daniellemboone

Hey Ladies, Just thought I would post my review of HDC Photgraphy here for any of you Destination Brides looking for a photographer in DR! When deciding on a photographer for my destination wedding in Punta Cana, I researched HDC Photography, and found it amazing that there were no negative reviews. Now I understand why!! These photographers are not only professional, but incredibly easy to deal with. From the first email I sent off to Arnaud, I was VERY quickly responded to (within an hour in most cases) and when planning a destination wedding, waiting to hear back from emails can be frustrating sometimes. Not with HDC. I never once had to wait days for replies from them, and all of my questions were ALWAYS answered promptly. The day of my wedding was so hectic I didn't even think for a moment to worry about whether or not the photographer would show up! Haha! I walked down the aisle and Charlie was there snapping away. I honestly didn't even notice him there until the ceremony was over. He managed to get the greatest pictures without even being noticed! Haha! After the ceremony, he introduced himself and gave us enough time to chat with our guests and have a celebratory toast before heading off to the beach for photos. We booked the smallest package of photos which was a 3 hour session and he utilized every moment of that time. He was creative with poses and was open to suggestions for photos that I requested, and made us all look fantastic. At the end of our session, he told us that Arnaud would meet us the NEXT DAY at noon in the lobby of our hotel so we could view our photos. In less than 24-hours!!! We arrived at the lobby just before 12 the next day, and at 12:15, Charlie came rushing into the lobby. He informed us that Arnaud was tied up with another customer and he would be arriving in a half hour. I found that quite respectable; he was running late and sent one of his photographers to let us know so we wouldn't be waiting and wondering where the heck he was! When Arnaud did arrive, we sat down and went through our entire disc of photos (362 of them!!!!) and they were all fantastic! I was so happy with them that it's going to be hard to choose which ones to frame! Hahaha! I must say, upon reading other reviews from brides who have used HDC for their wedding photography, I can wholeheartedly agree 100%, that if you book HDC Photography for your destination wedding, you will not be disappointed! A fantastic group of people to work with, and a phenomenal finished product at a price you cannot beat! I HIGHLY recommend them to ANYone! And just so you know, they are not only Tropical destination wedding photographers, Arnaud told me that they've traveled to Canada twice and to other places as well, and apparently they only charge a small travel fee! Still less expensive than most local photographers! Worth checking into! Happy weddings!

Hey Ladies, Just thought I would post my review of HDC Photgraphy here for any of you Destination Brides wondering! When deciding on a photographer for my destination wedding in Punta Cana, I researched HDC Photography, and found it amazing that there were no negative reviews. Now I understand why!! These photographers are not only professional, but incredibly easy to deal with. From the first email I sent off to Arnaud, I was VERY quickly responded to (within an hour in most cases) and when planning a destination wedding, waiting to hear back from emails can be frustrating sometimes. Not with HDC. I never once had to wait days for replies from them, and all of my questions were ALWAYS answered promptly. The day of my wedding was so hectic I didn't even think for a moment to worry about whether or not the photographer would show up! Haha! I walked down the aisle and Charlie was there snapping away. I honestly didn't even notice him there until the ceremony was over. He managed to get the greatest pictures without even being noticed! Haha! After the ceremony, he introduced himself and gave us enough time to chat with our guests and have a celebratory toast before heading off to the beach for photos. We booked the smallest package of photos which was a 3 hour session and he utilized every moment of that time. He was creative with poses and was open to suggestions for photos that I requested, and made us all look fantastic. At the end of our session, he told us that Arnaud would meet us the NEXT DAY at noon in the lobby of our hotel so we could view our photos. In less than 24-hours!!! We arrived at the lobby just before 12 the next day, and at 12:15, Charlie came rushing into the lobby. He informed us that Arnaud was tied up with another customer and he would be arriving in a half hour. I found that quite respectable; he was running late and sent one of his photographers to let us know so we wouldn't be waiting and wondering where the heck he was! When Arnaud did arrive, we sat down and went through our entire disc of photos (362 of them!!!!) and they were all fantastic! I was so happy with them that it's going to be hard to choose which ones to frame! Hahaha! I must say, upon reading other reviews from brides who have used HDC for their wedding photography, I can wholeheartedly agree 100%, that if you book HDC Photography for your destination wedding, you will not be disappointed! A fantastic group of people to work with, and a phenomenal finished product at a price you cannot beat! I HIGHLY recommend them to ANYone! And just so you know, they are not only Tropical destination wedding photographers, Arnaud told me that they've traveled to Canada twice and to other places as well, and apparently they only charge a small travel fee! Still less expensive than most local photographers! Worth checking into! Happy weddings!

Yayyyyyyy! Good job Ladies!!!! (And Susan's hubby-to-be.... I think you should keep him... Haha). This is fantastic news!! Phew!

That IS great news for those of you girls bringing your own photographer. I'm hoping that news will be good for those of use hiring from in Dominican as well. *fingers crossed*

Hi Ladies, Just curious if any of you know whether or not there is WiFi available at the Royal Gazebo? I've emailed my wedding coordinator about it, but haven't heard back yet. My mom is unable to fly to our wedding, so we were hoping we could Skype with her during the ceremony. I checked with my phone company and I could've purchased two tickets for the price they'd charge for the international data I would need to use 3G, so that's out of the question. Does anyone know about the WiFi?

I'm with the other girls. It's not a matter of being "angry" as such, it's just the principle of the matter. If they want to implement a new policy, fine, but it isn't fair to those of us brides who already have deposits/full payments paid for a photographer. IF we had wanted the resort photographer, we would have booked them, but for whatever reason, whether it be cost or personal photography style preference, we decided to go elsewhere for photography services. I personally couldn't justify spending $550 to only receive 50 pictures! I thought that was OUT TO LUNCH. The package I have purchased from an outside vendor is a mere $100 more than that for 300 pictures! I also preferred the outside photographers style to that of the resort photographer. As a budding photographer myself, photography was important to me, so I found a photographer that I felt was more fitting to my personal needs. THAT being said, I received an email from WBA Photo this morning (the resort photographer) showcasing their work. It still doesn't say ANYTHING about this new policy, but I predict that email is coming soon. Did anyone else receive an email from WBA?

Absolutely! I have an email where I asked what info I would need to provide to them to ensure there would be no trouble having the photographer arrive on the resort for my wedding day. They had ample opportunity to tell me otherwise at that time. Soooooo, yes, I will bust out my "lawyer friend" if necessary! (haha!) Anyways, here's hoping that it gets resolved... SOON. I'm still anxious to hear what Carrol has to say!

Let us know if you hear anything!

I'm curious to find out what Carrol (an earlier poster) finds out today... She said she was going to phone them and give them an earful on our behalf! So hopefully they change the policy to just affect NEW brides booking.

Same here Susan. I had confirmed it with Silvia before I booked HDC. They can't just go back on that!??! Like a previous poster said, if they want to change policies for upcoming brides, that is all fine and dandy, but not for those of us who have already booked (MONTHS in advance) and paid deposits! It's ridiculous!!!

Thank you Carrol!!! We're all behind you!!!

I am absolutely game for this!!! Include me for sure!! [email protected]

I want to ignore this latest revelation, because I'm about to have a panic attack over the photographer situation!! lol. I too have hired HDC and have paid the deposit. I haven't seen anything like that on any of my emails from Silvia (I just went back and checked) and I'm almost afraid to email her about it because I don't want to believe it's true. I think that it would be completely ridiculous of the resort to not allow current brides who have already booked and paid deposits to have them change their plans! I can see if they were to make it a new rule for any new brides booking that they would have to use the resort photographer, but for those of us going down in 2 months!!!!! I will LOSE it! Photography was the ONLY thing that was important to me... I didn't care about decorations, or any of the other extras... but I DID want a good photographer for a good price. I will seriously have a breakdown if I am unable to have HDC. :'( I think I'm just going to pretend I didn't see these posts, and hope and pray that I don't get an email telling me otherwise!!! Haha. Ignorance is bliss!

Hey Jennifer, It is actually $150 per PERSON. I am hiring an outside photographer, and on the wedding planner excel sheet that the wedding coordinator sent me, it shows the cost for "outside vendor" to be $150, and directly below that in bold it says "Prices above per person". Just wanted to clear that up, so there are no surprises for you!

Welcome Crystal! And congrats! I have chosen the Your Moments "free" package as my fiance and I are having a reception when we return back home for all of our friends and family who are unable to attend our actual wedding. We only have 10 guests coming, and therefore, that package was more than enough for us. This forum is excellent in answering any questions you might have. Just search for it, and most likely, someone has the answer!

Too Funny!! I'm from GFW!!

We arrive in Punta Cana at 12:45 on the 22nd. Should be fun! I've emailed the WC about the "Royal Gazebo" location, but I'm playing the waiting game (that I'm sure you're familiar with, lol). Hope to hear back soon. I'm ready to send off my "planner" sheet, but just need to confirm that one last thing.

Us too!! Where are your guests from??

We're leaving from Newfoundland on the 22nd as well!! I had completely forgotten about the ceremony location document the WC sent me. lol. (I started this process nearly a year ago!) After looking at the pictures, I'm having doubts about the location. I didn't really want to pay extra for decorations or anything (because we're having a reception back here in NL) and the basic set up on the beach is pretty plain. We only have 10 people coming so I was looking at the "Royal Gazebo". Do you know anything about that location? I thought I read somewhere that it's at the Secrets? I bet your reception is going to be so nice! I'm getting pretty excited! It's officially in less than 3 months!!

Thanks for posting this. I was trying to figure out how long I needed my processional music to be for the beach ceremony, and the video gives me an idea of how far we'll have to walk... and now I'm thinking I need to lengthen my music! lol. Also, does anyone know if the "gazebo" thing with drapes is included in the Moments beach ceremony setup?

Hey!! We're Date Twins! I'm quite delayed in responding, but my plans are going well. Just gathering items for my OOT bags. We only have a small group going, so it's not a huge monumental task. What location have you chosen for your ceremony? I've been set on having it on the beach, but am having a hard time finding pictures. I'm just going with the basics, and bringing some of my own decorations, but would still like to see some pictures. How are your plans going? What date are you travelling down? And from where?

Thanks for posting this link! I've been trying to find information about the resort photographer, and was wondering what they were like. Has anyone used WBA Photography for their wedding?? And if so... how'd you like them? Ps. Getting Married on April 26th, 2013 at Now Larimar! Excited!!!!!! MENU WBA WEDDING WEB (2).pdf

Hey all you lovely Destination Brides out there! I too am getting married at the Now Larimar on April 26th, 2013... and you guys have been suuuuuuper informative! So glad I stumbled upon this forum! With regards to the Resort Photographer, WBA Photography? Has anyone heard anything about them? I visited the website that someone else had posted, and they seem to do decent work. Would love to get a first hand account of someone who has gone with them for their wedding photographer!