SoonMrsD

Haha I'm back! Girl you know everything costs something. I believe no MC, no hosting. Want me to ask Aris? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote: Originally Posted by Trish Upshall Thank you! that info helps! I am going to create my own itinerary and menu as well and I would like to do a little welcome party to hand out our welcome bags as well but i am definitely not payng extra for any of that. I think if I do any kind of rehersal dinner it will just be for our wedding party and our parents, but i will have to figure that out. We have the Tangerine package...and i have asked Aris what exactly is included in that package for decor options..I have the price list that was given to me for all the extras, but i know there is certain stuff included in our tangerine package, she just hasnt answered me. I am still trying to figure out what to do for centre pieces etc and how im going to get everything down there. P.s. I pick up my dress tomorrow!! (super excited!!!!!) I think they provide the menus, it's just one regular option and a vegetarian option - if you want another option it's more money lol... Everyone can eat chicken and if they are still hungry they can eat after the wedding lol lol I think if the wedding party is small then you can just make reservations somewhere - Well with that package, you get small centerpieces which I'm not a huge fan of so I'm bringing my own..also there's an IKEA 5 min away from the hotel lol Awesome! so excited for you!

Quote: Originally Posted by Trish Upshall Thank you so much Samantha for your review! and congrats! I am so glad your wedding turned out perfect!! I was also wondering about the whole itinerary thing - like did you know in advance of your menu choice and wedding day itinerary, so that you were able to provide an itinerary to guests? I am the WORST wedding planner ever and i am so confused as to how all of this operates etc. Like I dont want to assume an itinerary and create one to hando ut to all my guests and then it change according to what the wedding coordinator says it should be. Also - does anyone know how it works with rehersal dinners? do you have to pay extra or can you just reserve a spot at one of the restaurants? or is there a limit as to how many guests? I have emailed Aria (my wedding coordinator most of these questions and she has still not gotten back to me yet) Thanks Ladies! You can ask for the menu before hand, I know pretty much 80% of the details and my wedding isn't until Sept 2014. I need to know my options in advance as well as my prices lol Don't worry about being the worst, I'm so bad, all I have is the wedding deposit and the travel agent for my guests. You should just create your own itinerary as most brides have and will. Rehearsal dinners are ok from what I know for parties of 20 people or less so they will make a reservation for you but anything more than that will cost you per person, I'm not doing it. I'm doing welcome drinks sort of, well I'm just picking a time for everyone to meet me at one of the bigger bars and handing out ,y OOT bags. Feel free to interrogate me as Aris is also my WC -

Quote: Originally Posted by Adrienne Lauren I'm sure this question has been asked many times, but does anyone know what the vendor fees are to bring an outside photographer into the resort? Thank you!!!! It is not allowed at all and they are very strict but either way the penalty fee is $1000. Sometimes its worth it but it depends on your budget!

Quote: Originally Posted by Tina G Chicas I agree but my fiance is stuck on all the stuff we can get comp'd. However I don't want my guests to spend an arm and a leg for our wedding. For now I am sticking with BBPD but I am afraid that I am only into this resort because of the chapel and the great advice I am receiving on this thread lol Any brides on here planing a Catholic ceremony or have pictures of the chapel Virgen de San Salvador? Understood! I went to a wedding in Mexico, Hard Rock and we had to pay $200/night and I thought it was way too much money but it was a good friend of the FI so we had no choice. I didn't want people to hate me lol so I figured this was the best bet and the FI picked the Hard Rock Punta Cana and BBPD but saw that it was just not fair to our friends and family which we would prefer to see on our day. This thread convinced me to go with BBPD! See what your budget is and take it from there, as long as you both love it then whomever loves you will go for you guys!

Quote: Originally Posted by Tina G Hi Mary! Congratulations on your wedding I wish you nothing but the best <3 Yes, our guest list huge and no matter what I do it doesn't diminish. I am Dominican and have a lot of family members. Its a blessing and curse! I am glad to hear that they can truly accommodate such a large wedding, however I am a bit concerned when you mentioned that the general services aren't up to par. What exactly do you mean? Did your guests have any complaints about the resort? Our travel agent just informed us of all the stuff we can get comp'd if we book with Hard Rock, which is newer and fancier, but for some reason I really like BBPD. I guess a lot of it has to do with all the great input from brides like you. Thanks Mary! I looked into the Hard Rock and the amenities are awesome but then your guests will suffer and pay more than any other resort so you might get fewer people to attend!

Quote: Originally Posted by Mary123 Hello, Carry Bar is very large and usually not crowded. It can probably fit about 150 people or maybe even more. I don't think you can reserve but worth asking. It is a beautifully designed lounge with large selection of drinks, lounge chairs and piano. My guests met there before the rehearsal dinner and before the wedding activities and it is good place to start a party. Good to know it fits enough people, my WC said she would take care of it and prob hold space for me or something, either way it will be before dinner so everyone can do their own thing. I'm just ready to get a headcount! haha

PICTURES!!!! PLEASE! haha Glad it wasn't so bad and you had a great time either way, Aris is my WC too ***CONGRATULATIONS*** Quote: Originally Posted by Mary123 Hello Ladies, I am back from my wedding and everything was fantastic. We had strawberry package, with ceremony, cocktail hour and reception on the beach, full DJ package with MC, gold photo package and sun video package from Tropical Pictures. WC was Aris. Number of guests – 30. So, I will start the review in order: Rehearsal dinner at the Santa Fe steak house: not bad but waiters forgot to bring the couple with an infant and when they brought the food the couple has left. We asked them to pack the meal, they said ok and then they said they threw out the food. The dinner was on but the restaurant service was bad and not only in this restaurant but in every restaurant we visited. Wedding Day: Preparation 11am: hair and make-up came out perfect; mani and pedi was also good. The hair stylist suggested everything herself and she was very good. I did do the trial hair and makeup and I suggest all of you do the same. Both my bridesmaid and I were in the bridal room which was clean and quite. After Aris met all guests at the Carry Bar and took them to the ceremony, she picked me up from the bridal room. Ceremony 5pm: the white and orange setup was beautiful. Aris suggested that we get huppa and it was well worth it. The symbolic ceremony was short and the minister was hard to understand but we had an idea what he was saying ïŠ The only hiccup was that Aris didn’t set up our sand ceremony set properly. We got a forever frame with an insert which is supposed to be taken out before the sands is poured in and put back to hold the sand. She didn’t take out that piece so we pretty much buried our picture. When she returned the set to us the day after, that piece was missing and we had to throw out the sand and order the new plate and sand. My suggestion is to ensure that you provide instructions to your WC on everything and not assume that she would know. Also, the minister misspelled my husband’s last name on the certificate and he was very upset about it. But overall everything was good. Cocktail Hour 5:30pm: during the cocktail hour which was set up next to the ceremony, we took pictures and guests had time to relax. Trio finished playing 30 minutes into the cocktail hour so we paid them extra $40 to play till the end. Then Aris called everyone to the train which took the guests to the reception place at the other end of the resort. Reception 6:30pm: the setup looked just beautiful. Aris suggested that we get a dance floor and it was well worth paying for. I highly suggest that if you have a beach reception, you get the dance floor. We ordered tropical centerpieces for each table (5 tables), I brought battery operated tea lights (6 per table) and small white seashells that were lying around the table. We also ordered 6 large led lights. The DJ was paying great music by our request. The MC is so not worth extra $600! He introduced the bride and the groom, the first dance, the parents giving the toasts and then said a few worlds to end the party. If you have someone who can do that for you, don’t waste your money. The sparkles during the first dance were a nice touch! The reception was over at 9:30pm, the train took all the guests to the rooms to change and then we meet at the disco at 11pm. The Bavaro disco is a lot of fun! Reception Menu: Aris gave me copies of the menu and asked all guests to fill out their choices a day before. I didn’t mind doing that so everyone got what they wanted and the food was very tasty. The chef that cooks wedding food is not from the resort. Reception Bar: Aris upgraded us to the international bar but it was missing two drinks that most of my guests like: mojito and cognac, so that was disappointing. Tropical Pictures Gold Package: the pictures came out much better than I expected. Well worth the $2000. Tropical Pictures Sun Package: the initial version of the video was horrible so the videographer had to do a lot of work on it. The second version came out good but I have seen better wedding videos. Let me know if you have any questions and I will be happy to answer!

Quote: Originally Posted by minigodiva Hi! Do you know how big Bar Carey is? I wonder how many people will fit and if you can reserve it or if other hotel guests are there, too. I saw one picture online that shows the from and the bar with like a lounge, but I'm not sure how big it is. I wanted a welcome party too to give the OOT bags and so friends can meet and mingle. After I saw your post and noting that with our friends, we can all get rowdy/loud too, so I was thinking of moving mine to strikers as well. I did want Bar carey though because it looks nice on the pic. Well my WC told me its pretty big and not that crowded since its near the lobby, no reservations but I'm sure your WC can save you a certain area so something like that. I am doing this on a Friday so the night before my wedding but before dinner so people can get their goody bags, some drinks and go drop their stuff of at their room then go to dinner and get some rest or wake up with sunglasses and a hangover haha .... We are doing Strikers the day after the wedding since it's Sunday Funday and my FI already has it planned haha

Quote: Originally Posted by LovelyGemini The only issue is that they don't have a bar there, it's such a peaceful place because it's pretty isolated. The closest bar is off the rooftop and people would have to walk back and forth. I found some pics on my phone from the last time my FI and I were there. MY FI would kill me if he knew I posted this pic of him, LOL! Oh well, anything to help us ladies plan! I took this pic from almost the edge of the area, you can see it's pretty big. The bar (which is not always open, btw), it located right at the center of the picture, just to right right of where my FI is standing. This long walkway would make an awesome path when it's decorated for the wedding. I have some photos somewhere of how it looks when set up for a wedding. I'll search around my computer for them. This is from the first time we came, weather was perfect that day! I was planning on doing some kind of informal welcome gathering at the Sports Bar they have there, Strikers. It's very nice looking (I know what kind of picture the word "sports bar" might trigger) and has a ton of seating along with an "American-type buffet" with like wings and burgers. Its also open 24 hours and has a small theater for big sports game and a pool table area off to the side. No real dress code though, not like the a la carte restaurants. The other idea I think would work well is the "Bar Carey", it's a really nice indoor bar located near the lobby. It's a little more of a quieter spot but has couches and stuff to hang out on. My family can get a little rowdy so I chose Strikers for us. I included it as part of the "itinerary" in our passport invite. I really only have pics of our drinks from each time we went to Strikers, LOL. we made friends with one of the bartenders who still remembered us the 2nd time we went this past summer. So this picture is really only helpful to show you... ummm the cool drink he made and the very nice lighting at Strikers. haha Really though, its the classiest, nicest sports bar I've ever seen. I felt bad reposting all the pics haha So the rooftop has the bar out of the way? That sucks!!! The FI wants it so we shall see, I will talk to my WC to have a pop up bar hahahah jk My WC Aris recommended the lobby bar for me (Bar Carey), but again depending on how many people we could go to strikers. Also, need to give out our welcome bags at the welcome drinks thing I plan on having because BBPD wants to charge us $10 per bag handout...so no way I'm paying for it! Strikers will be great for the guys, I'm getting married during Football season so FI already has his eye on Strikers for Sunday Funday Football lol lol Do any of these places have authentic Dominican Food?

Quote: Originally Posted by tricia-m You have to pay per person extra like $12 plus extra hour for the DJ... I agree I would prefer extra hour but if we get a low number I'm willing to splurge lol

Quote: Originally Posted by LovelyGemini We considered doing the ceremony on the rooftop also, but I really wanted to have the ocean behind us, and why else come to Punta Cana? They're charging us $500 for the cocktail hour plus $12 per person (hence why I really need ppl to start telling me if they're coming or not ahhh). The rooftop is absolutely gorgeous, my fiance and I used to go up there before or after dinner both times we went there, its so peaceful! I'm not sure on the Bar Higuey count but I think it's like 75-80, definitely less than 100. All I remember Aris saying to us was, um yea, that's not an option for your party. LOL oh well. We're also using the DJ/MC package and TP for the video. (Which reminds me... gotta let the resort know we're going to use them!) I'm kicking myself for pushing the RSVP date back so far, but I was trying to be nice and let people enjoy the holiday season before deciding. I think using the TA will probably help you get a lot of people declining, just because the deadline is so early. Yeah so by Dec 6th if the rooftop is still available and we have a decent amount of people I will do it but for now its not an expense we can afford. Can anyone go to the rooftop for drinks at any time? I was thinking of maybe doing a welcome drinks there and just asking everyone to meet there and hand out their welcome bags as the resort charges $10 per bag to give out smh I thought Dec 6 was way too early but all they have to do is deposit $150pp then pay it off by June so $150 is not asking alot, it's just basically saying yes or no lol What sucks, is the late bookers!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by LovelyGemini Just realized the marathon here in NYC is this Sunday!!! Can't believe you have the guts to do it, good luck!! Oh yes Darling! I am going to the expo tomorrow and then it's on! I'm not going crazy yet lol ... but I'm glad I can check this off my bucketlist!

Quote: Originally Posted by LovelyGemini My problem is we both have such huge families. I even left off a bunch of family members off the list that I'd rather not have around. I have the Tangerine Package. Ceremony will be on the beach (since that's really the one place big enough for all of us!), Cocktail hour on the rooftop (didn't like the idea of all my guests eating on the beach, no one likes sandy food!) and reception in the Mallorca ballroom (too many ppl for Bar Higuey and I prefer the AC environment). Extras: for now, we're considering either the Fire Show or Hora loca, plus at least 1 extra hour for the party. So far I've only had one couple decline the invitation, secretly hoping for more! But my RSVP deadline isn't until January so I'm sure all my lovely procrastinating friends and family will be waiting until the last minute. Sucks cuz that means I have to wait to decide on the numbers for welcome bags, favors, etc. still so much to do!! haha that's too funny how alike our weddings are... I have the Strawberry but my WC said I can upgrade at anytime so I will see how many RSVP by 12/6/13 - TA deadline to book at the price I got for everyone. My ceremony is on the beach as well and I'm still thinking about the cocktail hour (how much are they charging you?), my FI wants it on the rooftop as well which I have seen pictures of and it looks so nice but again it will depend on the headcount. I want AC for the reception but Bar Higuey looks so nice, how many people is the max for it? The only extra I am having is the DJ and photobooth from Tropical Pictures Yeah I'm glad my RSVP is sooner so I have time to plan... Girl I have done nothing until I get a number and I'm sure there will be floaters since my wedding is in Sept and people will try to still book ugh!!!! lol

Quote: Originally Posted by LovelyGemini Ugh I know! So much for my intimately small dream beach wedding. LOL But of course, it would cost extra... What was I thinking??! Still going to ask, it looks like it's just lighting but it really transformed the ballroom space! Who are you telling! I'm hoping alot of people can't make it. My FI wanted to invite almost everyone he knows ugh!!!! What's your package? Ceremony? Reception? Details Girl! haha