JaxBchKay

When we decided to have a destination wedding I knew I had to have a TTD session. After doing a TON of research and reading all kinds of reviews I booked Dean Sanderson, his photos are gorgeous and his prices are better than a lot of others.

@@niknic456 - that is such a cute idea, I bet you fiancé will love the milk and cookies!! I have to say that Juan Carlos has been so great! I have emailed him a ton of questions this week and he has answered them all within 24 hours! I so wasn't expecting that since my wedding is still a year away but it's great to be able to have all the facts when making these decisions. I was bummed that the lighted lanterns are $850 from the resort. I feel like there are so many things we are going to have to bring with us already I was hoping that I could at least get that from the resort. I booked Dean Sanderson for our wedding and a trash the dress session for a couple days after. I worked with Dean's wife, Anna and they put together a package that had everything I wanted and fit my budget exactly. Have any of the past brides used the lounge furniture? Was it worth it if you did? I love the way it looks and it gives that cozy vibe but I'm not sure it's worth $200 for each little grouping.

They should not charge you for checking the stroller at the gate. They may charge you for the car seat if you check that but it depends in the airline.

We are taking our kids to our wedding. Granted, ours are older and we are going to Mexico but I have lots of experience traveling with little ones. You should take you car seats with you, however you can only take them on the plane if you have a seat for it. Meaning, if you don't buy a seat for your 1 year old, you will have to check the car seat. As for the stroller they will check that for you at the gate ( as you get on the plane) and they will give it back to you at the door of the plane when you land so the only time you are without it is when you are ON the plane.

Absolutely! Send me a private message with your email address and I can send you the info

It was Ramon on the call and he said any of the appetizers could be used (the ones from the dinner menus) so at dinner instead of having one appetizer, one soup, one entree and one dessert you could have two appetizers, one entree and one dessert. If you have the Divine package you can pick from either the Divine or the Eternity menus. That being said, the way it sounded to me if you wanted something from the cocktail hour menus served during dinner in place of Soup, I think they would do it as long as you put it on your planning form at and got it in 45 days in advance. If there is something specific you want, I would email your WC now with the request just so they have it on file. Is anybody going to buy or already bought wedding insurance? I tend to worry about things and I am thinking it might just ease my mind,

The webinar was pretty informative, although for some reason there was a lot of background noise at times and some of the questions never really got answered. Basically with the packages they still have some flexibility, you can give your hair and makeup or massage to someone else you just have to make the reservation in your name, and you can use the photography piece pretty much anytime you want if you are using an outside photographer. That made me feel better, seems like the only thing they are really going to be strict about is using the soloist for the ceremony only and not cocktail hour. However, they said that if you ask they can send samples of the soloists and a playlist so at least you know what to expect. I guess since I'm paying for it, i will use the soloist for when guests are being seated and then maybe just as background music during the ceremony, has anyone else done that? Also, on the tequila terrace, they said to rent the poles used to hang lanterns/lights is $500, is there another light source? Or will we be dining in the dark if I don't rent or bring some sort of lanterns? I still love this resort and I'm glad I picked it, I'm just a bit surprised still how quickly all the extras add up. That $3k package is quickly adding up to $10K. BUT, it's still cheaper and nicer than a $10K wedding here or at a lot of the other resorts. I'm just going to have to go back through this forum for other brides cost-cutting ideas . I'm also going to go cut my guest list right now!! OH, and for those who we're asking about menus, they are very flexible. They said you could even do an extra appetizer instead of soup if you want, they just have to have all the final info and counts with your planning form 45 days in advance.

I had this same question and found this on the Dean Sanderson Photography website. I think it's really helpful when you think about what exactly you are looking to get from your photos: "In this example I am using a 4pm ceremony time, a 6 pm reception time and a 6pm sunset…. 2:30 Wedding photographer arrives at the resort and comes and finds you and introduces themselves. 3:00 Photographer shoots the guys getting ready photos and grooms portraits leaving them ready to have a quiet drink in an air conditioned room once they have finished. 3:25 Photographer shoots the end of girls getting ready (putting on the dress) and bridal portraits. 3:50 Bridal party with photographer head to the ceremony location. 4:00-4:30 Ceremony 4:30-5:00 Group photograph of everyone at the wedding and family photos 5:00- 5:20 Photographer takes Bride, Groom and wedding party onto the beach for group shots 5:20-6:00 Photographer takes beach shots of the bride and groom 6:15 Bride and Groom head to the reception to make an entrance once the guests are already seated and have a drink As you can see, this is three hours of photography time used really smartly…. but this is just the start of the reception… so now the questions are what is your budget? And do you really want/need a lot of photos of your friends partying? If you are on a tight budget I would suggest starting the reception with the first dance… and if you really want to father daughter dance etc- it really adds to the dramatic entrance and it means you can pretty much get away with a three hour photography package… as after that the photographer can leave, also if you just have half an hour of getting ready photos you should be able to squeeze in the cake cutting too…. If you do have your heart set on having photos of the speeches and the dance with your father, I would still suggest starting with the first dance, and then interspersing the speeches and toasts throughout the meal… Not only does it keep the wedding party together as one large group, but it also keeps peoples attention and stops the meal from running over…. Then if you have the cake cutting before desert is served, it effectively means that at the end of the meal the photographers work is done. In this instance you are looking at 4-5 hours of photography as an absolute maximum…" Here is the link if you want the entire article. http://deansandersonweddings.com/wedding-photographer-advice-2/gp/choosing-the-best-timeline/

I think you are right, I need to sit down after the seminar and crunch the numbers. I am an accountant so I know the numbers never lie I think there might be some things I will fight for and just come up with a backup plan in case it doesn't work out. I was looking around today just to see, it seems like the guest experience here is better than at many of the pricier resorts. It's just frustrating that they are trying to change so many things overnight. Just adds more stress to the process but I really do love the resort, so I hope it works out.

I have to say at this point my anxiety level is through the roof! It was so hard to pick a resort and to now be hearing that they aren't allowing ANY flexibility with what is in the packages is just freaking me out. Part of why I picked this resort is because previous brides said how they were allowed to customize and it sounded like they got their money's worth out of it. But I plan to bring in an outside photographer, makeup/hair people, bringing bouquets with me and wanted to use the soloist for my cocktail hour so if they don't let me change things up a bit, then why pay for the package at all? I almost feel like I would need to get the basic free package and add from there..... except everything is so expensive. I'm glad my wedding is still a year away and that I haven't finalized my save the dates yet. I signed up for the webinar and I am hoping that the answers make me feel better about thigs. I have time to change resorts if needed but I really don't want to go through the whole process again! I would email my questions/ concerns to Juan Carlos (who I was assigned to) but from what everyone is saying, that won't get me any real answers. Not sure what to do

Did anyone ever get an answer about the possibility and price of a private buffet setup if you have 50+ ppl? I know this used to be an option but don't see anything about it in the wedding book they sent with my confirmation. We are trying to keep the guest list down because I know each person over 25 is like $100 but we might not be able able to keep it small enough, so I'm hoping a buffet might work out a bit cheaper. Also, how did you guys book your rooms for your group? Anyone book a block directly with the hotel or did you use an agent? I've gotten a couple of quotes from agencies, but seems like they want everyone to book within 30 days or want $100 deposit per room, both seem unreasonable to me. I'm so excited to be sharing this experience with all you amazing ladies! All the great ladies and posts on this board helped me decide this was the resort for us! Thanks!!

Can you send photos of what you still have?

If still available can you send a pic?

Would love a pic of the candle holders and table runners if they are still available.

Do you still have some of these?

What color are they?

I am interested in the candles can you message me? How big are they? Also interested in the clutch

April 24, 2015 bride here. We are also going to the Now Sapphire, I'm so excited!!

I was considering sky lanterns for my wedding, but after doing some research, I started having serious doubts. We recently launched a couple at home in honor of a lost loved one, and although they were beautiful it bothered me that we had no control over where they went or where they landed. We used ones that were supposed to be 100% bio-degradable but I still feel guilty!! We have decided NOT to use them for our wedding. There are just too many things that can go wrong, and I would hate to be responsible for damage to property, harm to wildlife, or any other of the million bad things that these lanterns can cause.

Thanks for the Karisma webinar, it was great, very informative!

DRBride11- So glad you are going!!! I have been putting off signing my contract because I am so nervous! The past several reviews I have seen online read like horror stories on customer service. I would be thrilled to get your opinion on how they do. The last thing I want is to have my family and friends show up for my wedding and have them service be horrible. They have also said that all the pools except the Eden pool are looking a little run down, would you mind taking pics of a few of them? Thanks so much!!

If you contact the wedding group coordinators they can get you group pricing for 2014, My wedding is in August and I already have my contract with prices.

Hi Jdub! I'm also an August 2014 bride I chose HRPC because it seemed to have the biggest variety of things for my guests to do and I have been to Mexico about a million times, I want my wedding to be something different and special. So far everyone involved in the planning has been super responsive and helpful. Jennifer is my wedding coordinator and she has been excellent about answering all my questions. What other resorts are you looking at?

Does anyone know if they allow these at the Hard Rock Punta Cana? I'm so in love with them and my FI is too!!

Hi ladies, I'm new and getting married at the HRPC August 22, 2014. Just wondering if anyone knows how they do the new wedding collections at the beach gazebo?? Since a structure already exists there, I am just not sure how they work it. I love the beach gazebo since it has the beach feel but also has the wooden walkway so I can still wear my heels