Dreams Punta Cana Brides

[jennnyclo]

thanx alot drbride.

[drbride83]

 

Originally Posted by Tink 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by beachbum2010 

 

 You can bring your own music for the ceremony and they will play it from your IPod - my WC told me an IPod can be hooked up to their system.  I was going to use the Carribean Trio for the ceremony, but changed my mind when I noticed that they hooked up a stereo system.  I can't remember what the WC played for the BM walking down the beach, but she played Somewhere over the rainbow for me - which I loved, and then after the ceremony, she played some slow love songs - I didn't even know she was going to do that - I loved it.

 

We got married on the beach and it was awesome.  I noticed that a lot of people don't choose that option.  The main reason for me for a DW was to get married on the beach.  It was not overly windy and enough of a breeze that my dress which was mainly chiffon was blowing in the wind....which was exactly the reason I picked the dress that I did.  It was perfect!!!

I was thinking of having the ceremony on the beach but after looking at some pictures of previous weddings I didn't like the floral arch that they used. It looked to simple and somewhat flimsy? Do they still use the same arch?

 

Tink - I remember reading in this thread that you could also get a huppa if you don't like the arch, it was something like $350 with flowers or $150 with just linens (The prices have probably increased for 2011). I did see a photo of it set up at a wedding on the beach in this thread so it's a good idea to go back through the thread and see if you can find the photo I am talking about.
 

Thanks for the advice about the disco times, Yessica got back to me and she said it opened at 10:30pm, no word on when it closes though...

 

In other news I was able to switch to the Portofino terrace for our reception!

[drbride83]

 

 

Originally Posted by Tink 

 

 I was thinking of having the ceremony on the beach but after looking at some pictures of previous weddings I didn't like the floral arch that they used. It looked to simple and somewhat flimsy? Do they still use the same arch?

 

Sorry if this posts twice since it didn't post the first time!

 

Tink - I remember reading in the thread that you could get a huppa instead of the arch if you didn't like it. It cost something like $350 for it to be decorated with flowers and $150 for just the linens (Prices will probably change for 2011). Try going back through the thread to find the picture I saw in here of it set up on the beach.

 

 

Thanks for the info about the disco, Yessica did get back to me and said it opens at 10:30pm but she didn't mentioned when it closes so I will assume 2am for now!

 

In other news, I was able to switch my reception to the Portofino terrace!

 

[beachbum2010]

 

 

Originally Posted by Tink 

 

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by beachbum2010 

 

 

 

 

 

 You can bring your own music for the ceremony and they will play it from your IPod - my WC told me an IPod can be hooked up to their system.  I was going to use the Carribean Trio for the ceremony, but changed my mind when I noticed that they hooked up a stereo system.  I can't remember what the WC played for the BM walking down the beach, but she played Somewhere over the rainbow for me - which I loved, and then after the ceremony, she played some slow love songs - I didn't even know she was going to do that - I loved it.

 

We got married on the beach and it was awesome.  I noticed that a lot of people don't choose that option.  The main reason for me for a DW was to get married on the beach.  It was not overly windy and enough of a breeze that my dress which was mainly chiffon was blowing in the wind....which was exactly the reason I picked the dress that I did.  It was perfect!!!

 

I was thinking of having the ceremony on the beach but after looking at some pictures of previous weddings I didn't like the floral arch that they used. It looked to simple and somewhat flimsy? Do they still use the same arch?

 

 

We didn't have an arch and had the option of using nothing at all.  I don't know what it's called, but it was decorated with flowers.  It was a wooden structure, covered with white fabric, and we able to get out of the sun.  At first I wanted nothing but the beach as a backdrop, but I ended up loving it.  I will try to attach a photo...here's to hoping it works.

 

 

[jennnyclo]

hi ladies...can someone help??? so im torn in btwn using djmannia or a dj the resort offers my wc isnt available until jan3 so i wont b able to reach her till then

[lilboltz10]

Jenny,

 

We used DJ Mannia and they were incredible!  I would highly recommend them... plus... the DJ resort is only for 3 hours and DJ Mannia is 4 hours (we wanted a longer reception). 
 

Originally Posted by jennnyclo 

hi ladies...can someone help??? so im torn in btwn using djmannia or a dj the resort offers my wc isnt available until jan3 so i wont b able to reach her till then

[lilboltz10]

Hey Ladies!  I am a Mrs. now   (December 3rd wedding)

 

I just returned from our honeymoon and wanted to give everyone a quick recap of the resort/wedding, etc. 

 

Resort - It is stunningly beautiful with a TON of palm trees and shade around the middle of the pool.  The deluxe rooms are small and there were complaints from guests (61 guests so that is inevitable) about the size, location, etc.  We booked the Honeymoon Suite in the Preferred Club.  If you have the room in your budget to get this type of room I would highly recommend it.  The Preferred Club is definitely the way to go at DPC.  The bartender, Adrien, is awesome!  The afternoon snacks are pretty darn good, too!  The resort never seemed full.  We arrived Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend which was probably the most crowded day.  By the day of our wedding (Friday, Dec 3rd) the resort seemed "empty" almost.  We also hardly ever saw children around the resort -- the Explorer's Club does a great job!

 

Wedding Coordinator - We met with Carolina 3 days before the wedding and you basically went over the checklist that we filled out a few weeks before we arrived in the DR.  It was pretty basic and took many 20 minutes.  My parents brought everything for the reception to her the morning of the wedding.  Everything went smoothly and the decorations were perfect except 2 tables were interchanged so family friends were closer to us and our family was in the back but that's okay .. no one sat outside of 30 minutes for dinner anyway.

 

Salon - Ywalseka is incredible!!!!!!!!!!  We booked 10am and 11am appointments for bride, bridesmaids and MOH which probably was the best decision I made!  Carolina was surprised at how early I booked them (5pm wedding) but it gave us PLENTY of time to do make-up (6 girls), eat lunch and take pics with the photographer.  We were going non-stop (not rushed though) until about 20 minutes before the wedding.  We actually waited for the Priest to arrive for about 5 minutes -- everyone else was on time! (shocking, I know!)

 

Gazebo - It was beautiful and perfect -- the only thing is that the pillars in the front make it hard for the parents in the front row to see everything.  The homily was soooo long but the wedding was only 25 minutes or so which I cannot complain!  We signed our marriage certificates and proceeded to the cocktail hour/reception after some pictures on the beach.

 

Food - Cocktail hour (meatballs, crab canape, melon balls, mozzarella canape -- hubby was persistent on the meatballs and I laughed but they were gone by the time we got to the cocktail hour).  We had the buffet #2 with salmon, steak, and chicken -- I had a fatty piece of steak but the salmon was good and OMG the rice was delicious!  I have never tasted rice this amazing!  The guests could not believe how much food variety was available. 

 

Reception - We booked the Himitsu Terrace because we had 61 guests.  It was an odd set-up for the entrance of the parents, bridal party, and bride and groom but it was fine once everyone was seated and in place.  It was breezy which was nice because the dancing portion of the reception was out of control!  The only people who were not dancing were those who were getting refills at the bar.  OHHH -- by the way -- we upgraded to the premium bar service since we love Presidente and the standard bar service is Bohemia Especial.  We also have family members who live for Grey Goose which is only included in the Premium service.

 

DJ - We booked DJ Mannia which was a great decision!  The MC was VERY organized and very interactive in the group.  Most guests came up to us after the post-reception party and said they've never been to a reception like the one we just had -- the DJ was that good!  I did provide him with a wonderful listing of fast songs to get everyone moving.  The only blip was that the contract said 4 hours of reception and the DJ said ... yes that is 6pm - 10pm but the reception started at 7pm.  When I met with the head honcho the day before the wedding he said they will set-up at 5 and if we wanted the DJ would play some background music for the cocktail hour (since cocktail hour and reception are on the same terrace).  Needless to say, we did not pay him and brought him our contract after the wedding reception and have not heard from him since about the issue.  Other than that though (which took 5 minutes) -- DJ Mannia is definitely a great choice.

 

Photographer - We booked Michael Weiler who was nothing short of amazing.  I think we have 800-900 pictures on CD from the wedding day and trash the dress.  I will post them when I get a chance.  The wedding book he made for us is also incredible.  His brother is the videographer and we have not had a chance to watch the entire DVD (about 1 hour long) but some of the shots he was taking seemed to be pretty awesome and different!  The only complaint I have is that he never told us when to smile and not smile so it was hard to tell if we should be serious or not.  We would definitely book him again and his price was definitely worth it! 

 

Other Things - The service by the staff is top-notch!  The restaurants are pretty good.  We liked Himitsu (hibachi) (best fried bananas I've ever had) and Seaside Grill (very good surf & turf kabobs).  We tried Portofino (FKA Bordeaux) but the service was sooooo slow.  The food was good, though.  We tried El Patio the first night and it was so-so.  I did not like Oceana for dinner but it was not too bad for lunch.  World Cafe has a great selection for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  The omelet man is good but make sure they do not burn your eggs! 

 

I think I hit everything -- let me know if anyone has any questions.

 

Oh yes, one more thing -- if anyone in your group is scuba certified, I would recommend the day trip to Catalina Island.  It was $175 for scuba, $95 for snorkeling but everyone who went loved it (12 people).  Organize the trip through Beatrice at the water sports station near the beach.  Another good excursion was the dune buggy ride -- it was muddy but there is a cave dive that everyone enjoyed (I think 8 people did this one). 

 

[beachbum2010]

 

 

Originally Posted by lilboltz10 

 

 

Jenny,

 

We used DJ Mannia and they were incredible!  I would highly recommend them... plus... the DJ resort is only for 3 hours and DJ Mannia is 4 hours (we wanted a longer reception). 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jennnyclo 

 

hi ladies...can someone help??? so im torn in btwn using djmannia or a dj the resort offers my wc isnt available until jan3 so i wont b able to reach her till then

 

 

 

I made my own playlist on my ipod and I rented the sound system, which is better than I thought it would be.  I felt that the music played can make or break a reception, so I didn't want to take any chances and wanted people to dance and have fun - which we did.  My MC knew what playlist to play and when.  Once the playlist for the reception started, we just let it go for about 4 hours.  I found this to be a bit more cost efficient, given that we had spent a little more with other things.

[lyndsay_h]

We used DJ Mannia and they did a great job.  We'd given him a cd with a few songs on it that we wanted to hear but it wouldn't work for him (my laptop has issues so it was probably not his fault) but he tried to find all the songs and got most of them, or at least a version of them.  Everyone was up and dancing all night.  Though an ipod might have worked just as well... my friends probably would have danced to the radio.
 

[jennnyclo]

great thanx alot ladies looks like dj mannia it is!!