you let me know?
 

Hi everyone! Has anyone had their reception at Playa Azul? My WC recommended that if our ceremony is going to be at Playa Azul then we should just keep it simple and have the reception there as well. But I'm worried about lighting. I wanted to move it to an area closer to a grill surrounded by palm trees so that we could at least dress the trees up with lights.

Thanks again

@@JJ785220 - welcome! Prices really range especially depending on what you want and how many guests you are having. I am going through the process of making decisions for my ceremony and reception and have been learning how very expensive it can be; however, I have around 70 people coming and I want to give them a great reception because they have invested so much into coming to see us get married. There are ways to keep costs down for sure. Either way, I am so excited that I am getting married at Barceló Maya. It's beautiful and I've talked to a lot of brides about their experiences. Something that really helped me (mostly because I'm a very visual person) is I went on Vimeo and searched videos using 'Barceló Maya palace wedding' and 'Barceló Maya' as key words when searching.  I was able to see lots of videos and it gave me an idea of how my wedding and reception could look. (Sorry brides, I've been creeping you! hahaha)

For past brides - I do have a few more questions.

1) We are going to try to have our ceremony at Playa Azul at 5pm. At 7pm we would like the reception to be held outside by Palameras grill (really like the idea of having a bunch on palm trees to wrap lights around). I am wondering where you would send your guests for some drinks and a bite to eat. That is a long time to go without food, but I was really hoping to extend the reception by an hour by saving on not investing in a cocktail hour. If anyone has any comments I would love to hear them.

2) What have you done for the rehearsal dinner? Is there a spot you would recommend where we could just reserve some tables at one of the restaurants. I think most of us will be staying at the Colonial area.

Thanks again for all your help!

@@TaraW - congrats on finishing your planning! I'm not very decisive and am struggling. Just picked out the menu though so yay! haha and I booked Best Moments for my bridesmaids and myself. 

Playa Azul will be amazing and you make a good point about it only being 30 mins. 

Do you think you could email me the pictures of the bouquets, centerpieces, huppas and stuff? My email is samanthamarymaclean@@gmail.com

I've been doing a lot of thinking about doing first looks! I keep reading really good things about it. 

@@TaraW - I think your schedule looks great and I actually tweaked mine a bit to look more like yours. I changed my 6pm ceremony time to 5, and then reception is planned to go from 7 - 11. Just worried that might not be enough time for pictures...  but then again I'll probably get sick of posing after an hour! haha

From what I've seen I really like the coral area for the ceremony; however, I also like the idea of moving it to the more private pristine looking beach area. I sort of like Coral though as it should provide some shade for some of our guests.

@@VannessLares - did you have any guests with allergies? I have 2 guests with shellfish allergies, 2 vegetarians and 2 gluten free guests. We are opting for the surf & turf, but I'm wondering if the resort does a good job at accommodating allergies.
 

@@TaraW

Thank you so much for all your help! Maybe I'll try and change the ceremony time to 5 or 530. You have a good point about the timing for some good sunny photos and sunset ones. Also, the 4 hours for a reception does seem like a better bet than just 3 hours.

The whole planning process has been a bit tough. I emailed our WC, Yasmin, on July 17th and she still hasn't gotten back to me. I tried again last week. She seems nice, but fingers crossed that we'll be able to start step 1 of the planning process soon. Trying to be patient!

I've also been in touch with Best Moments for hair and make up. I kind of like the idea of all of us getting ready in my room versus going to the spa, and I've heard a lot of good things. They've been great to deal with so far.

That's so cool that we'll be at the resort at the same time!!