AddyB

@@Tequila00 I'm actually having a very large traditional wedding/reception here in October, so I didn't go all out with the Punta Cana wedding. I got the strawberry package and it included a lot of stuff already. So, I saved wherever I could. Taking our speaker worked out perfectly. We were planning to just rent a speaker system for $400 anyway, but then my husband was like "why not just take one of our speaker?" I had to ask my coordinator if that was okay first and it was. Of course, the speaker had to get a physical screening done at the airport but it didn't take that long. As for the first dance, it was hard to time everything because the servers took a while to serve each course. As for toasts, we didn't expect or ask anyone to make a toast but we did prepare our own speech. So, in between meals was when my husband and I made our speech just thanking our family and friends. Before dinner was over my maid of honor, bridesmaid (now sis in law), and best man made their speech and made everyone cry. Honestly, I wasn't too worried about timing stuff, we all kind of just went with the flow and it turned out amazing. Once everyone was done eating, everyone was up and dancing right away. We didn't do our first dance until everyone started chanting it lol. It was a good time and I'm grateful to have such a fun group of family and friends. All of my guest chipped in to tip the bartenders and servers. Which, I didn't know until the end of the night. Everyone who was working that night got a pretty big tip because I tipped pretty well on top of the guest's tip. That's another thing about the resort. BRING DOLLARS FOR TIPS. Everyone is soooo super nice and eager to help you. You can't help but tip, tip, and tip! I hope this helps

@@BNeff taking my own speaker saved us a lot of money since our reception was held in a ballroom. I originally had a cake design in mind and had sent a photo of it to my wedding coordinator but when I met up with my coordinator she showed me some samples of cake designs on her computer. I ended up choosing one of those. It's nice and simple! So, delicious. Hope that helps! I can email you a picture of my cake if you want me to. Let me know Addy

Hey Ladies, I got back from Punta Cana about 2 weeks now. I'm just trying to get back to my daily routine. It's super hard when I keep thinking about Punta Cana! It's absolutely amazing there. Everyone is already planning another trip there. The resort is huge so be prepared to do a lot of walking but I didn't mind it. I arrived at the resort on Monday June 29th but I didn't get to meet with Laura until that Wednesday. She is absolutely amazing. So helpful! I had an issue with my family room right before I had to go into a meeting with her. When she heard about it, she fixed the issue right away. Love her! The meeting was awesome, we over every little detail and she showed me some pictures. I had my rehearsal dinner on Thursday at Santa Fe Steakhouse with a guest of 20 ppl. Highly recommend that place. I got the Surf and Turf and it was delicious. Friday was the wedding. My hair and makeup appointment was at 1pm, wedding was scheduled for 4:30pm. I wasn't in love with my eye makeup but I did like my hair. Bring pictures of how you want your hair done ladies. Language is a barrier so it's easier to show pictures. I went with Tropical Pictures and they showed up at 3pm to take some pics of me getting ready at the salon. I thought they did a fantastic job with the photos. The only bad thing about the photos are the seaweed that's in the background!! That's also the downside about the beach. My guest, the groomsmens, and groom all met at Bar Carey. Laura took them to the ceremony site, which was at the beach. She picked my bridesmaids and me up at 4:10. The ceremony site wasn't private but it was secluded enough. The site was absolutely beautiful. More than I expected. The ceremony itself probably lasted about 20 or 25 minutes. After the ceremony it was pictures of groups, wedding party, then us as a couple. While we took pictures, all of the guest were enjoying the cocktail hour. The reception We ended up at one of the ballroom because the weather was hot. The ballroom had AC so it was perfect. Our starter was chicken noodle soup, main course was top sirloin, dessert was creme brulee and the wedding cake. My wedding cake was vanilla with strawberry filling. It was amazing! Not too sweet. We didn't go with any DJ package. We took our own speaker with us, that fit into a carryon bag. We played music from our tablet. The speaker was very loud and everyone had so much fun. Even the servers, bartenders, and cooks danced and partied with us the entire night. After the reception was done, we all met at Disco Tech and continued to party there. The after the wedding All of the younger guest and myself went on a catamaran getaway, which was soooo much fun. People got to do some snorkeling and we got to play games at a natural swimming pool (got a lot of people drunk), which was in the middle of the sea but the water was only up to our waist. highly recommend you arrange to go on one. I'm sure I'm missing a lot of details but don't hesitate to ask questions. my email is abannavong88@@gmail.com I'll try to post pictures but I don't know how to on this site!

@@FutureMrsHoffman I'll be getting married on the beach this coming July! I'm leaving in exactly two weeks from today and I can't wait! I don't think a beach ceremony is completely private. Laura said she'll take me to go check out the site once I land. I'm completely nervous because I have no idea how things will be but I keep reading that everything will be taken care of. I can only hope. I'll give you some feedback and post pictures once I get back Happy planning!

Hey @@BNeff, What's your wedding date in July? Mines July 3rd! I can't wait.

@@missyanachka I have the same wedding coordinator! She's nice and always quick to respond to my emails. I have some pics if you want to see, let me know. I can't post them on here for some reason. Addy

@@JJCB0418 I can't view any of the pictures, then again I can never view it when it's posted in the discussion board. If you don't mind, can you please send it to my email? abannavong88@@gmail.com Thanks so much! Addy

@@kvilagi I have pictures from my WC but I don't know how to upload pics on here! LOL, I can send them to your email if you want. If anyone want to see them just let me know. Addy

@@kvilagi I've been wondering the same thing. I just got my wedding coordinator's email address. I'll ask her for some pictures.

Hey @@teli73 I can't view your pictures for some reason. Can you please email it to me, if you don't mind. abannavong88@@gmail.com Thanks for the review! It's making me less stress. I'm so worried about how everything will look like.

Thanks ladies! I have about 55 people who's already booked to stay at the resort. I'm sort of freaking out because we didn't expect to have so many people. Hopefully everything will work out. Huskergirl - I'm soo excited for you! Safe travels and I'm looking forward to your review

Hey everyone, I'm a newbie to this thing. I'm planning on getting married next July. I have a guest list of about 55 people. My wedding package only includes 25 people, does that mean I would have to pay for extra chairs for my guest during the ceremony?