natalieblev

Hi Coty Having someone you know marry you is not a problem. I just went over this with the resort through my TA and they said that is just fine. I think another bride on this forum just requested the rooftop for her ceremony, so I would just ask and see. It is a beautiful spot. My TA is going with us to the resort so she is taking some of my decorations for me, but I think the hotel allows one box, but you have to request it. Hope that little bit helps.

We are getting married before to avoid the hassle of the paperwork, etc. I was a little worried about this too, but as my FI said we just will not tell anyone, and will every year celebrate our real anniversary as the day we got married in DR. Just ask the WC if you do a symbolic can you add in passages or things that you may have wanted with the judge.

Disazaja I am planning on carrying mine on. I know there is a "closet" in the front where first class passengers hang their jackets, and it is closed and right by the flight attendants area so safe....but if not flying fc you may need to call ahead and see if that is a possibility and if not what else they do offer, but I know that the resort and many wedding sites say do NOT put it in the luggage and always carry it on. Does anyone know if there is a steamer at BBPD though? As for the groomsmen that is totally up to my FI - who so far has said 1-Gray and 2- He will be buying their shoes as a groomsmen gift.

Hey Ladies Weird question for those of you that have been to the resort- do the bathrooms really have glass instead of doors? Like see-through? I have alot of people sharing rooms who are not couples and my mom read that somewhere and freaked me out! hah.

Hi trivera I am using a TA as well and was able to get a locked in rate without giving any deposit. We blocked off 30 rooms. However, I have been finding really good deals on flight plus resort or just resort from vacationstogo.com. If i was doing it without a TA i would be using that site. My parents used it to go to the DR last year and they had no trouble with it at all and got better prices. I would just check it out if you are looking at the barcelo website and then compare. They are a wholeseller website so they tend to have better prices.

MissJali Pretty sure she does it, or either provides someone. But you are also welcome to have your own person do it. Also there are beach set ups, reception colors and set ups and centerpiece pictures if you go back in this forum. Just no prices. They ALWAYS say request the price for what you want. Annoying they dont just have a set price list. Sam I emailed my dates. I have not done anything with them through the mail. And after I paid my deposit there was no contract that came after. It was like they just said yeah okay done. So a little weird and uncomfortable. Also my TA is going there this next week for a wedding so hoping she will be able to get me alot of answers and Ill share with you guys!

I was told they were not allowed at the resort.

Hi Eva. I know how you feel about waiting. It is hard to plan when you are just waiting and waiting for the resort! (My wedding is June 2013) I am working with a travel agent so luckily I have been getting answers I think sooner then just waiting for the resort. Anyways, as TA's do, she works through a whole seller and so I have been able to get room prices. Actually my fiance and I have gotten our room as have some of my family members. All these number include all taxes and airport transportation btw. For the deluxe it has been about $100 per person per day for double occupancy. For the jr. suite is is about $109-111 per person per day " (The best deal so far for what you get) Then the ocean front club premium jr suite about $160-200/p/d " We have been checking prices each time a guest wants to reserve rather then just setting a base price for each room because so far it has been coming up cheaper to do it individually. But there will come a time when it wont be, and we will go to the set price. This is just for room, not adding in a flight and it is based on a seven night stay. (The more days you stay the cheaper each day is). It is also cheaper to have more than two people in a room and children over two are included in that count. We didnt block off any golf rooms, but they seem to be about the same as a deluxe room. About 100 a day. I think since our weddings are only a month apart, and considering neither month is in the "high season" prices shouldnt be that much different. Hope that helps!

thanks guys! I appreciate the feedback. 250 is CRAZY!!! I think if you hire a DJ it should just be included. But we will see how far that wishful thinking goes. Thanks too about the contract...it is backwards...my TA was saying, "yeah i think you should be getting one." but Im thinking it's not going to happen. Its odd to just throw a bunch of money at someone and then they just say yeah sure come on down. I like things in writing!!

Does anyone know if ipod music can be played for the ceremony rather then the trio? and if so is that an extra expense for the equipment? Also when you were done with the deposit and got confirmation on your date and time did any brides get an actual CONTRACT sent to them? Im still wondering if that is something I will be getting or what cause we have done the deposit, got a response on that, moved forward with reserving the room and some guests as well...but still no actual contract.

JG Corona Did the WC tell you you can use one of the restaurants for your rehearsal dinner? I was looking into that but they said it was too many people, about 40, and that a rehearsal wasn't included anyways. So how does yours work? Do you have to pay for the space since the food is free? Or do you have a really small wedding party? If you don't mind me asking.

Oh Eva I forgot to tell you. I got on vacationstogo.com and then in the upper right hand corner clicked hotels and resorts. Then find BBPD and select it. Once you do that you can put in your dates for travel and which airport you are coming out of and for some reason even though the air is "not published" yet, this site allowed me to see prices for my June 2013 wedding. And the site is legit. My parents booked with them last year to stay in the DR and got great prices. Just thought you could try out your July dates if you wanted. They have good prices. My TA told me prices are already established, they just havent put them out yet, so maybe this site is just allowed to do so.

Hey trivera I was wondering if that 500 included the private drink service? I havent heard of a base price like that for the space, more like 12/person. Miss Jali I am using a travel agent. Never used destinationwedding. My travel agent is able to use a whole seller so her prices included rooms plus flights from wherever our guests will fly out of as a bundled price. Because we have guests from over 10 different states, prices are different depending on where you are flying out of, but way cheaper then if you booked your room, then later used say orbitz to book a flight. I mean like 800 dollars cheaper in some cases. When I first started this process I considered not using one, and I was going to direct guests to deltavacations.com or vacationstogo.com because they both had really great prices for room + flight. I still dont think doing that is a bad idea, but using a TA helps you communicate with the wedding cord on site faster (it seems atleast to me), keeps all your guests in the know and for me it has been giving them the best prices at the time of reserving including locked in rates. They will include things like airport transportation as well. Hope that helps. But you could price check the destinationwedding website with the prices on deltavacations and vacationstogo just to make sure you are getting the best prices from either source. (My actual flying date isnt out for a few weeks so I have just been doing the closest date possible, so for now, May.) Oh and also Deltavacations has a deal with BBPD for extra amentities if booked through them- so room service, faster check ins, champagne, etc.

Hi Eva! Well my wedding is next June and room prices have always been available. You can even go on the website and see the hotels prices for rooms to make sure your ta is getting the best prices. The air however still isnt published. It isnt until i think 331 days from departure. So yours wont be ready until late august I am guessing. It is annoying, as I am still waiting to see the bundled wholesale prices for my guests. But I was able to have my TA do 'prices starting at' for each room on my wedding website to give my guests a better idea. As of now, even without the air out, my guests can make room reservations and make a small deposit towards the final price in order that they secure a room and reservation. Ofcourse many want to wait until the air comes out just to make sure they can afford it, but people like my mother and sisters are in no matter what, so they are able to get room prices. Those prices are also locked in at the time the reservation is made so if it goes up they wont have to pay more. I would check with your TA to see if this is something you could get moving on that might make you feel better. But of course dont do anything until you have the confirmation and package deposit done. On the free rooms thing I think that is also something to ask your TA because I havent heard anyone doing that so far. Also good idea about the DIY photobooth. Never heard of a pogo, had to look it up!

Hey Tenna No they would not confirm the reception location before I made a deposit. But did confirm the ceremony time and location. I never got the information that I only had seven days. Not sure if that was because my date wasnt filled up or something maybe they forgot to get to me. But I didnt make my deposit until 21 days after I got the confirmation and bank info. I had a minor breakdown about airline prices and was hesitant for a few days so I didnt do it until a few weeks later, but had no issues at all. If you put money down they will have a reception location for you no matter what. That is part of your deposit as it applies to the package. It just may not be where you want it. They have ballrooms for indoor receptions and then the beach...Bar Higuey is the place it seems everyone wants, so say you planned to have it there and they said yes okay, but if something else comes up we will have to move you. (something meaning a convention) If that happens you wont have to pay the extra charges to have it on the beach. As of now they tell me the Bar is open for me, so I am crossing my fingers for that and trying to see if I can make another deposit towards securing it.

Thank you so much Sunny for the information. I cant believe they only serve one type of beer! Oh i hope that isnt a problem as many of my guests are beer drinkers! Oh well. But thanks again for the food info. Helps to see what is available. I know you had your cocktail hour located within the gazebo and on the grounds around it, but I was wondering if they gave you any other options for locations for that if you had decided to get married in the gazebo? That is my location as well and I would rather get married standing in front of it then inside of it, but was wondering if they even have another spot for the cocktails and food to be set up?

Hey disajaza thanks so much for the info! It is really helpful! So was she able to confirm that you would be getting Bar Higuey for your reception? Did you have to make a deposit on that to get the confirmation? Also for the Tangerine package the reception gets "international bar." Does anyone know what that includes? Is it just hard alcohol or does it include what we would call domestic beer? And does anyone have the up to date food choices for the tangerine package reception? I would love to see it but am having a lot of trouble getting responses.

Hey teena if you can't get a hold of her I can send you the bank address and information for doing the deposit. I just sent mine last week.

I should say also that it is a symbolic wedding I am having...getting married here in the states, so that I think is probably a big difference.

Hey tenna To answer some of your questions- It is business days. Saturday counts, but not Sunday, I believe. (And also if they have any "holidays" during that time they do not count either.) I would just let Marlene know when you are planning on coming in and double check that Tuesday is still okay, but I think since Saturday is included you should be fine. Also I requested my ceremony and reception location BEFORE I would agree to make a deposit. I mainly did this because I was open to change my date if I had to be married on the beach. I did not want any beach location and as there is only two garden locations and sometimes four weddings going on at once, I wanted to lock in one of those sites or else change the time I would be coming. Same with the reception because I didnt want to get stuck paying for a beach reception. So I just did it beforehand. But I am sure once you do make the deposit she will prompt you on that if she hasnt yet and since it is early I am sure you will be able to get the location you want. Coco - maybe there is something going on that day because that is just so odd that she wont give you a time. The only thing I would know to do is press her for exactly why. I am using a family member who is a preacher to marry us so I dont require a judge or even anyone to be available for my wedding so maybe that had a little to do with it? I am not sure as i just thought they would give a time to everyone. That is just weird and I am sure a pain to try to plan anything around that!

Thanks Sunny! thats what I was thinking...and so glad i dont have to spend money on that! I wish they would just have a package that included everything. I feel like if you get the "best" one you should get use of the best chairs, plates, etc. But oh well! Thanks again. Trivera not to butt in but I just went over this with my ta and they said that you must speak up and say you want your upgrade. It can only be in category style, not rooms. So like the Jr. Suite Deluxe has category 1, 2 and 3 basically speaking of amenities and location. But reserving the deluxe and then hoping to be moved into the Jr. Suite does not happen. Sucks!! I really thought I was paying for an actual upgrade in my package.

teena it took me three weeks before i got a confirmation/deposit transfer form with my date and time. Sunny - Does Bar Higuey need any lights? I was thinking of doing a lot of floating candles on my tables and I see lights in the decorated pictures...I dont want to spend more money on lights!

Coco Holly I just went over this question about the deposit with my TA. She says not to worry about loosing the date if the deposit isnt paid right away. Especially if it is in such a large advance, she told me more than 30 days even and it would be fine. What I would do is just send a little note to them and let them know and you should be fine. (if you have to make a deposit for your reception area, that may be a little bit more pressed.)

Hi teena- Not sure since you have made the deposit if the date can be changed, but if it is available I am sure it wouldnt be a problem. The problem will be waiting for them to respond to such a request, I think. But since you have a ta you could use her/him to try to get this done for you. If you have filled out a reservation form with a certain date and then sent in the deposit it is my understanding that that is your "contract" and yes it is confirmed. But like I said, I would just ask to have another date and I really don't think it would be a problem. I only would say that if you confirmed your reception site, that may change as they do i think three weddings a day at the resort. Also you can change your wedding package, but that will require another deposit if it is the larger one. They will not force you to get the tangerine if you have 35 ppl, but will charge you 50/person to attend the wedding over the 25. Hope this helps.

eeeeeee That is SO awesome you are going to be on Say Yes! I love that show and love your dress too!! Cant wait to watch! Thanks for the pics Natalija! They actually look much better than I thought after having seen the "pinecone!"