Very very general pricing question, please help!

[astef]

Hi everyone,

 

I am a brand new member here, just starting to think about my destination wedding, hopefully sometime next February, one year away. So, I have not yet chosen a hotel, but I do think the Dominican seems like the easiest place to get married, based on requirements and all that.

 

Anyway, I would love it if someone could give me a very general idea of what these weddings cost. I am hoping to have a group of approximately 50 people, at a nice resort, for example Majestic Elegance or Melia.... 5 star hopefully. I am not sure if you need more information before you can give me some estimates, but I'd really appreciate any help at this point.

 

Thanks so much, I'm excited to have found this website!

 

Alex

[BeachBrideSoon]

Hi Alex,

 

It will definitely depend on the resort you choose and what they have to offer.  It will also depend on what you would like to have for your wedding day... if you want a DJ, photographer etc.

 

I was just married in Dominican at the Majestic Colonial and can help you with some questions you might have.

 

What sort of costs are you wondering about??

 

Eryn

[astef]

Well, in terms of the wedding dress, jewellery, hair, make up, I know what those costs will be. But I am wondering what resorts charge for the actual wedding.

 

What I do know is the following...

 

- I want a beach or gazebo ceremony

- I want the reception to be private, not in a restaurant with other vacationers

- I want to rent a sound system but will bring my own music

- I want an open bar (from what I understand, this is ridiculously expensive considering we are at an AI resort... but oh well...)

- I want (if possible) to extend the timing of the reception... I know that some resorts give you the reception for 4 hours or something like that, I don't want to be limited like that if at all possible

- I will probably find my own photographer instead of using the resort, as many pictures I have seen taken by resort photographers are a bit cheesy, although I haven't looked that hard yet so I may be wrong...

 

Again, I know this is asking a lot, but I am just wondering what ballpark I am in for this.... $10,000... $20,000... $30,000??? I have NO clue right now Thanks again!!

[BeachBrideSoon]

Oh, okay.  Each resort will charge different pricing but I will give you a rough estimate for what you have listed below....

 

Beach or gazebo ceremony will likely be free of charge if you have 50 people attending if you have less than 30 people, the package for a wedding (which doesn't include much) would cost around $1200

If you want your reception to be private(I'm assuming you mean where you eat?? - I ate and had the dance at different places) the cost could be roughly $70ish per person

To rent a sound system would depend on the location you pick to have the reception but would cost maybe $500/hr which would include renting out the location of where your dance would be which would make it private and exclusive to your guests only

As for the open bar, it can cost anywhere from $15-$35 per person per hour(yes, RIDICULOUS prices), one option for me was to bring my own booze and pay a $10 per bottle corking fee and this included the price for the bartenders.

For most resorts(I've never heard of them allowing for an extention for a reception unless its in a private room because of noise bylaws) you wouldn't have to pay for it if you're renting out a room(I would think quite expensive...not sure)

As for a photographer, depending on who you choose(if you find others getting married near your resort around the same time, some people will share photographers so paying for their travel isn't as expensive) it could cost between $1500-$3000.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Originally Posted by astef 

Well, in terms of the wedding dress, jewellery, hair, make up, I know what those costs will be. But I am wondering what resorts charge for the actual wedding.

 

What I do know is the following...

 

- I want a beach or gazebo ceremony

- I want the reception to be private, not in a restaurant with other vacationers

- I want to rent a sound system but will bring my own music

- I want an open bar (from what I understand, this is ridiculously expensive considering we are at an AI resort... but oh well...)

- I want (if possible) to extend the timing of the reception... I know that some resorts give you the reception for 4 hours or something like that, I don't want to be limited like that if at all possible

- I will probably find my own photographer instead of using the resort, as many pictures I have seen taken by resort photographers are a bit cheesy, although I haven't looked that hard yet so I may be wrong...

 

Again, I know this is asking a lot, but I am just wondering what ballpark I am in for this.... $10,000... $20,000... $30,000??? I have NO clue right now Thanks again!!

[clgriffi7]

For my wedding at Dreams Cancun:

 

I am choosing a package for $2799 that includes the ceremony, cocktail hour, and private reception (3hrs with alcohol) for 20 people.  Per person above 20 you are looking at $93 (after taxes and tip), it would be ~$65 per person for just the reception and no cocktail hour.  Extending the reception past 3 hours will be ~$400/hr for the DJ and $20/pp/hr for keeping the drinks coming.  I think $2000 - $3000 would be reasonable for a good (but not best) photographer.  So $10,000 is definitely doable for the wedding day itself - how much above that will depend on things like how crazy you want to go with flowers, how expensive your flight/hotel will be.

 

 

 

Originally Posted by astef 

Well, in terms of the wedding dress, jewellery, hair, make up, I know what those costs will be. But I am wondering what resorts charge for the actual wedding.

 

What I do know is the following...

 

- I want a beach or gazebo ceremony

- I want the reception to be private, not in a restaurant with other vacationers

- I want to rent a sound system but will bring my own music

- I want an open bar (from what I understand, this is ridiculously expensive considering we are at an AI resort... but oh well...)

- I want (if possible) to extend the timing of the reception... I know that some resorts give you the reception for 4 hours or something like that, I don't want to be limited like that if at all possible

- I will probably find my own photographer instead of using the resort, as many pictures I have seen taken by resort photographers are a bit cheesy, although I haven't looked that hard yet so I may be wrong...

 

Again, I know this is asking a lot, but I am just wondering what ballpark I am in for this.... $10,000... $20,000... $30,000??? I have NO clue right now Thanks again!!

[astef]

Thank you, that helps a lot

[KCB2011]

Just thought I would let you know our pricing for our resort - Dreams La Romana.  This is the info I got from the WC at the resort:

- beach/gazebo locations are almost always included for no extra charge.

- Our resort charges $30-$60 pp for a private dinner/buffet or you can rent out an entire restaurant (don't know if this is still an option, but used to be) for $1260 which includes food and alcohol.  Just the "open - bar" cost at our resort is something like $3 pp plus tax and gratuity (26%) I think - I haven't got the crazy high quotes on the open bar like others have.  Our WC also suggested that you choose a restaurant for the reception dinner that has a bar already or one near it and people can go get drinks from there - ours has a bar that is around the corner from our private deck area so no open bar required.

- our resort charges $250 to rent speakers/sound system

- we could only have a longer reception if we use their ballroom/conference room for the reception which is more expensive for the meal...otherwise at 11pm they move your party to the disco

- if you get a photographer from somewhere other than the DR, you will have to ay travel which can add on quite a bit to the cost, but I have read lots of great reviews about local photgraphers at all of the locations - check the forums because I think there are quite a few "photography" threads and people can give suggestions of local photogs which would save you some money!

Our budget for the destination part of our wedding (including flight/hotel packages for both of us) is about $9000.  We have ~40 people, private reception dinner, no open bar, paying for boat tour for all guests, includes OOT bags and decor.  So I would say you can make it work for $10000 for sure. Oh and this is for a Dreams resort.

Hope this input helps!
 

Originally Posted by astef 

Well, in terms of the wedding dress, jewellery, hair, make up, I know what those costs will be. But I am wondering what resorts charge for the actual wedding.

 

What I do know is the following...

 

- I want a beach or gazebo ceremony

- I want the reception to be private, not in a restaurant with other vacationers

- I want to rent a sound system but will bring my own music

- I want an open bar (from what I understand, this is ridiculously expensive considering we are at an AI resort... but oh well...)

- I want (if possible) to extend the timing of the reception... I know that some resorts give you the reception for 4 hours or something like that, I don't want to be limited like that if at all possible

- I will probably find my own photographer instead of using the resort, as many pictures I have seen taken by resort photographers are a bit cheesy, although I haven't looked that hard yet so I may be wrong...

 

Again, I know this is asking a lot, but I am just wondering what ballpark I am in for this.... $10,000... $20,000... $30,000??? I have NO clue right now Thanks again!!

[Dmitri_Markine]

One of my clients yesterday mentioned during a meeting that her day at PPC(Paradisus Punta Cana) will cost her about $18,000 for 35 guests(wedding,flowers,their 14 days at the resort,dinners,etc and myself as their photographer). They also laughed that the same thing here in Canada would've costed them about 40,000.

 

All the best!!