duchovny0901

@MsJillss You are awesome! Thanks so much!

Hey ladies how do I book the bridal suite? And do they bring food and beverages in there?

@MrsFountain2B Don't feel so far behind! I'm just so anxious to get to the wedding day! Your colors sound awesome by the way. I chose the fountain due to more privacy and the fact that I loved the way it looked when it was setup from the pics and vids. It's such a unique spot. And I am going to cringe and get the full fountain setup; u only get married once (usually, ha!) so I'm going to go for it! Depending on when you'd like your reception, I'd ask your WC about the resort DJ. I thought I remember someone saying he'd end at like 9:30 or something because he had to work in the nightclub at 10:30. That was a big factor for me going with DJ Mannia; my ceremony is at 4pm and I wanted plenty of time for pictures so our reception starts at 7pm. And I'm sure you'll find the dress! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! @MsJillss As for hair as makeup, my sister is a beautician. Go figure! LOL. So I may not use the salon at all. And what a very tropical color theme! @Kristina Simms Yaaayyy I'm glad you got in contact with her! Enjoy you special day and please come back and tell us all about the experience!!!! Have a safe trip!

@Jahanee Conner I ordered mine from eBay! There are several vendors on there that create them and yes the prices are reasonable; they'll charge different prices for the different bouquets. Like a toss bouquet is going to be cheaper than the bridemaids bouquet because of how large it is. My bridesmaids bouquets came out to $19.99 a piece (shipping, custom made, satin and pearl detail on the handle)! I thought this was great compared to the minimum $45 Now would charge for the real bouquets that they wouldn't be able to save as a keepsake. What I did before I purchased the bouquet was paid for a toss bouquet from the vendors to see the type of flowers and make sure the color matched my theme. One vendor even ships samples of the flower petals for free. You can browse eBay for the different options, and contact the seller stating you need a sample (they'll create a special listing for you). They get it all the time. Hope this helps.

@@MsJillss I'm definitely excited! I kinda wish it were here already; I'm in Chicago and the weather we've had in the last week is just the pits! I picked the Divine Package with the wooden walkway upgrade. I'm going with a lavender and regency purple (light purple and dark purple) and having the guys wear light purple shirts and girls wear darker purple dresses. I'm bringing mixed chair sashes in those colors along with silk flower bridal bouquets to match. I'm stuck on centerpieces though. I want something simple but cute and can't decide! I know I don't want to pay the resort's prices for renting theirs! Menu-wise I picked a wide variety of items to appease my diverse group, but the main entrée is definitely the surf and turf. We've got a nice diverse group of people going so I hired DJ Mannia based on the reviews, and also because they'll give you 4 hrs as basic service instead of the 3 that the resort gives, and the DJ is also the MC. Prices are comparable even with the outside vendor fee. Where are you in your planning?

@MrsFountain2B That's sounds great! Congrats on your engagement by the way! Who's your wedding coordinator? Are you using a travel agency? I'm having my ceremony at the fountain and reception in a ballroom. My coordinator is Luisa. I'm at the process now of picking out minor details for the wedding (centerpieces, ceremony songs and first dance song). We are planning to be there 8/26 - 9/3 and are expecting about 50 guests. Big things have been taken care of for the most part; I ordered my dress (yay!) and just picked out my Bridemaids dresses. DJ and photographer have been secured. I picked out the cocktail hour and reception menu too. I also purchased a few items online that the resort charges a lot for. For example, I'm doing silk flower bouquets for the bridesmaids because the resort charges at least $45/each. I ordered organza sashes for $.60/each because the resort charges $3/each and you don't get to keep them. I also got 2 flower baskets and a ring bearer pillow for an awesome price! EBAY IS YOUR FRIEND! lol.

@MrsFountain2B Hi and welcome to the forum! Your wedding date is one day before mine! Have you decided which areas you'll have your ceremony and reception? How long will you be there and how many people are you expecting? So exciting!

Debating between This Year's Love by David Gray, or Hey Pretty Girl by Kip Moore. 2 totally different types of music!

Hey @@lisamarco413! Your wedding is so close! I know with the nerves you're super excited, and I'm excited for you! Well I do know about the sashes; you have to get two sets, one for the ceremony and one for the reception, as I've already asked my WC about this to cut costs. I am planning to bring my own due to the amount of ppl I'm expecting (up to about 75 now) and I've been getting samples from wholesalers on eBay to see if they will match my wedding colors. Also, I think that if the bride and groom can get their garments steamed the guests should be able to as well. Or at least I hope so!

@meganjune Thanks for sharing your photos! They are gorgeous and so are you! Just wondering, where did you purchase your bridesmaids foot jewelry? And did you make your own centerpieces?

For the married brides, what method did you bring your music in for the ceremony (like precessional, bridal entrance, etc.)? I have 2 songs that I'd like to play; one for the bridal party entrance and one for my entrance. Did you bring an ipod, CD, or flash drive? Who handled the music for you? Thanks!

@Marbear his fee is $350. He charges $100 to secure the date.

@Jahanee I'm having a symbolic ceremony also and we decided to hire a minister to make the ceremony appear more traditional. The wedding coordinator will do it for free but from the videos I've seen it lasts only about 5 minutes. I hired Pastor Rick York (actually Pastor Mark because Pastor Rick won't be in town) from the recommendations from this website. As soon as I contacted him he replied back immediately and sent me a sample of his ceremonies. I talked to my WC about this and she said the cost of a pastor is paid directly to him and that the resort will not charge an outside vendor fee for him. The brides who used him gave rave reviews on these threads, so I'd definitely check him out!

Quote:Originally Posted by MsJillss Hi Ladies! I may be a little eager but since my planning has begun; i'd figure i'd read up on my homework & get involved! I may not be a 2014 Bride but I will be NOW Larimar one. My Wedding date has been confirmed a for a Symbolic wedding April 15th 2015 (preferably 3 or 4 pm) but I have to wait to hear back from the judge. Apparently you can only book with a judge 1 year in advance. The more I read though, the more I am contemplating just getting legally married here instead & save myself the headache. So I obviously have just as many questions as all of you! When I started reading all the different forums I had totally different questions! Everyone has been so helpful! Does anyone know if there will be a "set up" fee X2 for moving chair sashes from ceremony location to reception location? Also has anyone heard or looked into Soles Chillout bar for a private afterparty?? I can't remember which forum I read it in. Thanks in advance! Happy Planning! Hi! I posted this in the other forum (LOL). I wanted to let you know that I asked my Wedding Coordinator the same question regarding the sashes. She said that I would have to bring two sets; one set for the ceremony at the fountain and another set for our reception in the ballroom. She also explained that the set up fee per sash is $1, which is ok compared to them charging $3/sash and I can find them here for about $.65/sash!

@ MsJillss Congrats and welcome to the forum! All of the threads have been so helpful to me in planning so I'm sure you'll have your wedding planned waaayyyy before your wedding! I wanted to let you know that I asked my Wedding Coordinator the same question regarding the sashes. She said that I would have to bring two sets; one set for the ceremony at the fountain and another set for our reception in the ballroom. She also explained that the set up fee per sash is $1, which is ok compared to them charging $3/sash and I can find them here for about $.65/sash! Also regarding the fountain, I'm a little torn between the full fountain setup and walking along the sides as well. There's you tube videos of different brides doing it both ways so I suggest you check them out! I will find the links and post them if you'd like. I did read a previous post by one bride who suggested that you ask the staff to "turn down" the fountain during the ceremony because when she watched the ceremony video, you could barely hear the pastor! Hope this helps!

Quote: Originally Posted by Jahanee Conner @lisamarco413 this is what I received from the wedding coordinator about rehearsal dinners: We can reserve a space in one of our open restaurants a la carte (upon availability), for groups up to 25 people. In case that you have more than 25 people for your rehearsal dinner, we can offer you a reservation in our Carnival International Café (buffet style restaurant). In both cases, the set up will be individual tables, for up to 8 people each one. The time of the reservation must be at 6:00 p.m. or 9:00 p.m. Groups up to 25 people: A set menu is mandatory for groups larger than eight (8) people, in all a la carte restaurants. Music, entertainment, or any other activity that causes uneasiness to the other customers in the restaurant are not allowed. Please ask your wedding coordinator about the dress code. I hope this helps!!!! Thank you for this info Jahanee! I was curious about this. Do you know in what instances where we'd have to pay anything? I know I'm having closer to 50 people and am wondering what my best options are. Do you know how far in advance we could set up a reservation? Who's your WC by the way?

Did any past brides use professional wedding decorators (like Caribbean Celebrations)? I've read reviews about them and it's been said that their services are cheaper than the resorts. Would Now charge an outrageous fee for them to come and decorate? I'd love anyone's opinion on this!

I looked at the resort map and Castaways seems to be the closest restaurant to the beach. But the wedding guide says you can have your reception on the actual beach for free....I know it is seems so confusing! I'd double check your Wedding Coordinator to confirm.

Oh I just looked at my spreadsheet again that was sent from the WC. Specifically the $5k extra fee is for reserving the Mercure or Tamarindo restaurants. Castaways is only $3K.

Yay!!! Congrats flyingchild!!! He's really quick to respond to you, along with sending you samples of his ceremonies. He assigned Pastor Mark Lykins to me, and so far I've read nothing but wonderful things about him. When are you flying in and leaving the DR? We'll be there from that Wednesday and flying out the following Wednesday.

Quote:Originally Posted by lisamarco413 Hey there. This is the fourth time I've seen thins $5k to reserve a restaurant. I didnt see this in any material from the resort nor hear about it from my travel agent. Could you please explain in more detail what this is for? I put a deposit down for May 22, 2014, beach ceremony and beach restaurant reception. Thanks! Hi lisamarco! The $5k is to reserve an entire restaurant for a private reception dinner. The restaurants include Mercure, Castaways, and Capers. This is found on Page 13 of the wedding guide. Since you have a beach reception though, you won't have to pay the $5k fee. I hope this helps!

ksassy I confirmed with the wedding coordinator Luisa that they charge $1 per sash that u bring to set up. I'm trying to compare the cost of me purchasing mine with the cost of using theirs!

Congratulations mvee! It's so good to hear that you enjoyed your big day and I appreciate you coming back to share the good and the bad! You said you wanted to walk to your own music for the ceremony. How did that work? Did you bring your own radio system, or did the resort take care of that and que the music for you? I have a fountain ceremony as well with a violinist, and would prefer to walk to my own music as well but I didn't know how that would work. I booked Pastor Mark Lykins as well and it's great to hear that you had a wonderful experience with him! What time did your ceremony begin? And what time did your reception begin? I'm trying to make sure we have enough time to take pics in between the ceremony and dinner. Do you have any pictures to share (ceremony and reception setup)? I'd love to see your menus, fans, bubble chairs and photo booth! Thanks!

Quote:Originally Posted by dcheer14 Hi I read earlier where you had your travel agent secure a group rate for NOW. Did they happen to tell you how many room you needed for the group rate? We are having a small wedding and our travel agent said she thought you had to have 7 rooms but I haven't heard back yet. To get a group rate we had to secure 6 rooms or more. It took them forever to get back to us too, but don't stress! Also, there are certain promos for credits you can get too for the number of rooms you book (i.e. for every 6 rooms you book the seventh is free, meaning credited to your bill).

Thanks for posting these pics. They help a lot. I blocked off the Tropical View rooms for my guests. Do you know if all of them have that window to the bathroom? And was your room upgraded by the resort or did you just book that from day one? I'm debating on an ocean view room or the Master Suite for 7 nights ! It's a pricey difference that I need to figure out!