Dreams Punta Cana Brides

[elenajustine]

thanks for all the info! im really looking forward to the boat ride! flori said we can pay the balance in american dollars or travelers check. I think the US money is better because you have to pay an extra percentage for the travelers checks. the only issue with cash is if you really want to be carrying that much money around with you....

 

we leave like midday on the 25th. I got a spraytan today! I am a ghostly white new yorker so i barely recognize myself! haha

[taratoons]

Hello everyone!!!! We are home sweet home!!!! We had a great time, though everything didn't go all that smoothly all the time, we made it work!!!! If anyone has specific questions, just drop me an e-mail at [email protected]

[JENISE]

Hey Tara,

 

WELCOME BACK! Congrats on becoming a Mrs.

 

Glad to hear you had a great time.

 

What things went wrong? Maybe we can avoid the same thing happening to us.

 

Got any teaser pics?

 

Well, I'm sure you'll answer in due time. Your probably exhausted and still on cloud 9 from it all so relax, have a drink, and tell us all about it later.

Thanks.

[elenajustine]

Congrats Tara!

 

Ahhhh I'm leaving tomorrow morning and wedding is friday. I'm so nervous! I'll be back with a review for everyone in a few weeks! xoxoxo

 

Elena

[JENISE]

Good luck with everything Elena. Have a blast! I'm sure things will turn out great.

 

Can't wait to hear all the details when you get back!

[taratoons]

Thanks for the congrats, everyone! Briefly, here were the not so smooth aspects of our experience:

1. Check in - Disorganized. The first 10 guests who were staying for 10 nights (31 more guests arrived for 7 nights) were all supposed to be in the same building, which didn't happen, but no biggie. We had booked the honeymoon suite, which was unavailable when we got there, we were told we could return the next day and switch, decided it was too much work and just kept our room. No biggie. The biggest problem was that we have a guest who required the bottom floor as he has terrible legs and can't deal with stairs. We had repeatedly been in touch with the resort prior to departure to ensure he was given a room on the bottom floor. Upon check in, he was given one on the 3rd floor, and the buildings don't have elevators. They finally got him into a first floor room, but it had 2 separate beds, and he and his wife wanted one bed. They were told repeatedly to return "in a couple hours" to get switched. I believe he went up to the counter 6 times in 3 days, and it never worked out. When our guests arrived for the 7 nights, we just switched amongst our group, since they screwed up AGAIN and put 2 guys who did NOT want one bed in a bottom floor room with only one bed.

2. Rehearsal cocktail hour - We weren't sure if we wanted it to be at Bordeaux or El Patio, and Sharron, our WC, actually recommended El Patio because of our handicapped guest (Bordeaux is up a bunch of stairs and there is no elevator), and because it was more sheltered from the wind. We agreed to have it there and watched her write it down, but then after the physical rehearsal, she said "see you at Bordeaux!" and we exchanged a look, and told her that was wrong. She got everything moved and worked out, but it delayed our cocktail hour for about a half hour. No big deal, as we still got a full hour there, our guests just had nothing to do during the wait, so we had some drinks in the lobby

3. Wedding - At our meeting with Sharron, directly after shaking her hand, 2 days before our ceremony, she said "I must tell you, I've made a HUGE mistake." GREAT. Turns out she had double booked TWO weddings at the gazebo at 5 pm, and had already met with the other bride, who REFUSED to change times, so she was "kindly asking us" if we could move to 4 pm. Nuh uh. That leaves us NO time for photos, when our reception starts at 7 pm. So we were in a tough spot until I asked if anyone was at 4pm. That spot turned out to be free, so we took it, which actually turned out to benefit us, since we got an extra hour for photos. So overall, turned out to be a GOOD mistake, but a mistake nonetheless, and NOT something you want to stress over 2 days before your wedding, then worry about telling all your 39 guests.

 

So overall, my advice would be this: Go into this expecting SOMETHING to go wrong, and be laid back enough to deal with it. This is a destination wedding, you can't be on top of EVERYTHING, and it's much harder to plan/communicate from afar. If you go in with the attitude that something will not be exactly as you asked for it, you will be prepared to deal when you find out what that thing is, and then if nothing does go wrong, it will just be a bonus. Our group was a blast, the pool is awesome, we had no problems with the food or drink, and the entertainment staff were AMAZING. To be honest, despite the hiccups along the way, I wouldn't change a thing!!!!

 

Anymore questions, just e-mail me. I definitely have some AMAZING teaser photos, if anyone would like to see them, but yet again, I'm technologically challenged, and can't figure out how to post them on here, so if you would like to see, just e-mail me at [email protected]. Happy planning!

[cogswellgray]

hey tara! Seems like they have room mix-ups alot lol. I've decided that I am not even going to attempt getting our rooms in the same building, we will all run into eachother anyways.

I would love to see some of you ceremony pics and reception.

[email protected]

 

I am so glad you had a great experience though, I can't wait until its my turn!

[cogswellgray]

Elena!

Have a great trip and I hope your wedding is everything your dreaming of! Can't wait to here the details when you get back!

[nsbride2010]

So I just read some trip advisor reviews about the beach ceremony that were less than stellar... I'm a little concerned? Seems like it is a waste of $300 for what you get! I emailed Deyanira to ask her what can be done to make it better andmore worth the money, I will see what she comes back with!

[ebredhawk]

elena.. good luck and travel safely!! maybe we'll see you there!

 

tara.. i'm so sorry there were so many screw ups! makes me a little worried since J's mom is an amputee and walks with a cane or walker and REQUIRES a first floor room (which we have already requested).

 

we also have a GM stuck in iraq because of the volcano. there are only so many slots out every day for military flights and 2 of them have already been cancelled. thankfully he's not supposed to arrive until monday (leave iraq on saturday), so hopefully that whole mess will get figured out before he leaves!

 

also talked to flori from la barcaza and there are no fees for using travellers checks. same as cash and then you don't have to worry about having that much $$ on you.