Thomasjsgirl

Quote: Originally Posted by SonyaR At the Dreams resorts can you have your dinner at the buffet restaurant or one of the a la carte restaurants without having to pay extra? Some of my guests think it's crazy that we pay for extra dinners for the wedding when they've already paid for an all inclusive package. My FI doesn't want our guests to be eating the same food that they've had all week while I just want to go for what is most cost effective for our budget. Thanks! You can have dinner at the one the restaurants, but if you choose from a set (special) menu, you will pay extra for it. The buffet is huge, and very casual so I don't think it's really the most appropriate forum for a reception - but that's just my opinion! EVERYBODY feels the same way as you do about paying extra for food when you're at an AI. Unfortunately, it's just the way it goes. Speaking from experience, what you're paying for is a special menu (so the food is different, and slightly more upscale than what's normally offered in the restaurants); dedicated staff waiting on you and your group; privacy of having a reception in an area that is not open to the rest of the guests (Himitsu is the best). It can add up quickly, but your alternative is to sit amongst everyone else. If that doesn't bother you and FI, then go for it. BUT, if you have a large group, you may pay extra because of the size and you may not get the venue of your choice because of space limitations.

I only WISH I had chosen a short dress! A long dress is a pain in the a$*. Go for it!

Wow that's a lot of stuff! Your guests are going to be surprised and impressed! Good job

Picture your hair done, your beautiful flowers in your hands, jewellery on, and your handsome FI on your arm. Looking at your dress without any context and in poor lighting is sure to give you unnecessary worries! Relax, it's beautiful on you!

Hi! I'm a former DPC bride, and if a white, sandy beach is one of your "must haves", then DPC is not the resort for you. Everything else about the resort was wonderful, and all of my guests loved it (some are going back for vacations because they were so impressed with it). But, this hotel is situated at the point where the Caribbean and Atlantic oceans meet. Therefore, the water is much rougher and is green, not that beautiful blue you will see on the Bavaro side of the island. Nevertheless, we all had a great time bodysurfing in it! Besides, the pool is absolutely fantastic and we spent most of our time near it (and the pool bar, of course). Re the Preferred Club: IMO, not necessary, especially if you book the Honeymoon Suite. You're going to be spending all of your time on your wedding, and with your guests, so anything "extra" you have access to at the PC really isn't worth paying for. The Honeymoon Suite is huge and you have a hottub on your balcony. It's about an hour away from the airport, so no worries about planes flying loudly over. The ride from the airport to the hotel (and back) was decent and not nearly as horrible as some people on TripAdvisor have claimed. I don't know what they expect, after all you're in a third-world country for Pete's sake! My WC was Maria, and she was wonderful. I don't see her name mentioned on the boards these days, so perhaps she's moved on. Miguelina was my initial WC (before I was switched to Maria) and she was definitely not as responsive and helpful as Maria was.

I ordered mine from cheaptotes too, and was very impressed with both their service and the quality of the bags. If I have any observation, it's that mine were a little smaller than I imagined, but that's totally my fault for not checking out the measurements closely enough. At the end of the day, they were plenty big to hold the OOT contents and all of our guests used them to hold their towels and sunscreen during the week. I was pleasantly surprised by that, as I just assumed everyone brings a beach bag with them while on vaca. But nope, so good thing we had them. Although they would have looked fantastic with our logo, we chose to forgo the logo so that people would be more inclined to reuse them when back home and chose to tie on welcome tags instead. Again, great supplier and great prices. I highly recommend them. And here's the tag we used:

Welcome my fellow Canuck! ARe you in Olympics withdrawal too? I would be getting after those suppliers to make sure your OOT bag supplies are in transit. 21 sleeps will go by pretty quickly. As for the dinner vs. reception, yes, they can be interpreted as two seperate events. The WCs are infamous for not responding to questions, and this is not isolated to any one hotel, they're pretty much ALL that way! That said, I wouldn't worry about this. Once you get there, the final arrangements will be made with your WC and it will surely be no problem to ensure you have a dinner AND reception. Just make sure you're bringing your own music if you're not going to hire their DJ. An ipod dock and speakers you can rent from the hotel are all you need (plus someone to be your designated music person). Good luck and congrats!

It looks great with the colour. I wasn't too crazy about the font at first, but it's grown on me. It's very casual, and therefore perfect for a DW.

the colours are gorgeous

Varsity Blues: John Voight

Love the colours. Is this DIY or are you having them made?

Quote: Originally Posted by ashley1316 Hey everyone! My FI and I are just about to book our date with the resort. We have to put down a 10% deposit to hold our date.....no biggie. I am trying to find out thou, if we can have a reception. Everywhere i have looked in the wedding packages, all they offer is a private dinner. and by a reception i mean, a time where we can dance, have a time to do speaches ect. We are having our wedding at Gran Bahia Principe. in Punta Cana. So if anyone knows any info, pls pls let me know! thanks a bunch! Most of the hotels do offer private receptions and I believe Bahia Principe does too. It might help to repost your question and put Bahia Prinicpe in the title section. that way former BP brides would catch it quicker and provide you with a timely answer.

Allie! I am also a former DPC bride - Nov 2008. You'll find tons of info in the Dominican forum, as well, check out the reviews section. You can search "Dreams" and you'll get the reviews written by couples (OK, the brides) who were married there. There's lots of detail, and a lot of your questions will be answered, I'm sure. As well, if you have questions that aren't answered in any of the threads, feel free to contact any of us former (and current) DPC brides directly. Happy planning!

I travelled with Sunwing and split up the decor and OOT bag items among my immediate family members. Regardless, I ended up spending almost $700 on extra weight charges! $20/kilo adds up very quickly. No one asked me for receipts, either in Toronto or in Punta Cana. My advice - if you have a lot of items, split it up amongst MANY of your guests so as to lighten the load. There isn't anything I regret bringing, and my guests loved the OOT bags, I just wish I had split up the load better.

Welcome! This is site is a goldmine and there isn't anything you won't be able to find out just by surfing and by asking the other brides (including us old married ones!). Have fun

those are so cute! you did a great job

Sold! I'm in Toronto, let me know where I can meet you (send me a PM) and I'll gladly take them off your hands. I don't have any events coming up, yet, but if I don't buy them, of course something will materialize and I'll kick myself for letting them go!

Quote: Originally Posted by Natural Could you tell me where you got your flip flop playing cards from please? Thanks, Natural Hi Natural, I ordered them from Oriental Trading, but that was back in 2008. I'm not sure if they still carry them, but, here's the link. Have a look! Party supplies, crafts, party decorations, toys: Oriental Trading

We did starfish wine stoppers. they aren't heavy, so they were easy to tote with us, and not a problem for the guests to bring home. Here's a pic of what they looked like:

Welcome! If you've decided where to have the wedding, go into the area that is specific to it (i.e. DR, Mexico, Jamaica) and start reading through the threads that talk about the hotels. Also, if you go into the general area there is a section on reviews. These are actual reviews posted by BDW brides and it is a wealth of information. Lastly, a TA you trust will be really helpful. Those that advertise on this site have lots of experience in booking destination weddings and will be a good resource for you. Good luck!

We asked everyone to attend the orientation session put on by our travel group and after the rep finished his spiel, we handed out our OOT bags. One guest didn't arrive until the next day, and we just held it for her. If you're having guests arriving on different days, you could arrange to meet them in the lobby when they arrive, or if you're having a welcome dinner (or other event), that would be a good place to hand them out too.

I have 44 dark purple organza chair sashes left. Here's the link to my sell thread: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...g-stuff-56124/

Awwww! What a great story and your ring is beautiful!

So sorry to hear about your dad, and the problems with Signature! I used Sunwing, and they were fantastic. I'm hoping their level of service can remain high despite merging with Signature. You're very fortunate to have had a TA that didn't give up. Kudos to her!

Have a look at the wedding reviews section. THis is where you will find full reviews of weddings including the travel arrangements and the hotel amenities, wedding in general, etc.