Mufin1785

absolutely not! It is gay friendly. But it will not be uncomfortable for you and your guests at all. I would not worry about your guests' comments.

The Melia Caribe tropical Brides Facebook page they have the packages and add-ons in a document call Romance Guide posted on the wall

[email protected] I saw that they have this email address listed on their website now... It is so confusing now I am getting nervous about this we are only 36 days away

we are 36 days away! I will post a full review after my wedding When is your wedding?

It is the add-ons that start to add up. I choose to have mine off the resort, because for the same price as at the melia they can have a change of scenery. Check out the Melia Caribe tropical Brides facebook page.

Melia Brides what are you doing for your welcome dinner??

What package are you looking at?? we are using the Basic Melia package, which is free with a 5 night stay in Royal Service or a Romance Suite. It only includes a dinner reservation in one of the A la Carte Restaurants. We are having our reception on the La Barcaza. Many Melia brides choose to have their reception or whole wedding at the Jellyfish.

Here is a bridesmaid in ivory one shoulder, wearing nude heels and no jewelry maybe you can give earrings

Yes, our TA has arranged the transportation to and from the resort for our guests. 44Days away!

They have a new email address. [email protected]

We ordered a guest book from shutterfly using our engagement pictures I plan on having a sign encouraging guests to share with us words of wisdom, rather than just their signature.

I would research flight prices as well for the locations you are considering. Some destinations that are not that far part have have significantly higher airfare costs. Since you have a rather larger group I would contact a travel agent that can secure a group rate. But contact a Destination Wedding Travel agent so she can sugguest places that fit your budget as well as your dream wedding. Good Luck Planning!!! Quote: Originally Posted by bncandi Hello All, you guys all seem so great and im excited to be apart of your community and start planning... Ok, so here's the deal. We just got engaged and are excited to start planning our DW, but have no idea where to go. We are having a large group (probably over 50-60), no children, beach wedding, all coming from the East Coast (Philly area) and want to keep the cost down since so many of our friends and family want to join us. Does anyone know where I can expect to pay 1000-1300 per person for a week stay at an AI from my area? Since we are planning on getting married in April or May of 2014, rates dont seem to be available yet.

He is 5 years older than me. I'm 28 and he is 33.

We our destination wedding cost breakdown is as follows 5 night stay at Melia Caribe Tropical in Romance Suite $2,413.76 2 round-trip Airfare to Punta Cana $1,800 Free Melia Wedding for 12 guests due to Room and Length of Stay $0 -bride Bouquet -groom Boutonniere -cake -Sparkling Wine 15 extra Guests at $24 each $360 music Trio $275 Horse Carriage $75 5 parasols $75 (instead of bridesmaids Bouquet) Catholic Priest $920 Copyright fee for bringing your own photographer $1000 6 hours of photography $1100 ceremony Video $350 3 Hour Reception on La Barcaza for 27 guests $1,620 Total Cost $9,988.76 This total does not include gifts, OOT Bags, Attire, Invitations and AHR

It is definitely frustrating at times.... My FMIL has complained the whole time that she doesn't understand a destination wedding and that people her age just don't get it. My FBIL was supposed to be the best man at our wedding and told us he could not afford it 4 months before the wedding. He recently got remarried in in July to a woman he met in January and went on a 9 day Alaskan cruise. All of this after we sent out save the dates for our wedding. I have asked people not to throw me a shower. But I am having a Bachelorette Party. My fiance's groomsmen waited to the asolute last minute to book which frustrates me.... My father is not going to my wedding and wanted to know if he had to send his RSVP back to me (RSVP was for both DW and AHR) I told him yes why else would I have sent him and envelope with postage!!! Besides my dad my family has been supportive.... in is my FH's family that has been a chore.....

Any recent La Barcaza Brides have good experiance with the new owners? Do the wooden chairs cost more money??

Information from a photographer that recently photographed a wedding on the La Barcaza "and i hope you're ready for an honest answer... at the moment, they are terrible. it's such a shame actually. it's obvious they've never been in the wedding business and don't know how to deal with brides. i sincerely hope they get a good wedding planner soon! at our most recent wedding there, the owner's father, an older Romanian man with a big belly and a loud rude demeanour, was in charge. the couple whose wedding we documented was so sweet and chilled about everything - thank goodness... first off, they said it would only take 30 minutes to get to the beach (from where a smaller boat takes you to la barcaza) from their hotel and it took a little over an hour. because of this, by the time we made it to the boat the sun had already set and it got dark very fast - defeating the whole purpose of sailing leisurely and enjoying the views. our bride was very sad about this, but just went with the flow. by the time we got to the natural pool, it was pitch black. they (the owner's dad) were very rude about the dinner - a few of the vegetarians (Rob & I included) changed our minds and were inquiring if we could get a seafood meal instead, because the vegetarian option was quite poor. he made a very big deal about it costing more and caused a scene in front of other guests which left us feeling very embarrassed. he then interrupted the party after only 2 hours (we were supposed to be on the boat for 3) and told the couple they have to get off, the fun is over (accounting for the hour that we'd spent in transit) - again making a scene in front of their guests. he doesn't speak very good english (or spanish for that matter) and kept amplifying the unnecessary confrontation by calling his son, the owner, to 'talk sense' into us… right there at the end of the wedding reception! we made the best of it of course, but i would be absolutely mortified if this was our wedding. to add insult to injury, the seafood meal that used to be amazing before is now the cheapened version. it's obvious that the new owners are trying to cut corners and save everywhere they can. there are more examples, but i don't want to sound petty - you get the picture. it's just that … it's all about the little things in the end, you know? the girl who was in charge before, Flori, is gone. i really do hope they find someone like that again! also note - there are absolutely no wedding decorations (or some very cheap tacky ones), so if you want everything to look nice, bring the decorations yourself / hire a decorator (let me know and i can share a good one. if you bring your own - allow for even more time before sunset and have a team of bridesmaids ready to get everything done quickly with you. we really loved working with la barcaza before because it can be such a wonderful and unique experience compared to the resort. i hope you may appreciate that i'm being totally transparent with you because i really care about other brides' experiences here in Punta Cana - so please take this account with a grain of salt. having said all this - i believe that if you voice your concerns and lay out all your stipulations to them ahead of time - your wedding there will be absolutely unforgettable!! the main entertainer there (I believe his name is Jorge) is an absolute gem - he also was a great catalyst on the boat and complained about the new owners. bottom line advice: double-check the timeline and check when the sun sets - you want to board at least 90 minutes before sunset to enjoy this experience; don't go for the plastic chairs, the wooden ones really make a difference and are so much classier; remind ladies to bring pashminas (or get pashminas as a gift) - it may get quite cool towards the end of the evening; carefully select your playlist, there's no dj to get the crowd roaring and the transitions can be awkward; consider wearing a different wedding dress for after the swim in the natural pools (it will be much more pleasant to enjoy yourself - so you might want to bring your dress carrier / sleeve)."

Thanks!

No I do not think it is too late. We asked my brother to be a groomsman, with our wedding 4 months out, and this was after my FH's brother backed out. My brother is already booked to go and we are covering most of the attire he only has to pay $36.99 for the remaining amount due on the suit rental. So he really did not have to do anything extra.

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We sent out 100 invites and have 27 people booked. But our invites we sent to a lot of people we knew would not be able to come so no one would get their feelings hurt. Originally we thought we would have 40 people, but I am happy with 27. Our book by date with our travel agent was December 5th. So I think that is a final guest count.

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