Dolcenotte12

Hello girls and congrats on your upcoming weddings...For those that are not familiar with me, I was married at Excellence in july 2009 (stayed 3 weeks) and have been there 4 times and returning this year as usual! =) Can you tell I love this place? Some tips for you: It is definitely not necessary to rent "special" chairs. I would say the plastic chair with a cover would probably actually look better than the "special" chairs they would provide at a cost. who knows what condition they would be in and that would bother me unless you are going to cover them and then whats the point? And because you are on a beach, the plastic chairs make a lot of sense!!! but i know some people have special preferences, but that is my opinion..i think you could use that money for better things that would actually be noticed. The ceremony is short anyway. I had my reception on the beach and they just pulled over the chairs they used for the ceremony and it looked absolutely perfect! Another thing: Gamc, what sort of vendors are you looking for? I would definitely say you must use what the wedding coordinators offer you as there is really no where else to find vendors in the area. Punta Cana is all farmland with no stores nearby, the closest strip of stores is at least 20 minutes away by car. If there is something unique you are interested in, tell your WC, and she can tell you if its a possibility or not. And on another note, PhotoSouvenir is an amazing photography company....I still look at my pictures frequently and I love them, they made me a beautiful leather bound digital album and a gorgeous slideshow...people tell me all the time what an amazing photographer I had..I also did a boudoir photo shoot this past July and once again PhotoSouvenir outdid themselves, with my help of course Any questions, let me know as I know alot about this place! I'll try to help as much as I can.

I love your slideshow...mine is done in the same style..that's a great program but it also needs a great photographer and beautiful bride to make it come to life!! awesome!!

I thought you pay for your wedding package based on the price/arrangements at time of booking, they can't just change things like that as they go along..that needs to be for the new brides only, not ones they have been working with for some time. It all depends on when these new arrangements were implemented. I would use that as my defense.

Nice shots mdb!! If I didn't tell you, congrats on your wedding!!! I have a few nice shots as well. This is the ceremony area and sometimes the beach looks like this. And this is the same area as seen from the walkway As you see, the beach is gorgeous!!!

I think that Excellence's beach is the most gorgeous beach of all my travels in the caribbean. It idoes not have white sand, more like golden in color. It is not calm water, there are aqua waves crashing to shore which may mix the sand around a bit in the water, making the shoreline look a bit murky at times. This beach has never had any seaweed, shells, or sea life any of the times I've been there. It's weird and I don't know its a good thing nature wise, but its great for pictures!! Depending on the time of day, the water will look bright turquoise or duller in color if the clouds are obscuring the sun. The beach is expansive and stretches for miles, making it less crowded and less likely to have strangers in your pics and in general when you are enjoying your trip. I've seen some brides from other resorts have people in the background that were not a part of the wedding. I don't know if that is the photographer's fault or if the beach is just packed. I think the beach is pristine and its surrounded by miles palm groves, making it look picture perfect. The fact that there is not another resort in sight makes it feel all the more private and special.

I should add that the presentation of the food at the reception and from what I was told about the cocktail hour was awesome! It was buffet style for the beach, but it looked so tropical and perfect! They carved fruit sculptures all around of doves and hearts, etc. Ana did a great job with the centerpieces, she did it all herself, I just told her what I wanted. She set up the memory table beautifully and the guest book area. And the ceremony went off without a hitch, great job with the planning there! Everything was just perfect! The music was great, we had Domingo the sax player for the ceremony and one hour during dinner at the reception. Then we had the Dominican band for 1 hr which brought out the limbo and conga line, which people liked. Then we had our own mix of music on cds with the special songs for first dance, entrance, special dances and cake cutting on a separate cd and they were labeled. She knew exactly when to play which song, it was great! Ahhh, what a perfect night. I just relived it!!

Oh thank you showtime, you are funny! LOL ...well I was so drunk that I fell asleep on the toilet that night..lmao. I also vaguely remember the cake cutting and then it supposedly started to rain around 11 after we cut the cake and people went back to the room because the evening was basically done, but I don't have a clue about any of that!!! LOL I stayed away from red wine, I had many many mamajuana shots and coco locos and whatever else people handed to me! LOL  Ok the spa is better to get ready in than the room, but it is warm, I am not going to lie. When I got in the horse and carriage I felt relieved that it felt cool outside because I thought it was as warm or warmer than the spa. Turns out it was the other way around which was good thing!! They were very accomodating in the spa, they gave us all a big room to get ready in after our hairdos were done. And I did my own makeup (worked for Chanel for many years) and used smashbox for my face (highly recommended), and chanel for eye, lip, and cheek color ( I always like chanel's colors, very rich color). I needed natural light so they brought one of those spa chairs to the second floor for me by the big skylight window for me to work with and then they brought up a stool so I can lay my mirror there and I sprawled out my makeup all over the place, what a scene but it worked and i felt comfy in that spot! LOL  My wedding was scheduled for 430 but it ended up occurring around 5-530 due to me taking pics in the spa. this worked out perfectly with timing for photos, cocktail hr and reception, although afterwards my hubby told me I left him sweating his ass off for a long time!! haha, oh well  Everything was extremely organized, no mishaps other than my dress being a tad too long when i walked down the aisle in the sand, causing some of the ruching to unfold and making me step on my dress constantly even when I wasn't in the sand. Ana came to the rescue with huge pins that she concealed when she pinned me. She rescued me lol. But planning wise everything was absolutely perfect!! We had 42 people and everyone loved the cocktail hour, they said the food was the most amazing there. We took some pics with family and bridal party and then they left for the cocktail hr and we took pics for a LONG time, but it was worth it!  The gazebo area is so lush and pretty so if you have a small group, that is perfect. But you know what it looks like already!!!  They look like they offer the Zookbook as the digital book..it looks similar to the Leather Craftsmen, however Leather Craftsmen is the top notch to go with. Ask Severine for the price difference between the two.  The boudoir session was amazing! I have such beautiful photos, wish I could share, but I will not do that on here, but they may be used as samples so you might see them through PhotoSouvenir lol. It is $590 I believe, pricey, but comes with an album as well. I think it is a 2 hr session. Mine was more like 6 hrs and served as their launch for boudoir photo shooting. She worked with Miguel Pumarejo ( who does the painted pictures and he has history with lingerie photo shooting), he took care of the lighting and some poses.it is studio lighting so it's a whole different style of photoshooting. It was much different than the wedding photography which used natural light. I knew both of them already and I was very comfortable. It was a very enlightening and empowering experience to do these photos! So glad I did it! The pictures are SICK!! We had a lot of laughs throughout the session while my poor hubby was in the pool all day, poor baby LOL I definitely recommend the boudoir shoot!  As you see, I like to write so keep shooting me questions if you want LOL

We had the 5 hr photo package, but i think it ended up being more like 8. I literally had over 1000 photos to look through. This was very hard to narrow down when choosing my album pics which was supposed to be about 80 pics and ended up being 150 pics!!! LOL Â Â I love love love Severine..she is one of the sweetest people I have ever met! And she is awesome at what she does, it is really her life and she is perfectionist!! I've done several photo shoots over the years with her, the last being a boudoir shoot for my hubby for our 1 year anniversary this past July! The pictures just blew me away!! Â I think the 5 hr package is more than enough and she/he will take tons of pics, but what you really want to make sure you get is a fab album that will last forever. My wedding album is from Leather Craftsmen and it is the most stunning creation ever. Severine ordered my wedding album as a sample at Excellence, so you will all see it if you look!! it is divine!! It was costly to upgrade, but so worth it. It is a flushmount digital album. Severine did an amazing job with the layout and would not order it until I felt the layout was perfect! I had my album in my hands less than 2 months after the wedding. Check it out at Excellence!! I'm so happy I am there everyday!! LOL Â In our package, we had prints of all our proofs, the painted picture by miguel pumarejo..simply stunning, (he is a VERY talented man), a slideshow that blew away a guy that works in TV production (saying he's never seen this new technology yet and he was surprised they had it in DR) , and I think the wedding video, just the ceremony, was included in the wedding package through Excellence, but we paid to have it edited. It made it much nicer. Â So I would def say invest in a good album, and either 5hr or 8hr package is perfect. I don't know what you mean when you say the digital package? what is that?

glad you enjoyed looking at them!!!

Hey Showtime, we are the 4th timer crew on this forum I guess!! definitely says something about the resort!!! I'd like to chime in on a few things. I had my reception on the beach and we had absolutely no critters of any kind that night, but as showtime pointed out if it is humid there is definitely a chance of critters around if you plan to have your reception outside! I was lucky enough to have cool breezy weather the night of my wedding! Everyone loved the wedding and the reception! They said it was unlike any other wedding they've ever been to!! Â The Agave restaurant by the fountain and open roof sky is what I would have liked if I had to have an "indoor" wedding. However the chance of rain still interferes with that location as the whole roof is open and does not close..the party would have to retreat to the perimeter of the restaurant to stay dry. But oh is it beautiful with the palms hanging over and the starlit sky..ahhh. But the problem is no one is guaranteed that location until it gets closer to your date and the wedding planners find that restaurant happens to be closed that night. Then you can use it. But if you have a small group, I'm sure you could have it there on any night, but it would not be private. They do not close restaurants for weddings. Wedding receptions may be held in the closed restaurants of the evening. Â I would also say the Lobster House is another great location. It is open air on the sides with a thatched roof. It is nice because the breeze from the ocean comes through and it is ultra close to the beach, pretty much right next to it. It also has a veranda area that is completely outdoors that is considered a part of the restaurant. I had my cocktail hr in this part of the restaurant. It is separated by a walkway from the restaurant. The nice part about the Lobster House is that you still keep that tropical feel because you are right near the beach, but dont have to worry about the sand or dancing etc. The same rules apply for the closing of the restaurants. Â I always loved the cascade pool area. The rooms are in a more private location, it is very lush and romantic there. If you opt into the club I really like the swim ups in building 11 and nice views there too! I agree with showtime about the swim up bar, it is the piss pool for sure!! No one ever gets out!!! LOL I don't like all the rowdiness there also. we create our own rowdiness here and there if we meet people but over there its a constant thing! And for a couples resort, we've witnessed some crazy stuff going on over there and some of the craziness was from our own wedding group, the things some people do..I'll leave it at that! LOL Â I love the club, but that's just me. I love the extra service you get on the beach. I love the club lounge. I like having the internet access and an escape from the sun/heat besides my room and having a cold drink in the coolest (weather wise) place on the resort. Regular rooms supposedly have a tube tv, the club rooms have plasmas and upgraded toiletries, Bvlgari, ohhh I am obsessed with their products now! LOL luxury is right! You get about 3 or 4 bottles of top shelf liquor for your disposal. I usually take them home. If you do not like the selection, we ask for something else. All the bottles they have are displayed in the club so you can pick what you would rather have. Otherwise the layout is the same. If you are getting married and have a little money to splurge, its worth it to upgrade to the club, at least for your honeymoon. it's nice to treat yourself to the best of things sometimes! Now that I have been clubbed, I can't go back!! Â Sidenote: Drink service at the bar SOL is top notch. It's like having a swim up bar without the bar in the pool because the bar is like 10 feet away. I have not seen service like that anywhere else on the resort. Constant drinks flowing and no getting out of the pool! The cascade area differs in this way. You have to get in and out usually to get a drink. Ohhhh the woes of life!! Haha I am so spoiled there its not even funny! Â As for the moldy smell, enjoy it, because you will miss it when you come home and your clothes have that faint tropical smell still on them. It brings your memories to life and you will ache to return! All I can say!!

MrsBeatty, congratulations on your amazing wedding and I'm so glad to hear you had an awesome time! Great photos too, Arturo is such a nice guy, he's a cutie!!! Â My wedding was on the beach as well, but we did not have the deck area as that was not built until after my wedding. The beach reception was a wild time, everyone loved it! No one complained of bug bites and I did not get a single bite and I get eaten alive, no buggies out the night of my wedding, they knew better! LOL Â A side note about the transportation services - You do not need to go through that stupid orientation, Like Beatty said, it is to get you to buy excursions, it is not a resort orientation, they just make it seem that way. Every time we go to Excellence, we just get our return slip the day before I leave from the transportation company's booth. It is a nuisance and I always prefer to avoid it. If I am interested in an excursion, I go to the booth when I'm good and ready. Â Also, as for the Excellence club, it is definitely not necessary and if you don't have it, you won't even realize you are missing out on anything. Because in truth, you get everything you need and then some with the regular rooms. The club just takes everything to a higher level, but if you need to save somewhere, that would be the thing to not opt into. I personally love the club and all the perks that go along with it, but its up to you to decide. If you get it on a sale and its not that much more expensive than the equivalent in the regular rooms, it is definitely worth it and I would say go for it. Â Congrats again, Mrs.Beatty!!!

Hello everyone, I am a frequent visitor of the dominican republic section on here and I got married there last July...I was wondering if any of you would be kind enough to vote for me on facebook so I can win this contest! I would win 100 dollars in Kindle merchandise if I get the most votes or "likes." Here are the instructions:  I think you have to be logged into facebook to vote.  Go to this site on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/medgeaccessories  then like the page  Then go to http://www.facebook.com/medgeaccessories#!/album.php?aid=196140&id=190018231946&ref=mf  and like my pictures which are pictures 13-19, 26 and 27!  Thanks for all your help!! I really do appreciate it!!

The simple act of meeting and speaking with your wedding coordinator will give you an idea of how smooth the planning process and wedding will go. To me, the most important aspect of your wedding planning is your communication with your wedding planner. Does she take the time to listen to you? Is she friendly and warm? Does she speak decent English so you can correspond through the internet? Ask: How many weddings do they do a day? Look at flower, cake, and wedding/reception choices and locations. check out the spa to see if they do a good job with hair/nails/makeup! Of course when you are there, try to find out when they are having weddings and check them out from a distance!!

I had my wedding and reception on the beach!! Beautiful and the reason I got married there!! The cascade pool is also nice or to keep things simple, a private restaurant or sectioned off part of the restaurant depending on how many people you have and if you are willing to spend more to have it private!

Thanks ladies for your compliments! Â Fmichelle...Photosouvenir is situated at Excellence, but they serve the entire Punta Cana area. They are not just for Excellence. If you happen to stay at excellence you get the perk of not having to pay a day pass for your photographer to be allowed in and get some small inclusions in your wedding package. I can tell you from my experience with Photosouvenir on 4 separate occasions that they are a professional, talented company, and they truly love what they do! I had a photo shoot done with my husband (then boyfriend) in 2007 with them, then our wedding pics, trash the dress, and just this past july an amazing boudoir photo shoot! Severine (one of the owners) is an outstanding, warm, passionate photographer!! Â Even though you may be at Excellence, your photo package is not included because as I said they aren't there just to serve Excellence, but Excellence sure is lucky to have them there!. Here is the 2011 price info... I think they deduct a few hundred if you are at Excellence. Â http://2011photopackages.wordpress.com/ Â Â We had a package that included 5 hrs photography, ceremony video, trash the dress, wedding painting, proofs in box, a 15 minute slideshow ( gorgeous!), an amazing album (upgraded to a leather craftsmen album and it was so worth it, it is actually sitting at PhotoSouvenir's booth at Excellence as we speak as a sample, it is THAT beautiful!) They put everything together for you quickly and beautifully!! I never regretted my wedding location choice or photographer for a second!! To be honest, I don't recall how much, but I would say around 2600-3000 dollars!! That was the bulk of my wedding cost (which wasn't so much) but memories are the most important part to splurge on!! The album alone was a 1000 dollar upgrade, but extremely worth it!! Â Hzak, Â The girls at the spa do an amazing job with hair!! They did my hair again this past July for my boudoir shoot and it came out amazing!! The orchid was real and matched my bouquet. The guy's shirts are cubavera from macys. Very cheap!! So were the pants!!