AmandaPadilla

It was amazing! We brought the cakes stands, the bride and groom chair decorations, and the parasols and ribbon wands. Really Bego did all of the decorations. As far as guest book, I always thought guest books are weird, so I did some fun postcards off of vistaprint, and had people write advice or a memory on them. I will make a cool little collage in our scrapbook. I will say that having my wedding and reception at Kukua was an amazing decision! I would not change it for the world. it was intimate and awesome!

Pro Pics from my Reese!!!!!!!!

Things I learned: Don't try to over plan activities for guests, they will appreciate the time you give them, but they also understand that you have other things to do. Give OOT bags, all of my guests loved them and used them all week long, it gave the wedding trip a special touch. If you are not using a DJ, download the Wedding DJ app, it is super simple, you plan all of your own music, and it is nearly impossible to mess it up! Be careful of tan lines until after the wedding, they don't look very good in wedding photos! If you are not using a professional videographer, check out WeddingMix http://www.storymixmedia.com/weddings/ they send cameras, you and your guest record and send it back in, and they arrange it into a beautiful video for you (I will post when it is finished!). Don't even try shoes on the sand! I brought 2 different wedding shoes (wedges for sand and heels for party) and wore them only for photos and went barefoot the whole day...

so here is my experience with excusions... I just returned from my wedding in Punta Cana. ISLA SAONA I used http://caribbeandreamto.com/ to pre-book an excusion for my wedding guests to Isla Saona. Booking was easy and the company communicated well. the cost was $89/person When we arrive to the hotel and met with our Apple Vacations rep, she seemed concerned because she had never heard of the company and there was no way to know if their food would be held to American standards (Apple's excursion booker is AmStar, which is AWESOME). The excursion ended up being fine, but it is a very very long day. The bus ride alone to get to the marina to board the boats is 2-3 hours, then a 45 minute speed boat ride to a shallow part of the ocean to hang out in the water (this part was really cool), then another 20 minute speed boat ride to Saona, lunch on the island (was good but the "open bar" is basically rum and coke); 2 hours on the island, and then the 45 minute catamaran ride back to the dock, and another 2 hours on the bus... LONG DAY! That being said it was fun and beautiful, but given a second chance, I would have way rather done a different excusion. OUTBACK SAFARI DO THIS!!!!!! We booked this through our Apple Vacation rep, through AmStar. It was $90/person. We were picked up in a fun open sided bus/truck. Our guide was George and he ROCKED! Seriously he made the whole thing so awesome and fun! He served us rum and cokes, and told us the some history and interesting things about Punta Cana and the DOminican Republic. We saw a lot of the country side, the amazing mountians, visited a school, visited a home, tried Mamajuana (a special Dominican beverage), visited a and then went lunch in the mountains, watched how they make cigars, held reptiles, and then were driven to Macao beach (a non developed beach front, BEAUTIFUL!) for 45 minutes of swimming. Then we rode back to the hotel. The whole thing was awesome!! Best experience for the money! MONKEY WORLD This is a new excursion through AmStar, I didn't go but my family went and said it was awesome. You get to hangout with monkeys! Feed them, they crawl on you, and they are very friendly. My family loved this one. Bottom line. . . book through AmStar, all of their excursions are approved by American standards, all of them are insured, so if something happens you will be ok, and they are all fun! Skip Isla Saona, it is just too much time. Hope this helps!

The day is done! I have just had my beautiful wedding at Kukua Beach Club on July 4th, 2013. It was everything I have been dreaming about for over a year! Bego is incredible! She planned every detail, she gave me exactly what I wanted. She gave me my dream wedding. We did a tasting a couple of days before the wedding (you have to try the mushroom penne!!!!! mmmmmmm!) where we tasted most of our dishes, including our welcome drink, which was delicious! The day of the wedding, we arrived and Bego had everything going, I felt comfortable that it was going to be a smooth day. We figured out the music, I brought my Ipod with Wedding DJ app with all of our songs arranged. We took photos and waited for my groom to arrive. The ceremony was beautiful and perfect. I loved every minute of it. Dinner was amazing (lobster or mushroom penne) and the cake was amazing too. Kukua met every standard I could have ever asked for. Don't hesitate to schedule your wedding here!! PM me with questions! Here are some photos from Kukua!

I just had my wedding at KuKua. And all I can say is AMAZING! Bego is incredible! She planned every detail, she gave me exactly what I wanted. She gave me my dream wedding. We did a tasting a couple of days before the wedding (you have to try the mushroom penne!!!!! mmmmmmm!) where we tasted most of our dishes, including our welcome drink, which was delicious! The day of the wedding, we arrived and Bego had everything going, I felt comfortable that it was going to be a smooth day. We figured out the music, I brought my Ipod with Wedding DJ app with all of our songs arranged. We took photos and waited for my groom to arrive. The ceremony was beautiful and perfect. I loved every minute of it. Dinner was amazing (lobster or mushroom penne) and the cake was amazing too. Kukua met every standard I could have ever asked for. Don't hesitate to schedule your wedding here!! PM me with questions! Here are some photos from Kukua!

I just returned from my amazing 2 week DW and HM!!! It was awesome! We stayed at the RIU Palace Punta Cana for 6 days, and everything was amazing!!!!!! I do want to say that I was not thrilled with the salon, I walked down, made an appointment in person 2 days before the wedding. I asked that the stylist come to my room around 12:00. That all seemed to go smoothly...until the day of the wedding. No one had shown up by 12:30 so I called them and they seemed to have lost my appointment (AAHHHHH!!) So I had to wait until 1 for someone to do my hair, and even though I showed her a couple of photos of the hair style I wanted, she kind of did her own thing. The hair worked fine, but it definitely was not worth the $80 I spent on it and then when she left my photographer and I tried to remedy it.... Word of advice... bring someone to do you hair down with you... don't leave it up to chance! I will write a full review soon. But one last thing! For those looking to have your wedding in the beach gazebo (though I did not get married at the resort), it is not what you would call private, or intimate, or ... dare I say pretty... the Gazebo itself is very pretty and if the surrounding beach was empty and the pool area was closed I would say go for it. But considering that the gazebo is smack in the middle of the beach where everyone has their sun chairs and there are topless women and men in tiny speedos wandering about, and the resort entertainment crew (who are very cool) do activities around 4-5 pm almost every night in the pool area. So you have so much background noise and randoms in your photos and it seems really distracting. Just my opinion, for what it is worth... Check out the full review soon!!!

I started purchasing about 6 months before the wedding. I purchased enough bags to cover the amount I pretty much expected. And the reast I kind of gathered slowly. Some of it worked out perfectly, and some I purchased too many. In my OOT bag: Tote First Aid Kit Hand sanitizer mini febreez Hand wipes (on the go) Pepto Bismol chewables Advil Blistex A bottle opener a wine corker a foldable water bottle lint roller tissues My favorite candy (tic tacs) Mark's favorite candy (sour patch kids) Spanish phrases for dummies (mini) And I am going to add a few little pool toys, footballs and squirt guns and beach balls, just for some fun!

Has anyone had their hair done at the RIU salon? How did it turn out? And what was their pricing like?! I leave in 3 days!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!! Amanda

Has anyone had their hair done at the RIU salon? How did it turn out? What was the cost? Thanks!! Amanda

This is my finished product. Do they look too empty? I feel like I should put more in them!?

The Reese is my dress too! I just had my final fitting and I could not be more excited for July 4th to get here! I will post pics!