My Wedding Review - June 29th, 2011

I just got back from my destination wedding at Dreams Palm Beach. It was everything that I could have imagined and more. I arrived two days before the ceremony day. I didn't want to deal with the paperwork of getting legally married there, so we did it before we left. All of our guests knew we were already legally married :) I had 33 guests come down and share this experience with us. Most of my family arrived on Monday with me. I met with Luz, my wedding coordinator the day before the wedding. I was originally assigned to Awilda, I was told she was off the day of my wedding. I would suggest having a copy of your wedding questionnaire with you for the meeting.

The Details:
This was def a DIY wedding! Almost everything except the clothes were handmade. We went with the complimentary package and added on what we needed a-la-carte. We added on the Silver buffet package and cocktail hour. Our ceremony was scheduled for 3:30. I wanted it later but there was already another wedding scheduled for later. We brought everything we needed for the wedding in our luggage including our cake topper, chair sashes, purple cardstock, wedding programs, decorations and centerpieces. We put my dress and his suit in a garment bag and it counted as one carryon.

The ceremony:
It was held at 3:30 at the gazebo. Although it is a very busy area near the front lobby, they make sure that the area is cut-off to outside traffic. I found that people were very respectful out their distance to the ceremony. It was my first time to the island, so I wasn't used to the humidity. By the time I got to the gazebo, I was drenched. It was that hot! I had a symbolic ceremony so there was no paperwork to sign after the ceremony. It was officiated by my father-in-law who also married us in the States. We had our champagne toast immediately afterwards. I was a little concerned about what my guest would do between the 2 hour lapse between the ceremony and the cocktail hour, but my guests loved that they were able to get a break from the heat. It was that hot :)

Photography and Videography:
I can't say enough about HDC. They were truly amazing. I couldn't have imagined anyone else recording our day. He did an amazing job at capturing all of the special moments of my day. The pictures were beautiful and clear plus it didn't look like we were sweating to death...lol... Our images were ready within two days. Arnaud met us at the resort and showed them to us. A package with our images was ready by that evening. I have nothing but positive things to say about them!

Reception:
My poolside cocktail hour and reception began at 6:30. We hired DJ Mannia to do our music. We had cigar rollers during the cocktail hour. It was the highlight of our wedding! Everyone loved it, even my grandmother. For the cocktail hour, guests were served the smoked salmon, crab and mozzerella cheese canapes, which they loved! I had a quick taste of everything but was too preoccoupied with the cigar rolling! Our reception bagan at 7:30. Anyone who is thinking of having it poolside, I can guarantee that you won't regret it! It is beautiful. Words cannot describe how it looks at night. I brought enough chair sashes for the ceremony and reception to be set up at the same time. I didn't want them moving sashes from one place to another. The food was amazing! Everyone said it was the best food they had all week. DJ Mannia did an amazing job with the music and MC. It kept the reception flowing and everyone was out of their seats. We even had a few wedding crashers! It was everything could have imagined and more. Even my grandparents partied until the end. I will post pictures in the next few days.

This resort did an amazing job with my wedding. Luz was simply amazing! I have nothing but positive things to say about her. She worked so hard to make sure I got everything that I wanted for my special day. They do a very good job in making you feel like your wedding is their top priority even if there are multiple weddings on your day. I know it can be very stressful not getting responses to your emails. They are working 12-14 hour day to ensure that your day turns out perfect. 

I hope this review helps, let me know if you have any questions!