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Plan The Wedding Of Your Dreams

Plan The Wedding Of Your Dreams

Whether it’s sleek sophistication, quiet elegance or an unexpected touch of adventure, Niagara Parks Weddings has the perfect answer. Exchange your vows in a garden so magnificent it will take your breath away, then celebrate your love at a reception venue like no place on Earth.

Whether it’s sleek sophistication, quiet elegance or an unexpected touch of adventure, Niagara Parks Weddings has the perfect answer. Exchange your vows in a garden so magnificent it will take your breath away, then celebrate your love at a reception venue like no place on Earth.

Trust our experienced event specialist to help you create memories for a lifetime at one of our spectacular venues. From showers and engagement parties to weddings and anniversary events, look to us to help bring your dream to life.

Trust our experienced event specialist to help you create memories for a lifetime at one of our spectacular venues. From showers and engagement parties to weddings and anniversary events, look to us to help bring your dream to life.

Along our 56 kilometres, Niagara Parks offers nine picturesque ceremony locations and four stunning reception venues.

Along our 56 kilometres, Niagara Parks offers nine picturesque ceremony locations and four stunning reception venues.

I Feel Pretty

One of the best parts of a spring wedding is having easier access to gorgeous florals, like the ranunculas. This bloom is sweet, delicate and oh so romantic. The perfect addition to your wedding décor.

Planning: Kasia Ware Events & Design

Photography: Kayla Potter Photography Venue: The Nook Studio

Florals: Evyrose Design Co.

Rentals: Special Event Rentals Stationery: Graphically Yours

We Asked The Experts

Karen Bussen

FROM WEDDINGS BY PALLADIUM

Karen Bussen

ADVICE FROM A WEDDING AND PARTY GURU

What are some of the benefits of planning a wedding with Palladium Hotel Group’s Weddings By

Palladium?

Say “I do” to a Destination Wedding with Weddings by Palladium Wedding planning, while an exciting time for brides, can be an adventure. Thankfully, adventurous couples looking for an out-of-the-ordinary experience can lean into destinationweddings to make the process as smooth and enjoyable as possible, while also exploring and relaxing in a tropical location. With elevated service and guests as the main priority, Palladium Hotel Group delivers an unforgettable and memorable escape, the perfect beginning to each couple’s marriage chapter.

The bottom line: we love nothing more than listening to a couple’s love story and their dreams and wishes, and then getting creative to bring it all to life for an unforgettable celebration!

us a couple reasons why many properties for smaller, intimate have given us a number of reasons as all-inclusive resort. First, a smaller celebration magical quality of being not just a event-meets-vacation, and in our categories to accommodate all the different friends. Next, an all-inclusive We’ve spent so much time creating point, and having planned hundreds is no better value than our Party created to include the ceremony and a for one really great price. Our couples having a New York designer create have that dream wedding at a much about timing first. Next, you’ll want to lock in your room rates and categories, and our team can help with all those details. Another thing to consider are any “satellite” events such as a pre-wedding beach party (ours is called the Private Beach Bash) or a private reception, because especially at popular times of the year, venues can book up very early. So try to reserve your venues early in your process. Luckily as far as checklists go, our amazing team of wedding coordinators will walk you through what you need in terms of, for example, paperwork if you want to be legally married in the destination. They know all the details and they’re extremely helpful throughout the process. an “intimate” area to be married guests and onlookers at the resort. planner/resort manager to find quiet, ceremony?

KB: Planning a destination wedding remotely can be stressful, as you may be concerned about things like paperwork, regulations, and of course making sure that the hospitality, decor and details are all up to your standards. When I first met with the top leadership at Palladium Hotel Group more than ten years ago, I was concerned about these things too, and we agreed that we wanted to create a culture of real service to help our couples feel comfortable and truly cared for. We’ve invested a lot in training and in hiring the best team members who take so much pride in creating magic for our couples. To me, this is probably the most important advantage. Years later our couples keep in touch with us and return again and again to our destinations, and that’s what we want more than anything!

Bussen is an internationally known party guru with a roster of private clients the worlds of business, society and entertainment. As the exclusive designer for Weddings by Palladium, she believes in giving couples a palette of fabulous possibilities the flexibility they want to tell their own unique love stories in their own way.

Personalization and curated experiences have become a big trend in the wedding space. How does Weddings By Palladium cater to these trends?

That being said, with our all-inclusive resorts, there are many other advantages--the fact that we offer such a variety of destinations and exciting venues within each destination is one, as is our commitment to offering differing room and experience categories that match a wedding group’s needs and desires. By that I mean that we offer luxury suites, family-friendly options, even baby clubs and adultsonly areas, all in the same resort, so that everyone who travels for your wedding will feel welcomed with style and substance that suits who they are.

TB: When a couple arrives at their destination property, what are some things they should remember/do before the big day?

We are also on the forefront of bringing updated cuisine and style to our offerings--from entertainment to Instagram-worthy experiences you won’t forget!

What are some of the unique locations in which Weddings

By Palladium offers their guests?

is everything. At Weddings by beautiful and special venues for our oceanside on the sand at the edge of in a stunning hidden garden gazebo Jamaica. Our wedding coordinators property and they ask questions to each couple.

KB: We really think of our properties as places to celebrate. Of course we have designated wedding venues on our beaches and in beautiful pavilions and gazebos overlooking the sea. But we also adapt and get creative to suit each of our couples individually with their wedding vision. In Costa Mujeres, for example we have a stunning convention center with a brand new ballroom and a giant terrace that is perfect for larger celebrations, like those of our South Asian couples who come ready for spectacular, colorful, multi-day events that really raise the bar.

KB: Oh wow, this is a great question. There are some really practical things, like wear sunscreen! You don’t want to be sunburned in your wedding photos! Then also, you might consider making an itinerary for guests and either putting that on your wedding website or printing it and including it in a welcome bag to make sure everyone knows where to be and when the organized activities will take place versus when they’ll have free time to lounge by the pool/water. Include any helpful details about transportation to the ceremony, and your guests will thank you!

KB: Yes, whereas a few years back a destination wedding was more about simplicity and small groups, personalisation is really everything now, and with the rise of social media, the bar has also risen on creating special visuals and surprise moments that honor the couple and the occasion in a new way. For me, there is nothing more important than creating that element of delight and surprise, whether it’s with music, florals, a menu that honors cultural traditions with a twist, a fabulous bar with pro mixologists to dazzle your guests. Our Weddings by Palladium teams in each resort have cultivated close relationships with all of the top vendors in each destination and we work together to offer the latest in every category. Once we know a bit more about each of our couples, we make recommendations and work with them to layer the whole celebration with memorable experiences, from themed welcome events to get everyone mingling, to show-stopping theatrical moments during the wedding reception itself, to romantic photo shoots and dinners for the newlyweds along with other honeymoon details to really wow them. For us it’s really getting to know the couple and building something that is truly them, so that their friends and family feel their spirit and their style in every moment.

How does Palladium Hotel Group promote diversity and inclusion with its unique offerings?

guestlist, a destination wedding comes engaged couples and involves a ton should couples add to their to-do wedding go smoothly?

need to choose the date and send out a possible. If there are crucial family members to be there, you should talk with them

We use our theaters and our restaurants for parties and wedding receptions, and one of my favorite indoor-outdoor ceremony spots is the Spa Atrium at our property in Jamaica. We host a really popular “Private Beach Bash’’ as a welcome party, reception, or after-party at all of our hotels.

Also do review all the details of your celebration with your wedding coordinator when you arrive on site. Over the course of planning you may have added things or made special requests, and it will help you to go over everything and make any adjustments. Our coordinators always have a pre-wedding appointment with our couples to make sure everything is exactly as they want it. Then I would say to make sure on your wedding day to take it all in. I always tell couples to take mental snapshots all day long on the wedding day to help them remember these incredible moments.

And then finally, don’t forget to add in some alone time for you two, whether it’s arriving a bit early, staying longer, or booking romantic experiences like our Twilight Photoshoot or Dinner for Two on the beach.

KB: I can honestly say we have always been on the leading edge of this important part of our work as wedding planners, and it is something that has been important to me throughout my career. My family happens to be quite international, and after my sister met and married a Gujarati-American, we began working on a program for South Asian couples, then saw the trend explode. We now host so many absolutely incredible South Asian wedding celebrations of many traditions, and we’ve invested in training for our teams in all the various rituals and events that surround a wedding. We work with each family on music, menus, decor, dramatic arrivals, and of course, entertainment, to really wow their guests and to help their family know that we truly care. Some of the top South Asian wedding travel planners come to our team first because they know we have the expertise and the resources to make it happen!

When it comes to our LGBTQ+ couples, we welcome them with arms wide open. In fact, many years ago, on one of our first photo shoots at the Riviera Maya property, two LGBTQ team members actually fell in love! They were later married at the resort, and today they have three beautiful children.

For us, the key is that we work with each couple individually to find the destination and the combination of beautiful events and sweet details that will work for them. I purposefully designed the Karen Bussen Wedding Collection to allow couples, for example, to choose two bouquets or two boutonnieres, and to swap out elements as they please. Our approach is centered in flexibility and honoring each couple’s dream, which is what we’re all about!

We are known for crafting ceremonies and moments that are special and inclusive, and as we always say, LOVE=LOVE!!

How has Palladium Hotel Group’s partnership with wedding designer, Karen Bussen, distinguished them from other destination wedding services?

KB: Well, I have to credit the Matutes family, who are the original creators of Palladium Hotel Group, for their vision in wanting to create something different for weddings. When they first approached me, I was impressed that they knew there was so much potential, but that they were focused on quality and value, not only in their hotels, but in starting to actually build a weddings program to respond to the growing requests they were seeing. Coming from a background in exclusive, very upscale events, I was concerned about upholding standards, and they assured me from the very beginning that they were aligned. And over more than ten years of partnership, I have repeatedly found this to be true.

We’ve all seen celebrity designer partnerships come and go within the weddings world, largely because those were often licensing deals where, maybe there wasn't a really deep involvement or relationship between the two. But for me, what has been so special is that the leadership of the company welcomed me to help them build out not just the wedding collections and products, but also the very structure of the way we approach weddings--the leadership training, the creativity, how we talk to our couples--really everything. It’s a real testament to their vision that they have listened and invested in building something that couples respond to. How that translates to our couples: we are just singularly focused on them. When I am with the teams in the resorts, we talk about our couples. Our brides and grooms invite us to other family events and send us notes. This is how I have always worked with my private clients--creating real relationships. And that’s what we are constantly working toward with Weddings by Palladium. I mean, what’s better than meeting amazing couples and helping them have the celebration of a lifetime in an incredible destination?

Besides wedding celebrations, what are some other romantic experiences that are offered to couples?

KB: There is really no limit to what we can do. Our team lives to create romantic experiences and we’re always looking to do something new. One of my favorite new experiences is the “Twilight Photo Shoot and Dinner for Two.” Basically this is like the ultimate romantic evening, PLUS Instagram-worthy professional photos that you’ll have to share later! In a nutshell, you meet up with a professional photographer just before sunset. They take you to some pre-scouted fabulous photo spots for great pictures. You look amazing. Then at the end of the shoot, you find yourself at a beautiful table set for two. And soon after, you get edited images to fill your Instagram feed and make all your friends jealous!

We can upgrade this experience with additional decor (beach teepee anyone?) or almost anything else you can think of!

What are some wedding trends you see popping up in 2023?

KB: One of the things I really love right now is that after a couple of years’ waiting through Covid to travel, couples are now doubling down on really going after their full dream wedding, whether that’s an intimate getaway with a small group and the best of everything, or a blowout multi-day fête with all the bells and whistles. It’s like, we are going for it! And there’s nothing a true wedding planner loves more than having the chance to realize that vision. We’ve got all the resources, the relationships and the creative inspiration to help you craft that vision you’ve been building and bring it into reality in the destination of your dreams and I’d say to all our future couples, we can’t wait to meet you and see your Pinterest board!! :-)