Lotty2012

Tam, we used HDC for our pictures. If you get me an e-mail address I would be glad to share them with you. We got our pictures on CD three days after the wedding. We were totally blown away by the quality of what we received. We had 52 people in attendance and in total it probably cost us $25k. But that is a total budget and a lot of things that most brides and grooms don't pay for. Back that out those costs and it probably would have cost us $20k.....and that was with two free three hour events. Hello Kiki2289! We used the HR DJ and we felt like we were partying in our favorite clubs in DC or Philly. We were nervous about it but it went as well as could be expected. Just give them the list of songs that your WC will ask you for and they will be able to tell what you like! We had our wedding at 4pm. The ceremony was over at 4:30 and then we took a group picture with all our guests. By that time it was 4:45 and the guests went to too the cocktail hour. My wife and I started our pictures at around 4:45 and we didn't get done until 5:45 or so. I must admit....I was tired and ready to party but it went well. We used HDC and Milan really helped us capture every shot we wanted! Good luck and let me know if I can be of assistance. Barry

Tuff Luv, We were able to go to the resort in July for four days and that gave us a great perspective on how things operate. The wedding coordinators at the resort have an average of 4 weddings a week. If they had to deal with weddings and brides that were still several months out they would be shorting the weddings of people that that had that week. Although dealing with Miami leaves you nervous and anxious, don't be. They are the "keeper of the records" and they coordinate the details. Or at least that is how my wife and I now see it after a year and a half of planning. But here is the secret, in my eyes at least, the sooner you finalize all your plans/details with Miami the quicker you can get your contract which spells out the what's where's and when's. When we went to HRPC in July we walked away feeling comfortable with the wedding planner in DR, although we weren't sure if she would be the coordinator for our wedding, but we were still nervous about Miami. But once we received our contract that was all put to rest because it is what is both parties agree to and it gives the deliverables of the resort. I have to admit that we only had one issue with a location for an event but that was resolved two months before our wedding. My wife and our 50 guests had an amazing time at the welcome event, the wedding and the reception. All of our guests stayed on the resort so we didn't have to deal with the day passes. I hope this helps! Barry

Hello Ladies! My wife and I just got back from the HRPC. After a year and a half of planning as a couple I am happy to say that our wedding went off without a hitch and everything was perfect. We were both very pleased. I am willing to answer any questions and gave guidance because we sure got a lot of information from this blog and those on FB. I Thank you all for accepting an active groom in he group! Barry

Hello Ladies! My wife and I just got back from the HRPC. After a year and a half of planning as a couple I am happy to say that our wedding went off without a hitch and everything was perfect. We were both very pleased. I am willing to answer any questions and gave guidance because we sure got a lot of information from this blog and those on FB. I Thank you all for accepting an active groom in he group!

Your very welcome. We re resting a lot easier now days. Now all we have to do is wait!

My fiancée and I just got back from our site visit at the Hard Rock on Saturday. First I have to say that the place is amazing and there is something for everyone of all ages! The staff are the friendliest in the Caribbean by far! During our stay we were able to see, from a distance, at least six weddings in our five days there and they were all beautiful regardless of the location. Kelly and I went with so many questions and concerns and walked away at ease and comfortable with the locations for our events and with our wedding coordinator. Now all we have to do is to wait for January 2014! One thing that I would suggest is that if you can get to the Hard Rock for a mini vacation before or after you bookyour wedding......do it because it will help you with any of the many questions, concerns and uncertainties that you might have. I'm a guy and I usually don't worry much but I expect our wedding day to be the most amazing day of our lives so I was a little nervous before we were able to see everything for ourselves. But the visit took care of all that. Sorry I don't have a more thorough review but I will answer any questions anyone might have. Barry

My fiancée and I just got back from our site visit at the Hard Rock on Saturday. First I have to say that the place is amazing and there is something for everyone of all ages! The staff are the friendliest in the Caribbean by far! During our stay we were able to see, from a distance, at least six weddings in our five days there and they were all beautiful regardless of the location. Kelly and I went with so many questions and concerns and walked away at ease and comfortable with the locations for our events and our wedding coordinator. Now all we have to do is to wait for January 2014! One thing that I would suggest is that if you can get to the Hard Rock for a mini vacation before or after you book it for your wedding......do it because it will help you with any of the concerns that you might have. I'm a guy and I usually don't worry much but I expect our wedding day to be the most amazing day of our lives so I was a little nervous. But the visit took care of all that. Sorry I don't have a more thorough review but I will answer questions.

KerriAnn5, check your inbox. I will share with the group when my fiancee can find the link to how it works and some things to avoid.

Kelly and Barry Hard Rock Punta Cana January 18, 2014

Thanks KerriAnn. We do have an e-mail confirming that the hotel did approved the locations. But I still have my reservations about things. I will get a better feel next week because we will be taking all of our paperwork.

We sent our save the dates out in early January 2013......a year out from our wedding. In the save the date we had all the information that they needed to book their trip with our travel agency under our contract number. They had until March 15th to make their first payment. We chose to do it this way because it would give us an initial count as to how many people "planned" to come. We also set up a second payment due date for mid September with the balance being due by mid-November. We will send out formal invitations after the mid-September payment which will be four months from the wedding. The way I see it.....if they don't pay by September 15th they aren't coming because their are penalties associated with cancelling after that point due to our contract with Apple Travels. If you provide me an e-mail address I can share the Save the Dates that we chose that people really liked. Barry

I'm piggy backing on KerriAnn5's response. We did a request form some months ago but never heard back from anyone. So when we asked about it we were told that you would only hear back if your request was denied. But I have been telling my fiancée that I really think that it comes down to money. Meaning that if I have the Element Terrace approved with my 55 guests and someone comes along with 100 guests......I am going to get bumped. Now that is just my opinion but money talks. When we visit next week I hope to have a firmer commitment on my locations after we meet with our WC. P.S. I'm a guy....just call me an "active groom"! lol

Hello KerriAnn5! It's Barry again. Thanks for the guidance on the site visit you gave me in February......we booked our site visit soon after. We are going next week to take a much needed vacation and to solidify the final plans for our January 2014 wedding. We are both very visual so we have to go or we won't feel comfortable about picking a place for the wedding and reception. I have to admit the we were a little hesitant about booking with HRPC in December but since we have worked with Jennifer, who recently left, we have not had any problems or issues. I My fiancée works the Facebook wedding pages for DR brides and I do the Punta Cana blogs on this site and all we hear is....get there and get your hooks into your wedding planner. I plan to do just that!!! We are also having a welcome event at the Eden Pool on Friday evening. We have been confirmed to have our reception at the Element Terrace but we are not sure if we want to have it outside But we will decide by the time that we leave next week. The good thing about it is that we far exceed the room nights count for the two free three hours events so that helps in the pockets. We have already decided to not use the on-site photographer and videographer.....we didn't hear great things either. Well thanks again......I check in from time to time since I am pretty active in the planning of our wedding. Barry

We are getting married in January 2014 and if you like I can inbox you our rates. There will be a difference because we are out of Philadelphia.

Angie, we handed in our request form for sites earlier this week. I will keep you posted once I hear back from them. Right now we have about 52 guests coming so we are hoping to get what we requested. We will probably just be arriving at HRPC when you are getting ready for your wedding!!! I am sure we will see you at some point! Kelly and Barry