Paradisus Palma Real Wedding

[christie272]

Hi everybody,

I was just looking through the site and I realized I never posted my review. I'm sorry it took so long. I want to thank everyone for all the help. I couldn't have done it without this site!

 

so here it is:

 

My wedding was August 25, 2007. I started planning 6 months before, which was plenty of time. I sent out my save the dates in February. and my invitations in may with RSVP for july 5th so I had some time to know exactly how many would be there.

 

One suggestion I do have is encourage your guests to stay at that resort. We had 2 guests stay at a different resort and they had to pay for a day pass to get in for the wedding. It cost $120 per person. so that kinda sucked.

 

I used destinationweddings.com for my travel agent and had no problems with them. The only thing everyone should know is that although they do have a nice payment plan, when you book with them you have to pay airfare in full.

 

We chose to do the symbolic ceremony in order to avoid translation costs and any other difficulties that may arise with an out of country wedding. We went to the court house in our home town the day before we left with two of our close friends who could not attend the wedding. We didn't let the guests know because we didn't want anyone to think that this wasn't really our wedding day, because it was. We will always celebrate our anniversary on the 25th because that is the day we exchanged our vows in front of friends and family.

 

We had 36 guests. We went with the wish package which is included when you have an oceanview or oceanfront room with royal service. On the website, it says max of 6 guests, however we were not charged for having more than 6.

 

We stayed for 10 days, from the 22nd(wednesday) to the 31st(friday). Most guests stayed from friday to monday, some stayed for a week. We had people there with us up until our last day, which we spent by ourselves. I loved it that way. Some are worried about having guests there for the honeymoon, but I thought It was nice to have people to have dinner with or go out with. And of course no one follows you to your room

 

The ceremony was on the beach, and thank god, the weather was beautiful! The ceremony was supposed to start at 5pm, however, the officient was running a little late, so we started more like 5:30. It wasn't a problem though because the photographer met the girls in my room at 4 for before the ceremony pics and he just took us more places to take pictures. Kelly set it up for the boys and the guests were to meet at one of the bars near the ceremony site at 4:15. Then just before the ceremony started, she rounded everyone up and brought them to the site.

 

We used the CD player they offer and played Eric Clapton acoustic guitar while everyone waited for the bridesmaids, and then the music changed to the bridal march when I came out. It was really nice. The ceremony lasted about 10 minutes. The officient said the ceremony in spanish and Kelly translated. They used microphones so everyone could hear. Instead of having personal vows, we chose to add something to the ceremony. It was a real tear jerker, it was great! After we exchanged rings, we had them read this:

 

"(Now please take your hand together) These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow and forever. These are the hands that will work alongside yours as together you build your future. These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch will comfort you like no other. These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief wracks your mind. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes, tears of sorrow or tears of joy. These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children. These are the hands that will help you to hold your family as one. These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it. And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch....... I would ask that you always remember to cherish each other as special and unique individuals, that you respect the thoughts, ideas and suggestions of one another. Be able to forgive, do not hold grudges, and live each day that you may share it together –as you shall remain each other`s home, comfort and refuge, your marriage strengthened by your love and respect for each other. "

I thought that was a really beautiful personal touch. After the ceremony, champagne was provided for everyone and we took group photos on the beach.

 

After that the photographer took matt and me to more places to take pics, the resort is full of beautiful places for pics! And everyone else went to the reception site.

 

I changed dresses before the reception, and thank god I got 2 dresses. The first dress was from davids bridal and although it was beautiful, it was very hot! The second dress I found on sale for $130 at macy's and it was also very beautiful.

 

The reception was on olympus terrace over looking the main pool. We chose round tables, we had 5 of them and matt and I were at a sweetheart table. We chose the buffet dinner which is $50 per person, we had to cut the menu in half because we only had 36 people, but there were still 3 entrees, 3 salads, soup, 2 vegetables and 2 desserts so it was plenty of food, and it was very good!

 

We went with the french DJ, and I was not disappointed. We gave him a CD with the father/daughter, mother/son, and bride/groom dance. And he did the rest himself. I am happy to say, he read the crowd very well and kept people dancing. There was no MC, only the DJ was provided, however, the DJ had a mic, so our friends took it upon themselves to announce when the dances were, when it was cake cutting time, and when it was time for the speeches. I'm not sure if Kelly had something to do with it, but the timing was great and it all worked out perfectly. The DJ even stayed an extra half hour for us since the ceremony started a little late. It was great!

 

The cake we had was provided by the resort and it was beautiful and also very tasty. They had a bar set up by the DJ so there was no problem getting drinks.

 

Then after the wedding, the immediate family and some friends stayed behind at one of the tables and they brought us more wine and cigars! They never once asked us to leave, they just let us enjoy ourselves.

 

Okay, I think I covered all the bases, again good luck to all you girls and you are REALLY going to have the best time of your lives. If anyone has any questions, feel free to contact me. My e-mail is christie272@yahoo.com

 

Christie

[tlomlad]

Great Review!

[Yari]

Thanks for sharing! Do you have any pics?

[christie272]

yea, go to

 

www.weddingindr.shutterfly.com

 

there's 2 albums there the big one is the photographer pics, the smaller one at the bottom is some pictures the guests took, the guest pics have some great views of the resort.

[BarefootBride]

Beautiful wedding!!!!!

[MrsTrussell2B]

Thanks Christie

Just a couple of questions:

You mentioned that your ceremony started at 5:30 what time did your reception start?

Did you have a cocktail party? If so was it "included" in your package?

[foxytv]

Great review! Can't wait to get to PPR for our honeymoon!!!

[DanielleNDerek]

Thanks for the review. It sounds like you and your guests had a great time.

[orionandmari072510]

Quote:

Originally Posted by christie272 yea, go to www.weddingindr.shutterfly.com there's 2 albums there the big one is the photographer pics, the smaller one at the bottom is some pictures the guests took, the guest pics have some great views of the resort.

love the photos! WHERE did you get your bridesmaid dresses!!?? they are awesome! and shape a girl well!