khomac

Have you asked Phil about his nephew Michael? Or Jamie Dimitry? You WILL have availability for your hotel - October is a slower month so no worries. Where are you flying out of and with what airline? I had 6 guests and it was perfect. The smaller the wedding, the more personal it will be. This way you don't have to worry about "putting on a presentation" for your guests. Weddings have become so huge and "entertaining" lately. A destination wedding SHOULD be small and intimate! You shouldn't HAVE to plan anything! My planning: homemade invites welcome booklet starfish ring "pillow" sand pail for the flower girl Michael Steingard and NO MORE! It was so relaxing and it was actually a vacation with friends and family instead of me trying to entertain them during the wedding. Relax, have fun, and enjoy all the moments

If you are trying to get to 150, visit CHIT CHAT CORNER. http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/f/50/chit-chat-corner You will be at your mark in no time. I particularly love Random Thoughts.

http://www.steingardstudios.com http://michaelsteingard.com/ http://jamiedimitry.com https://www.facebook.com/groups/233555243353035/

Don't worry ladies! You'll all have a great time. Things can go wrong at any resort in any country. You're flowers will look great (I didn't read the post), but honestly, no worries. Check out Majestic Colonial Brides on Facebook. The Colonial and Elegance are essentially the same thing. You all will love it Very luxurious!

you can still access the beach and lay on the loungers. I don't think there is a problem

Michael or Phil Steingard all the way!! You can see some of their pics in the facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2406102439&v=photos My album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=620745719&aid=338686 http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=350316&id=620745719

I mailed a letter by Purolator from Canada to Dominican and it cost $60.

I had a "going away" party 1 week before we left. It was a chance for everyone to meet each other at home first and talk about the trip. They were able to ask questions and get to know each other first. This is when I gave away my OOT bags. Maybe you could give them most of their items in advance and then have a welcome letter/book made up and hand those out at the resort? There's lots of info about welcome letters here http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/list/69 Good luck!

Can't? I don't even know HOW!?! My God! Quote: Originally Posted by JB321 Brandy those are some of the cutest flip flops I've seen!! I need to find a good pair cuz lord know I cant wear those damn heels all night lol. I can't imagine walking around on tip toes the whole day and night?! How do you do it? Gorgeous shoes, but I'd probably fall flat on my face this icon is a picture of my brother after I fall lol

Bumping the thread in case there are "others" out there Would love to hear from you!

Here's some links from the past that some might find helpful. http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/38345/boat-cruise-catamaran-rental-la-barcaza http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/43636/wedding-boat-reception-option-review http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/55710/jellyfish-restuarant-and-wedding-boat-bacaraza http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/51593/dominican-republic-excursions http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/50885/punta-cana-excursions http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/66688/la-barcaza http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/4710/la-barcaza-yacht-punta-cana

Hey Mel, here are a few links to information about the boat. Jellyfish restaurant is also pretty cool and I wish I would have done that option instead! http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/38345/boat-cruise-catamaran-rental-la-barcaza http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/43636/wedding-boat-reception-option-review http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/55710/jellyfish-restuarant-and-wedding-boat-bacaraza http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/51593/dominican-republic-excursions http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/50885/punta-cana-excursions http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/66688/la-barcaza http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/4710/la-barcaza-yacht-punta-cana

Due to government changes? I don't think so. They just don't want to deal with it anymore I'm guessing. It's quite common for Dominican's losing things or putting to the side or making excuses. I've been dealing with the embassy for the past 8 months and it's just brutal. You are able to get a copy. It's actually cheap ($1, or $330 pesos) and only takes a few hours to retrieve, but there would be the fee for shipping it to you. They would need full names of you, your husband, your witnesses, and the date of the wedding. I got a copy of mine in Higuey. They have an office there. But they only speak Spanish. Let me know if you want me to find the phone number for you. I deleted it from my email already but could contact my wedding coordinator. Don't worry! We'll get you your copy!

I don't believe you'll find anything close to any resorts. Punta Cana is a stretch along the ocean with no major cities nearby. There might be a La Sirena in Hiquey but not sure. Don't worry about forgetting anything "vital". Everything will still be gorgeous and wonderful I forgot to pack my viel, and it turns out the wedding coordinator had one anyway lol. And it was a better match than what I originally had "Something borrowed" lol The perfect wedding day is one where you have your family and friends with you who made the effort to travel to be there with you, your man, and a RELAXING day. It still goes by so fast so don't stress about little details. All the little things will soon be forgotten and the only thing you'll remember anyway is spending time with everyone

Natalie - My husband is from Higuey so we go there all the time. I believe there are excursions that go into Higuey I just don't know any of the details. Taking a cab might be expensive, just be sure to work out the pricing details before you get in. I believe the cab will even wait for you while you shop. All of the prices are in Peso's. If you exchange money into Peso's you get a better exchange rate than you would paying US$ in the store itself. If you wondering about how safe it is, it's definitely safe, and busy. Be sure to stop by the Basilica to get pics as well. I don't know if you can go inside anymore. I thought I read somewhere that they closed it to tourists because it interfered with the locals who go to pray and pay their respects to loved ones past.

They have a store in Higuey which is like a Walmart. It's called Iberia - bottle of Brugal Rum - $8.00. Higuey is about 40 minutes from the resorts in Punta Cana.

I don't think you need to worry. You will be keeping everything quiet, no one will know you got married, you won't be celebrating and telling everyone - you probably won't even FEEL married?! Then when you do it in the DR, you get to dress up, get all dolled up, have dinner and celebrate with more friends and family surrounding you. I think this will feel more like you're wedding day, you know what I mean? I say definitely do legal first, then symbolic in DR. I wish I would have done it this way

I think you guys are going to be out of luck They are on clearance, so my guess is that they are going to be discontinued I already got married and still want a pair lol. I'm a 10 as well.

all day coverage 11-11, plus 2-3 hours trash the dress. You get all images taken, onto a DVD, retouched, highest quality. Usually 1200 - 2000 images?

These ones? http://www.6pm.com/naughty-monkey-tiara-black

Best to call him by phone: 1 888 864 9832 http://www.steingardstudios.com [email protected] PhotoPhil Steingard on Facebook He's very active in the "Majestic Colonial Brides" facebook group and you can see what other brides are sharing him at the same time as you. Quote: Originally Posted by natalie7 Smart.. how do I do the same?? how do i find this out?? Quote: Originally Posted by jennie5186 When you have Phil do your pictures, do you pay for his whole trip and flight plus the photo session fees? I tried getting a price list of his but unable to get it. Does anybody have it?

Thanks for the reply Shannon! We were in the Punta Cana Section. I'm pretty sure you could make reservations days in advance (we just didn't look into it), and I don't see why not? We took a look through the room categories in the Bavaro section and the basic rooms were identical to the ones in the PC section (in case anyone was wondering). GP does have better and a lot more entertainment at night than the Majestic. The Majestic had the piano bar, the garden bar (where they played Jazz), and then from 10-11 the theater. I loved that the GP was playing local music like Merengue, Bachata, and Salsa (plus they all had singers, the majestic didn't). Then the Disco opened up from 11-2 (Majestic was 11-4 or 6am I believe?).

I stayed at the Majestic twice (Jan '08, Oct '09), and just came back yesterday from the Grand Palladium. You won't be disappointed with either hotel. Personally I prefer the Majestic, I also got married there. Majestic: Beautiful grounds More colorful and visually appealing resort (blue pool, green grass, beige walkways, terracotta decorations, beige & terracotta colored buildings) - I took tons of pictures here and maybe 6 pictures of the Palladium Gorgeous rooms Better than perfect pool Perfect size Staff spoke great English and interacted with you a lot Better disco Palladium: Beautiful rooms (almost identical to Majestic just a little smaller) Better food Live Dominican music in at least 3 separate locations (Majestic usually only had jazz and piano live) 2 theaters for entertainment Stay at 1 play at 3 - Very large resort (a bit of a pain for restaurants that are further away) Dull looking resort - all you see are buildings (green, yellow, beige), green grass, and trees. The only benefit to staying at the Royal Suites would be the room - very quiet section with no entertainment. Very few tables of 5+ at the A La Cartes causing a wait of an hour plus as it's first come first serve (buffet no problems) You can make reservations IN PERSON ONLY at 6pm (I don't know if you can make it for days in advance) - a bit of an inconvenience Locals come on the weekend and bring 11 kids with them (staff even commented that the kids act like piranhas) More Europeans (a bit rude and pushed you out of the way with no apologies) Staff socialized mostly with the Europeans who spoke Spanish I didn't find any downfalls to the Majestic but could find downfalls to the Palladium. I just can't compare the wedding experience between the two.

I stayed at the Majestic twice (Jan '08, Oct '09), and just came back yesterday from the Grand Palladium. You won't be disappointed with either hotel. Personally I prefer the Majestic. Majestic: Beautiful grounds More colorful and visually appealing resort (blue pool, green grass, beige walkways, terracotta decorations, beige & terracotta colored buildings) - I took tons of pictures here and maybe 6 pictures of the Palladium Gorgeous rooms Better than perfect pool Perfect size Staff spoke great English and interacted with you a lot Better disco Palladium: Beautiful rooms (almost identical to Majestic just a little smaller) Better food Live Dominican music in at least 3 separate locations (Majestic usually only had jazz and piano live) 2 theaters for entertainment Stay at 1 play at 3 - Very large resort (a bit of a pain for restaurants that are further away) Dull looking resort - all you see are buildings (green, yellow, beige), green grass, and trees. The only benefit to staying at the Royal Suites would be the room - very quiet section with no entertainment. Very few tables of 5+ at the A La Cartes causing a wait of an hour plus as it's first come first serve (buffet no problems) You can make reservations IN PERSON ONLY at 6pm (I don't know if you can make it for days in advance) - a bit of an inconvenience Locals come on the weekend and bring 11 kids with them (staff even commented that the kids act like piranhas) More Europeans (a bit rude and pushed you out of the way with no apologies) Staff socialized mostly with the Europeans who spoke Spanish I didn't find any downfalls to the Majestic but could find downfalls to the Palladium.

Phil and his nephew Michael are located in Barrie Ontario (if you talk to them, tell him Kelly Homac sent you!) . They travel about 9 times a year for weddings and stay anywhere between 3 days and 3 weeks. Phil can be reached at 1 888 864 9832 [email protected] http://www.steingardstudios.com Michael can be reached at [email protected] (but sometimes it takes a few days) http://www.michaelsteingard.com/blog/2010/10/ (look through his blog for recent pics)