LadyCheese

Damn Celina, I'm so sorry this happened! people can be so rude and inconsiderate jerks.

very nice photos!!

Quote: Originally Posted by DanielleNDerek Jess I'm sorry you had a lot of issues at Dreams. I know when i was looking into locations in Punta Cana their wedding cordinators were really hard to get a hold of, I was hoping that things would of gotten better for you but it sounds like they need a lot of work still. I can understand if the wc is overworked there but it sounds like she didnt care. If she's too busy to make sure all your guests make it to the cocktail hour than I'm sure she could of had another staff member do it. How was the actual resort itself? it looks really nice on the website. I'm really glad you liked Severine, she's fantastic. Did you get your pics from her? How did they turn out? Congratulations on your marriage! Hey Danielle...you are absolutely right, the WC should've had help on that day especially for a large party like ours. The resort itself is beautiful, I would go back! Severine is really sweet...she gave me all my pictures before I left, I just have to find the best way to display them or perhaps just wait for her to send me the slideshow (?)

Thank you ladies for all the great comments and well wishes. I hope to have some pics up really soon, I promise

Quote: Originally Posted by Abbie jessica i'm so happy you have a great attitude about it all it sounds like overall there were some annying things but you really seemed to roll with it cant wait to see pics! let me know if you need help uploading any! Thanks Abbie. Seeing how happy our friends and family were for us made everything else seem really small...thank God.

okay, thanks Tammy.

Thanks...I havent posted pics yet...i dont know which way is best or the fastest. As for the DJ, unfortunately we didnt have a contract with him. He's a longtime friend of hubby so we didnt even think we would need one (stupid mistake that will NEVER happen again, I dont care if you are the Pope, I'm getting a contract)...and stupid mistake #2, we didnt put insurance on his trip so we are really sh*t out of luck.

Oh, I'm back ladies!!!! We had such a great time despite some ups and downs!! It feels good to be back though and to have access to BDW!!

Danielle, I'm glad I wasnt swimming in that pool!! LOL. And poor girl who got smashed in the face with a bottle, thats sick.

Quote: Originally Posted by foxytv Great review. I don't know if I would have given Lissette even a C based on all those issues, but I'm glad you were able to roll with the punches! And I would have a hit on that darn DJ - WTF? You still don't know what happened? She was close to receiving a D, I'm just too nice at times. I still don't know what happened to the DJ but lets just say there are several guys looking for him already. That will have to be on a thread all on its own, LOL.

Quote: Originally Posted by KHarrod Thanks for the review, it was helpful and it makes me nervouse about my upcoming wedding there. Did you have a symbolic or legal wedding and was it in English? I cant wait to see the pics, did they charge you for using a outside photographer? We had a symbolic ceremony and Lissette performed it in english but at times it was hard to understand what she was saying and it was really short, 10 minutes tops; I seriously don't remember what she was saying. If I were to do it over again, I would have our reader do the entire ceremony. The only thing we had to pay in regards to the photographers was for their "visitor's pass" which are $75 each.

Quote: Originally Posted by Alyssa did you send a message to tammy host about it? it doesnt even let me do that...i will try again though, thanks. I can't even access the reviews I posted.

excellent review, the pics are great!

Wedding Coordinator (Lissette)—C- Wednesday: Where do I start…Lissette was not my original coordinator, she is in fact the 3rd person I had to deal with in the 10 months leading up to the wedding day. I must say however that she was the only coordinator who emailed me back fairly quickly and that was really appreciated it. She didn’t always answer all my questions but I would email her again to say she missed something and she’ll reply with an answer. We met with Lissette on Wednesday and lets just say she’s not the most enthusiastic person you will meet, which is a let-down because this is a happy occasion so you expect the coordinator to show that kind of emotion as well and be excited to be a part of your day and planning it, etc. She asked me how many guests (even though we had emailed her a list prior to our arrival), what kind of cake flavor, and which flowers I wanted for my bouquet…basic questions and then that was it. She didn’t ask me about the ceremony music or decorations, centerpieces, nothing….she didn’t even ask me if I needed any corsages or extra bouquets for the girls (even though I didn’t need them, but the point is she should’ve inquired about this at this point). Her part of the meeting took about 10 minutes (if that). She told me to put everything (decorations, etc) in a suitcase and bring by her office and that’s what I did. She called me Friday afternoon to ask me how I wanted the centerpieces, etc…this was my fault because I took a picture of the centerpiece but left it at home but I explained to her how I wanted them set up. I then asked her about having a brief rehearsal on Friday and she made a comment saying she doesn’t think it’s really necessary but if I wanted to do it, then she doesn’t mind (WTF). She really just didn’t seem interested which again makes me frustrated and killed my happy mood. We had told her prior to arriving at Punta Cana that we would like a welcome reception for our guests…the manager told us our guests can come to “Dominican Night” at the beach and there would be no extra charge because it’s a weekly sponsored event at the hotel. When we get there, Lissette (and the manager, Gabriel) tell me that “Dominican Night” starts at 3pm till about 6pm….mind you my guests arrive after 6pm that night. My travel agent was upset because she was the one who worked this out with him (and he had confirmed everything in writing) and he kept saying its “Dominican Night” but when we get there he tells me it’s not a party at night, it’s just a Dominican buffet at the World Café---big difference!! Lissette summed it up as a miscommunication (you think?!). My letters to the guests were already typed out inviting them to a Dominican Night that didn’t even exist! So I asked the manager to secure enough seating at the buffet so when my guests arrive we can still get them together and eat…he gives me a nonchalant response that Lissette will have to speak to the food & beverage manager and see if they can arrange that…and he walks away back into his office because he didn’t even invite in to sit down (gasp!). So I asked Lissette to let me know if that will be a problem and I leave. Thursday: Lissette finally tells me that they will have a “Dominican Night” just for us as a private event at the beach at 8:30pm. I asked her where at the beach and she tells me she’s not really sure but once I get there I should see them set-up somewhere towards the right (ok!). Mind you it’s been drizzling on and off the whole day and it’s windy…but I thanked her for her help with this and proceeded to the lobby to await my guests. The majority of the guests arrived on Thursday on one bus…it was such a beautiful feeling to see all of them get off the bus, I had goose bumps! While our guests are checking-in and getting situated, my fiancé and I head on to the beach to see what’s going on. We almost didn’t go because there was a light drizzle and super windy but I suggested we go because if there is staff waiting, we’re going to look bad not showing up. I tried looking for Lissette first but she wasn’t around. We get to the beach and look around…we saw staff members under the roof of the bar that’s close to the beach area (on the left) and they had a buffet set up. We talked to the staff for several minutes and realized this wasn’t going to work…the space under the roof was too small for 65 guests, there were no tables set-up under the roof, all the tables were out in the open and it was drizzling, and it was super windy. The staff was asking me what we wanted to do giving the conditions, I felt horrible because there was about 6 waiters there and a supervisor, the food was out but the supervisor was very nice (I think Melvin was his name) and said that its okay, that its not our fault, Lissette should’ve communicated better with us and with them…he assured me that it was no trouble to put away the food and do it another day if we wanted. I felt so bad, I wanted to cry. Not only did these hard workers waste their time doing this but now we also have no reception for our guests. In the end, our guests were all starving and ate at the buffet then we met them all by the bar located in the theatre and had a really great time. Friday: We met with Lissette near the gazebo and she’s just standing there, not saying anything or doing anything…looking once again like she rather be somewhere else than there! If I was a wedding coordinator, I would introduce myself to the bridal party, get them to line up, and tell them what they need to do. That’s not what happened…she basically just tells me that everyone has to meet in my room on Saturday and pointed where we would be walking down, and instructed me to wait in the room until she come get me. I thanked her for her time and she left. That was what she considered a rehearsal! (I later come to find out that Lissette has only been there fpr 6 mths. I'm not sure if she has had prior coordinator experience) Now the rehearsal dinner…prior to leaving the states, I also let her know that I would like to reserve approx. 25 seats at a restaurant for our rehearsal dinner Friday night, I selected the Italian restaurant (which is not a restaurant by itself as I come to find out once I’m at the resort, its actually a small area located inside the buffet restaurant, with no divider). So I asked her if I can have it elsewhere, she says yes “Oceana” but it has to be a set menu, which is not a biggie. We go through the whole menu, I give her my selections, and ask what if there’s people that don’t eat fish (I had to choose only one main dish)…once again she says she doesn’t know what would happen but she will ask the restaurant and see if I can choose an alternate (I never get an answer). Several hours later she calls to say that there is a private event being held at Oceana so we won’t be able to do it there after all. So we just have it at the Italian “restaurant”. We ended up having a really good time and I had to have a set menu as well but I picked chicken parmesan which most people like and it went very well (FYI-they don’t offer a dessert at this restaurant so if anyone wanted dessert they had to go to the buffet to get it). As part of the wedding package, Dominique received a room for the night and they accommodated him without any problems. Saturday: After 2 days of rainy and windy weather, I awoke to find a clear, sunny day (hallelujah!)…I can’t even remember if I ordered room service for breakfast, I don’t think I did because my stomach was not feeling too good still…but I went to the salon to get my hair done… Salon—A The lady who did my hair was very nice…I brought a picture with me of what I wanted and she had to try it 3 times before she finally got it and it looked very nice. She was patient and she cared about what she was doing which I really appreciated; she just didn’t give up and let me walk out with something I didn’t want. She even asked someone to get her fresh flowers which she added to my bun as a special touch. Dominique was going to be at the pool with his friends, so I knew the coast was clear…I headed back to my room and began the preparations. Severine and the videographer (I think his name is Francois-he wasn’t Fran however) arrived shortly there after as scheduled. PhotoSouvernir—A++ I cannot begin to say enough about Severine and PhotoSouvenir. She was prompt, professional and yet caring and sociable (unlike Lissette). She was always asking me if I needed help with anything…as we were walking towards the beach for pictures she bustled my dress so I can walk better…she even carried my parasol and helped me with my shoes. She was just a genuinely nice person who loves her craft but also knows how to connect with people and make them feel comfortable. The videographer (Francois) was also very nice and friendly…they were always smiling and that was nice to see. Here is a pic of us with Severine that we took once we got to Excellence: Ceremony: The ceremony was scheduled to start at 4pm but Lissette didn’t come to get us until approximately 4:30pm (maybe a few mins before that)…she said she was waiting for more guests to arrive and be seated (don’t know if that was the case or not but I really wasn’t stressing it, too nervous to care). She played the song selections I gave her for the bridal party and for myself…it was so nice seeing everyone there. As I got closer to Dominique I began to cry….he was crying himself. We had a friend do a reading and then Lissette said her part…no one could see her, she was off to the side which I guess was a good thing because she was wearing her uniform…you’d think Dreams would require them to put on a blazer or something more appropriate for weddings but apparently not (according to the manager, this will be changed in the near future). Finally we exchanged our personal vows and we were pronounced man and wife…she played the wrong song for the recessional but it was not a big deal. I was too happy to care. We managed to get everyone together for a big group picture and although guests were aware that the cocktail and reception was taking place at the Himitsu Terrace, not everyone knew where the Himitsu terrace was located and Lissette was nowhere to be found to direct guests in the right direction. So Dominique and I were actually telling them where they should go and with 65 guests it’s not the easiest of tasks. After the guests make their way upstairs, Severine whisked us away for some beach pictures before the sun started to set. I loved the beach pictures so much…it was really windy but we had a great time and they came out fabulous. Reception: We get back from taking the beach pictures and we’re about to go upstairs when one of Dominique’s friends asked us what’s going on because they’ve been sitting there for almost an hour with no food (where’s the cocktail hour?)….so of course that’s not what any couple wants to hear on their wedding day! So we head upstairs and the entire reception is indoors instead of the terrace where I had chosen but I assumed it’s because it was windy and they feared it may rain. No biggie yet. What I came to later find out is that everything was set up outside on the terrace however glasses were falling over because it was very windy. A family friend asked Lissette if they can move everything indoors…Lissette refused because she states I requested the reception to be outdoors. Mind you I asked Lissette at the rehearsal the day before, what would happen if the weather was not good and she said everything would be indoors and I said “ok” and so I assumed she had a plan B ready just in case (not exactly!). Our family friend and my mom were insisting everything be moved inside and Lissette left to her office for about 20-30 minutes. She came back with a gentleman and he repeated that the bride requested the reception be outdoors and they couldn’t move it without my consent. Mind you, no one came to ask me what I wanted to do while I was taking pictures, if it was such a big deal. Eventually my parents tell them that everything should be moved because it’s windy, glasses are falling over, napkins are blowing—and they finally agreed, however they asked to be given 30 minutes because the banquet room was not clean nor was it set-up with tables or linens (so much for having a plan B in place). They should’ve had a room ready for something like this. Some of our friends were helping set the tables because there wasn’t enough staff and from what they told me Lissette looked overwhelmed and nervous. Eventually more help arrived and they took over to finish setting up the tables. We get introduced into the reception around 6pm. The tables looked a mess. I had 6 chocolate brown runners for the round tables…she put 5 runners on the round tables and 1 runner on our long table, the other round table had nothing…the candles were all mixed up-it was supposed to be 1 tall, 1 medium, and 1 short candle for each centerpiece…some tables had all short candles, it was just a mess. She didn’t turn any of the candles on either….I provided her with “bling” to sprinkle on the tables, she never used them. I provided her with “I Do” letters to put on the cake table, she never brought them with her so they didn’t get used either! The cocktail hour was set-up next to the buffet area so no one knew that they could help themselves until we walked into the room. The best man wanted everyone to have flutes to do a toast, we were told they didn’t have enough flutes…they only had 13 flutes for a party of 65! I asked for a Kahlua with milk, they had no milk…LOL. They sent someone to get milk but I didn’t get my drink til after about 30 minutes or so. I must say the food was pretty good…I chose buffet option#2 and the chicken and salmon were tasty. For appetizers I chose chicken wings (I didn’t taste them, they ran out pretty quickly and they didn’t seem ready with a second batch but they did bring out more eventually), sushi (I liked), and turkey canapés (didn’t try them)…Lissette kept disappearing and was not directing the guests to the cocktail hour, etc…so the lack of communication is what caused our guests to sit there for almost an hour with no cocktail hour. My problem with Lissette her lack of interest (that's how Dominique & I interpreted anyhow) and she’s not proactive at all. Granted I know these ladies are overworked and most likely overwhelmed as well-so I don’t entirely blame Lissette, I blame her superiors for putting them in this type of environment without giving them extra help….especially for our wedding since we had 65 people. There was a wedding at Dreams every single day we were there and on Friday there were THREE weddings…On Saturday, there were two weddings. (I spoke to the manager the next day and he said that they are currently working on upgrading their wedding department and the way things are done). DJ— F We had purchased an airline ticket and paid for his room—he’s a longtime acquaintance of Dominique’s—who is a professional DJ in NYC. He was supposed to arrive on Thursday along with everyone else but he didn’t. When I called my travel agent she said there was no notes in her computer, it just looks like he never showed up! We tried calling him but got voicemail. He never called us or emailed us-to this day we have no idea what happened to him. The week before we left we spoke to him and he went to pick up his airline ticket at our friend’s house. Dominique is thinking of how to deal with the situation. We spent $900+ on him and he never showed up. Maybe he had an emergency or maybe he just totally screwed us over but this will have to be continued… Two of our friends played DJ for us with their Ipods…and although it wasn’t the way we had planned everything turned out great. People were dancing and having a good time anyway. We didn’t get to do our 1st dance to the song we wanted because no one had it on their Ipod but we picked an alternate song and it was still very special. Around quarter to 10pm, Lissette came to be and said it was time to wrap it up…I asked her if we could extend it until 10:30 and she said no problem. I was glad she gave us the extra time because everyone was up and dancing. After we left the reception, we headed to the Desires Lounge for the after-party. Cake— B Lissette had emailed me a picture of the complimentary cake and we really did not like the way it looked plus we had a lot of guests so we needed something bigger. Overall, I think they did a good job on the cake…it was a little lopsided but what could I do at this point. The cake itself was delicious!! Everyone couldn’t stop raving about the way the cake tasted. I had a lot leftover still so I wish I would’ve brought cake boxes for guests to take some at the end of the night. Overall I must say we had a blast. Things didn't necessarily come out the way we planned but everyone looked to be having a good time and the most important thing was Dominique and I are now husband and wife. Dreams is still a spectacular place to have a wedding, one just has to really stay on top of the coordinators as much as possible so that certain details do not get looked over. [/center]

ok...at least its not just me. thanks ladies

Is anyone getting a "Sorry. Your IP has been banned by the administrator"? I can't view certain threads or even posts in certain places or access the User CP because I keep getting this message. I've tried logging off and back on but it still persist. just a glitch?

Hello everyone!! I am back…first of all Happy (belated) Thanksgiving to everyone!! I hope everyone had a good holiday and plenty of food to eat. We got in late Thursday night so we didn’t get to eat turkey until Friday morning!! It was delish nonetheless… For those who may not want to read my looong review, overall we had a fantastic time and a beautiful, emotional wedding with 65 of our closest friends and family. We stayed at Dreams for 7 days and then we moved to Excellence for our honeymoon. So its not crazy long, I will post 3 different reviews: Dreams Review, Wedding Review, and an Excellence Review. Then I will post some pro-pics as well as none pro-pics on a separate thread. Dreams Resort—A We arrived in Punta Cana on 11/17 and it was an hour commute to Dreams. Not a bad ride, a bit bumpy at times but it wasn’t horrible. We were greeted with champagne, which was great because I was really thirsty! Me, my fiancé, and our daughter are checking-in and the guy is trying to get us to upgrade to a suite for a cool $560 extra…we say “no gracias” and head off to our room. When we get to the room its only one bed but the room looks nice…a quick phone call to front desk gets us moved into a room across the hall with two beds in no time. However I start to think how I saw on our voucher “complimentary honeymoon suite”…so I head back to the front desk and ask him to show me the voucher and I was right. So I point that out to him and he gives it to the supervisor who apologizes…he states that I am correct, we should’ve been given a suite and it was an oversight (indeed!). So once again we are moving but I was glad we didn’t unpack anything! The bell boy transferred all our bags to the suite in no time…we get to the suite and are pleasantly surprised! The suite is beautiful and spacious with a Jacuzzi on the balcony. We had one king bed but the living room had a sofa bed which our daughter used and slept comfortably in. The suite is definitely worth the extra money if you have it….we had a lot more space to spread out all the wedding stuff and for our daughter to do her thing as well; and with 2 TVs, there was no fighting for the remote control. Several guests had to switch rooms...some rcvd one bed where there should've been two, someone didn't like their room and the AC was not working, but the front desk did a great job of switching everyone's room within 15-20 minutes. The front desk staff is excellent...especially Kelvin, he's a supervisor & he has great customer service skills and Wandy was a very nice guy also. The resort grounds are very impressive…the pool is amazing. There was never a shortage of lounge chairs either...maybe because in Nov. they are not as busy as the summer months. The staff was very friendly and courteous...we met some really great staff members who always remembered our faces and came to chat, like Glenda! The Spa is beautiful and they were always offering 30% off coupons which is nice if you want to get a massage or something. The buffet restaurant, World Café, was okay…I liked their breakfast the best but that’s just because I’m a breakfast type of person anyway. Lunch and dinner had quite a selection of foods and to me it was decent… (Some of my guest including my mom didn’t really care for the food or the selection but everyone has different tastes & expectations). By Wednesday or Thursday, Dominique and I started experiencing stomach problems but I brought medication with me and it didn’t get severe. Several guests also experienced stomach issues but this is sometimes the norm when you visit another country and over-indulge on their food and drinks. I felt really sick on Friday but this was due to wedding jitters because right after the ceremony I miraculously felt much better!! LOL. Inside the buffet they have a “Kids Corner” with 4 different food choices for the kiddies as well as a little ice cream bar. This is where Nia ate the whole time we were there. Explorers Club: My daughter loved coming to the Explorers Club…the ladies there did such a great job with the kids. Every hour they had different activities planned for them. During peak sun hours (10-3) they’ll keep the kids out the sun because that’s when it’s the hottest out. They have their own pool and sandbox and jungle gym. Indoors they have different things for them also, Playstation, painting, etc...Nia would be there everyday, all day, if we let her!! We tried a few of the restaurants while we were at Dreams. The first night we tried Himitsu…there are two sections, the Chinese section and the Japanese Hibachi section. We got there around 7:30/8pm and for Chinese there was an hour wait, they gave us a pager to alert us when our table is ready. For the Hibachi, there was about a 2 hour wait and they do not give you any pagers…they told us to come back at 9pm and stay in the vicinity to guarantee we will get a seat because it’s very popular. We didn’t want to wait for Hibachi so we had the Chinese and it was pretty good. I had something like sweet & sour chicken and it was delish. I liked the ambience as well. We had a good view of the Hibachi and the chef was very entertaining. We’ll have to try that next time we’re at Dreams. El Patio: the Mexican restaurant…it was very colorful in there and the Dominican Trio does a great job of singing at every table, they sound really good! The food was okay, could be better…the portions are really small and it took a long time before the main course came out. Dominique ordered the spicy wings as appetizer and it came with TWO wings. After eating there, we all went to the buffet to fill up our bellies!! LOL Seaside Grill/Oceana-They are right next to each other...and the ambience is also very nice. All of our guests were accommodated at Oceana Sunday night for the “last supper”. We didn’t go through Lissette for this at all…we just spoke to a staff member there and told them approx. how many guests and it was no big deal…we waited for 30 mins before being seated but we were okay with the wait. We didn’t have to do a set menu either. The staff was great handling such a big group…they used several large round tables and we all had a great time. They let us order from both menus if we wanted to, Oceana and Seaside Grill, which was nice. Entertainment: I thought the entertainment at Dreams was pretty good. Those dancers did a really great job, they danced their butts off! I would see them rehearsing every afternoon. They did an excellent job as well of getting people involved in dancing, etc… [/center]

hi all, I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this but I wanted to say that in a few hours I will be on my way to the airport with my soon to be hubby!! Words cannot begin to express how I truly feel about this forum, it is the best!!! I'm so glad I accidentally found this greatness called BDW. A special shout out to Tammy for even putting this together & keeping it going...and to the countless ladies (and gents) who have helped me and have been so supportive and helpful--a big thank you!!! I didn't have time to finish my planning thread but when I come back I will definitely finish it and I will have lots of pics to share. I will be back the day after Thanksgiving so I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!! Talk to you soon

Quote: Originally Posted by EricaG So I thought that I would post a pic of my TTD dress that my mom made for me. My MOH is to the left of me and my sister (BM) is too the right. My Mom made both their dresses too. It isn't a great pic of the TTD dress, but it is the best I have access to right now. your dress looks cute and the girls also...nice blue color!!

they look great!!

did you purchase them on their website or at a store? They are really cute!!

great photos Danielle! you guys look amazinG!!

hello my fellow November brides...I havent been able to chat with ya'll these past few weeks like I would've like to. so much to do, so little time. i leave this Monday for Punta Cana and I get married in 9 friggin' days!! crazy!! I hope I get a chance to do a planning thread but a lot of stuff got packed (fiance trying to help) without me taking a photo. We'll see what I can do.

Quote: Originally Posted by jkcz0702 I know you probably have enough on your plate since you are leaving so soon YEAH! you could try going to bridal shops and buy a dress off the rack. Good Luck I'm going to check david's bridal, see if they have something i can get off the rack....thanks.

Quote: Originally Posted by Morgan check craigslist to see if anyone in the area is selling a used dress look at a department store. my wedding dress (and TTD dress) came from macys. holiday dresses might be out already. just get something long, white & preferably flowy. just don't stress yourself out shopping. find something that you like & just go with it. thx Morgan, you're right, no need to stress now. I'm going to hit macy's this wknd and hopefully find something flowy and inexpensive that will serve its purpose. wish me luck!