kissta

Quote: Originally Posted by Soon2B2014 Hi Girls, Happy Freaking Planning!!! I need some help/advice: I am having some issues with finding a travel agent that will quote a good group rate for our wedding next year. Have any of you had the same issues or mind sharing your contacts and how much you were quoted. I want to make sure i am getting the best deal for all of our guests. Thank you!! It also depends what time of year you go and how far in advance you book. I went to a local travel agent (I live east of Toronto) and we went 1 year and 2 months in advance to reserve. We had to put the deposit down for the airline tickets. Our trips were booked through Air Canada and Air Transat. Our cost was $1499CAD/person based on double occupancy. That is with taxes in, flight, and hotel. Prices went up based on going up in room category! We also got comped - every 12th person = 1 free trip.

You look absolutely stunning SexyCebuana! I am so glad we got to meet - if only for a minute!! Love your pictures!

Quote:Originally Posted by brookesileo thanks so much for the info. we are actually doing all the same locations.. gazebo, pool and nova for welcome party.. for your table did you only use tea light candles? I was talking to my sisters about doing that and I got the 3rd degree.. I don't see a point in spending so much on the centerpieces when the atmosphere is gorgeous. Did you add the chinese laterns that hang around the poolside? Are u able to were heals down the aisle for the ceremony? Sorry if.I am harassing you We did add the Chinese Lanterns around our poolside reception. It was so beautiful. And with the palm trees, the lights, and the pool, it was really enough ambience. So I did just go with the glass, small vases that I put a tea light in. Also, I did wear heels for the wedding. I rented 2x the white runners from Lara, which helped for walking down the aisle. My father and husband knew walking in heels would be hard so they both made sure I didn't fall. I am fine with walking in heels, so it wasn't that hard, but I won't lie. I had killer blisters on my feet from trying to walk on my tippy toes in the sand. But it was worth it!

Quote:Originally Posted by 1Pris Thank you for your feedback!! One more thing: did you have the grilled buffet? If so, how was it? We changed to the grill buffet - option 1 last minute and it was AMAZING! I enjoyed all of the food they had out at the buffet!

Quote: Originally Posted by brookesileo Hi Ladies, 1Pris I have all the same concerns you have, I have no idea if I should do a trial on my hair, do I really want to spend the extra money to do that? I didn't even think about a rehearsal dinner until now? My package that I choose comes with a free one hour welcome cocktail party per 10 guests that I am having, do you think it would be fine to use that as my rehearsal dinner? Are you using the in house decorations place? I got a quote of 85 plus tax(which their tax rate is crazy expensive, so it comes to 107 per centerpiece). It seems expensive for a centerpiece so basic. But is it worth all the extra headache of bringing down my own centerpieces? What have you decided on? Krissta, your photos are beautiful, did you use Arrefice? What month did you have your wedding in? Any advice for welcome bags do's and don'ts? I got a trial hairstyle done in Toronto which cost me $45. I wouldn't pay to get the trial at the resort as they quoted me $80 - and that would also take time away from your vacation! Just make sure you bring pics of what you're looking for, the hairstylist is really good at recreating it! I had the Chill Out Chic package, which did not include a Welcome Party. I had one anyway on the Nova Terrace. There I handed out my Welcome Bags. It was a great idea because everyone got to see who is in our group! It was an hour, which was more than enough time. I did not do a Rehearsal Dinner, and if you want to save money, I would skip it. The day we met with Miguelina to finalize our wedding (the day before), she drove us around the resort and we looked at the ceremony location (the beach) and the reception area (the pool). Miguelina is really organized and on the day of, everyone knew where to be. I told the girls to meet in the Bridal Suite at 1:30 and my husband told the groomsmen to meet in my brother's room for 2pm. No worries about walking down the aisle and stuff, it's not a huge walk, so not having a rehearsal was no big deal. I chose not to pay for the $100+ centrepieces ... I paid $5 per glass tea light holder through Lara. I brought my own tea lights. My reception was poolside which was ambience enough. It looked amazing. I went for simple and it looked beautiful with the palm trees and the pool. I got married on November 11th of this year. We did use Arrecife and I cannot say enough about how wonderful they are. Joaquin was our photographer and Taimir helped us organize everything. Our photos are amazing and we have so many. We chose the Silver package which include videography. We ended up with a 1.5 hour long wedding video! They are truly amazing. In my Welcome Bags (80 people, 1 bag per couple + bags for the tween girls and children) were flip flops (from Old Navy's $1 sale back in June), packages of advil, tums, pepto, mini aloe, door hangers (from Etsy), Timeline (strongly recommend, also from Etsy), etc. Kiddies I got them sand pails, flip flops, sunscreen, crayons and colouring book, etc. Tween girls - magazine, nail polish, hair clips, etc. The Welcome Bags cost me quite a pretty penny, but everyone enjoyed them! Hope this helps! Let me know if you want to know anything else!!

Quote: Originally Posted by 1Pris Thank you!! Luckily I do speak Spanish I just don't know how I want my hair yet!! (( do they have styles or magazines that we can choose hairstyles from? Or would you really recommend me to get a trial do at home? Also, did you say that you had the grilled buffet? If so how was it? They did bring a book to the bridal salon, but it looked a little dated. I think that if you don't want to get a trial done up here, you should bring a photo of what you'd like your hair to look like. The girl I got (can't remember her name) was really good, so I wouldn't worry too much! I was really impressed by her!

Quote: Originally Posted by 1Pris Thank you so very much for this review. Its calms my worries about everything. Another question, did you go for a trial hair do? Did you show them what you wanted? Kylieb, I'm right behind you! December 8th! Soooo excited!!! I am glad I could help 1Pris! I know it is very overwhelming, but honestly, everything runs so smoothly and the coordinators are amazing! Everything looked and flowed exactly as I had pictured it and don't know why I ever worried! I went for a trial hair back home and took pictures. I brought these to the bridal suite. The girl who did my hair actually did it better than my hairstylist up here. She speaks very little English, so luckily one of my Bridesmaids speaks Spanish. But if you don't have anyone who speaks Spanish, it is not a problem. I showed her parts of my hair I wanted different and she did it perfectly. They do use a lot of hairspray, which really helped for the humidity. Plus, my hair was up, so it made no difference. Perhaps if you are doing your hair down, you may want to provide your own hairspray as the aerosol one they used had quite a firm hold! But my hair up lasted throughout the entire evening and still looked perfect as I went to bed. I was REALLY pleased with my hair!

Quote: Originally Posted by kylieb Hi! Thank you so much for your review; I am getting married December 7 (just a couple weeks away!) and am certainly getting hit with last minute nerves. It is helpful to read such a positive review, especially regarding the photography since we also have hired Joaquin. You looked absolutely beautiful, FYI I have a quick question for you: how did you transport your items down to the resort? Did you check them? And did you use boxes, suitcases, or bins? Any advice, from you or anyone else would be REALLY helpful! Thank you!! Hello kylieb! Good luck with your upcoming wedding! We were so unbelievably happy with Joaquin's work - he is truly amazing and was such a pleasure to work with! Our trash the dress pictures are the best and I would recommend it because you are less nervous (they do it 2 days after the wedding). I wore a simple, short white dress as I didn't want to truly trash mine Thank you for the compliment! I wish I could relive the day. It went by so fast and it was all a blur until we watched the wedding video! I had 80 people ... which meant I brought down A LOT of stuff for welcome bags. I borrowed 7 family members' carry-ons and our luggage is really big. That's how I brought everything down and we carried our dress and suit onto the plane. Be careful though - the woman who checked my dad's bag said his carry-on was too heavy and actually charged him $105 to check it - oh well! Anything else you need answered, just let me know. But don't worry - I had such a wonderful experience and you will too! It is so perfect there! Take care!

Hello Ladies! I am back from my wedding at the PPC and left a review at: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/paradisus-punta-cana-resort-all-inclusive/reviews/7835 Let me know if I can help any of you out. ** Also, forgot to mention in my review - we had a Civil ceremony and it is performed in English!**

Hello Ladies, Just a quick question for those who have already had their big days: What did you do about tipping? Who did you tip? Wedding Coordinator, DJ, Hair Stylist, Servers ... ?! I just want to have everything prepared for when we go down. Also, how much do you tip the Wedding Coordinator? Thanks so much!

Hello Everyone, Thanks for all of the information in this thread. I have been trying to email Pastor York at the following address: [email protected] and it keeps bouncing back. It is the email address in here and on his website. Any advice? Thank you so much!

Quote: Originally Posted by 1Pris Kissta your wedding is coming up!!! I know!! Getting so excited!! We leave next Saturday!! Yours is too 1Pris ... how is all your planning going?

Quote: Originally Posted by Ashnicole6 Thank you for the advice! If it isn't worth it for the premium bar i'm definitely not going with it, it's so expensive to upgrade! I can't wait to hear about your wedding Tisha!! Also, I know it would be a lot to bring water bottles on the plane with me for my guests, but i'm wondering if I could get them once I arrive and just put my custom label on it? Anyone have experience with this? I'm starting to realize I still have a lot of details to plan and i'm freaking out! You should ask your Wedding Coordinator if they can provide the water bottles - that would make traveling so much easier. I know you can find awesome labels on Etsy.com to personalize! That would be a great idea! Don't worry. It hit me when I was 2 months out that I had a lot to do. I just took a couple weekends and put it all together. I also have a spreadsheet going of all my guests, how many welcome bags, arrival times, etc. Another helpful tip is that I have put together a "wedding binder" to take down with me. It has all my paid invoices, my romance planner from the resort, and email communication I have had over the year. That way there will be no confusion while I am down there!

Quote: Originally Posted by TishaJules Every year, the hotels upgrade their contracts. I PROMISE YOU. Every bar has premium liquor so don't waste your money. If your rehersal dinner is in the Gabi Club...the bar is right there so you will be fine. Quote: Originally Posted by Ashnicole6 Hello everyone! I am debating whether to upgrade our rehearsal dinner and reception to premium alcohol, but am unsure if it is worth the cost. Can I have any previous bride's input on this? I was told by my wedding planner that you can get premium alcohol at any of the bars in the resort, I want to make sure this is true because if so I don't think it's worth it to upgrade for the reception. I would appreciate any input/advice, thank you! That's amazing! Thanks for the tip! Really looking forward to your review and picturees TishaJules! Congratulations!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Ashnicole6 Just thought of something else, what is every doing for favors/welcome gifts? I was thinking of getting labels made to put on water bottles and had some other cute ideas but am not sure as whatever I choose to do I will have to bring on the plane with me! Any ideas? Thanks! I have made a lot of purchases off of Etsy.com. It's hard because shipping down to Punta Cana is expensive and the resort doesn't want items to come too early before your arrival date. I have asked family members for their carry-ons and have packed those! In my welcome bags are: flip flops (got 80 pairs from Old Navy's $1 sale), advil, pepto, aloe, sunscreen, personalized mugs, wedding timelines, door hangers, granola bars, deck of cards, candy. I have also made seperate bags for the children and tweens. Check out minimus.biz > I got all the travel-sized sunscreen and individually-wrapped medication there.