KCB2011

Those are great invitations! They are so unique and you can tell they have a personal touch to them.

Good Luck!

Wow, the purple looks really pretty, you thought of every detail...I'm inspired!

Congrats! BM dresses and your dress are gorgeous!

We ordered wholesale embroidered towels and those will be our favours but we are putting them in the welcome bags - we figured it would be something that everyone would likely use when they got home (throw it in their linen closet with their other towels!). I am also getting pashminas for the ladies BUT having a major problem thinking of what to get the guys! I have had lots of suggestions about rum, shot glasses, etc but we have a lot of people who are coming who are decidedly NON-drinkers and I want the gift to be appropriate for all of the guests, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! I am hoping to give these out at the reception (basket with pashminas at entrance area with a basket of something for the guys! Dilemma, dilemma!

If you are planning to hand out things at the airport - maybe you could just hand out the mugs and then save the bags for when you get there since most of the other stuff in the bag will probably be easier to pack/smaller than the mugs. This way they can all have their mug for coffee at the airport or a mug for beer for the bus ride to the resort. The people who are not travelling with you can get their mugs when you arrive, but that is WAY less mugs to pack and you still get to give the welcome bags to all your guests at the welcome dinner. This might also help with the dilemma of guests having to find space in their bags for the welcome bag you give them as they can throw the mugs in their carry on! Just a suggestion!

I originally wanted to keep it around $1300-1500 per person so it was affordable for guests, and was looking in Punta Cana but I ended up at Dreams La Romana because I had heard great things about it, and most of the resorts that had the quality we were looking for were more than our initial budget. In the end we couldn't get anything over a 4 star for that price and since it was my wedding, I didn't want a run down place - so it was Dreams Punta Cana or La Romana - just chose La Romana because it was a quieter area, more relaxing beach time and less partying time which is more like our personalities. I emailed a bunch of different travel sites - selloffvacations, escapes.ca, etc all have actual travel agents that you can email inquiries to and they will give you suggestions - I worked with Wendy at escapes.ca and she was very helpful and honest about her suggestions (and even gave me a few of the "these are supposedly 4.5-5 star resorts but I wouldn't send you there if you begged me" type of suggestions as well. In the end, you will probably drive yourself crazy trying to pick a resort because there are just SO many, and so many of them will be awesome! I would suggest being a little flexible on budget per person as sometimes the difference between $1300 per person and $1450 per person will make a HUGE difference in quality of the resort but probably not make or break a decision for a guest to attend (if they are already spending that amount of money, the extra $150 is probably not a deal breaker for most)

I will be getting my hair done by the resort - I have heard great things about the hair stylist....as long as you bring pictures of what you want! I will be doing the same as richarsd and going to MAC for a couple makeup lessons - or maybe sephora, I read that suggestions from AmyGirls planning thread and thought it was a great way to get good makeup in your style. Usually, they will give you the lessons for free and help you match products to your skintone etc. I might even do my bridesmaids makeup as 2 of them have asked about getting it done at the resort and I have heard to steer clear of the makeup application down there!

Has anyone done a similar type of boat/catamaran cruise out of La Romana/Bayahibe? We are wanting to set up an excursion for our guests but don't want to have to spend 2 hours getting to Punta Cana and back...any suggestions?

you're lucky! I'm getting there!!

Just a suggestions to incorporate the green of your wedding colours on the tables - depending on your flowers for your centerpieces you could incorporate the odd green flower as well (a stem of green orchids or something) Also, you could get personalized lime green napkins for super cheap and have those to tie in some of the green. Plus, the green will already be incorporated with the flowers because if you have longer stems on the flowers they will be green! Sounds dumb, but that's what one of the florists told me when I was searching for flowers for my colours which include a green accent.

I think it probably will be pretty hot for everyone, but she could always provide fans/water bottles on the chairs - I am having a July wedding and will be putting raffia fans on each chair at the ceremony for people to fan themselves incase they get too hot while they are sitting through the ceremony which for us will be about 30 min. Depending on her budget, she could also provide parasols in a basket at the ceremony - she would probably only have to get enough for the ladies as the ladies could share their shade with the guys! Also, this is just my opinion, but since it is your sister's wedding and she wants to do the Catholic ceremony, I think that the guests should really just respect that...I mean, I've been to INDOOR Catholic ceremonies in the middle of the summer in Canada and I thought I was going to melt, at least outside at the gazebo, there will likely be an island breeze which will help.

Are you getting married at Dreams Punta Cana? There are 3 different Dreams resorts in the DR and they all have a little bit different pricing/info, etc. I just wanted to clarify because I can help if its Dreams La Romana but not for Dreams Punta Cana!

Just thought I would let you know our pricing for our resort - Dreams La Romana. This is the info I got from the WC at the resort: - beach/gazebo locations are almost always included for no extra charge. - Our resort charges $30-$60 pp for a private dinner/buffet or you can rent out an entire restaurant (don't know if this is still an option, but used to be) for $1260 which includes food and alcohol. Just the "open - bar" cost at our resort is something like $3 pp plus tax and gratuity (26%) I think - I haven't got the crazy high quotes on the open bar like others have. Our WC also suggested that you choose a restaurant for the reception dinner that has a bar already or one near it and people can go get drinks from there - ours has a bar that is around the corner from our private deck area so no open bar required. - our resort charges $250 to rent speakers/sound system - we could only have a longer reception if we use their ballroom/conference room for the reception which is more expensive for the meal...otherwise at 11pm they move your party to the disco - if you get a photographer from somewhere other than the DR, you will have to ay travel which can add on quite a bit to the cost, but I have read lots of great reviews about local photgraphers at all of the locations - check the forums because I think there are quite a few "photography" threads and people can give suggestions of local photogs which would save you some money! Our budget for the destination part of our wedding (including flight/hotel packages for both of us) is about $9000. We have ~40 people, private reception dinner, no open bar, paying for boat tour for all guests, includes OOT bags and decor. So I would say you can make it work for $10000 for sure. Oh and this is for a Dreams resort. Hope this input helps!

Kelsie & Tom - July 19, 2011 - Dreams La Romana

I find with Cuba that it depends on what part of Cuba you go to...Varadero and Cayo Coco are usually a little more expensive. In my experience there is more variety in Mexico, so you have more options and therefore more lower priced options. Plus it is good to remember that a 4 star in Cuba is not a 4 star in Mexico (probably closer to a 3-3.5 star). This is not a problem, our resort in Cuba was awesome even though it wasn't fancy, but if you have a certain expectation for your wedding, keep the whole Cuba star ratings thing in mind. I think we paid around $900 + tax (so probably $1200ish) for a "4 star" in Varadero. That's just my personal experience with Cuba booking though!

It wasn't that big of a difference in price....but definitely worth it to pay extra to make sure its the right colour! I need white so it's a little easier to find!

Did you get the bags personalized or did you buy them blank? I am still unsure where to get my bags and which bags to get!

Amurka, good idea about getting family/friends travelling to take a few things....there will be 14 with us on our flight so I'm sure I can give them each a little of this and a little of that! Dcairns, where did you get those $1 vases? I was going to ask Tiara if they provide vases or if I have to rent them but if they are only a dollar, I can stuff socks and other clothes in them in my suitcase so they don't take up too much room and they are "padded"....kind of! I know what you mean about accumulating so much stuff - I started out with a wedding box that I was keeping stuff in as I bought it (about the size of dresser drawer) and now I have a whole closet....not looking good for packing!

The messag in a bottle is such a neat idea...I really like the monograms on the front!

Hi Everyone, I was searching for a Calgary brides thread and couldn't find this one until now...yay! I am looking for a place to have our AHR in the Calgary area but I have a caterer friend who is going to do the food so I'm having a hard time finding an outdoor place that isn't too expensive! Any suggestions?

Dear mods....I clearly was not searching properly....I found the Calgary brides thread so can one of you delete this thread for me? No need to have 2! Thank you and Sorry!

Questions for all you ladies, past DLR brides and upcoming ones....is anyone planning on shipping items down to Dreams before hand (ex. larger OOT bag items or larger decor items)? Someone suggested that I pack up some of my stuff and mail it down to Tiara to hold until we get there, but I'm thinking that possibly the shipping costs and stress might not be worth it and it might be better just to pay the extra money for another checked bag? Any thoughts?

Congrats! Everything looks awesome!

Great thread...and happy belated First Anniversary! Where did you get your luggage tags, I love the look of them!