Barceló Maya Palace Deluxe Gazebo Wedding – Jackie and Jay

There is nothing more endearing than a man giving his all to make his (future) wife a happy woman. Before their wedding Jackie told Jay that couples often write each other a special note to read before the ceremony. Jay pretty much knocked it out of the park – embrace these wedding day traditions boys, the simplest, sweetest touches really mean the world!

“He was nervous to write, I could tell! He completely surprised me with his note, as on the other side was a photo of our dogs. He had contacted the kennel they were staying at in Canada, while we were in Mexico, and got them to take a beautiful photo of them with a sign that said, ” Congrats Mom & Dad”. I’m a big sucker for my fur babies, and that was the most touching thing he could do. He put so much thought into that, in something he knew would be special for me.” – Jackie

We asked Jackie and Jay what the most amazing moment of their day was and they simply replied: “Everything!!!” though Jackie narrowed it down to seeing Jay at the gazebo.

“It was sunny and he had such a great confident smile on his face, I was completely glowing! All of stresses of being late and rushed just seemed to melt away at that moment!!!” – Jackie

Wedding traditions are no longer written in stone and that couples can really change it up to make a day that’s right for them. Jackie and Jay decided to have a bridesman and groomswoman in their wedding party.

“The decision to have a bridesman and groomswoman was very easy for us!!! We already decided to have a destination wedding, which is not the norm for couples where we live, so we thought we might as well do it the way we wanted to! My bridesman is my brother, Jeremy and Jay’s groomswoman is his sister, Joy. We are both very close with our siblings, and I always wanted to have my brother stand up on my side! He was great to go along with it and even asked what color of dress he should be getting.”

Jackie and Jay decided on the Barcelo Maya Palace extensive online research, Jackie never been to Mexico and Jay had only been once, though not to the Riviera Maya area so a bit of a leap of faith was required!

“It helped that I knew three couples personally who were married at Barceló Maya Palace to hear their experiences, which were all amazing! I also loved that the wedding coordinators were very good at communication. We specifically liked that the resort had something for everyone! It was kid friendly, which was very important as our young nieces and nephews needed to be entertained and it also had adult only sections, for our guests who wanted some downtime.

The resort was beautiful, and huge!!! The food was fantastic, and of course, they have such an amazing coastline and beachfront! Not to mention, having Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa music festival on the same week, was so much fun to watch the free pop up concerts. All in all we have no regrets about our choice of resort to stay at and we will definitely be going back to the Barceló Maya Palace for our anniversary to come.” – Jackie

Jackie’s top tips for planning a Mexican destination wedding: “don’t sweat the small stuff”

“Our wedding coordinator, Itzel honestly took care of everything. If possible, have all the decisions made before you get there, that way you aren’t trying to run around completing little tasks, when you could be swimming in the ocean instead! Also make sure to give the makeup and hair stylists lots of time to do their services. We had a fantastic team, but did run short of time, which stressed me out! Thank goodness for everyone who pulled together and I had such a supportive bridal party to help out!”

Jackie is clearly a bride who does her research and pays attention to reviews so it means the world to hear wonderful words from her about the del Sol team.

Working with Del Sol was amazing from the moment I sent in an email. The service was prompt and you have excellent communication. We never once felt pressured and you worked with what we wanted. I was so excited that we were able to get Debora and Martina for our wedding day; I spent a lot of hours doing research and we both fell in love with their styles. They were completely professional and I knew they wanted to focus on Jay and myself as it was our day! I felt upset when we were running late; but Debora encouraged me and told me to not worry about it. She really helped me get through that stress!

I wish I could spend a whole day of being photographed by your team, you made me feel beautiful! I also love that the team was willing to take some risky shots, and travel onto rocks (which were quite tippy!) the photo of us on the rocks in the sunset is jaw dropping!!! Everyone can’t stop raving about it, and I know I can only thank such an amazing photography team. Debora caught all of the emotions on a still photograph, I really had tears in my eyes just seeing these! So beautiful.

I really can’t express how grateful I am with working with Del Sol. You captured the moments and I can relive them by seeing these photos; you can just feel the emotions by looking at a photo! That is a talent not many photographers can truly brag about.” – Jackie

Principal Photographer: Del Sol Associate

Second Photographer: Martina

Wedding Location: Barcelo Maya Palace Deluxe

Wedding coordinator: Itzel

Hair and makeup: Best Moments “we had an amazing team who completed flawless airbrush makeup, which lasted all day and night! Highly recommended!!!” – Jackie

Gown Boutique: Maggie Sottero