alittlerandr

The tables we sat at in the Italian restaurant were rectangular...looking back at my pictures, we sat at two tables of 8 for dinner one night. We were off to the left-hand side as you go in, so they may have smaller tables off to the right-hand side...I guess I'm not very sure, though I'd imagine they must have smaller tables since not everyone comes in with a large group. Hope that helps!

We went back and forth but ultimately just rented the sound system. (They still had a worker there the whole time in case there were problems, he just didn't actually play any of the music.) We brought a loaded iPod, and I had a friend load up her iPod, too, with the songs I couldn't live without (ceremony songs, first dances) plus some other fun music. We made a dinner playlist and just put it on shuffle. I also made a dance playlist, but my cousin appointed himself as DJ and ran the music for us the whole night. Along with the speakers was a microphone. One of our friends served as emcee to make announcements. Reception food was PHENOMENAL. I would absolutely recommend all of the following: Ceviche Cream of broccoli soup Beef & potatoes Duo of mousse I don't really remember our appetizers - I just asked Yinette for her recommendations. They must have been good because they were all gobbled up pretty quickly. Yes, you will have your own bar and bartender. The servers only served the food; they did not take drink orders. Hope that helps!

I got married at 4:00 and there were still quite a few people around. My guess is 5:00 might be a little more cleared out, but since the main restaurants aren't yet open, people might still be hanging out at the beach, though some will have probably left to head up to their rooms to freshen up before dinner. There were tons of people milling about when I got married. I truly didn't notice them...even the ones that I saw (later, in pictures) got way up close and personal. The resort will set up chairs for your ceremony and, I assume, move away beach chairs that are right in the middle of the action. Otherwise, I don't think there's much they can do. I just tried to look at it positively, as part of the experience. It was pretty cool how people we didn't even know stopped to congratulate us, etc. And there are 2-3 weddings there nearly every day, so I think people just understand not to completely get in the middle of things, though many will stop what they're doing or wander over to check it out. (Your photographer will likely play gatekeeper and shoo people out of the shots...at least, mine did.) Just let yourself get caught up in the moment and those things will fade into the background, I promise

I flew Delta and I'm not sure if there was a closet available or not; I wound up putting my (pretty large) dress on top of the luggage in the overhead bins. It was able to lay flat and I had no issues with wrinkles when we finally arrived. So, even if there isn't a closet available on your airline, there will still be another option!

I have a little input: I paid for the chair sashes (as part of the basic decoration package) and they were used at both the ceremony and reception (La Brasa). They gave me the option of having them or not having them at the reception, but the cost was the same either way. Sometimes I think questions are not fully answered via email and it's something you can easily sort out when you meet with them face to face. We made OOT bags for our guests which had 22 oz mugs, which I believe are similar in size (though probably not in weight) to Bubba Kegs. 35 of our 60 guests flew on the same flight. We let those folks know in advance that we had a gift for them at the airport, and to save a bit of room in their suitcases. (We said to plan for something the size of a shoebox...we thought about giving them out in advance, but I was afraid people would forget them, thus defeating the entire purpose.) The rest, we took in our luggage. I scouted thrift stores and garage sales to keep an eye out for old, large suitcases. We found a HUGE one for $1 and were able to fit almost all of the extra OOT bags in it. Coming home, we packed one of our other bags inside the huge suitcase. We flew with Delta and each person was allowed two bags. We had each of our mothers and a niece take one of our bags as their 'extra,' and we didn't wind up paying any additional baggage fees. I would be very hesitant to ship anything directly to the hotel...but I think it's totally possible to be creative in your packing (we packed things inside the mugs, too) and find enough room for everything Good luck!

I think you can go either way. I left them know I was planning on the basic decoration package, but I decided on colors, etc, once I got down there. And, yes, the basic decoration package is the $300 one.

Another idea - I made DND signs using rack cards from vistaprint.com, and they were free (just had to pay shipping). Then, I used a large hole punch and scissors to make the cuts so they could go over the door handles. I just googled vistaprint free rack cards and had no problem finding them. Note: Make sure you have a good way to pack them. We just put them right into the bags and some of them got pretty destroyed. Oops! (We handed out most of our bags in the limo/at the airport.)

Haha, thanks! I was pretty pumped about the colors (the BM dresses were $40 from target.com...can't go wrong with that!) No, the roses were not from the resort. I worked with an outside florist for the roses. (My mom is a florist and really wanted to make my bouquets, so we just got a bunch of long stem roses and she made them.) We got the basic decoration package that, I believe, included the chair bows, floral arrangement, and fabric for the gazebo-thing on the beach. But, they did move those chairs over to La Brasa, so we definitely got our money's worth! My mom bought the starfish down there (there is a decent sized outdoor market just next to the resort). It was kind of a last-minute thing but I thought it was pretty cute. My reception started at 6:30. My wedding was 4-4:30, cocktail hour was 5-6, and the reception was 6:30-10:30. We still had plenty of daylight. If you have any other questions, please let me know!

Our day was great! The few snafus we had were really minor, otherwise it was perfect. I had a bit of a tough time letting go and just trusting that everything would come together but Yinette truly is a professional and knows what she's doing...all the loose ends came together and I couldn't have imagined a better day. We have wedding pics at http://akburns.shutterfly.com/ . (The ones titled 'professional pics' are the ones actually from the wedding day; everything else is a mixed bag.) Any other questions, just let me know - I'm happy to help!

Hi Chris- I got married there a few months ago and had a WONDERFUL experience at Ocean Blue & Sand. We actually had the steak & potatoes meal and it was phenomenal...several people told us it was the best wedding food they'd ever had. (We did a private reception at La Brasa.) Ocean Blue has a package of optional flowers that should give your FI a better idea of what's available. In all seriousness, though, the setting is so beautiful that flowers are just a tiny part of it. (This coming from a florists's daughter!) I didn't use the salon for hair services, but I've heard good things about them. When communicating with Yinette or Ada, patience is the name of the game. They are the only 2 wedding coordinators and the resort usually has 2-3 weddings per day, so you'll frequently need to wait 24-48 hours to get a response...that's where these board come in handy! However, Yinette is great and everything came together beautifully. Also, there is a pretty active board of Ocean Blue brides at http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/52713/ocean-blue-sand-punta-cana . I would totally recommend checking out the page to find out more about what people are doing, etc. Good luck!

Maybe it varies, but we had a symbolic ceremony in February 2012, and we did not need a translator. (The minister was a bit tough to understand at times but he did speak English and we didn't need a translator.) Maybe something to confirm with Yinette or Ada? Quote: Originally Posted by ocean123 mcathwilde - Thanks for letting us know I am having a symbolic wedding and I am not a fan of the translation but I watched some wedding videos on your tube from the wedding and it seemed ok. I would love to get one of my friends to do it.. but I think they would turn it into a big joke and then lots of laughs hahaha... We you married in Feb 2012? If so please let me know the details I would love to know how your day went? Thanks

Just to piggyback on this, anything you purchase from the 'extras' lists (flowers, decoration, videographer/photographer, etc) will need to be paid in cash when you get there and meet with Yinette/Ada. I was pretty worried about having that much cash on hand and couldn't wait to pass it on. But, we had no problems, the rooms had safes, etc. (We had 60 people in our group and not a single person had any issues with room safety.) You'll be fine I made it a habit to ensure the safe was locked each time we left the room, just for my own peace of mind. The outcome made it worth the couple days of stress!

No problem - he went online and found a bunch for about $5 each, so he even had new ones (with stickers, which the guys seemed to love). He was pretty proud of himself

Totally agree with ntlsnow and KristinaM - it's optional but very appreciated. Many of the staff at Ocean Blue work 12 hours days for 10 days straight, so I know many of them are appreciative of the gesture of thanks. We too brought a couple hundred in fives and singles for tips. (This was all my husband, but am throwing it out there) Baseball is huge in the DR, especially American teams with players from the DR. DH bought 5 Boston and Twins ball caps, which he used as a thank you to a couple of our favorite bartenders and also for bartering at the shops on the beach. They were a huge hit!

Hey all- I was able to get my luggage tags and the loops for them, and the badge card holders and lanyards all from the same company. (Not sure if they ship to Canada or not, though!) I spent just over $100 for 100 of each of the above, and, since it was over $100, I got free shipping. (I had about 60 guests, so this wasn't too much of a stretch.) Just wanted to throw this out as another option for those considering luggage tags as well as keycard holders - it was really tough for me to find less expensive luggage tags, and these were about the best price I could find for hard plastic tags. http://holders.idcardgroup.com/ http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/76281/oot-bags-on-a-budget (<-- for specifics on what I purchased.) And, if anyone is interested, I still have about 30 lanyards and keycard holders leftover (black lanyards, clear keycard holders) that I'd be willing to sell, just shoot me a PM. (Sorry, I promise I'm not trying to turn this into a classified ad!)

Ally - I made brochures, too, and had them printed free through Vistaprint - just had to pay shipping which was reasonable. I think you might even be able to design and upload to VP if you were interested - might save you some money versus buying the paper and ink for your own printer. Just a thought Also, for the actual bags, we used drawstring mesh bags from Oriental Trading and luggage tags to know who to give each out to. We had looked at doing totes, too, and this wound up being more cost effective for us...and less effort, ha! Ntlsnow - I did OOT bags for my wedding and insulated mugs and lanyard/keycard holders were the biggest hits, so I would definitely recommend including them.

Isn't it weird?? I seriously didn't even notice him, and neither did a lot of my guests, apparently! I used HDC photography and LOVED them. Their prices were super reasonable, and I had prints done down there, so I went home with just about everything in hand. I would absolutely recommend them.

Here's what I used (includes band/album names as found on iTunes): Mothers walk-in: A Groovy Kind of Love - Instrumental Songs - Soft Rock Guitar Wedding party: Don't Stop Believing - Vitamin String Quartet Presents Strung Out Volume 8 Bride: Canon in D - T Carter Music - Highland Serenade Sand ceremony: The Luckiest - Ben Folds Recessional: Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Trust me, you won't even notice them! Our photographer and one of my aunts did a good job of shooing people out of camera shots. But, we still had more than one guy in a speedo, lots of onlookers, etc (rumor has it there was a topless woman as well...who knows!) It's crazy how focused you'll be on just your husband...and those random-onlooker photos are pretty fun to look back on I didn't even notice this guy was there. (Words added in courtesy of the gal who took the photo)

I definitely saved money. (Plus, I cancelled the bouquet that came with my package and the resort took some money off my rental of the sound equipment for the reception, which was great.) We had enough flowers for 8 BM bouquets, tons of FG petals, my bouquet, and the reception...and still had lots leftover. I worked with Ana Rivas ([email protected]). She was very responsive and worked hard to get what I wanted. Since I spent over $200, it was delivered to the resort for free. Word of warning: Flower quality wasn't the best (we just got roses, and some were blown way open, some were rotten, etc). We had more than enough flowers, though, so it wasn't the end of the world. Knowing what I know now, I would still go the route of getting flowers on my own. It did take a fair amount of time to make them but my mom was excited to do it.

A few people in our group (maybe 4 or 5 out of 60) had a stomach issues that lasted a day or two, but for the most part no one had any problems....probably the same as one would expect when traveling, and eating/drinking in unusual quantities Quote: Originally Posted by ntlsnow Thank you so much for the details! Good to know the food is good there, I was worried about it. When I went to PC last June, we went to the Grand Palladium and it was awful. We had about 15 people and everyone was sick from the food. I thought their food was so disgusting. And now after reading even recent reviews on Grand Palladium, there are still a ton of complaints. So this to me is AMAZING news to hear about Ocean Blue. My TA said it was really good food too.

No problem! Today is my 2 week anniversary, so we were just there. And, I'm totally ready to go back

La Casa de mi Abuela - Dominican. Didn't eat there. Open for dinner; reservations required. Margarita - Mexican. We had a large group party there (about 40). Food was good, and the atmosphere was fun. Open for dinner; reservations required. Italian restaurant (name is escaping me!) Food was okay...nothing too special. Our wine glasses were never empty, though, so that made for a fun dinner! Open for dinner; reservations required. Mike's - coffee/pastries. Fantastic lattes and smoothies. Open from 10 am - midnight. (I was suprised it wasn't open earlier!) Overtime - Hamburgers, wings, sandwich of the day, hot dog...all served with French fries. It's open late night, so we often hit it up after closing down the lobby bar/leaving the disco Food was not the greatest, but at that time of day, anything is okay! They were out of ketchup for several nights, but we really enjoyed the staff there, so it was worth it! Route 66 - American. I didn't eat there, but people in my group did; they said the ribs were fabulous. Open for dinner; reservations required. El Bodegon - steakhouse. Food was outstanding; I was completely full by the time I left. Plus, we got to sit outside, which was wonderful on the last night. Open for dinner; reservations required. (<--I believe this was the hardest place to get reservations for.) Main buffet - Themed dinners each night (Chinese, Mexican, etc.) Breakfast included omelet stations, fruit, cereal, pastries, breakfast meats, juices, etc. Lunch had pizza, meats, burgers/hot dogs, fruits and veggies, pasta station, dessert etc. Dinners were themed (Chinese, Mexican, etc). Dinner was basically a larger version of lunch...and crepes made to order! I LOVED the buffet. The variety was great and most everything seemed to be high quality - they even had lobster one night. (I was expecting 'typical buffet' food, and it was much better than that.) Also, the bar at the buffet was one of our favorites - they mix a great drink, and the bartenders were really fun La Brasa - our wedding reception was here and food was phenomenal. During the day, they are open for lunch food. Selection was pretty limited but it was right on the beach, so we ate there most days. There were burgers, pizza, pasta station, fruits, 'meal of the day', dessert, chips and guac. Room service - free 10 am - 10 pm. Fairly limited selection (pizza, sandwiches, etc) but still decent. Hope that helps! You'll never be hungry