Paradisus Punta Cana (PPC) Brides POST HERE!!

Hey ladies,

 

   I know the two resorts are various similar in terms of wedding packages but I'd like to start a thread just for PPC brides as there is already one for PPR brides and the on-site wedding coordinators and some details are different between the two. Especially since these two resorts have a habit of telling brides different things, I want to avoid confusion on quotes, availability, options, etc.

 

    To start off, I'm getting married on May 10th, 2011 at PPC at 4:00PM. I decided on the earlier time to ensure we get sunlight. I'm planning on having the ceremony on the beach so the fiance and I will be in Royal Service as it's located closer to the beach. We're expecting around 30-40 guests and they will be spreadout between Reserve, RS, and regular rooms.

 

     I have not planned anything else yet, though! We have a free Wish package but I'm still not sure if it's worth it to just get the ready-made Aqua package and avoid headache or add items (mainly the reception dinner) a la carte. Also, undecided about where we want the reception dinner.

 

    How are you ladies doing with your PPC planning? Who have you been working with?

 

 

 

Hi, Bikegirl!

 

Thanks for starting this thread!  You're right...PPR and PPC are two different resorts that deserve their own threads! I hope I can contribute some helpful insights to other brides.

 

I'm from CT and I live in San Juan, PR with my fiance. We decided to do a destination wedding so everyone who wants to be there has to travel, not just his family or mine. Fair enough. We chose the DR because it's so cost-effective. The price per person at a hotel comparable to PPC in San Juan is about $175. That is JUST for the food and drinks. No flowers, no decor, etc. CT or NY would be even more, so...easy choice. Plus, it makes a fun and memorable vacation for our friends and family. =)

 

Well, my wedding is coming up fast! October 23, 2010. I did a site inspection last January with Andrea, who has since left the resort. I've been working with Jennifer Alvarez on the planning. It's going so slowly though... I can't decide on anything, and even though I was there only in January, I feel like it's difficult to visualize things. (That's one thing to consider if you're having a destination wedding.)

 

I was all psyched about a beach wedding and reception and then I thought about dancing in the sand. Ewww. Not my favorite thing, so I'll probably bring in a dance floor. I initially wanted the ceremony to be on the beach, but then I thought the gazebo would be prettier because of the green from the grass and the trees. Unfortunately, the gazebo is taken on that day. I'm pissed because Andrea told me the beach weddings are held right in front of the gazebo because the beach is a bit more private (as private as you can get on a public beach, right?), so I thought it would be no problem to move it to the gazebo. But Jennifer told me they have another beach if the gazebo is taken. Grrrrr!

 

So now I'm thinking about the gardens for the ceremony and the beach for the reception at Gabi Beach. I'm going a little nuts because I can't decide and everyone keeps telling me, "whatever you want." I'm grateful that no one is imposing their vision on me, though. =)

 

For brides who are contemplating between the PPR and PPC, the deciding factors for me were:

- The romantic, intimate feel of the PPC, rather than the palatial and spacious feel of the PPR.

- The beach by the gazebo for the wedding ceremony was more private (I'm letting it go.... lol!). 

- The Gabi Beach for the reception is private (Gabi Beach bar is closed at night) (not to be confused with the Gabi beach/restaurant at the Reserve, which you can also privatize for about $10,000).

 

 

One thing to consider is  this: PPR is more expensive, but you can have your cake and eat it too insofar as you can have the comfort of a patio, roof, and facilities for a plated dinner right next to the beach. (You can privatize the whole restaurant, but if you don't, it still remains somewhat private as long as other guests don't act imprudently). At PPC I have to deal with sand on the dance floor. (I know, I'm probably sounding crazy-- It's a beach wedding!! lol!) I can go on thinking how I should have chosen PPR, but the feeling in my heart was better at PPC, so I have to trust that it will all work out beautifully!

 

Communication with Jennifer has been good. She writes and understands English well. I just wish she would be more helpful in offering ideas. It's like going to a restaurant and having a server who tells you about the wonderful specials and what wine would pair nicely with them as opposed to a server who says, "what can I bring you?". She's more like the latter. Like I said above, at least she's not imposing her vision on me. =)

 

I haven't chosen any details yet. Right now we're having the Chill-Cut Chic package (brown with dots), but I may change the linens to the white ones included in th Wish package.

 

Choosing a photographer is really hard. I wanted to have this amazing woman from Wisconsin, but I don't want to spend so much of my budget on flying someone in. Her work is amazing, though, and from the conversation I had with her over the phone, she is super sweet. Here's a link to website (and no, I have no affiliation with her other than wishing she could shoot my wedding! haha!) 

 

http://www.mthreestudio.com/

 

 

Ok, I think I've been super winded here, so..... bye for now! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi MrsLamb, wow, your wedding is coming up so soon! So excited for you! I also really appreciate your 'super winded' response....I think rule on this forum is, the longer the better. Lol! Any bit of detail is helpful to future brides!

 

I'm glad to hear that you did a price comparison and that the PPC is still more cost effective than off site. With the price of the Paradisus weddings, sometimes I wonder if we're actually going to save much from a regular wedding.

 

Do you have any photos of your site visit back in January? I really wish I could visit this resort! There just doesn't seem to be as much information on it compared to some of the other resorts. I read some reviews that the PPC is more "fun" whereas the PPR is more "classy". For the price difference and our group (half are in their 20s), I thought it'd be better to hold the wedding at PPC and save the PPR for a couples only trip in the future.

 

I have some questions for you since you're now in the final stages of planning. Hope you don't mind!

 

-Are you finding that you're having to upgrade (and pay more) for items not included in the Chill-Out package?

-What made you decided to go with the Chill-Out package?

-Aside from the setup, the colors are also different for the packages. Do you have to pay extra if you want the same setup, but different colored linens? For ex: Aqua package....can I simply change from aqua to say....orange?

 

Are you upgrading or saying in the regular suites? It's annoying they don't let you credit the price of the free wedding package (for upgrading) towards the higher package.

 

I took a look at the photographer's website and wow, she does really great work! My FI was really shocked when I first told him the ball park figure we were looking at. When I first started searching, quotes were coming back $6-12K but we just booked Jared Rey (www.jaredrey.com) and he was more within our budget. I loved how good his first destination shoot looked....granted the bride is absolutely stunning!

 

BTW, what are you colors if you're going with brown dots? I have a link to the PPC Picasa album but I can't tell which are heavily upgraded setups and which are just standard options. I which they'd add more details to each image!

 

Hope more PPC brides post in here!

Hi, Bikegirl! Thanks for your response!

 

 

Do you have any photos of your site visit back in January?

Cut and paste the link below into your brower (or give me your e-mail address and I can send the album to you through Snapfish):

http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2008959020/a=159063362_159063362/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

 

You may need to create a user account, but it may be worth your while-- LOTS of pictures.

 

I really wish I could visit this resort! There just doesn't seem to be as much information on it compared to some of the other resorts. I read some reviews that the PPC is more "fun" whereas the PPR is more "classy". For the price difference and our group (half are in their 20s), I thought it'd be better to hold the wedding at PPC and save the PPR for a couples only trip in the future. I would agree. I mean, both are classy, but PPR is palatial whereas PPC is intimate. PPR is really spacious-- high ceilings in the lobby that opens out to the fountains, pool, and beach. I mean, it's really beautiful, but it doesn't have the intimate feel of the PPC. Everything is out in the open, whereas the paths at PPC meander through foliage and around pools. I also liked the furniture better at the PPC. It is more modern. PPR is newer, yes, but PPC is renovating their rooms (not the Reserve rooms, which are relatively new). 

 

I have some questions for you since you're now in the final stages of planning. Hope you don't mind! I'm actually just about to start this step, so I'll let you know. 

 

-Are you finding that you're having to upgrade (and pay more) for items not included in the Chill-Out package?

-What made you decided to go with the Chill-Out package?  I like the set-up and the orchids. Not crazy about the dots on the tablecloths, though. I want to get white linens. I'll keep you updated on how it works out and the costs and such.

-Aside from the setup, the colors are also different for the packages. Do you have to pay extra if you want the same setup, but different colored linens? For ex: Aqua package....can I simply change from aqua to say....orange?

 

Are you upgrading or saying in the regular suites? It's annoying they don't let you credit the price of the free wedding package (for upgrading) towards the higher package.

 

I took a look at the photographer's website and wow, she does really great work! My FI was really shocked when I first told him the ball park figure we were looking at. When I first started searching, quotes were coming back $6-12K but we just booked Jared Rey (www.jaredrey.com) and he was more within our budget. I loved how good his first destination shoot looked....granted the bride is absolutely stunning!  Oh!! Beautiful! The pictures are great! (Yes, the bride is stunning!) I think you'll be really happy with your pictures! =)

 

BTW, what are you colors if you're going with brown dots? I have a link to the PPC Picasa album but I can't tell which are heavily upgraded setups and which are just standard options. I which they'd add more details to each image!

 

OMG, I hear you, Girl! My only frustration is that the WC doesn't offer enough information. I asked her if there was a pastor who could officiate in English and she replied, "Yes."   Uh-huh... great... do you have his contact info and availability perhaps...?

 

 

Hope more PPC brides post in here!

Me too! =)

Hello Mrs. Lamb and BikeGirl,

 

I really enjoyed reading this between the two of you. I am planning my wedding at PPC as well. May 2011. haven't picked a day yet, the travel agent is working on that for me. I'm really confused about alot of things. I'm so indecisive with alot! i can't ever make up my mind. For example i went to PPC on an all girls trip in August and I thought the reserve and Gabi restaurant were great. I found the food elsewhere to be eh so so. nothing to write home about. I am worried about the money i'm spending and i'm worried about what package to choose. can i choose the package later or do i need to pick it now. I love the Aqua but not sure if i wanna spring for that or just stay with the basic wish package that's included. Also is the wish package included only if you book 7  nights? Also Do any of the packages come with photos? do they have photographers there and if so how much will it cost? i think i'm just thinking out loud. hope you don't mind.

Hi,

 

I see that you went to Dreams Palm beach as well. Would you mind telling me why you decided to go with PPC instead? I'm considering it as well but My fiance likes Paradisus

Hello all!

 

I thought I should speak up after reading all these threads for some time now!  I am getting married next May 27th, 2011 at the Jellyfish restaurant and will be staying at the Paradisus Punta Cana.  We are inviting around 35 people so ti should be pretty small and intimate - we're going for a family and close friends vacation feel.  The PPC was one of the first resorts that we looked at and even after researching many other hotels we kept coming back to this one.  Also, one of my close friends vacationed there 3 years ago and she loved it. 

 

We decided not to get married at the resort because, honestly I wanted it to be more intimate.  The lady that I am working with at the Jellyfish is great and I have also booked Phil Steingard as our photographer - his work looks fantastic. 

 

I just wanted to say HI to you all and hopefully we can use each other as resources in our planning!

 

Megan

Hi Bella711!

 

We chose PPC over Dreams because we liked it better ovarall. It just seemed to be in another category, and we wanted our location to feel really special. This may sounds bizarre, but the pool area at Dreams felt like a generic hotel. The ballrooms smelled like mildew (I'm sure the smell would go away once the AC was turned on, though), and we weren't crazy about the colors (earth tones, lots of brown). It's a nice place, but it didn't have the feeling we were going for. I thought the pictures on the internet were a little misleading. In all fairness, we visited around 4 or 5 o'clock when everything was out of place anyway. I loved their gazebo, but it was in the middle of the central courtyard, so everyone would be watching our wedding. I'm not bashing Dreams, but it just wasn't our style.

 

I hope this helps!

Bikegirl asked,

-Aside from the setup, the colors are also different for the packages. Do you have to pay extra if you want the same setup, but different colored linens? For ex: Aqua package....can I simply change from aqua to say....orange?

 

You don't have to pay extra as long as they already have the linens. For example, if you want to switch the Chill-Out Chic brown table cloth to the Aqua blue and white wouldn't incur an extra cost. Orange....probably, but the Wedding Coordinator (WC) could inform us of that.

 

What I find confusing is the Excel document they sent me to work out the costs. I'm going with the Chill-Out Chic package, but the spreadsheet doesn't tell me what exactly listed on the sheet is included in my package. I'm sure the WC would figure it out, but it would be a lot easier if I knew off the bat. 

 

 

I'm starting to freak out about photography, though! I'm between Huellas Del Caribe, Photosouvenir, and Arrecife (b/c of the convenience that they are the hotel photographers). Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

 

Thanks! 

When I had spoken with Jennifer at the resort she told me that if i wanted to change the linen color from the one they had in the package they would charge me 25 bucks per table! Even if i wanted the aqua color. 

 

I got the same feeling from Dreams about the "feel" of the place. I didn't go see it in person but when i was looking at the gazebo i was wondering where exactly was it located, I wasn't crazy about it and I want the ceremony on the beach anyway.

 

Can I ask what everyone is paying for photography? I hadn't even thought this one through!!