NancM

Dana, I hope your wedding was everything you imagined it would be and more...CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Like everyone else on this forum, I too look forward to reading your review and seeing your HDC pics! Enjoy the rest of your time at DLR... Nancy

Dana, Just wanted to come back on this forum to wish you and your fiancé an AMAZING time at DLR and a TERRIFIC wedding!!!!!! After all these months of planning, you are finally there and ready for your big day! I am soooooooo excited for you and thrilled to hear that the drama with DLR and HDC has been worked out! You will be in my thoughts and I wish you a day filled with sunshine and a lifetime filled with love. Best of luck to you...post lots of pics when you can and know we are thinking of you! Lots of love, Nancy PS - If you are around the Preferred Club Pool Bar, please say a big HELLO and hugs and kisses to Waddy for me (I am keeping my fingers crossed that she is still there!!!!!), as well as a big Hello to Eddie in the Preferred Club Lounge (he was usually there on afternoons!). They took exceptional care of us while we were there and we are still hoping to make it back to see them in November! My boys ask about them all the time - they will always hold a special place in our hearts and we miss them very much. Thanks so much, xoxoxo

Hi Alla, So glad you posted your pics too...you looked lovely and everyone looked like they had a great time!!!!! Now that the wedding is over, I really miss this forum...I haven't been able to get on it as often, work seems to interfere with it! I will check this site as often as possible and will keep all of you in my thoughts over the Holidays! Merry Christmas everyone! Alla, all the best to you and Dave, Nancy

Hi Rikki, Thanks for posting your pictures...they were fabulous! You looked gorgeous...I, too, loved your dance party on the beach. Glad you posted a picture of Francisco too...photo of the photographer! Perfect!!! Hope you are doing well! Take care, Nancy

Hi Pam, Good luck with everything...Arnaud is wonderful. IF you can do the TTD, do it, for sure! I wish we would have done that, but we hadn't planned on it, and, by the time we thought of possibly doing it, we just said forget it. After seeing their work though, I was sorry we didn't book a shoot. We are considering going back to DLR for our anniversary, so maybe a TTD session would be a great 1 yr anniversary present to ourselves! Best of luck with all of your planning! Nancy

Hi Ewa, I know Alla already answered about the wi-fi situation (in the Preferred area only - which is another huge plus!) and computer situation, but I also thought I should let you know that the disc HDC provided is a DVD-R, so we just played it on the DVD player in our room (not sure if all rooms have them at the resort, or only Preferred rooms) and it worked beautifully. We just watched the DVD, scrolling through the pictures and decided which ones to have them print and which ones we wanted for our Digital Photo Book (an extra that we chose on top of our package). The other great thing about HDC is that you get to keep this DVD with the majority of the shots on it (ours had 397) and can do reprints of any that you don't have them print for you, when you get home. If you look at the contract, there is a paragraph called "Your Rights to the Images", and it discusses your "Home Use Rights", which is perfect for making extra copies and reprints of any photo on the disc. I've already used the copy of the contract to make copies and it's great! As I've said over and over, you will not be disappointed if you book HDC. Nancy Hi Pam, I know Dana already posted HDC's package prices (and, as she said, not sure if the prices have changed), but I thought I should reiterate that HDC is not the resort photographer. They are located in Punta Cana and you book them separately. They have a website (hdcphoto.com) and that is how we originally got in touch with them. We sent them an email and Arnaud got back to us almost immediately and sent us their price lists. From there, we just asked whether or not they were available for our wedding day, and filled out the contract (20% of the payment is required at the time of booking with HDC, the remainder at the time the pics are delivered). My husband paid all of it through Paypal (both in Canada and the D.R. - he just contacted Paypal ahead of time to advise that he would be doing so during our time away). It was all very easy. I was sure that they would charge extra for having to come in from Punta Cana, but they don't, or it is included in their package prices perhaps. It is only the resort that charges for them to be there the day of your ceremony. No other hidden fees with them. My only suggestion and advice for any Canadian brides, if you do opt for a Digital Photo Book, it will take an additional 3 weeks or so for it to arrive at your home, so when you come back to Canada, be sure to fill out a Customs Declaration (whether you fly into Canada directly or land in the U.S. and cross the land border), so that you are not charged duties and taxes on something that you could have brought back with you as part of your personal exemption. It will be listed as "goods to follow" - as long as you've not gone over your personal exemption, that is; which, really, at an all inclusive resort, unless you start buying jewelry or expensive items, you probably won't go over that allowance! Nancy Hi Alla, Great review and love the picture of you and Dave cutting the cake...your dress was so pretty and you looked like you were having a GREAT time! Glad everything worked out for you both, and for all of your guests. I showed Jay what you and Dave wrote...he said Dave is very welcome. He knew it had helped him calm down and, he said, he didn't want to see me ahead of when the boys were walking me down the aisle, so this way he wouldn't get a peek in before "our song" started! Again, it was nice to have met with you both and to sit down and have a couple of drinks, to share stories and offer you whatever advice we could think of.

Hi Rikki, Thanks...I'm glad we moved up the wedding; we had originally planned on having it at 4:30 but decided to move it to 4 pm so that we could have time to get beach shots in and some sunset pictures before it was too late. Our last pictures were right at sunset, so we were just able to get them done and meet up with everyone at the SSG. Wasn't Francisco a sweetheart? I am so glad we went with HDC... Looking forward to your review; even though I'm all done with planning, it's always nice to hear how other brides felt about their wedding at DLR. Your photos are gorgeous too...I showed them to one of my coworkers yesterday; your dress was so pretty, and we loved the flip flops! Nancy Hi Nemo831, Thanks! I would highly recommend using HDC for your wedding...their package prices are great, and, depending on when you leave the resort after the wedding, you can get your pics almost immediately, review the disc they are on, make your choices and let them know (we did it via email), then a day later your photos are hand delivered to you at the resort. The only extra fee you would pay is the day pass for the photographer, which is not very much money (I can't remember, but maybe it was $50). They are very reliable and their work is really good! Can't say enough good things about them... I'm sure Tiara will get back to you soon...I could not believe how busy those ladies were until I got there and saw them work. How they do it is beyond me. Nancy Hi Dana, I'm going to assume you are talking about the ceremony and how long it will take to seat your guests there? If so, since you've got at least 45 people going, it may take longer than it did to get our little group of 13 guests seated (didn't count the kids, Jay and I). I think we had @ 4 songs, so about 14 minutes for seating music, because everyone just basically showed up around the same time I think (was still "hiding" in our room, waiting for Yanna to come and get me to bring me to the boys!). You would probably want to do a few more songs than that...but, the DJ can always loop the music and play the songs again. And we didn't do any instrumental or traditional wedding music (i.e. Wedding March); we chose a bunch of songs, and the kids helped too, which had special meaning to us, and it was so much fun. As for the "aisle", it is not a long walk; the song we chose was only a 3:37 min song, and that was fine, from what I recall (sorry, I was so blown away by the moment that I remember the song starting and the boys and I walking, but don't remember the song finishing!). I believe the DJ waits for Yanna to give him the sign to start playing when the bride is just on the other side of the little bridge. We had a 2nd song on that playlist just in case, but I don't remember hearing it. Then, for walking down the aisle at the end of the ceremony, we had 2 songs chosen for that too. That was a lot of fun and the DJ just played that after our champagne toast at the gazebo when Jay and I started coming down the aisle...we didn't walk all the way back because everyone then got their champagne too, and that was when we were able to greet all of our guests, give our hugs and kisses, and just enjoy the moment with everyone. We probably could have had more music to play in the background, but it was good. The DJ may have even been playing our seating music then, I really don't know. I'm not sure if I've helped you in the least, or made it more confusing for you...sorry!!!! Picking the music was a long process for us, especially since we didn't go the traditional route...but it was fun finding songs we could relate to that suited us and the way we felt. Nancy

Thanks ladies...we really did have a GREAT time. Very stress-free - just gave Yanna our decorations, our gift bags for the guests' rooms, favors, etc...and let her take care of the rest. Oh, and the breakfast in bed following the wedding is CRAZY...because we had the boys with us for the first week, we asked if we could do the breakfast in bed on the day after all of our guests and the boys went home and it was no problem. We were asked at what time we would like to have it, we told Yanna and they came in with this huge spread of fresh fruit, omelettes, croissants, juice, champagne, coffee, etc... All of you will be blown away by the amount of "surprises" in store for you at the resort...wedding couples have it made! Nancy xo

Sorry Dana, I didn't answer your question about whether they served dinner right away...yes they did. They started with our appetizers almost as soon as everyone got seated and it just kept coming. Drinks and food were a never ending supply... You should have plenty of time for dancing...we didn't have a bunch of speeches, just a few quick words (and some jokes told by the kids!), so you may want to factor in some time for those if you have them. Once dinner was over, we pretty much started dancing after that...hope this helps! Nancy

Thanks to Dana, for showing me where the insert image button is! Here you go, some of the 397 pictures from HDC: Hubby and the boys before the ceremony: On our deck, overlooking the Preferred Pool and Bar: Boys walking me over the bridge & down the aisle to the gazebo: The gazebo: Champagne toast after the ceremony: Our new family, just beyond the gazebo (you can see it in the background): The SSG deck set up for our reception: The head table - Yanna made the suggestion to have us at a rectangular table so we could see all of our guests. I hadn't thought of that, so this was definitely much nicer: Our photo shoot with Francisco: On the Pier: At the Infinity Pool: On the beach: And, our cake and SSG at night (family pictures - not from HDC) Sorry for the onslaught of pictures...I just couldn't stop once Dana showed me how to post them! If anyone has any questions, ask away and I will answer them to the best of my ability. Thanks again for the well wishes and the endless ideas, tips and advice! I could NEVER have done this without each of you on this forum. Nancy xoxo

Dana...you rock! Once I get home tonight, I will try to upload a few of the many pictures Francisco took! Thanks for the help! As for the SSG, we ended up leaving before 11 pm (I think around 10:00 - 10:30), because the boys were exhausted and the rest of our group was older and ready to turn in. They may have let us stay later...tips go a loooonnnng way in getting extra service, so you may be ok. They were so good to each and everyone of us that it was tough leaving that place after two weeks. Thanks dolfinluck! The chocolate starfish were amazing!!!

Thanks, we had a blast and are hoping to go back next year again with the kids! Do you know how to post pictures? I'd like to be able to post them like others have, so that you can just scroll down and see them, not have to open attachments. Completely computer illiterate!

Hi ladies, Sooooo sorry for taking so long to get back on this site...we got home on the U.S. Thanksgiving and it's been ridiculously busy trying to get loads and loads of laundry done, see family, friends, and now, back to work trying to get caught up after being off a little over 3 weeks! Again, I'm sorry! First, rest assured each of you has made the right decision when booking your weddings at DLR...it could not have been any better! We met both wedding coordinators - Yanna was ours, but we saw and spoke with Tiara a couple of times; both are lovely and extremely busy. I think the day after we left they had 3 weddings going on in 1 day!!! Have no idea how they do it, and make it look effortless. They really are miracle workers... I was so lucky to have met Rikki and Alla. Rikki, you and your husband were wonderful. Your photos are beautiful...you were stunning! Sorry, no luck finding the lost board game! Alla - thanks for the kind words...Jay and I felt the same about you and your husband! We too felt like we were having drinks with old friends. I am so glad to hear your wedding was amazing!!!!! Looking forward to seeing your photos when you get home and settled. I can't believe how long it's taken me to get back in the swing of things...still on "Island Time" and can't seem to shake it! OK, back to the wedding and the resort...we had the free wedding package, and were a relatively small group of 17, including my husband and I. We simply added whatever extras we wanted. All of our group stayed in the Preferred section, which I would highly recommend to everyone. Well worth the little bit extra you will spend. They treat you wonderfully and we met some terrific people working there...miss you Waddy! Sweetest bartender at the Preferred Club pool bar. And, Eddy, our man at the Preferred Club lounge! Loved them! WEDDING GAZEBO: Perfect...the location is AMAZING! Our wedding was at 4pm, the weather could not have cooperated more, and Yanna and staff did a great job of setting everything up. They hung our paper lanterns for us (at no extra charge), and did a lovely job setting up the chairs (we rented the white wooden folding chairs), ceremony table (we had a picture of my husband's late father as well as a unity candle/tapers) and the champagne table. Even the way the champagne glasses were arranged was beautiful. We had Elke (Spa Manager) perform the ceremony for us, based on recommendations from past brides, and she did a GREAT job! My boys were a huge part of our ceremony and she & Yanna did a fantastic job of including them and making it a very relaxed atmosphere. We laughed, we cried, but it was so stress free. I met with Elke the day of the ceremony when I was getting my hair done at the Spa as she wanted to go over the script I had provided Yanna to confirm any wording she was unsure of. There was no charge for her to perform the ceremony, but a tip is suggested, and well deserved. We hired the DJ for the reception, but it is another one that does the music for the ceremony, so, even if you don't hire a DJ, you will still have music for your wedding, from my understanding. This DJ did a great job of playing our music that we had selected. My husband spoke to him when he arrived at the gazebo (about 20 minutes before the service), showed him which folders to play and when (we had our Ipod with us, with music listed in a bunch of different folders - i.e: seating music, walking down the aisle before ceremony, walking down the aisle after ceremony, etc...), then gave him the Ipod to hook up to his system and that was that. After the ceremony, he gave the Ipod back to my husband to use at the reception. HDC - PHOTOGRAPHER: We hired HDC from Punta Cana, again based on past brides on this forum and could not be happier with this choice!!!!! Arnaud is fantastic to deal with, always gets back to you promptly via email and his prices are very reasonable. Francisco was our photographer and he was AWESOME...their work is unbelievable. We had 3 hours, so Francisco arrived at DLR at 3 pm to take some pictures of us getting ready (hubby got ready in my parents' room with my boys), so he went to each room. He came to ours first, where I was getting ready with my mom, then went to the other room to see Jay, the kids and my dad, then came back when I had my dress on. From there, he went to the gazebo, took a few pics before, then during, took plenty of group shots immediately following the ceremony, then hubby and I went off for the duration for our private photo shoot around the resort. A little after 6 pm, Francisco left and we joined the rest of the group for our dinner/reception. While we were doing our photo session, the rest of the group went to the Preferred lounge and drank champagne and relaxed until it was time for dinner. I'd like to post some pictures, but have no idea how...help!!! Thanks! SSG: Even though we only had 17 of us we rented out the entire SSG for the reception, so it was very private. We paid for the exclusivity of the restaurant for the evening, and, since we had booked it very early this year, before the changes in prices, they did honor that quote. I don't know what the current policy is on renting out the entire restaurant, but I would advise to do so, for a more intimate setting. We had our dinner and dancing on the deck, overlooking the water and it was stunning. Yanna and staff decorated it beautifully (I had brought down fuchsia and orange table runners and linen napkins - which I left there, by the way, in case anyone ever needs them in the future). They even added some extra touches, such as candles on the tables, and menu scrolls using the menu I had sent Yanna ahead of time (in our colors too). I had included menu cards in each guests' welcome bag but Yanna thought to put the scrolls on each dinner plate the night of the reception, which I thought was very nice. She also put flowers on the tables in small fishbowl like jars, with stones and shells in the water, which were perfect. Nice little surprises that I hadn't thought about. The food was amazing, and again, the extras were a nice touch! They brought out plates of shrimp to each table, which were not on the menu. Our guests enjoyed the food and the drinks were never ending. We had four excellent wait staff who catered to us non-stop, always there to ask if we needed anything. We tipped each of them at the end of the evening - they definitely deserved it. As I said earlier, we hired the DJ - he was wonderful too! My hubby gave him our Ipod and showed him the dinner music folder as well as the reception music (i.e. - 1st dance, father/daughter, etc...) and he played it. We had older guests who preferred some of the "older" stuff, which were few and far between since we were there to dance with the boys, who like the current music, so our DJ ended up mixing in some of his music and that was awesome. We even ended up giving him a memory stick which included all of our wedding music on it for him to do with it whatever he pleases. It had tons of current stuff and music from Canadian bands like Nickelback that he didn't have, so he was thrilled when my husband told him he had our entire playlist for him to keep. Yanna stayed around for a while following dinner, then they brought out our cake - beautiful! I had had some orange and fuchsia chocolate starfish made and brought them with me to DLR. A couple of them were broken (i.e. tips broke off), but I gave them to Yanna anyway and just asked her to see what they could do with them with the cake. We ordered an extra layer of cake, so one round was chocolate, the other, vanilla, with a cream colored icing, then they put the starfish on it, here and there. It was perfect! And, it was sitting on what looked like sand, but was really a cinnamon and sugar mix. Such a great idea. The only problem was that nobody could even think about eating any cake that night, so we had them put it in the fridge at the SSG and the day following our wedding we went back around lunch time and asked them to get it for us. Again, the staff was amazing and wouldn't let us carry the cake ourselves, so they asked where we would be (the Preferred Pool bar area!) and they brought it out, got plates and cutlery for us and the bar staff cut it and served it to whoever was by the pool that day. We had met tons of people at that pool, so we told them to serve it to everyone since there was so much cake. It was delicious and everyone ate it up...so much fun doing it this way! Great way to enjoy the wedding with the people at the resort and the staff you get to know so well. HAIR: I had the free trial a couple of days after I arrived and she did a good job, so I went back on the day of the wedding and ended up having the same girl (Alex) and again she did good work, but beware, they will use a ton of hairspray. I ended up trying to "loosen" my hair a little, but overall she did really well. I did have to keep pinning it throughout the day and evening, but it was really no big deal to me. I was glad though, that I had brought some bobby pins from home, just in case. Also, if using flowers in your hair, you might want to get some artificial ones, because my poor little white ones that she put in, which were so pretty, did not last very long in the heat. I ended up taking them out at the reception and putting a fuchsia flower hair clip in for dinner and dancing. It did the trick and did not wilt! So, all in all, we LOVED everything about the resort and the wedding. I'll post pictures if someone can tell me how, in VERY EASY terms, please!!! This old girl doesn't know too much about this kind of thing! If anyone has any questions, I will try to answer them as best I can...working again, so it may take a little longer, but I will be checking this site daily nonetheless. Thank you to everyone for their well wishes and fantastic ides! You've all been terrific. Rikki & Alla - Hugs and kisses to you both! Best of luck with everything! Nancy xo

Hi Ewa, We got a "Record of Solemnization of Marriage" - basically a marriage certificate immediately following our ceremony on Friday, so we will be bringing it with us, just in case. We've not been asked to bring it, but, like PinkPetals, we will to be safe. Nancy Hi Bee, Your login name is different - I thought someone may have been using a name like you! Thank you so much for the congrats - it was small and VERY quick, but nice to have some relatives and a couple of close friends join us on the 5th, since they can't make the trip to DLR. We leave on Thursday, so much last minute stuff to take care of, but we're almost there. I picked up my dress today and have it ready to go along with the boys and hubby's clothes, so that it can all go with us on our flights. And you're right, the service at DLR will definitely be the most important one!!! I can't wait. Thanks for the wish for sunny skies! Nancy Hi Uninspired, I was thinking of Rikki too - believe today is her BIG day at DLR!!!!! Hope the weather was beautiful and everything turned out just as she and her husband envisioned. Best of luck with your visit to the dentist...no fun, but, like you said, better to have happened now than while you're away! My mom is actually going to the dental surgeon tomorrow - ugh, and we leave on Thursday...not at all happy about this, but hoping it goes smoothly and she doesn't have a mouth like a chipmunk on vacation!!! As for slow music the "older folks" can dance too, try downloading some songs from Michael Buble's Crazy Love CD - he covers older songs with a nice twist; songs like Georgia On My Mind, Crazy Love, At This Moment, etc...I know I'm dating myself, but they may be good alternatives for you. We're still trying to download some last songs for our playsists too...nothing like last minute, huh??? Must get back to getting things ready... Looking forward to meeting you! Nancy

Hi Rikki, I can't believe you're leaving in a few hours...how exciting for you. Glad the storms are going to be out of the picture by your wedding day. I will continue to track them and see how they're moving. Best of luck on Monday - it is the 8th isn't it, your big day? If it isn't sorry for the mix up and good luck on THE day! As for the 12th, we have no plans, so, as long as the boys are being taken care of, I'm sure we can meet in the lobby @ 7 pm. I'm Nancy Morgan, so you can reach me through the hotel as of the 11th, after dinner. Look forward to hearing all about the wedding...it will be beautiful!!!!! Nancy