Hi DPB Brides-to-Be!
I'm so happy someone started a new thread. Too bad I just spent the last 3 1/2 hours reading the old one before I realized this one was in existence. FAIL. Oh well. My FH and I just booked our trip yesterday to visit DPB and two other resorts in July, but I'm all but convinced that DPB is the place for us. Something would have to be a complete disaster for us to change our mind.
As far as the judge goes, I think the major concern with some of the previous DPB brides (after reading the other thread, I learned a few things is 1) he performs the ceremony in Spanish and it needs to be translated, 2) he has limited availability and can usually only do morning and early afternoon ceremonies (rare evening ceremonies, depending on availability), and then the marriage certificate is in Spanish, so if it ever needs to be presented back in the US anywhere, it would need to be translated into English which can be pricey. Someone posted that you can save roughly $400 by doing the civil union and signing the papers at home and having Pastor Rick conduct the Symbolic Ceremony in DR. Or you can wait, have the symbolic ceremony only, and then have the legal service after your wedding.