sarahgn4t

I also didn't get any pics of the disco What a bad wedding planner! Ha! It had an orange and brown decor. That doesn't sound very pretty but it actually was very trendy and I liked it!

Vav- We did go over to secrets to check it out but we had to be escorted over there. I do know if you stay at Secrets you can eat anywhere at the Now But I think that if you are staying at the Now they may not allow you to go to the Secrets?? Maybe I am wrong but we had to get the concierge to walk us over to get past the security guard but maybe that was because it was at night?? I will ask. As far as the disco, it is outside. I am not sure what time it opens but I do know you can rent it out before it opens so I am assuming if it opened at 9 or later then it would no longer be private? I am not sure what time it opens? It is a rooftop disco so there is no indoor disco. Half of it is covered but it is still considered outside I think. I did get a few pics of castaways during the wedding reception but I didn't want to walk in Castaways to get any closeups because the reception was going on. I am sure Claribel has some better close ups of it! I think Castaways is great for a reception if it had a lot of decorations. This couple in the pics I sent you didn't have any decorations and it was pretty small with no D.J. so that could be why I didn't think it was very impressive but I am considering it for my wedding reception as well.

Okay so here goes it! The hotel is beautiful. The staff was very friendly and I had no issues with them. Claribel and Cristina are amazing. They were so helpful and gave me a tour of the hotel grounds and allowed me to watch the weddings that took place. They treated us like family. I can't say anything negative about the staff or customer service. Everyone was very nice and took extra special care of us. The rooms were very nice. The beds a little stiff but we asked for a mattress pad and they brought us one right away. We stayed in a poolside view room the first night and it was very nice. Our patio walked out to the pool which was pretty cool. They upgraded us to the Preferred Club the last two nights with an ocean/pool view. Our balcony was bigger than our room! Ha! It had a beautiful jacuzzi tub on the balcony. The food would be my only concern. I have stayed at many all inclusive resorts so I don't have high expectations for food at these resorts but I would have to say that is something they really need to work on. We ate at the Blue Water Grill the first night and I would not recommend it. The food there was pretty gross. We also ate at Mercure (french restaurant) and that was much better. The buffet at Carnival and Castaways was not so good. I found a few things that I could eat but most of it was not so good. The last night we had a candlelight dinner on the beach. The food was amazing! We had seafood soup. Grilled Shrimp, Filet and Lobster. It was all super. The one thing I would say they need to work on is the bread. We had good bread at the candlelight dinner but the rest of the time it was hard and cold. The Blue Water Grill was by far the worst. The food was cold and almost inedible. I talked to Claribel about the food and she said to compare the wedding food to the candlelight dinner on the beach. So if that is the case I am not worried. But as far as my guests eating all week I am a little nervous. I already filed a complaint with AM Resorts management so I am hoping they work on this. As far as the weddings go. They both brought me to tears! The brides were both so beautiful. They had very minimal decor but it still looked very nice. I talked to Claribel about the people on the beach that walked across the wedding path and the closeness of beach chairs and speedos and she said it can be blocked off but I am not sure how much control they can have over that. If you choose a beachfront wedding I would suggest maybe having more decor that can line the beach so that people are more careful not to walk through your area. The other option for an outdoor wedding would be the fountain area which would be my other choice. It is in the center of the hotel and you can either walk through the fountain area (they put some kind of board down) and they lower the fountain so it is only about one foot high. That looks like an amazing place to have it as well. I only saw one reception in castaways and it was a little lame. They did not have a D.J. or anything or any decor so it wasn't much to see. They put tables together so that you have options for set up. In this case they set up tables in a square so everyone was facing each other and the center was empty. Castaways is where I think we will do our reception unless we do that on the beach. I would highly recommend some kind of decor to make more ambiance. Drinks were fine. They were pretty weak but I can't really complain about them. The disco is outside and rooftop so that is another option for an outdoor reception. That is all I can think of right now but feel free to ask more ?s and when I think of more things to tell you I will update this forum! Thanks for listening!

Hey ladies! Here is a link to my pictures from the Now Larimar. I am not much of a photographer so I hope these help a bit. I will post a write up tomorrow about my stay. I am too exhausted to type tonight! Enjoy http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=6875392007/a=41250649_41250649/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Ladies only a few more days until I leave for Punta Cana!!! I want to have a list of questions and pictures to take when I get there so if there is anything you need more information on please let me know!! I will try my best to get all your questions answered and pictures taken!!! [email protected] Vav and JB how in the heck did you get those rates?????? Vav you are traveling at the same time as me and I think mine are higher. I am going to have to go back and double check my pricing!! We are leaving Wednesday morning and staying till Saturday. I have asked to see a wedding a few times but haven't really gotten much of a response back. Claribel did say she would meet up with me when we arrived so I am excited about that!!

VAV- What days will you be out there maybe we can meet up!!!!

Hey Ladies! I just booked our trip to the Now Larimar August 3rd thru the 6th. Yay! Can't wait to check out the hotel and let you all know every bit of information I can take in. The hotel is charging us $114 pp per night in August and if we book 50 people for our wedding then we get reimbursed for the room for our visit in August. So excited! We have around 45 people booked now so I am sure we will make it to 50!! JB I will get that questionairre information sent to you tomorrow!

Dee, I'm sad to see you go but I totally understand. I have received responses this week from Claribel and Cristina @ [email protected] I am trying to get down there next month but Apple has not posted their friends and family deals for August because all of their flights are almost booked so I am not sure if they will even post at all I am waiting to hear back to see if the hotel will give us some kind of deal since we are booking 30 rooms and having our wedding there. I will let you know when I hear back. Cristina works at Secrets hotel but she has been very helpful at making sure someone is contacting me to get whatever information I need. JB I need to get you information ASAP for our invites because I need to send them out in October I think!

I talked to Cristina from Secrets and she was very apologetic about not receiving a response from the NOW she said she will work with me from this point on in getting whatever I need taken care of. I am hoping to hear back from my Apple client this week so I can get out there next month to check it out first hand. Laure- Make sure like Viv said to talk to a couple of agents to get different quotes. My TA went through apple to get me the best deal with the option of Price Match guarantee to make sure if prices go down we get the best rate. Her email is [email protected] Her name is Jan McGhee. Just in case you want to compare rates with another agent. Going dress shopping next weekend! Kinda nervous!!!

When I click on the link and sign in to my page I can't pull up the pics??? Can you email them to me?? Thanks

Hey ladies! I still have not gotten a response from anyone either. I have sent a few emails in the last few weeks and nada! I had my TA send an email to a AM representative that she knows to try and get this issue resolved. So I talked to my other client today that stayed at the NOW the first week in June. She went there on her honeymoon. She has never been to an all-inclusive hotel or Punta Cana before so I am taking her reviews very lightly. Uh oh I know! She said the resort is beautiful. Looks like a magazine. The water is blue the pools are amazing and the decor is very chic. Well, she is one of the unlucky ones that got sick. They stayed for 7 nights and 4 of them she was very ill. She said she just started feeling better last week so it was a month of montazuma's revenge, Or however that is spelled. Her husband started feeling sick the last two nights but not as bad as her. She couldn't keep anything down. What a rough way to spend your honeymoon I have only been to the DR once and I was sick too but was hoping it has improved in the last 4 years. She made the best of it though. She went on that Saona Boat Tour and said that was her favorite part of the trip. She said it was absolutely breathtaking and a must do!! The food from the locals on that tour was better than anything she ate the whole trip. She also was approached by a photographer on the beach (she is going to get me his information) and said he offered a photo shoot for $10. He took them to a bunch of locations at the hotel and the beach and she said it was awesome. She said the pictures were expensive but well worth it. I think she purchased all of the pictures for around $300 (I think she said it was around 60 pictures but I could be totally off) She said there was not one bad picture of them and she would definitely recommend finding him. She also has the rights to all of the pictures. Back to the food. She said it was terrible. Again she has never been to an all-inclusive so I understand how the first trip to an all-inclusive can seem that way. She said the buffet was by far better than any restaurant. She did like the Japanese restaurant. She got some kind of crab dish. As far as the other restaurants she said they waited over two hours and they were terrible. She discovered that she could keep down white rice and cucumbers so that is what she stuck with. She said the drinks were good and the servers were very nice but they were understaffed so getting a drink took awhile. I think there is something you can take before these trips that coats your stomach so you can adjust to the food but I don't know what it is?? Anyone know what I am talking about? If so please tell me because I would like to recommend it to all of my guests and maybe purchase a ton of it. She saw two weddings while she was there and said they looked stunning. I don't think any of her reviews are different than what we have already heard. It is just hard to swallow after booking it already. I have been to a bunch of all-inclusives and understand that the food is never very good but I am just praying that I do not get sick and that none of my guests do either. AAaaah! This is so nerve wracking!! I am really hoping my Apple client can get me down there next month so I can experience it firsthand but I almost don't even want to know what I am getting myself into

TJ Feb- What other hotels will you be staying at after the NOW??? We are getting married Feb 17th and are staying at the Now for a week and then we are gong to Secrets Sanctuary for a week as well. Since we are booking through Apple we are able to transfer some of our free perks to the Secrets resort as well since they are a part of the AM resorts.

Hey ladies! Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. I am still trying to get in contact with Claribel and still no response. This wedding coordinator is starting to aggravate me! Vav- I am trying to get them to do a pool reception as well and what I asked is if they can do a bbq style buffet. I agree, I am not a huge fan on buffet style dinners but if they could have someone out there grilling chicken, ribs, corn on the cob etc. I think that I could handle that. So instead of having some kind of carving station I want them to set it up like a picnic style or backyard bbq theme for food. I am waiting for a response back on that so I will let you know what they say if I ever get a reply back. I am hoping I can get out there next month and get most of this resolved so cross your fingers ladies that I hear back from my client for his August friends and family packages. JB- I still need to show you what I want for my invites. Is there a questionnaire you can give me for the info you need that goes inside the passport? Do you want a deposit for supplies etc.? Where did you buy the linen for the liner of the passport? I want to look at options for the color. I think I may want to go with a darker tan for these. I am very excited that you are going to be making these for me!

Hey Vav! I saw you sent me an email and now I can't find it anywhere in my email??? Can you resend the email you sent me so I can reply back to you ! Thanks!!

Vav- That is awesome! We should definitely chat. My email is [email protected] I would love to know more about your rates so we can compare since we are going at the same time. You and your FI are more than welcome to attend our wedding! This way you can see everything live! My color theme is Tiffany Blue and Gold. JB- Love your invitations! Let me know pricing because I am definitely interested in having you make them for us! Email me the details for pricing! There is a few minor changes that I would make but they are amazing! Great Job!! Acutie- I am a hairstylist! I get to be a part of so many weddings it is unbelievable! I am learning so many valuable tips! I am so excited about visiting the NOW! It is great having so many clients with amazing connections!! Ha! I haven't really thought much about hiring out for the photographer or d.j. The only thing I decided is I want a pastor to marry us and I will also have a judge come to the hotel in the morning to legalize our marriage! I do need to contact Claribel and start working on more of the fine details. Right now I am trying to get a better idea on how many will be coming. I did put on my save the date that a deposit of $50 was due by July 1st but I have to send an email to remind everyone because most of my family hasn't put their deposits down and I know they are attending!

Hey Ladies! I have not been on in forever. Super busy at work making all my summer brides beautiful! I am excited to say that we are trying to take a trip to the NOW in August. My client that works for Apple is giving us his friends and family discount. I have to wait till the second week in July to get the dates available for August but we are hoping to go the first week in August for three nights. Fingers crossed this works out for us! If this happens then I can get more information for all of us! We were going to try and go in July but the dates available were not working with my schedule! So everyone say a prayer that I can get the first week in August and I will be able to meet up with Claribel and get more answers for our big days! Hopefully I will be able to see a wedding there as well!! My other client that stayed at the NOW is in next thursday evening so hopefully she has positive reviews and more pics I can send you guys. VAVV- Did you get rates yet for your wedding? Where are your guests flying from? Good to know there is another February Bride! I will probably be around for your wedding. We plan on staying at Secrets for our honeymoon so we may be leaving that day to go to the other hotel but any decorations I use I can definately leave you. What day do you plan on flying in?

Hey Ladies! My client emailed me today with a bunch of pictures. They are on shutterfly. I am not sure how I can post the pics. If you want to email me I will forward you the email from her and you can view them through shutterfly. My email is [email protected] She said the food was good and the service was ok. I am going to find out more about that when I email her back. My other client is in on the 30th so if I do not here back from her before then I will find out more then. JB- Can you send me a sample of your invite so I can see how it looks in person? I will pay s&h and cost of product??

hmmm...I don't know?? I thought maybe since some of the girls were talking about hiring a certain pastor that maybe he spoke english?? I could be wrong?? I will ask Claribel tomorrow. Good thought on that for pricing. I haven't looked at the packages in a while so I forget what is even included?? That would be fabulous if I only had to pay for the judge and the minister would be included! I will ask her about that also!! Thanks!

Please add me to the Now Wedding Date List!!!!!! Sarah 02-17-12 My travel agent was great! She used to work for Apple and now works for Travel Leaders. I can't remember who asked for the information but her name is Jan McGhee [email protected] I am thinking I may get married by a minister for the ceremony. I was going to have the judge do it so it was "official" but I don't like the idea of having a translator and the judge speaking in Spanish at my ceremony. I talked to Claribel yesterday and she said that they could have the judge come to the hotel in the morning and I could sign the papers and then we could have a minister do the ceremony. I think I will have to pay extra for that but I think I may just do that. This way I don't have to do it here in the courthouse or by the judge in Spanish! Ha!

JB Your Invites look amazing! Great job!! Dee Sanders I would book it. I waited and my airfare went up so I ended up $150 more that I wanted per person. I am hoping they go down since we have the price match guarantee. Let me know if you have any questions and I can ask my client that works for Apple. I have not heard from my clients that stayed at the Now yet I think one of them is still there and I should probably wait for the other one to be home a few days before I stalk her with questions!!

I was reading a bunch of the posts on Facebook and saw that there was a guy name Rod on there that works on the property. His email is: [email protected] Maybe you should email him about not getting a response from the wedding coordinator. Maybe he can get some kind of response for you!!

I will let you ladies know as soon as I hear something! I agree that we all have time for the resort to get it together. Also that 9 out of 10 times you only write a review when you have something negative to say!! Fingers crossed that this all changes by the time we have our weddings there. Most of the bad reviews were about food and that is too be expected. I would say 99% of the time I stay at an all inclusive the food is nothing spectacular and I hate to say the last time I was in the Dominican I did get sick from the food too! It was 4 years ago so I was hoping it was because it just became a popular tourist attraction! I think that everything will be okay and we will all have a great time! As far as getting a hold of the wedding coordinator??? I don't know what to say. I haven't tried to get in contact with them in a while just because I haven't needed to but I know when we were trying to finalize my contract my TA did write a letter of complaint and got a response right away and then they were right on top of it. [email protected] is the most recent email address that I have sent to and had good response time on??? I do not know if I should text my two clients that are staying there about the reviews we read?? Or just see what they have to say???? I do not want to ruin their trip but I also don't want them to sugarcoat it because I already have my wedding booked there!!!!

acutie rn: My clients are there this week for 7 nights and my other client is leaving on Friday to go so as soon as I hear from them I will let you know!

Hey ladies! I put on my save the date that a deposit for group booking is due by July 1st. It is not really! Ha! I just said it so that I can get some kind of idea on how many will be attending. Love the one shoulder dress too! What is the website for knock off dresses?? I have two clients staying at the Now Larimar next week and the week after. So at least we can get some idea of how the resort is doing!!

BTW I am doing a 5pm ceremony with a 4:30 start time on my invitation just to make sure everyone gets there in time! It's hard to make it anywhere on time especially on vacation!!