eberry

Quote: Originally Posted by Bride2B1130 Hi eberry!!! Thanks for the information...so you're saying all of the restaurants are open all over the resort? Carolina mentioned that she is changing our private reception dinner location due to the restaurant renovations. She has us at La Uva and I haven't heard too many stellar reviews about the place. Am I missing something? We are having a private reception and I was confused because you're saying the restaurants are open but she is saying that she hopes that the restaurants will be done with renovations and open by the 30th (our wedding day). What am I missing? Has anyone gotten the same response from Carolina? Hmmmm... i wonder if they closed after we left? I had originally read that they were supposed to be closed from July or August until October 31 for renovations (I think that was on the Transat Vacations website). We arrived on October 30 and everything was open. Sorry if I confused you more! I guess Carolina would/should have the most up to date information.

Quote: Originally Posted by McBride14 Thank you so much for sharing your experience and congrats as a newlywed!!! Your wedding sounded great..everything on the beach!!!....you gave me a few things to think about... What was your experience at the hair salon? was everyone super happy with what they got? it's pricey eh!...holy didn't think it was that much for a style..here it's 20 bucks...lol...but it is what it is..I'll definetly get my hair done! Do you happen to have a picture of yourself and your girls with all your updo's?? if you want to pm me your email address, i can send you a picture and also the spa pricelist.

Quote: Originally Posted by Bride2B1130 Sweeeeet!! Thank you so much for that information ndenney! That's very helpful. I'm also trying to get ideas for ceremony/cocktail hour/reception flow. Can anyone speak to their weddings and what went well and what didn't when it comes to this and provide any advice? We are thinking of doing a cocktail hour at Hemingway Bar. Is the bar a big open space or are there areas that can be roped off for wedding guests? Are we able to get our own bartenders? How long should this little meet & greet event be? Any insight would help us out. We are feeling the time crunch 41 daysss... From what I've been told, you cannot rope off a section of Heminway's for a personal party. There is an outdoor patio and an indoor area. It is a fantastic place for a group get-together. We had 50 guests come down for our wedding, and we made this the central hang out spot every evening. The bartenders are fantastic, especially Isadora. She took care of me the whole week and would even make my special drink as soon as I walked in the door

Quote: Originally Posted by Bride2B1130 Hello fellow brides! I will cross post this on the other forum but I was wondering if anyone has any additional information about the renovations that are taking place on the Bavaro side for the restaurants. I'm actually a little worried since ALL of them (from what I've heard have been going through renovations so it means that they may be unavailable in a couple of weeks. Has anyone heard or seen any of the new changes at the resort. Does it create a bottleneck at the other restaurants due to this. Geez, this just makes me that more nervous. Please let me know! We just came back from there on the weekend... Don't worry about the restaurant renovations! ALL of the restaurants were open. They just finished the GP Bavaro lobby on the day we left (it looks great!) There is some construction, but that is because they are building new villas, so you might hear a bit of noise or have to detour, but it really is not that much of an inconvenience or nuisance. I too was worried about the restaurants before we arrived, but we didn't have any issues. Have fun and good luck!

I forgot to mention.... the gazebos are not really that private - one is between the buffet and the pool, and another is right by the beach.

Hi ladies! Congratulations on your upcoming weddings! I just got married at the Grand Palladium Bavaro in Punta Cana last week, so I'll try to answer your questions.... keep in mind that these are my personal opinions though... I'm sure other brides might suggest other things or have differing opinions! We wanted to do everything on the beach - ceremony, dinner, dance party. They decorate a pergola for the ceremony on the beach and have white chairs with your preferred colour of sashes looking towards the ocean. The ceremony (civil) was at 4 pm and lasted no longer than 15 minutes. Then everyone was taken to the lobby for drinks while we did pictures. We had 50 guests, so an a la carte dinner wasn't really an option because their restaurants are all pretty small. On the beach, there is sort of a deck with trees growing out of it and giant light balls in the trees. It was really romantic and perfect for dinner/speeches/dances, etc. We opted for the Gala Buffet for $42/person. There was a ton of choices for everyone and plenty of food! While the food all week was good, our guests all told us this buffet was the best. My bridesmaids and I had our hair and makeup done at the spa. My only complaint is that they use the same lip gloss wand on everyone, so make sure to bring your own. One thing i liked was that the makeup wasn't super thick or caked on, but it lasted all night. They use MAC makeup. I think hair was about $100 and makeup was $75. I had booked online ahead of time, so we got married10% off the prices I just mentioned. If you're part of the transat imperial club, you get 15% off services you book once you're there. If you have any questions, feel free to send them my way.... I will answer as best as I can. Happy Planning!

Quote: Originally Posted by Sehausle Need advice about my biggest pet peeve: Two weeks before my big day one of my guests made a comment insinuating there was a possibility of her getting engaged during her stay at our destination wedding. While our wedding is not until Saturday, she is arriving Tuesday with her boyfriend, 2 days before most everyone else (including us) arrive. We have a small party of 21 including us and the majority know this guest so I know everyone would be at the very least congratulating her and what not. Am I a complete jerk that I don't want to share this trip with her? I am trying not to be bridezillaish but I was hurt when she threw how much she spent in my face and said that if she wanted to get engaged on her vacation that was up to her. Do you think I am in the wrong when I feel that this is just inappropriate? I agree that this week is your time and it's not appropriate for another couple to steal your spotlight. Honestly, I'd be more than just a bit insulted if someone did that to us. My fiance already warned his unmarried family and friends that they are not allowed to get engaged at our wedding. You're not at all being bridezillaish.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jenn963 Getting people to book was stressful...and it's lagged on as well. We have most of our guests booked thankfully but there are still about 8-9 guests who have said "i'm 100% coming....we just haven't booked yet...we will soon".......Something inside me just doesn't believe it lol......One of them actually is one of the groomsmen...who at this point, I could care less if he's there or not!!! We have 3 weeks till the wedding....I figure, if they have not booked by NOW, then they are not coming at all. I am going to do one final run down 1.5 weeks ahead and hopefully I get more real answers. My problem is that I don't want to take more OOT bags than I have to..... *sigh*..... Also, videography prices.....can't believe how much they charge at the resorts ...for cookie cutter type videos!!! and that damn vendor fee....I had to protest about that to my coordinator a couple times lol I bet she cannot wait to meet meeee!! We're in the same boat with guests still saying they're coming but they haven't booked yet. Some of the stuff for the OOT bags we ordered from the States, so I can't get anymore of at a reasonable price, and of course those are the things I'm running low on.

Thanks ladies. It's nice to know there's some place to vent about stuff like this.

Hey MrsPeele2B.... I'm actually experiencing the side where my really good friend said yes to be in my wedding party but with the way she's acting I almost wish she would have said no. She just had a baby this summer and is in 2 other weddings this fall, so she has no time for me whatsoever. She didn't come to my shower - actually, she hasn't even said anything to me about the shower or sorry she wasn't able to make it. Ive asked her if she could fit myself and my other bridesmaid in for a girls' weekend in the place of a bachelorette party, and she told me she can't afford the time or the money away from her daughter. I was in her wedding party last summer and spent a quarter of the summer weekends traveling for her various wedding events, and now i keep getting pushback from here for everything. We're even paying for her trip to punta cana.... not that i think she owes us anything for that because it was our gift for being a part of our wedding... but come on, maybe show a little bit of interest?........ sorry for venting on your post.... it's just been building up inside of me for a while now.....

Quote: Originally Posted by Jenn963 yes I am going through this as well Although our group rate was cheap...it is still cheaper now than ever before...I spoke to my agent a couple weeks ago and I UNDERSTOOD that we could get the price drop within 60 days of departure date....so if we leave Nov 4, the price had to have dropped between SEP 4 - NOV 4 but i was WRONG ....i was looking religiously every day from Sept 4 and then I discovered it was the other way around. The price drop is from the date of booking till 60 days...so I had to have been looking for a price drop from February (when we booked) till Sept 4....and unfortunately, there never was a price drop. But if i look now, there's a slight price drop of $75 per person. But there's nothing that can be done now i guess. It sucks because if your guests that have booked looked online right now, they'd feel ripped off as I'm sure you do right now....sucks....makes me think we were better off just booking last minute! but then we run into other risk factors i suppose. (i.e not enough seats, not grouped together at hotel) Our contract (which we didn't find out about until a couple of months after we signed) gave us the option to request a price match if there was a price drop up to 100 days prior to departure - so kind of like you, I was checking every day up until the 100 day mark... after that is when it started to drop! I'm pretty sure they plan it that way so there never actually is an opportunity to get the price match. I guess it's kind of like buying a car - you can't go back to the dealership a few months after you buy it and ask for a refund because the price dropped. But I agree with you - I'm hoping that nobody who has already booked is looking online and following the current prices! And yes, maybe we would have been better off taking a chance and booking last minute. Oh well, no point in dwelling on it, i guess.

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced significant price drops since they booked and if they had any success in getting a bit of a refund? We reserved a block of 20 rooms/40 seats last October or November, with deposits being due in January and payment in full due in April. I've been checking online, and the price has dropped from $1495 (what we paid) to $1181. We understand that it's just kind of the way the travel industry works, but it's so frustrating, especially since our "group rate" was pretty much the same as the rates that were posted online, so we never even really got a "deal". sorry... just needed to vent!

Hi Kissta, Check out www.4imprint.ca . We ordered the tulip tumblers. I am very happy with the way they turned out!

These are so cute, BridetobeABCD! Where did you find your starfish?