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Quote: Originally Posted by CherryCoke We are also trying to decide between April 2011 or May 2011. Is the weather in May a lot more risky? The price point seams to be much better. Sara I was at the DRL for the first 2 weeks in May and we got married May 7. The weather was fantastic! Over the 2 weeks it rained for 3 consecutive days (in the beginning of the 2nd week) but the rain lasted 1 hour, max. The rain was a nice break from the heat and when it wasn't down-pouring we just stayed in the pool ... we were wet anyway and it was still warm

My bouquet The centrepiece Natural Arch Rose Petal Isle Caribbean Music Trio Wedding Cake Reception Location and Set-up

I am very sorry for the length of this review and I will have a few pictures to follow. I hope that it helps future brides. And thank you to everyone on this thread; you have all been such a tremendous help throughout the planning of my wedding. I returned a week ago from my wedding at DLR. We were there for 2 weeks and had 22 guests stay for the first week. The resort is amazing and all guests were extremely happy with everything. Most guests stayed in Block 2, some of us in Block 4 and a few in the preferred section in Block 7. Out of all of our guests rooms the ocean front suits (also included in the preferred club) in Block 4 were by far the best. The view was amazing and the room was large and gorgeous. The garden view rooms in Block 4 were ok. Not the nicest rooms I have stayed in but they did their job. The rooms in Block 2 were the oldest of all the rooms I saw. They had the tub/showers which were rusted. A few of my guests said that they had issues with the sinks and tubs not draining as well as our air conditioning wasn’t working the first day, but after a call to reception the problems were quickly fixed. The food was very good for an all inclusive resort. The choice of al a cart restaurants was fantastic and the no reservation policy was great. We had a group of 24 going for dinner most nights and it was never an issue to get us all in at the same times. We had either tables of 10, 6 or 4. My favourites were the French, Seaside Grill, Asian and Mexican. I only ate at the buffet for one dinner (Mexican) and it was quite good. Others in my group said that the buffet was good when they went. The free room service was great and came in handy quite a few times. The beach was fantastic!!! Although it is not very long for walking, it was more than big enough for the size of the resort and there were always loungers available. There is fantastic snorkelling right off the beach. You just have to swim out from the center of the beach, passed the swimming ropes/buoys and out to the white sticks/markers. I have a large interest in snorkelling and scuba diving and this size of reef right off the resort’s beach was great. There were not many corals, but there was some and there was numerous fish always around. This was also a little snorkelling around the pier. We went on 6 dives with Gri Gri Divers (the dive shop on site) and they were fantastic! We also booked a group tour for snorkelling and scuba diving at Catalina Island and it was well worth it. I would definitely recommend a trip to Catalina Island. Even if you don’t scuba dive or snorkel it is a beautiful island with an amazing beach. We also had the entire group do a sunset booze cruise with Gri Gri Divers for our stag and stagette. All the guys went off to the Chavon River and the girls went to Saona Island. Our boat drivers were so much fun and helped to make the night memorable. I thought that the spa was good. I have never been to a spa at a resort before but I was happy with this one. I had my hair and make-up done at the spa for my wedding. A complimentary hair trial was included and was a great touch. It made me feel more relaxed and confident in them doing my hair for the wedding. There was a little communication barrier which was a little frustrating but nothing too serious. I was just honest and if I didn’t like what they were doing, I immediately told them and it was changed. I think my hair dresser’s name was April (maybe Arial). They supplied 3 fresh white flowers for my hair for the wedding day. I think they did a fantastic job on my make-up and was very happy with it. My mom had her make-up done as well, but I think it was too much. She normally doesn’t wear make-up (like me) but she did not tell them it was too heavy and dark, so that is what she got. It looked good in pictures; it was just a shock in person. My husband and I got a couples relaxation massage in a hut beside the gazebo. It was great!!! Just make sure you catch the spa staff by the pools when they are handing out coupons. We were able to get 50% off, so it turned out to be $80 US for 50 min for the both of us. WEDDING Here is a quick intro into what I had for my wedding. There were 24 guests and the ceremony and reception were on the beach. The ceremony was at 4pm and was very beach casual. We had the Caribbean music trio for before and after the ceremony, including for when I walked down the isle. A rose petal isle, we brought our own champagne for the toast and had the white wooden chairs. The reception was at 7 on the beach. We paid for the bar service, had the silver menu and brought a Bose iPod dock for music. There was also a screen provided for a surprise slide show (surprise for my husband and I) and we had tiki torches. I met with Yanna three days before the wedding in the lobby. She had all of my communications with her and Tiara and there were no discrepancies between anything we had. I had prepared a timeline of the wedding day (as suggested by a fellow BDW bride) and it worked out great. I would suggest to any future brides to do this. She had a book with some pictures of bouquets, centerpieces, etc. However, there was not that large of a selection to choose from. I would suggest bringing down pictures of what you would like if you have something particular in mind. My bouquet had red and yellow roses and pink and white lilies; I was very happy with it. I had the natural arch and one centerpiece and all I said I wanted was tropical. They were both very nice and included sunflowers among many other flowers (sorry I do not what kind of flowers they were). The centerpiece also had Birds of Paradise in it. They also didn’t have any pictures (that I saw anyway) of the wedding cake. She just asked me if I wanted vanilla, chocolate or strawberry and I wasn’t sure what it was going to look like. It turned out fine. It wasn’t really fancy but I wasn’t too bothered. Again, if you have something particular in mind, I would suggest bringing a picture of it. We had to pay for the bill before the wedding and it was paid at reception. There was a DJ service to play your ceremony songs for you and for the use of a microphone. I did not use a DJ as I had the Caribbean music trio for the ceremony. The ceremony was located in the center of the beach (which I was not fond of). I asked if we could have the beach ceremony and reception at a more private beach location, but Yanna said that this was not possible. There were on-lookers for the ceremony which are in the background of the pictures. However, I did not really notice them throughout the ceremony since I had much better things to look at and my photographer said that he can photoshop them out of the pictures. There was also yellow caution tape surrounding the ceremony location to keep people out. The ceremony was very quick, maybe 10 min. The natural wedding arch was very nice. The only complaint I would have is that when it came time to sign the documents they placed them in front of us to sign and it ended up that we signed them bent over in front of all of our guests; not the best photo op. I did not have a rehearsal and maybe if I did this would have been sorted out. The reception was very nice. It started at 7pm and was on the beach. It was very private and we had the bar on the beach open till 11pm at a charge of $3 US + 26% taxes per person. They placed the natural arch behind the head table and the centerpiece which was on the ceremony table onto the head table. The Bose iPod dock worked well. However there was a resort beach party at the other end of the beach that night so we were sort-of competing with them so we could hear our music. But no big sweat, I was able to hear it and my feet were in the sand, so I was happy. There were plug-ins for the docking station all over the place and the extension cord that I brought wasn’t even needed. Dinner was great! We had the Assorted Dominican Appetizers (which included chicken wings ... a big hit), wild cream of mushroom soup which was fantastic, beef tenderloin and some pineapple cake dessert. I was never told (or never asked) if my guests could have a choice of the entree. The tiki torches were a nice thought but were not worth the money; the wind kept blowing them out. We had the beach until 11pm and I finally noticed the time once the waiters told us the bar was closed at 11:15pm. It took the group a while to clear the beach and the staff was very pleasant about it and did not “kick us offâ€. Yanna was with us from before the ceremony until well into dinner, maybe even cake cutting. I was quite happy with her and she was very confident in her job. For most of my planning down there I wasn’t sure what I wanted and I just kept telling her tropical. I had no idea what to expect and everything was beautiful. I am sure that there is some information that I have missed and if you have any questions please feel free to ask. Happy Planning and Weddings to everyone and you will definitely not be disappointed in your choice of Dreams La Romana!

I am doing a scrapbook style guest book. We are going to have our photographer take a picture of every couple/guest and then we will paste them into the book once we get home. We got the pages printed on card stock at Staples for $13 and I am going to have it hard cover bound with a leather cover for $40.

I am having this same problem; however I would like it if at least some of the words are in English. Also, I am looking for a slow salsa (mambo) style of song. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated; I leave for the wedding in 2 weeks!

jenne, I am sooo excited for you!!! I can only imagine what you are feeling right now! I wish you the most fantastic, stress free, rain free wedding!!! Congratulations!

brbr.bo, I have not tried to be in contact with Tiara for over a month now since I'm pretty sure I have finished my planning, except for what needs to be done there. Have you tried to contact the new WC? Hopefully she will be able to help. Has your wedding been given to her as well?

Quote: Originally Posted by Maybride2010atDreamsLR Hello ladies, This might be a really dumb question but here goes... for the ceremony, do we order chairs for the wedding party as well as the guests or just the guests? I am trying to to a price total and not sure how many chairs I will need. Tiara told me that the price of the chairs includes the use of them for both the ceremony and reception; therefore I will be asking for as many chairs as there is guests (including the wedding party). This way there may be extra for the ceremony but there will be enough for the reception.

Quote: Originally Posted by Maybride2010atDreamsLR I am just doing the natural arch. I believe it is under 200.00, I will have to check that one. I refuse to pay 350.00 for the huppa for 20 min service. I am sure they will make it beautiful and with the ocean in the background I think will be nice and beachy. I am keeping it all as simple as I can... that is the point of doing it on an island. The beach and ocean are the decoration in my mind. I feel the exact same way!!!!

GEM, The bar service costs $3+26% USD per person. I was unaware about the charge for the bar service as well. I was confirming everything for the millionth time with Tiara, and somehow it came up. I am not sure if this only applies to the beach reception or if there is a bar service fee is for a restaurant reception as well.

Quote: Originally Posted by GEM Is anyone else having their ceremony or reception on the Beach? We are having both (hopefully) and I just wanted to know what kind of decorations to have. The arch seems like a little much for us. Also, didn't someone say in an earlier post that if we do it on the beach that we have to have a buffet dinner? Because I asked Tiara and she said it is recommended for more than 50 guests...which we will probably only have like 20-25. I am having both my ceremony and reception on the beach and about 30 people attending. I don't really like the arch they have, so I am just bringing down some pictures of ones that I like and hopefully I will be able to work something out that I like ... and that isn't too much money. I am going to have a rose petal isle and the white wooden chairs. That's about it ... I think. Oh, and the Caribbean Music Trio. For the reception we are having the Silver Menu served to us and paying for bar service. We are bringing a Bose iPod system for dinner and dancing music. I am also having 10 tikki torches placed around the reception area. lreyes07, I have had the beach ceremony location reserved since I put my deposit down about 6 months ago.

Quote: Originally Posted by amygirl1169 Just noticed we have two May 7ths! Enjoy, ladies!! THANKS!! I am starting to get sooo excited. I am sure that you are too. I am also really excited to see the others brides down there since we have spent the last few months planning our weddings together

Quote: Originally Posted by Maybride2010atDreamsLR any ideas for wedding party gifts? We are giving the guys an engraved lighter, a cigar cutter and then buying their boardshorts for the wedding. We are giving the girls robes with their names embroidered and then buying their shorts for the wedding. I am also thinking about flip flop slippers for the girls. brb.bo, I am getting my groom a watch that he has been eyeing for quite some time. I bought it from watchshopuk.com. They have a great selection (it was the only place that had the watch), they extended the exchange policy for me, it was a great price and shipping was crazy cheap and super fast. I highly recommend this site for anyone that wants to buy a watch.

Quote: Originally Posted by SDbeachgirl Should I just go buy some really good quality thank you cards from a paper specialty store? I feel like it should be a little nicer than the cards that I am using for my bridal shower (purchased at a drug store). Thoughts on that? I am going to buy mine from Michaels. There are a bunch to choose from (casual to elegant) and they are pretty cheap.

Quote: Originally Posted by Maybride2010atDreamsLR Hi ladies, My fiance called WE DO and also the Dominican Consulate in Toronto today. WE DO is located in Texas USA. They told us they can do all the paperwork and send it back to us in 10 business days and would cost 255.00 each. The Dominican Consulate warned us not to use WE DO as they do their own translating and then still have to send it to Toronto for legalization. Then they give us another bill from the consulate for more money. Apparently, the consulate charges them the same as what they would charge us if we went in ourselves. I realize most people on this thread are getting married prior to going to Dominican, but are there any brides out there that are getting married down there that are dealing with the paperwork? Has anyone used WE DO? My FI and I are having a legal ceremony at the resort and I am going to be using WEDO to have all of our paperwork done. When I called them they told me that it was going to be $150 USD per person (and this includes the legalization of the birth certificates and the translation of the birth certificates and single status affidavits). They also told me that it will take 10 business days to complete the paperwork and that I can include $28 with all my documents for FedEx to courier my papers back to me or I can include a pre-paid courier envelope for them to send the documents back in. Since the resort requires the paperwork to be translated and legalized no more than 30 days before the wedding, I am definitely going to include the pre-paid courier envelope.