jandl2013

I feel like i'm playing this bouncing game...bouncing back and forth on different threads.  Just trying to get to 150 posts.

Well...i'm home so it's not an issue...I just need to stop reading and start writing...lol.

I've been doing the lurking thing too...and as a result after all this time, all I have is 80+ postings.  Time to get in the game!!

I guess i'll be waiting to hit 150 before I can see this also.  I couldn't work out for a while so I need to diet for a while until I can get back to working out.  Have some weight to lose by May definitely.

Wow, my fh and I have been going back and forth with this issue too.  We were going to do the legal ceremony December 31, which is our anniversary, but we had trouble coordinating our parents since they don't live in the same area as us.  We have ultimately decided to just go ahead and get married a few weeks before we leave.  If the parents make it, then great but if not, they will be at the Punta Cana ceremony.

I view the Punta Cana ceremony as the "real" wedding in my opinion so I was wondering about that ring exchange thing too!  I kind of figured that we would not exchange rings until Punta Cana and that's that.   In regards to the legal ceremony, I know me, and I know him, so I know we will have to wear something nice to at least make everything look decent.  I'm sure we'll take a few pictures that day and also just go to dinner and that's that.  I think it's going to depend on our parents to be honest.  We aren't trying to make too much of a big deal out of the legal ceremony and I wanted to keep it secret, but with our family that just isn't going to happen so I gave up on that idea.

Hello fellow past and future brides.  I'm a bit late posting this but better late than never!  My fh and I had or tasting at Jellyfish on September 14th during our site visit at Iberostar that weekend.  Mayte, as you all may know, was not there but her assistant Raluca was there to go over everything with my fh and I.  Raluca was great...she was very nice and very professional.  She took us on the tour and went over everything with us.  This was the BEST tasting ever!  We were able to pick out the potential drinks and menu for our cocktail hour and reception dinner.  They made everything, and let me just say the food was wonderful!  There was one pasta dish my fh and I weren't too excited about considering our families tastebuds and we were able to change it and then that new dish was made for us.  The level of service and the quality of the food was definitely great.  The service, view of the beach, and the atmosphere of the restaurant was definitely way better than what we would have had at the resort so we are VERY happy and looking forward to the wedding day.  I'm happy my fh was finally able to actually see the vision we talked about because he is now VERY excited and actually told me "Babe, you did real good" once we were there!  SUCCESS!!

We have sent out the save the dates, (i'm going to post them in another thread soon) and the invitations will go out very soon.   We have quite a few family members and friends that are saying they are coming, but we'll see once the dust clears!  We could have anywhere between 35 to just short of 100 people.  I'm still working on the photographer, but our videographer is all set!

We can't wait to have our Jellyfish wedding next May!

So far I have:  the wedding date, wedding location, room blocks.  I have sent out my save the dates as of last week (i'm probably going to post elsewhere about them).  I received my invitations, so now i'm waiting for my stamps.  I ordered custom stamps for the invitations, and regular wedding postage for the rsvp envelopes.  Still haven't gone to try on dresses so that's my major plan for October and November

oh, and Hello all you future and past brides.  Hope everyone's plans are going well!

I joined a while back, but i'm no where near 150 yet.  I need to stop reading and lurking and joining more discussions.  I have no clue why I tend to do that instead of making comments.  LOL

This sounds like a great idea, but I see it's been quite some time since anything has addressed.  I hope this does actually happen some time soon.

Hi ladies,

Jackie and Laury May 23rd, 2014 wedding at Jellyfish Restaurant in Punta Cana.  We have our room blocks at Iberostar.

We just had a site visit last week, and it was great!  I'm happy my fiancé got to see all of the plans up close and personal so now he's just as excited about our location as I've been.

Originally Posted by AR-DreamWedding 

 

If you want I can email you the organizer I created for the wedding... Mayte said it was the most helpful and organized spread sheet that she had ever seen. It will definitely get you started. And whenever you have a question, there is space for you to write it at the bottom so that you can keep track of things you will want to ask later. Once you have filled out all the info you can then just send one big email to Mayte with all of your questions. Let me know if you want me to send it to you. 

Hello AR-Dreamwedding,

Congrats on your wedding!  Your pics look great.

When you have a moment could you also send me the organizer spread sheet?  I'd really appreciate that.

Also, if anyone has the invoice could someone please send that to me too?  My email is [email protected]

We are having a site visit next month, and I want to have a great idea of what I should be asking when I arrive before my fiancé has a fit about the prices.  He is going to faint if I don't prepare him in advance...lol.  Thanks ladies!

You ladies are flying along with all of your plans and all of these posts.  I'm so behind with posting...sheesh!  LOL  Took me ages to read through a lot of stuff.

Hope everyone's plans are coming along well.  I'm trying to pin my colors down a bit.  I'm using shades of purple and red for my theme "Caribbean Dreams of Passion and Romance".  I'm thinking a true purple with some lighter shade highlights along with red highlights.

Hotel is booked for both the Iberostar Grand and Iberostar Bavaro suites, and we are going down to visit in September.

Originally Posted by lorcas 

 

 

Welcome!!

 

Ladies I'm begins again! Lol

Hey!  We have the same wedding date, but different locations!  )

Originally Posted by KatyaNova 

 

 

Hi ladies! 

 

I'm back with the answer after chatting about this with Mayte Here we go! 

 

 

The option of offering your wedding guests full Jellyfish menus is only available for small weddings, 20 people or less. I put myself through university serving tables - and can tell you first hand, if the kitchen at any restaurant receives more than about 20 different orders simultaneously, mistakes are bound to happen!! It's much better to have a customized menu, so that Mayte knows just how many fresh lobster tails to bring in specifically for your wedding… or request fresh organic arugula from a nearby farm. Another reason - it's really great when everyone gets a starter, followed by a main course, complete with sides that compliment the entire meal. Mayte is so great at helping you create a varied unique menu that will reflect your personalities, culture, etc. that will undoubtedly impress your guests! Mayte also mentioned that since the regular menu doesn't include 'side' dishes like the wedding menus do, and this always creates confusion with final prices. Having been a Jellyfish bride … and having been a part of so many amazing (and different) weddings there, I say - trust Mayte's process! ))) 

Hope this helps you ladies a bit. I'm here for you if there's anything else! Sending sunshine from Punta Cana! 

xoxo

Hi Katya,

Thanks for that information!  I've been trying to determine how to choose a menu so this is helpful. 

I'm only sorry our date isn't available for you to do our photos.  Even my fiancé was impressed by your website and photos and it's been hard to impress him during this wedding process!

Hope you enjoy the rest of your summer in PC.  I'll be there in September to check out the hotel and restaurant so i'm looking forward to it!

Jackie

Originally Posted by JBHHoops 

 

That makes sense about the limited number of people in the Gazebo wedding.  It was a very tight squeeze, but we really had no other option because of the rain that day.  We had friends cornered in small sections without any room to spread their legs, or even extend their knees.  It was ok though, since it was so short.

 

We did have to pay extra for each person that came to the wedding, regardless of where they stayed.  I think it was 14$ pp, and as far as we could tell that paid for just champagne and cake for the extra people.  Pretty expensive, but whatever.  

 

We actually had our entire group stay at the Bavaro.  I had one friend that wanted to save the money, and booked the Dominicana, but after staying there one night, he ended up switching and paying the extra.  The big difference was the ability to eat off the menu at restaurants, where at the Dominicana, it was all buffet.  

 

We used the photographer on site, Nicola.  He was great, but he was a little bit similar to the wedding coordinators at the resort.....harder to reach before the wedding, harder to pin down on prices and plans, but once we got there, it was all good.  I'd be happy to share some pictures with you.  I'll send you a couple privately and if you have any questions let me know.

Thanks for responding.  This insight has been really helpful to me.

I had a feeling that they might not be able to accommodate everyone in the Gazebo, but I assumed they had other locations outside of the beach. 

I have a room block at both the Grand and the Bavaro because I have people interested at staying in both hotels but that's also great to know so I can explain the difference to my guests.

That would be great if you can share some pics with me.  My email is [email protected]

Thanks!

Originally Posted by tyrebride2b2013 

 

 

Goodness not weird at all I am the same I hate it..don't even like grass touching me with shoes on. I have seen some really pretty barefoot sandals I want to wear..Didn't imagine how pricey they were.

Wow....i thought I was the only one that thought grass felt completely weird on my feet....LOL!!  I don't mind concrete or other flat surfaces but grass just feels strange and awkward.  Glad to know i'm not alone.

Originally Posted by Kate G 

 

Just got married in May and have learned a lot through the process!

 

- I definitely agree with those that said people you thought would be there won't --- hardly any of my extended family came to my wedding and it was really hard. BUT I can honestly say on the day of the wedding, I wasn't thinking of any of them

- Don't expect things to go entirely smoothly the day of; they probably won't...but it's okay!

- Friendships might be challenged and you may feel that you aren't being made to feel as special for your wedding because a lot of people can't come, so they act like they don't care that much.

- SPRING FOR GOOD PHOTOGRAPHY. I can't stress enough how important this is. We hired a photographer from my home state and flew him to Mexico, but it was worth every penny. Same goes for video. The photographer and videographer gave us priceless works of art that we will have for the rest of our lives...we could have saved a lot using the vendors at the resort, but to us, it was so worth it to spring for the good stuff! Here's our wedding film: http://vimeo.com/70227492

- You will most likely have to hunt people down for their RSVPs!

Beautiful video Kate and congrats to you and the Mr on your gorgeous wedding.  It was so heartfelt!

That's why we're springing for photography and video also....i definitely want to have beautiful memories of everything that weekend.

Originally Posted by lvendram 

 

We picked a menu and it was all sit down plated.  We didn't want buffet hense not having it at the resort.  We did different drink packages at different times of the night.  We had international after dinner, but no one really used it.  I'd pay per drink for the harder alcohols if we were to do it again.  Buses are $7.00 / person.  Doesn't matter how many buses there are and they are all air conditioned.

Thanks for that info Ivendram!  I have so many picky eaters that I don't know how I would do a plated meal so i've been very concerned about that.  I thought about doing different packages for alcohol for the cocktail hour and after dinner too but i'm still not sure.  I'm thinking the tab might be the best option for the harder alcohols too. 

In regards to the bus is that $7/trip or just $7 and then that covers them to go to and from?

Originally Posted by jyutzy8 

 

@ jandl2013:  I'd love to know the same!! I'm in the same boat. Drink packages are per head, right?  I'm thinking a tab may be more ideal since there will be guests that are underage and individuals who likely wouldn't have more than 2 drinks.

 

DMV!! :-P

Exactly JY!

I have people that don't drink, people who drink a lot, and potentially some underage so I have no idea what my happy medium is at this point!

Hello to all you past and future brides.

I can truly say that this sit has been a major blessing!  It has been my savior in terms of keeping me calm when i'm close to the breaking point or if i'm just stuck about how to move forward with an idea or problem.  I have experienced most of what has been talked about on this thread from people giving me a hard time about our location for the destination wedding, the hotel, etc. etc. etc....and the joke is my wedding has NOT yet occurred! lol

I have a ridiculously large family that is very traditional and opinionated and everyone wanted things done THEIR way.  I took a step back from everyone and concentrated on what my FI and I want and that has helped tremendously.  Because we both want to please our families so strongly, it has caused us so much unnecessary stress so the best advice I can offer is to concentrate on what the two of you want.  People that love and care about you guys and what you want will make the effort to either be there or provide emotional or other support if they are unable to attend.

• A travel agent will definitely help you out, especially when dealing with a large amount of people or people who have never traveled
• Don't inundate your FI with stuff they could care less about, you'll just get angry and frustrated so it's not worth it

• Don't spend too much on the unnecessary (ex. extra fancy save the dates and extra fancy wedding invites or decorations...like seriously people throw these things aways)  I think I have been getting way too caught up in some of these things so I had to put my own brakes on
• USE THIS SITE TO TALK WITH OTHER BRIDES WHO ARE IN YOUR SHOES!  I can't stress this enough because most people really don't want to know every single planning detail of your planning unless weddings are their thing or they really want to know.  This site is a fantastic source for information for us destination wedding brides or potential brides and to be able to vent to people who truly undertstand is such a big relief and it might save some relationships with family and/or friends that just don't get it or are just too blinded to see it.
• Don't STRESS...take a step back from planning if it becomes too overwhelming.  The last thing anyone wants to deal with is a true BRIDEZILLA!  YIKES!
• Remember to try to enjoy yourself during planning AND during your wedding. Don't let anyone steal your joy because you are getting ready to marry your sweetheart and after the wedding it will just be you and that person so use this time to create a bigger and better bond between the two of you that will last LONG after your big day!

GOOD LUCK LADIES

Oops..I'm using my phone and Boothe button too soon. You're wedding looks lovely. Congrats!!! Did you pick a menu our have buffet style? I am trying to figure out the best way to handle that. Also, did you pick a drink package our just run a tab for the event? Last question...lol. How much did the buses run? I'm going to have to do the same thing.

We just had our wedding reception at Jellyfish Restaurant and LOVED IT!!  Just wanted to do a review on what we did... A few days before the wedding we went to Jellyfish to finalise everything.  We were welcomed with a big hug from Mayte.  So great to meet her after only exchanging emails.  We had a food testing of everything being served (we didn't ask for) and everything tasted amazing.  We asked Mayte if she recommended any other d'oeuvre and she suggested one with tomatoes, bocchini cheese and bread.  It was to die for!  The bacon wrapped shrimp were also great.  Go hungry!!  There was so much food we couldn't eat all of it.  We also tried several drinks to pick a welcome drink and cocktail drink.  All were very good as well.  We discussed the look of the reception and Mayte said what we was thinking based off pictures I've sent her over the last few months.  For the wedding she made all those pictures come to life!  Mayte took a bit from every single picture (even one I hand drew) and made the restaurant look amazing.  Also at the testing we asked Mayte if she had a picture frame to put a picture of my husband's mom in it.  She passed away 3 years ago and we wanted her to have some presence at the wedding without talking about it and getting upset.  Mayte let us take a picture frame with us so we could use it for the ceremony at the resort and at the reception at the restaurant.  The reception had the picture and a little msg in a picture frame.  It was perfect.  We did the ceremony at Majestic Colonial gazebo that is far from the beach.  There isn't much of a breeze there, but the one on the beach is surrounded by people on the beach suntanning and picking their weggies so I am glad we didn't do it there.  It is much cooler at the beach though.  The gazebo closer to the main building is much more private and fit all 50 guests perfectly and it was beautiful.  We brought the cake that Majestic Colonial made to Jellyfish (which was actually really good) and Mayte had the cake decorated more by adding real purple roses to add to the colour theme.  If we didn't get a free ceremony at the resort I would have done the ceremony at Jellyfish as well.  We didn't get anything else from the resort for bringing 50 people over so at least we got a free ceremony.  We liked Majestic Colonial, but I'd rate it 7/10.  The service wasn't great and many of our guests got ill during the week. Jellyfish was so beautiful inside and out.  It was exactly what we wanted.  Mayte also wore a Canadian t-shirt that we had brought her on the food testing day.  She is adorable!  Everyone loved the restaurant itself.  It was great to get off the resort for a change of scenery, and go somewhere more private for the reception.  First we went over with the wedding party and our parents to take some pictures with the photographer.  We went with Blue Lagoon (and used Manuel from there - he was amazing) because the prices were great and the pictures were as well.  I'd recommend not going over with everyone at first so you can get pictures done with that group first.  We did that for an hour then the rest of the group go there and we greeted everyone at the door.  They only saw inside the restaurant at first and loved it.  They grabbed their drink at the door as well and headed out the back to the lounge area and beach.  The weather was good when we got there but a hurricane was supposed to be rolling in later that night for the next 2 days.  Luckily it ONLY rained for our first dance and that was it.  It was so breezy on the beach from the storm approaching that it was actually really nice outside while we all danced.  But i should mention it was also quite breezy when we were a few days before for the food sampling. The hurricane ended up missing us which was a relief!   The dj was really good.  Not sure what his name was but it was the default that Mayte usually uses.  He took all requests and played a great mix of music.  Friends said they would make a request and that would be the next song played.  The music during dinner was also very nice and relaxing.  We were scared it was going to be island music but it was perfect. We had 2 buses bring people into Jellyfish from Majestic Colonial.  One for the wedding party and one for the rest of the group.  There were guys with guns in the drive way (and I think on the very sides of the beach).  Don't be scared, they are purely there to ensure the group is okay.  Most people didn't even notice them unless they were pointed out.  On the way back we had 3 buses, but originally only going to have 1. A few people were ill from food at the resort or too much sun earlier in the week and needed to go back early.  Without it being an issue, the 1 bus turned into 3.  All had air conditioning and were comfy rides. My husband and I both said it was the best day of our lives and wouldn't have changed a thing.  Mayte is amazing and I'd 100% recommend doing you wedding there.  All the best with your planning!!!

I have a quick question for all you ladies. What, if any, info did you send with your save the dates? Any travel info or did you just give your wedding website? We really didn't want to do a wedding website, Would it be too awful to give the travel agent info on the back of the save the dates? Or put a page in the envelope with the save the dates? I really need some input here. Thanks!

I had to take a break from the wedding planning. My invitations are out, people are paying deposits, I am still waiting for some rsvps, etc. Now its a waiting game. I need to order thank you cards, tumblers, business cards, pashimas, peacock feathers ( my theme is peacock- purple, blue, and green), decide on the menu, and other small things that add up. I might just wait to see what the holiday sales are and order everything in November and December. Now it is time to save, save, and save some more.