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@keight: I did all my planning under the assumption that weddings occurred on Saturdays. It wasn't until after I had submitted my request with my top 3 Saturdays to the resort, that I realized there was no reason why I had to get married on the Saturday. Since we were going to be at the resort for the full week, I could have chosen to get married any day. However, if you have a lot of people who may not be able to get time off work/school etc. The Thurs-Sun 4 day vacation may be better for them, which means Friday or Saturday would be the best day for the ceremony. Happy planning!

Interesting. I've ordered several things from the US before and only had to pay duty on my travel mug order (discountmugs ships via UPS). Everything else has arrived with no issues...

They look great!

So far, everyone who has booked has been part of my group on the same flight from Toronto. This is good and bad, mostly for the OOT bags. Good because I can use some of their baggage allowance (MOH, BM, MOG, FOG, FI's kids who thankfully don't need full-sized suitcases but are going to be bringing them anyway ..lol) to transport the goodies for the OOT bags. However, this is also bad, because I really wanted the OOT bags to be in the rooms when the guests checked in. I will still have to retrieve the contents and assemble them once we get there, so maybe I'll be able to get them into the rooms while everyone is out at dinner the first night?? Hoping that the WC will be able to arrange this!

Yikes.. I just created a spreadsheet to calculate how much I've spent so far on my OOT bags. Tote Bag $3.81 Travel Mug x2 $7.04 First Aid Kit (bandaids, tylenol, pepto, tums, hand sanitizer & tissue pack) $4.75 Flip flop playing cards $0.69 Key & Tip holder $0.71 Pen $1.07 Calendar Magnet $FREE Welcome letter (postcard saying thanks for coming & enjoy the goodies) $FREE My total per bag so far is $18 and there doesn't seem to be a lot in there. I'm not sure what else to add that won't cost a fortune but will bulk it up enough. A lot of my orders are in still the mail, so once I get everything I've ordered so far, I'll assemble a bag and hopefully there will be more than I thought!!

Great bags!!!

Great bags! Do you have a template for the name tags? They are really cute!

Can someone help? I'm going to Buffalo this weekend and plan on stopping at DollarTree for some OOT bag items. From what I've seen on their website, they sell everything by the case... eg. Tylenol Go Packs come in a case of 72... If I don't need that many, is it possible to buy individual items?

Awesome thanks for posting! I will be ordering some from her!!

@JodieP: I had the same situation for the Riu Palace Punta Cana. I had originally requested the Royal package for up to 40 guests, then the 2011 packages came out and now it's only 15 guests. I have contacted the co-ordinator, and unfortunately, they will not honour the 2010 package even though it was booked in 2010, they said all 2011 weddings will get the 2011 package.... depending on how many guests you have, you can pay a small additional fee per person instead of upgrading to the Caprice package. I don't know what the fee is, they said it depends on how many people and what sort of options you chose.

Welcome! We have some things in common! I'm from Hamilton, ON... My FI's name is Jason, and we are also getting married on the beach in Punta Cana (Riu Palace Punta Cana) on Feb 26, 2011 Enjoy your planning! You'll love it here!

Oryx, thanks for starting this thread. I'm getting married Feb 26, 2011 at the Riu Palace Punta Cana. I have confirmed my ceremony time of 4pm, ordered my dress & jewellery, sent out Save the Dates, waiting to hear back from the photographer, started my OOT bags and booked 8 guests through my travel agent! Woohoo!

Arggh, I hear ya Dolfinluck!!!! I placed my order on Friday. 10% off would have been awesome!

Your brochure looks great! Thanks for sharing.

That's cute! I don't think anyone will think anything of the beer in the background, now, if it was a counter full of bottles, it might require a re-take

@Hunieduew: The Royal package dropped from 40 to 15 guests and the Caprice dropped from 60 to 40 guests for the 2011 packages. So far, I have about 25 guests, so I have to figure out the cost difference to pay the extra per person charge or just upgrade to the caprice. When are you getting married?

Those look great! I might have to borrow the idea!! Thanks!

The easiest way I have found is to create a free account on Photobucket. Upload your pictures there and when you save them, it gives you a share link. Type your message and then copy and paste the link to your picture in your message.

Done! Good luck on the project.

The Riu resorts offers the free wedding package as well with 5 rooms booked. This would work well for your small party! • On-site wedding coordinator to help plan the special day • Bouquet of flowers for the bride and a matching boutonniere for the groom • Decoration and set up of the ceremony location • Two bottles of sparkling wine • Wedding cake for up to 10 people • Wedding group dinner at one of our specialty restaurants • CD or recorded music during the ceremony • Ten percent discount on all spa services • Surprise spa gift • Surprise gift and fruit basket

Great Job!! I'm sure you guests loved them!

I can't believe there's only 10 months left! Time sure is flying with all the stuff that needs to be done! Save the Dates Mailed! Dress bought! ETA July (Mori Lee 2189) Ceremony Date & Location Confirmed! February 26, 2011 ~ 4pm @ Riu Palace Punta Cana Flights and Hotel Booked! Group rate for Bride/Groom + 8 guests and counting OOT bags ordered! I love Vistaprint I am starting to work on the goodies for the OOT bags. So far, I have 2011 calendar magnets, oversized postcard welcome letters, mailing postcards (only 1 design so far), & pens.. I'm still looking for first aid kits & larger items (beach towel/travel mugs/etc). I think I should wait to see the actual size of the bags first!

That's awesome news Erin!!! My FI has 2 children (13 & 9) but he has full custody. We still need the letter of consent from their mother, but so far, she hasn't made any fuss about them going to the DR for our wedding (I really don't think she can due to the custody agreement). I see your wedding is in a few weeks! Hope you have an amazing time!

I found this map of the Riu Complex in Punta Cana. Took a screenshot of just the building as I was going to label just the resorts (Palace Macao, Bambu etc). I have since decided that I would like the labels for restaurants too but can't for the life of me figure out where I got this image from!! Arghh.. I have found a scan of the booklet they give you but the quality is not as good.. Anyone seen this one around? Able to send me the link? Thanks!

The closest I'm coming to TTD will be the photos taken immediately after the cermony. We are definately getting some pictures with our toes in the water and walking hand in hand down the beach and a few in the garden with the palms.. but I will not be swimming/climbing trees/etc in my dress