angelnjewels

Wow Thanks Rotha! We are having our reception at Apollo and are thinking of adding the fire dancers if it fits into our budget. Right now we are trying to figure it all out. I decided to not go with the passport invites and do some linen starfish ones....which are 1.90 from zazzle.com We are trying to spend less and add more later on. The chill out chic seems to be the best right now....not sure!!! Thanks for you input. Please let us know of anymore tips. EV you are next CONGRATS Lady!!!

Rotha, I have to say that your pictures are lovely. I just watched your slide show and it was amazing. It really had me tearing up... This is what it's all about. Wow!!! Amazing! How long was the fire show? Was it done on the beach or at the Apollo terrace? Congrats again! I was blown away!!!

Yea we have to figure something out! Thank you Rotha!!!

Sorry pressed submit before i was done. I think we will all have amazing weddings. The 2013 brides on the forum have been wonderful on giving their feedback if you read that thread. Happy Planning to all.

Hey ladies, We have not chosen our package yet. We are waiting until more ppl respond to make a decision. My fiance and i really would like the tailor made package even though it is expensive it's something we have been looking into. our budget is 35-40K but i am hoping it is less than this.... We are working with our travel agent and have been able to block 20 rooms for our friends and family so far. My wedding is going to be on March 22, 2014. Boy am I having a crazy time right now. So far we have about 50ppl who RSVP'd we are waiting for 50 more to respond. We send out our formal invites soon so that will determine which package we get. We went to visit the resort in January and it was lovely. We hit some bumps with the room situation but other than that the resort was very nice and we had a really good time. We were set on having a sit down dinner but recently were told by the romance office that you only get two options served as a "duet" and that is it. Usually we are used to getting three entree's to choose from chicken, fish or steak but not in this case. Therefore we are now thinking of doing the buffet option since it offers more. We have looked at the menus and have decided that these are the best. My fiance and i wanted to have someone to officiate the wedding that spoke both English and Spanish. We are currently speaking to Rick York to see if he is able to officiate our wedding. We hope that all works out. Regarding the photographer we are going with resort photographer Arrecife everything i have heard is great.

Hi ladies, For those of you who had the fire show. Was it really 7 min for $500.00? That's a bit much but I kinda want to do it... Do you think it's one of the must haves???? I've watched the videos and am in love with it but wanted to hear your thoughts...

Hi Ev, Wow!!!! Thanks for the breakdown. I never would have thought there was so much involved. This breakdown helps!!! Not sure if we are having the at home reception because its going to push us over our budget. Thanks for the info. I thought it would be cheaper due to the airfare and the hotel but i guess not. There is so much involved I really CANT!!!! lol But we will keep on trucken. Your day is approaching YAY!!!! I am sure it is going to be amazing. Good Luck and Have fun. Cant wait to see read your review and pictures!

i had no idea that we got a group dinner for 20 people. I thought it was just for 10. Nice!!!! That's like the best news i heard all day.

Yes i think that if we would have chosen to have a summer wedding it would have been cheaper but its crazy. I really like the chill out chic and now that we may have to go with buffet it may work. There is so much to do. We already booked the DJ and the Dominican Trio so now we just have to pick a package....ha that's the crazy part because my fiance really wants the Wedding BBQ as the welcome dinner on the beach. He says its a must have.. We have not established a budget i just came up with my own. I told my fiance that our budget is going to be 35K-40K and not one cent more. I think it is pretty high but with the amount of people we invited i think its going to be crazy. Thanks for your help Kel

Hey Kelly, Yes i was totally blown away when she told me about the extra fee. so far we have 50 people who stated that they were going and we have not heard from 50 more. We considered olympus terrace but then my fiance wanted a space with AC. It is crazy. My fiance decided to call this morning he was furious when he got home last night. We decided to have the ceremony on the beach, cocktail hour at plaza colonial. Now we have to figure out the reception space issue. My fiance is really upset about it but whatever. We also wanted to have a sit down dinner and they recently changed that option giving us only two options instead of 3. Not happy at all because initially we were told that there would be three choices for our guests but that no longer exists. The next step is try to see if we can get gabi beach instead even though there is the fee if we choose tailor made we get a discount. Not sure yet but we are definitely considering it now.

Ladies, I hope this is not inappropriate but what is your budget. My fiance and I never established a budget because he did not want to at the time. Now that i am seeing how crazy it is getting i need to put a stop to all of this and start to cut some things from my list. What was your budget? Did you go over your budget with a destination wedding? What are the must have's? I feel like i am going insane right now. I hate this feeling.

Hi ladies I am going through another dilemma... keeps getting crazy. so my fiancé and I chose the Apollo room for our reception so now we are told there is an extra fee to privatize the room. Were you told this? I confused which are the venues that there is no extra charge for... I Am furious right now... if that's the case I might as well do it at Gabi Beach!!! UNREAL!

Yes I worked with Marilyn Cairo at first. I was then transfered to Lauren and now I am working with jessica... Everyone has been great so far!

Hi Bridetobe2014, Yes it's per person per night minimum 3 nights. This was the price given to me by my travel agent for March of next year. The romance team give me 246 pp per night but our travel agent got a bit cheaper... The prices for summer I think may be 180 and up depending on who you book with.

Hi Kel, Thank you for your info. Wow I cant believe your price...Good Job!!! Since we decided to get married during high season everything is super expensive. I looked online this week for rooms at PPR during March of 2014 and its at 600 or more a night its ridiculous. We were able to get them for 232 so now i am feeling a bit better. Just waiting for Jetblue to release their flights which i think will be next month at some time. I really hope!!! I have to start booking for my parents and figure out what we are going to do. Not sure that we will have an at home reception now because i think its just going to be an added expense. I am still sure...

Thanks for the Info Rotha!! I appreciate your honesty...I know we all do... How did you get the ocean front room in royal service? Thats what my fiance and i want but are not sure if the Romance office will upgrade us to that. Just wondering...

You are welcome 1zama... Did any of you 2014 brides pick you package yet?

Hey Ev, Thanks a bunch my parents and I are going to have one more meeting I was going to have them stay 5-6 nights but now I'm just going to do 3-4 I just can't afford to pay 232pp... What was your rate per night? The issue with the bridal sheer is that my sis said that her husband cannot attend the wedding since they "have to" throw a shower for me and they have plans to buy a house.... I said that I do not need a shower my fiancé and I already live together but she insists because when She got married I did her shower... I recommended that she use the Pine restaurant where I had hers but she said she wants a catering hall.she even hired photographer.., anyway my ml and sl really want To help and I offered to pay for some of it but she's kinda putting us off... My fiance really wants my brother in law to go but there excuse is that they have to throw our shower..... Make me feel guilty.... She says she is busy but I would like to have a rich so they can exchange numbers and talk but again idk..... Regarding the passport invites they are going to be $5 each plus everything else that goes along with it....I was going to use zazzle and create my own but they look a bit cheap... Who did you use for your invites??? People make it difficult... Then my parents were arguing about who they will invite in DR... I said that I would have to pay their entrance so it kinda sucks for me.... I sent out my std's in April and asked that ppl reply ( yes, no, or not sure at this time) by June first just to get an idea of what package to choose I have gotten about 15 response cards... People said they can't tell me at all yet I'm like ok fine... It's just frustrating,.. My fiancé really wants the tailor made package but we still have to see... It's so much money but he doesn't mind paying... Ugh the drama I really hope everything works out

Hi Ladies, Just graduated with my masters degree, resigned from my job and am starting a new job in a few weeks... its crazy right now. So i am going through another dilemma. Gosh when does it all end!! I have 9 months to go...oh boy! Anyway i am trying to book for my parents who first say they want to stay and visit family, now say they don't, and then their minds will change again. I am a bit upset because prior to booking our stay we want to book theirs. I really want to help them out because they don't have the means to travel and i decided to do this for them since they have never taken a vacation in 35 years being together. I thought it would be nice for them to enjoy their stay. BUT NOW....I feel that i cannot move forward. We are getting married during high season so it is going to cost us 232 a night pp for deluxe garden view...you can only imagine how much everything else is... I continue to hear complaints of how expensive it is and questions as to why we did not book during the summer... WELL if i could switch my day i would now...its crazy this is a huge mess and I too wish that i would have eloped. I would have gotten married in Cancun at LE BLANC spa resort...and that would be it... i honestly am tired of the BS. Another issue is the bridal shower...that's another story... I feel like these are things that i cannot control but if it is this bad now i cant even think of how much worse it gets.... Anyway... I did book pastor York for our wedding and i am excited about him so that is a plus...other than that i have not done much cuz my passport invites have been an argument with my fiance he thinks its a waste... so i dont know... over all I cant wait to see pictures and read all of the reviews. I am sure it will be lovely in the end its just the stuff in between that really SUCKS! I really love this thread and am happy to be part of it...

HI EV, I hear you girl! It gets very stressful.. I am sure everything will be beautiful. I hope all of the events are everything you have dreamed of and more...YAY! Can't Wait to see pictures and read about your day. How exciting.

Hi 1Zama, The number for the romance office in Miami is 305-669-2941 or 877-276-0872.

Yay! Congrats Rotha...Hope all goes well...Good Luck cant wait to see pictures.... Enjoy your special day!!!!Yay.

Thanks suzanne! I think we are def. going to do that.

Thank you LL117 did they give you an ablum or did they only give you a CD?

l Ll117, Thank you! My fiancé and I were looking at the packages we liked the middle and large packages... We will see. How were the taxes? It's like 18% right.... How do the centerpieces work out do they email you pictures, do they email you pictures?