PuntaBride

Congratulations JoeJoe, and welcome to the forum. Don't be overwhelmed by everything that people have gotten started on! You've done the important part by booking your date and choosing your resort. Your next step is definitely to get out the STDs and get in contact with a travel agent and get some group pricing for the trip (better than booking individually). I did this and got a great deal (saved about $300 each). My guests have 90 days to pay their deposit and we are guaranteed a one time price adjustment up until March 1st. So should the price go down we can get a refund for the overpayment. So far I have 35 guests who have payed their deposits. I knew by sending out my invites so early that a lot of people wouldn't be able to commit so far in advance, so i included a "ask me again in 6 months" spot on my RSVP card. I'm hoping to get a second group rate in January for anyone that might be wanting to book at that time. I personally would want to know all the financial information early enough so I had time to save and book vacation time. I have pictures of my boarding pass invites somewhere on here too! Once you are in contact with the resort they should send you a wedding package with all of the info pertaining to the ceremony, reception, dinner, decorations, and the fees.

You can correspond with them through email It usually takes 1-3 days to get a response. I have had great success with this method!

I would definitely go with the Elegance. My friend just got back from the Colonial and she said the Elegance is more upscale - 5 star versus 4 star. Definitely get in touch with the wedding coordinator at the hotel to see what days are available. I was shocked to find out there was only one time slot available for the first week of May and I booked two months ago! Good luck This a great site for everything to do with planning a destination wedding!

Love it!!!

That is a great idea! So much easier to pack. I will need to keep my eye out for some good ones!

Thanks for the tip about the fans! I'm going to have to check out dollar tree myself. I am also going to re-use the bouquets for table decor! Such a smart idea. I saw this at a wedding I went to last summer. It was brilliant!!! Also check ikea for vases. I bet they have a ton! I want to start getting this stuff but it is hard to know how much of everything to buy when you don't know how many people are coming/the number of tables!

Oh and I also would like to do those round paper lanterns at the reception! I'm sure they charge you for those too, but I think they would be easy to find here. Ones with lights are pretty. I would like some kind of little white christmas light things hanging from the wood structure ceiling!

I've been thinking about decorations too! I did go to Michael's and in their discount section I found little starfish. There were 3 in each box for $3 each. I'm not sure how I'm going to use them yet ... but I'm going to work it in somehow. I like the look of clear glass vases filled with sand and candles for centrepiece decorations, which I think would be easy to find here and bring down. The hardest part would be finding vases that aren't too heavy to put in luggage. I found some pictures on Pinterest of this. I also want to do do fans! I'm not sure whether to do raffia fans and get them from orientaltrading.com or whether to make my own out of card stock (with info about the ceremony/wedding party). Anyone else have any good ideas or pictures of ideas?

Congratulations! Doesn't it feel real now? What is your next step now that you have booked your flight and accommodations?

My quote is also with Air Transat. May is the start of off season so prices start to go down. February is reading week for college/university. This tends to be a bit more pricey .... A lot of travellors.

Peach and nude tones are everywhere in stores this season. Have you tried looking around at stores that are not strictly bridal. Not sure what look you are going for, but if you are wanting a flowy /beachy feel Aritzia has a bunch of coral. They also have a great sale on right now! Since you are only looking for 2 people I'm sure you could get the sizes you need. Also check online ASOS ships for free to Canada and it is easy to do returns. Good luck!

Thanks for the recommendation! Do you have any photos of the guys that I could see?

The club sounds nice. Do you think bride and groom would get upgraded? Or maybe it's worth paying on arrival?

That's for one person and includes flight. We get a whole weeks stay for one person free if 20 people book. We're hoping to get both of our stays free!!!

You can have a free dinner up to 60 guests. You pay an additional cost after the 40th person. If you are over 60 people then I believe they make you do a private dinner that is insanely overpriced!!! Your talking thousands of dollars all said and done!

Coming from Toronto, Canada we got a group rate of $1380. For every 20 people booked we get one free. This rate is based on two guests sharing a Junior Suite at the Majestic Elegance. It includes airfare, accommodation, and taxes for May 5th - May 12th.

When in March? If it is around March Break than prices will be higher. I know that 3 day vacations are always a bit of a rip off. It's usually worth your money to go for the full week.

Hi Canadian Brides, I'm looking for some advice on where to buy men's linen pants and dress shirts. I went to the obvious choice ... Tommy Bahama ... and of course I fell in love with an outfit, but it is waaaaay too much money for our budget. I'm talkin' $300 for each groomsmen. I can't ask them to spend that much. So, I'm looking for other ideas? I know we are also limited in terms of the time of year to buy this kind of thing due to our seasons, so I'm getting antzy. We are getting married next May and I don't want to leave it to the last minute!

LOVE RIU! I've stayed at a number of their resorts. They never disappoint

This is so cute! Love that idea

One of my bridesmaids just got back from the colonial. She said that the decor was different everywhere, elegance fancier more 5+ star versus 5 or 4 star.

Reading these makes me excited!!! I was doing some browsing on Trip Advisor and was look at Photos. I saw two photos of different weddings (a dinner reception at the See and Sea, and a wedding party in the lobby). Here are the reviews http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g147293-d1068246-r131968473-Majestic_Elegance_Punta_Cana-Punta_Cana_Dominican_Republic.html http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g147293-d1068246-r131316658-Majestic_Elegance_Punta_Cana-Punta_Cana_Dominican_Republic.html

I'm thinking of going this route too. There is sometime irons/ironing boards in rooms ... not sure if this resort has that or not. I would consider doing it myself, depending on how many people I'm expecting.

Finished my invites and sent them in the mail on Friday. The only tip I have for anyone making this is to make one sample and take it to the post office have it weighed and make sure it fits in their regular mail slot. Mine were like 1mm to thick where the pearl pin is and I had to send them as oversized mail because of it. Mine were completely finished and sealed ... so there was no turning back. Cost me 3x the amount in postage, so I hand delivered all of the local addresses ...it was very expensive to send to England/US. Here are some photos, they are not the best quality - with my phone ... but you get the gist.