Mel2010

Thanks ladies. I ended up going with the two poems below because one flower girl is 8 yrs old and the other is only 5 years -- so I think both poems suit their ages.

Hi Ladies, I've search this forum through and through for ways/poems on how to ask your Flower Girls to be in your wedding. With no such luck, I thought I'd post a few poems I found off the Internet. Please share your thoughts on these and let me know which ones you prefer or if you have any of your own? I can't decide on which poem to use for my DIY - Will you be my Flower Girl cards. ************************************ A little lady carries flowers and brings a small bouquet She helps us as we celebrate a joyful wedding day She is a princess in her gown A picture come to life She brings such joy in helping us Become man and wife We are glad that she can stand with us So, graceful and so tall and help make this special time The very best of all. Will you be my flower girl? *************************************** When I was just a little girl, About the size of you, I dreamed one day I'd fall in love And then get married, too. So now that I am all grown up, About to be a bride, I want you for my flower girl To be right by my side. For it is common knowledge that A wedding's not complete, Without a pretty flower girl Like you, who's dear and sweet. Will you be my flowergirl? ******************************************* For My Flower Girl You are so very young, but the years will pass by and you'll too be a bride, in the blink of an eye. While you may not remember, the day that I married, the part that you played, or the basket you carried. There will be a day, that will burn bright like an ember. The day you will wed, you will always remember. So here is a hankie, for the day you will say... "I need "something old" for my wedding day" All My Love Sweetheart. *********************************** Roses are red, violets are blue We need a flower girl… And we want her to be you! *********************************** My Flower Girl When the music begins and it's time to go, you'll carry a basket with ribbons and bows. This basket is filled with petals this day and you'll have an important part to play. Your hair will be pretty all done up in curls, my sweet little one, you're the flower girl. This little hanky's a keepsake for you, along with your basket please carry it too. It will hold many memories of a day filled with fun and all of my thanks for your part so well done. *************************************** For My Flower Girl Someday you’ll remember back upon this wedding day, a memory of your childhood that will with you always stay. To help you keep this memory hold this hanky in your hand as you walk the aisle like a princess, oh so grand! For someday in the future you too will be a bride, excitement all around you, bridesmaids by your side. Then you’ll need a hanky to wipe your joyous tears, the hanky you’ve kept tucked away for all these many years. Good luck it will bring you as the “something†you call old, many years from now when you wear a band of gold... Thank you, so much, for being my Flower Girl.

Hey Ladies, When I asked Mayte what she thought of DJ Mannia versus the DJ they use, she also stated that their DJ doesn't charge hourly and charge extra if you go over your time limit. DJ Mannia charges like $150 per hour if you go over. It also sounded like she preferred the service of this DJ, but she could be just favoring him for the restaurant's sake. I would love to know if any brides out there used this DJ. We are planning on going with him too!

Hey ladies, Here are some pics from my work colleague. She was in PC this February 2011 and had non-professional pictures taken by Arrecife. She said that she would recommend him to anyone staying in PC. At least you get an idea on what type of pics he takes and what the finish product would look like.

Thanks Anita! Michael is truly amazing!! I just emailed him tonight and he replied within 5 mins - no joke! I was concerned about having our wedding on a Sunday (Nov 27) and then leaving on the Wednesday (Nov 30), which will not give him enough time to develop all of our pictures and prepare our coffee book. He replied back with "no problem, I'll have everything ready by the 29th". How crazy is that? I am SO HAPPY that we booked with Caribbean Emotions!!

Hey Natalie, We are also thinking of reserving the restaurant just to ourselves. At 24 ppl for your wedding -- would you say it was worth it to book the entire restaurant? We will be 30+ ppl (the number keeps growing) so I'm thinking we might as well cough up the $1000 for more privacy, lol.

Question for you ladies ~ I noticed a lot of you are booking with DJ Mania, have any of you booked with the DJ from the Jellyfish? He is much cheaper than DJ mania but I'm worried that he may not be as good. I'd love to know if any past brides went with another DJ?!

Hey ladies, Have any of you booked with Caribbean Emotions? Or any past brides on here use this photographer? We've booked with them and just wanted some feedback on their work. Thanks!

Natalie ~ Your pictures are GORGEOUS!! Thanks for sharing them. And I love your dress, you were so beautiful in it! =) I've read in a few magazines that the "sweets table" is the way to go now-a-days if you're looking for something different. Thanks for sharing. It's inspired both my FI and I to have one as well. I think we may bring down our own candy too though, lol. Question ~ the dance floor that was setup on the beach? Was that DJ Mannia's dance floor? Or Jellyfish? And the white leather couches, do those belong to the restaurant? Again, thanks for sharing your pictures. Looks like you had a beautiful wedding and I love the white & pink. It turned out beautifully!!

Another question for you ladies.... I was thinking about the possible wedding gifts that we may receive on our wedding night -- specifically cards containing cash and wanted to know how some of you plan on storing these cards in a safe place until the end of the week/trip? I'm already worried with the fact that we will be bringing down a lot of money to pay our photographer, DJ, Judge and the JF restaurant and figured we would just get rid of as much money as possible once we get there (idea came from a wonderful bride on this thread) but now I realize we will just end up with more money from our guests on our wedding night. I'd love to hear your ideas/thoughts on this one! Cheers, Mel

Hey Natalie, Congratulations!!!! So glad to hear you had an AMAZING time!!! And thanks for sharing how much you tipped everyone. I was also trying to figure that one out. I would looove to see your pics!! I'm so excited to hear back from yet another JF bride!! I'm also liking the a la carte option. We'll be having 30+ guests and feel the set menu may end up costing us more. So how did Mayte organize this exactly? Did she just had out menus to all of your guests and they just ordered whatever they wanted -- like a regular restaurant?? I'm thinking this would save a lot of $$$. So I'd love to hear how you organized this. =)

I would definitely shop around for a new TA. We had the same problem with our previous TA only she was quoting group rates way to high. Our new TA found a fantastic deal with SunWing where if you book 15 people, the 16th person is free (minus taxes) which could be used towards a free room for Bride & Groom or a credit to distribute across your group to lower their price. I have seen some type of deal with AC where if you book 10 people, you get some type of promotion/discount. I would definitely look into that. Also WestJet have promotions too. In fact most TAs will use as many promotions and discounts they can find to lower the price for you and guarantee a solid quote as they want your business. Especially if you are booking 30+ guests.

to the forum Ali! You will find tons of info on here. Happy planning and congrats on your engagement!!

We are using the wedding website at projectwedding.com. The reason we chose to go with projectwedding.com is because they have a wedding map which I haven't seen with any other website and thought that might be fun for our guests to see. The only complaint I have is that they don't offer a wide selection of themes.

Hey Dan, Welcome to the forum! And congrats on your engagement! I think choosing to do a destination wedding is the first step to a budget friendly wedding. The next step would be to consider where you want to have your wedding and whether or not you are willing to sacrifice a few things like having a semi-private reception or non-private reception. After searching tons of resorts and price lists, my FI and I have chosen to plan our wedding off resort! We have chosen the beautiful JellyFish Restaurant in Punta Cana. The prices are much cheaper when it comes to price per plate or an open bar. These were options that were extremely important to us. If you are flexible with your wedding location, then I would highly suggest the JellyFish restaurant. Check them out at the following link: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/56479/jellyfish-restaurant

Thats awesome news! So glad to hear that someone booked with her. I wish we had too, but we already booked with another photographer. Hopefully we made the right decision. Are her prices reasonable?

Hey Ladies, looks like we've changed TAs. After sending an email to a bunch of TAs, a local one come up with the best price quote so far. She quoted us at $1299 (taxes incl.) with SunWing! We are so happy with this new price. The 2-week prices are amazing too. Anywho, she also sent my pictures of the resort when she was there last year so I thought I'd share them. =) Btw, although we are not getting married at DPB - we will be staying there from NOV 23-30, 2011.

Hey, Mayte confirmed with me that she "booked" a translator for us, so I'm guessing we have someone to translate -- otherwise we are screwed... LOL!

Hey Astef, I just sent you the pricelist. =)

Here is the link to the PhotoSouvenir website for prices. This is what they had sent me when I first started shopping around. The photographer's name is Renaud. www.2011photopackages.wordpress.com

My TA has quoted us at $1460 as the early booking bonus which is due in full payment by March 29th, or we end up paying $400 above that price so $1800!!! That just seems crazy to me!! Hopefully she comes back to me with better prices or I'll be shopping for a new TA. =S

That is good to know! And one less thing to worry about. =)

Hey Jess, I'm kind of on the fence too about asking ppl what they plan on eating. On our wedding website, we have the option of including the meal choices when our guests RSVP and I'm thinking I might use it only because I think it would make it easier on the staff at the JF if they knew in advance how many items of each entree they will need to prepare. As for wording, maybe you could incorporate in your invitation both locations by saying "accomodations will take place at the Majestic Elegance and ceremony and reception will take place at the JF restaurant". I'm sure there is a more formal way of saying this (lol) but this should at least make it clear to your guests on where your staying and where the wedding will take place.

Hey Digado, I'm so happy to finally meet a bride who is having a legal wedding too! From what I've learned so far, Mayte is the one who will contact the judge for you to confirm a date and time. The judge usually performs weddings @ 4PM. When is your wedding date? We are getting married on NOV 27 @ 4PM. Have you figured out how you will translate all your documents and who you will use to translate them? I've heard of a company on this website called WEDO or something like that, they are based out of Toronto, Ontario. I think I may use them, not sure yet. I've love to hear how you plan on doing this? =)

OMG, this is such good news!! I was so worried about this - and now they have removed the day pass fee, this is even better! So now I have a question for all you Canadian brides booking with this resort. Have any of you had a hard time with the Early Booking Bonuses they have been launching? My TA keeps coming back with great prices, only we have like 5 days to pay the balance in full. This is crazy -- I have 30+ guests coming and there is no way we can pay this balance in full by March 29th!!! So I want to know what are your TAs quoting you and are you having to pay in full with a notice of less than 2 weeks??? I'm stressing out over this.