Oryx

I live in a condo and have no room to store my beautiful wedding dress! I am hoping another bride will enjoy it as much as I did. This dress is a one-piece, strapless, A-line gown with lace-up closure. This style features Slinky Stretch Satin with an asymmetrical wrap decorated with embellished lace motifs. The asymmetrical draping continues through the skirt, caught up at the side seam with a sparkling beaded lace motif. This dress is very flattering on any figure, but especially helps to compliment full hips. The cut is beautiful and classy, and the satin is gorgeous and glowing. I also found that this gown was not overly heavy and was great for my destination wedding. I have already had the dress professionally cleaned -- there are some small scuffs on the lining, but nothing noticeable. http://www.maggiesottero.com/dress.aspx?keywordText=ALEX&keywordType=any&page=0&pageSize=15&style=A3200 Size: 14 Height with shoes: 5'7

Yes, it was very nice... beautiful, but very small and quiet also. We were exhausted from our wedding week and enjoyed the relaxing time, but if you like to go to the disco and party, this is not the place. Almost all of the guests were couples, and many of them 50+. The restaurants were great and the beach was amazing. They had a butler coming out quite often to serve drinks on the beach, and also a guy walking around with fresh, cold fruit! If you want to just be into yourselves and relax on the beach, this place is great. Very quiet and they pamper you like crazy. Might be a nice break if you have a busy wedding week. Also, you can visit the other Iberostar hotels next door if you get bored. We had a nice time, but I don't think we'd ever go back -- not worth the money really. I actually enjoyed the Majestic more.

Hmmm, they told me $90 for vendors and $50 for guests. I don't think it would have raised that much!

You can find some decent stuff at Stars -- check around though, because each location seems to have different stuff.

Yes, the updo is $80, but the bride gets 10% off. You can charge it to your room, if you want. But don't forget to bring a little cash for the tip!

Everyone at this hotel really goes out of their way to make you feel special. Just tell them that you are 'la novia' and they will treat you like a princess all week! Also, the atmosphere was great for a group -- the resort is large enough for people to have some alone time if they wanted to, but not so big that you couldn't find people. The beach was amazing, and the rooms were large and clean. The staff really know what they're doing here -- don't worry, you'll be in good hands

I'm glad this information is helpful!! Aaronlori -- the updo was $80, but the bride gets 10% off. You can charge this to your room if you want, but bring some cash for the tip. You can contact the Colonial spa directly at [email protected], although they can take a while to get back to you sometimes.

Yes, I'm from Ontario. When you complete your civil ceremony here, they should give you some sort of document saying that you were married. They call it a Record of Solemnization here -- not sure what they call it in Newfoundland! But I think they should also give you something?

Hi ladies, I have received several private messages asking me how much things cost. I put together all of our expenses and I've included a breakdown below. Some of these costs were paid to the hotel, and some were paid directly to vendors (i.e. photographer, videographer, DJ, etc.). We did not get any special chairs or decoration packages -- the chairs come covered already with white chair covers and we brought the chair sashes with us. They set everything up for us very nicely. Here is the breakdown for our ceremony (all prices USD except our photographer who was CAD): Symbolic wedding package: $1250 Pastor Rick York: $300 Day pass for Pastor York: $90 Bridesmaid flowers (2 bouquets + corsage for mom): $127.60 Boutonnieres (2 groomsmen + dad): $20.88 Decorations (aisle runner + tulle for gazebo + orchids lining walkway): $160 Trio live band: $300 Videography (Bright Light Moon package): $550 Photographer (Phil Steingard from Canada): $2600 Total for ceremony + photography = $5398 Here is the breakdown for our reception (all prices USD): Presidential suite: $1000 ($500 deposit + $500 on site) DJ Mannia: $850 ($450 deposit + $400 on site) Day passes for DJ: $100 Buffet 27 adults: $1871.10 Buffet 2 children: $69.30 National bar for 3 hours (27 adults): $1275.75 White tent rental: $465 Flowers: $320 (I didn't get a decoration package but wanted 4 large centerpieces) Cake decoration: $25 (5 flowers for the cake + we brought our own cake topper) Total for reception = $5976 Note: check prices for DJ Mannia because he quoted us $900 at first. He may be raising his prices for 2011 – best to confirm directly. And I'm not sure why the day passes were cheaper for DJ Mannia than for Pastor Rick -- DJ Mannia brings a couple of guys, but maybe they have a special deal with the hotel. Also note that the videographer (Bright Light productions) is with the hotel, but you have to pay him cash directly the day after the wedding. Total cost for wedding (not including travel, attire, favours, tips etc.) = $11,375 **These prices should be used as a guide only -- I hope this helps with your budgets! Best of luck!

I brought a copy of the Record of Solemnization, and that was sufficient for the symbolic ceremony. As for the cake, they charge about $5 per flower for the decoration. I brought my own cake topper and they charged me $25 for my cake decoration (see below). Hope this helps!

The guys stayed in the best man's room and my maid of honour stayed with me the night before the wedding. It's much easier for the guy to move -- not so many toiletries and make-up to bring along.

Congrats everyone!

Hi ladies, Mrs. LowUFO was my first reply and she is willing to pick up the sashes. Glad I could help out!

I have 30 crystal organza chair sashes that were used at my wedding. They might need a little steaming to get the wrinkles out, but are otherwise in good condition. I also have 3 matching satin table runners in coral. Free to anyone in the Toronto area who wants to come pick them up! If you cannot pick them up, then perhaps we can arrange to meet at Yorkdale or I could ship them to you (for a small cost). Please contact me for details if you're interested.

Here is another link with pictures of the different reception spots: http://philsteingardphotostudio.myportraitgallery.com/Presidential/

Hi Tink, The best option would be for you to e-mail the resort directly: [email protected] They will send you the latest price lists and options. I have attached the last version that I have... hopefully you can see some of the options there (i.e. Wet Bar, Parrot Bar, etc.). We chose to have our private reception in the Presidential Suite with a buffet dinner and DJ Mannia. DJ Mannia is an outside vendor and not part of the resort. But you can certainly have dinner, dancing, speeches, and the whole bit! I know how much we paid for the Presidential Suite, but can't really help with the other reception options. You might also want to check out this photo album, to get an idea about reception locations: https://picasaweb.google.com/Weddingbymajesticresorts Best of luck! Wedding Extras 2011.pdf

P.S. I found this website with the annual average temperatures and rainfall for each month. February has the least rain, on average. Temp: http://dominicanrepublic-guide.info/weather/temperature/ Rain: http://dominicanrepublic-guide.info/weather/rain/

The weather was amazing! Usually about 27 degrees C during the day, but with a humidex of 30+. Almost everyday was sunny and beautiful (it rained one day for about 2 hours during my trash the dress!). The beach usually had a nice breeze that made the sun more bearable. The nights were beautiful -- cooler and comfortable for sleeping. I didn't need a wrap or sweater, but you might want to bring one, just in case.