DannysAp

Yes apparently the one in the Romance Office no longer worked and they didn't have one on site. Lol I have no idea if my husband's suit was wrinkled or what he did to address it.

Quote: Originally Posted by Katherine2go DannysAp, did you elect to have a symbolic ceremony? Fiance and I booked symbolic but naturally we are both excited to be unique, and honestly scared!, to see how it turns out. Congratulations!!!! We did go with the symbolic but tried to make it as unique as possible. (We had a civil ceremony several weeks before, but told absolutely no one. When family and friends asked when or if we were already married, we told them that we weren't telling so that the focus would stay on our PPR wedding.) We used our own script for the symbolic ceremony including the minister's part. (After all, since it's symbolic- you can say whatever you want.) And if you have a family member or friend that you would like to perform the ceremony, it's always an option. Our programs were fans with the ceremony on one side and trivia about the bride and groom on the other. (Etsy.com is great for ideas, but the many of the products you can make yourself for less.) We had a love poem read to the guests by one of my gfs before the ceremony started (even before the groom entered). During the ceremony, our parents read 1st Corinthians 13:4-13 together. We read our own vows and had a sand ceremony. Because I have a son, we chose words that incorporated him into the ceremony as well. ****Almost forgot- Confirm that there is a steamer available for your dress!!!! (When we had our meeting upon arrival at the resort, I was informed that there was no steamer on the property. WTH??? My sister was calling frantically to get one of our other guests to bring one with them, but fortunately Mariela found one from somewhere. (I did not ask and did not care as long as they found one.)

Quote: Originally Posted by EVKnowsitall Beautiful. Your set up worked out nicely. I agree the Garden Gazeebo is terribly small. It looks bigger at Paradisus Punta Cana- you would think with all their weddings they would have a bigger gazebo lol. We had our cocktail hour at the Plaza too. I think its the best spot for cocktail hour. It is already set up for a nice, chill ambiance, photographs beautifully, and is a nice reprieve from the heat too since nice breezes flow through. Thank you so much. I wonder what the logic was in the design and placement of the Gazebo at PPR. I agree the one at PPC looks much more ideal for a wedding. Yes I too loved the natural backdrop provided by the Plaza Colonial- no additional decor required. And now that they've added the additional bar and music, it's a ready-made cocktail party location.

Quote: Originally Posted by Katherine2go So beautiful!! Did you use the on site DJ? Thank you! The DJ did a great job. I created an excel spreadsheet of all of the music I wanted to hear and he stayed within that theme. I was very pleased.

Quote: Originally Posted by angelnjewels Hi Danny, Thanks for the review. I love your pictures. So beautiful!!!!! I am super excited... My wedding is less than 6 months away at PPR. I am going to book the bridal suite and going to have my hair done at the room. Ugh I find that there is so much to think about... But it sounds like once you are there it is amazing... We are going with the tailor made package. And we will be having our reception at the apollo. How did the draping work out? I am thinking of adding this to the room. Any other tips would be greatly appreciated... Congratulations!!! Thank you!! I did use the in house DJ and he did a great job. I must admit I provided a list of music that covered 4 hours and he didn't play everything, but he improvised with music that fit along the same theme. The draping and the amber lighting helped to make the ballroom feel more intimate. I have no doubt your wedding will be beautiful!!! Stay on top of the Miami folks- they sometimes forget details you've already agreed to- confirm everything in email.

Here are few pics:

Hi Ladies, I haven't spend a lot of time posting on the message board, but I just had my wedding on September 27 and I thought I'd share my experience. We arrived on Wed and met Mariela who was our assigned wedding coordinator. We reviewed all of our details and I must say, they were on top of things. If you have a good MOH, bring her to this meeting. My sister was present to take notes and manage all of the final details, which I must say was priceless. Couple of notes: We held a welcome cocktail event on Thursday for our guests in the Plaza Colonial. I had 52 guests and requested large group dinner reservations at three restaurants to accommodate everyone. My sister created a sign-up sheet that we passed around at the cocktail party so that guests could choose where to dine. We did go ahead and get the Bridal Suite which turned out to be pretty nice since it allowed the groom to use our hotel room to get dressed and my girlfriends and I had our own little party in the Bridal Suite. I had a couple of guests that cancelled at the last minute which helped defer some of the $300 cost. I did not use the PPR team for hair and makeup, but only because I knew my girlfriends could get the job done and that was one less expense. :-) Although our wedding was held in the Garden Gazebo area, we elected to have the ceremony on the lawn across from the gazebo since the gazebo itself is so small and guests have to sit far away. We provided our own wording for the entire ceremony (use the web for ideas- and it's a great assignment for the groom), and provided a transcript to Mariela about a week before the wedding. (We used my ipod on their sound system for the ceremony music.) Make a note to bring your own runner for the ceremony (I forgot). The only options are at PPR are a burlap runner (which is perfect for the beach or more rustic themes) or a white feathery thing that looks like a boa and is a nightmare to walk on. Overall it was very hot, but the wedding was beautiful. My cocktail reception was at the Plaza Colonial. We used our own docking station and ipod for music since it was only an hour. My reception was in the Apollo Ballroom. I was thankful my guests had some relief from the heat. The decor was beautiful (I used amber lighting and draping) and the DJ was great. I provided a complete list of music for dinner and the party and he improvised perfectly. I asked a really good friend to emcee the evening and she did and outstanding job and made it much more personal than the DJ could have done. Also I added an hour to my reception so that things would not feel rushed. Since my wedding was on Friday, we had all day Saturday to relax at the pool and enjoy visiting with our guests. On Sunday we had breakfast at Naos with all of our guests, which was the perfect way to say goodbye before we departed. Sidebar: About 3 weeks before the wedding, I sent all of our guests a mailing that included tourism information about punta cana, a weekend intinerary, info about the PPR restaurants (including dress code and access). I'll try to post some pictures. Adey

I decided to go with wall draping and amber lighting to hopefully make the Apollo feel more intimate. The ceiling is really high, which led me to go with tall centerpieces. I'll let you know how it all works out. Right now I'm trying to put together a brochure of some basic info for my guests. The who-has-access-to-what with regards to the restaurants is way more complicated than it should be.

Thank you and Congratulations to you too and all of the other Brides! I too was concerned about the heat as well as the rain for my reception. (I imagine September will be interesting.) Although I was rather displeased with Jessica for a bit because we booked in November (including the Apollo) and only in February did she mention that there was a $1000 privatization fee for the room. None of the documents she had provided previously indicated that there was an additional fee. I digress. I'll share as much as I can regarding what I've learned so far, please forgive if some of this stuff is repetitive from other brides' postings. For the seated dinner reception you have the option of doing a entree duet instead of having to choose just one. (We're doing beef and fish.) The resort charges $5 for each welcome bag you ask them to deliver. To avoid this, our plan is to greet our guests in the lobby and pass them out as they arrive. (Fortunately most of my friends and family are on flights that arrive around the same time.) Speaking of welcome bags, we're planning to include some of the beach basics (sunscreen, aloe vera, lip balm, ibuprofen, and those cool mosquito wrist bands along with a some of our favorite snacks. The following are websites I've found that offer some of the best deals for these things: www.cheaptravelsizes.com www.favorfavor.com www.bulkapothecary.com I'm flying AirTrain and just sent their customer service an email yesterday regarding info on how my dress will be stored as a carry on. We'll see. Does anyone know which night is the Gabi Beach Party and if is restricted to just Royal Service and Melia guests? I saw something recently that indicated that other guests will now have to pay an additional fee.

Hi, Just an fyi, actually all PPR guests have access to Aqua and Mizu at The Reserve (I had dinner at both in the same night during my Love at First Site visit). One the nice staff members out front with the bell men of the main resort will just whisk you over in a golf cart. Reservations are definitely recommended. I didn't have any, so I had to pull the "I'm trying to decide whether I'm having my wedding here" card and they seated us immediately. :-) Dinner at each was rather impressive.

Hi Ladies, I've been following the forum for about 6 months and finally took the time to join. You all have been a great source of info and now I will share some of mine: Getting married at PPR in September (I did the Love at First Site visit Nov 2012- I wanted to feel confident about the resort before we officially committed it and sent out STDs). Ultimately I decided to go with the Aqua Package. My wedding will be in the Garden Gazebo and Reception in the Apollo Ballroom (not thrilled about the privatization fee- but what can you do?). I'm also having a Welcome Cocktail party in the Plaza Colonial on the day before my wedding. Right now I'm in the process of finalizing my guest count (~50-55) and preparing to pay my final invoice. :-( All in all I'm excited about the wedding and hopeful that everything will go relatively smoothly.

Hi Ladies, I've been following the forum for about 6 months and finally took the time to join. You all have been a great source of info and now I will share some of mine: Getting married at PPR in September (I did the Love at First Site visit Nov 2012- I wanted to feel confident about the resort before we officially committed it and sent out STDs). Ultimately I decided to go with the Aqua Package. My wedding will be in the Garden Gazebo and Reception in the Apollo Ballroom (not thrilled about the privatization fee- but what can you do?). I'm also having a Welcome Cocktail party in the Plaza Colonial on the day before my wedding. Right now I'm in the process of finalizing my guest count (~50-55) and preparing to pay my final invoice. :-( All in all I'm excited about the wedding and hopeful that everything will go relatively smoothly.

Hi, Actually all guests have access to Aqua and Mizu at The Reserve. I had dinner at both (in the same night) during my Love at First Site Visit in December, even though I was not staying at the Reserve.