Excellence Punta Cana Brides Thread

[staceysbride]

ooops! double post

[Dolcenotte12]

I haven't been on lately so I'm reading the latest posts now. I am responding as I go.

 

I would definitely recommend bringing your own chair sashes so you know they match with your theme. They take up very little space and weight in a suitcase. They do have white and blue linens at the resort.

 

Trose, I had the beach bbq menu and everyone thought that and the cocktail hour was the best food from the entire trip! I felt like it gave the wedding a real dominican flair!

 

Boston, we had our reception on the beach and no one got any bites and I didn't see one bug, weird right?. (I am the queen of being eaten alive and I didn't even put bug spray on, I completely forgot). I think it depends on if it rained previously and how breezy it is. So like anything else with a destination wedding, there's always the chance....

 

Our wedding reception was on a cool and breezy night in July with zero rain the entire day. A couple of nights later we went to the dominican party on the beach and it was windy (not breezy) and my hair kept blowing in my face and the chairs and linens were blowing around.The cups were blowing off the table. This could be a possibility as well. To be honest, I knew I wanted a beach reception, so I didn't even worry about these things, what will be will be.

 

We had our cocktail hour by the Lobster House veranda overlooking the ocean. People said they enjoyed the food and the location. I know some brides like to do the cocktail hour outside of Agave restaurant in the patio area. It is nice here because it has an antique feel to it.

 

Monica, there is no deposit required for your wedding. You pay at the resort. You should be entitled to a free welcome dinner for your guests. You also get a discount on your wedding package depending on how many people book the resort. Ask about that. Ana is amazing and she made my wedding truly beautiful! Email response time fluctuates. Sometimes she does not get emails (assuming poor connection), so send it again if you don't hear a response within a week. Ana is the manager of of groups and sales in addition to managing weddings so she is very busy.

 

My wedding was at 4:30 and it was perfect! I think 3:30 will be great too because the beach usually has a nice breeze in the afternoon, it is never too crowded in that area as the beach is so wide, and the water will look extra blue for your pictures with the sun shining down on it!!

 

Debbie, I am surprised you were so hot!! I was amazed how cool I felt the whole night! Maybe we just had a cool day. I do know the cascade pool area gets warm and humid because it is not as near to the beach as the other pool and doesn't get the breeze. It is closed off because of the rooms surrounding it.

 

 

Trose, I had a cigar roller and the fruit lady for our receoption on the beach. The guys really loved the cigars. We also had Domingo the saxophonist play during dinner and the Dominican band for one hr which was so much fun..We got to play with their instruments, do the conga, limbo, and everyone just acted crazy during that time! LOL We had no DJ, we just played cds we burned our song selections onto. Ana took care of playing the music. We partied really hard (literally) until about midnight.

 

You can get married at the gazebo, under the Oregano restaurant (part outdoors, its pretty there), in the natural park with the flamingos, birds, turtles, ducks, or at the cascade pool if you do not want to be in the sand. I think the natural park is a beautiful alternative location to be married in.I loved going to the natural park everyday. It will be hot there, be forewarned!!

 

There is NO pier at Excellence Punta Cana. Stacey, I think you are thinking of Mexico!!

 

If anyone has any questions, I would love to help! My wedding was a a dream come true, in every way!!! I look at my album so often and it makes me want to cry everytime!!!

 

Michelle

[staceysbride]

Yeah, I thought the pier was Mexico, but I wasn't quite sure. lol

 

I'm hoping for a gentle breeze on my day. There's no way I'm getting airflow under my gown. It'll be worth it either way. I already told my maids and girl guests to make sure to keep bringing me water as I know I'll forget and in that heat with that gown, I don't want to end up passing out. Add to the fact that it will be corsetted, and you get the idea. hehehehe

 

When you get down there, will there be time to change the location of the reception and cocktail hour? Like, we arrive on Monday, so our meeting with Ana will most likely be Tuesday, our wedding is Thursday. If we decide we like the lobster house or Agave better, will that still be enough time to change the location?

 

Also, I can't remember if you mentioned this Michelle, but did you go to the spa at all?

 

Nikki (ps the DH is Stacey lol)

[Dolcenotte12]

Nikki (oops =) ), I made sure to drink a decent amount of water before the wedding so I would not dehydrate later on. Now that I think of it, I did not drink water for several hours until the reception!!LOL I guess you just don't think about it because you are so excited and busy, same thing with having to use the bathroom!!

 

I also wore a corset which I thought be the end of me, but it was just fine, it was hard for me to get in and out of the horse and carriage because my dress was VERY fitted and the corset didn't help with movement, that's for sure! I felt very warm and sweaty in the spa (more on that in a minute) right before the horse and carriage picked us up and so did my mom. I think it was humid in there and nerves got to us also. Once we got in the horse and carriage the breeze was so calming and cooling. And the beach's breeze was just fantastic!! Not too much, just right and had a nice cooling effect.

 

I'm sure you can change the location of the cocktail hour. I think I changed my mind the day before. I was going to do the patio in front of Agave, but then Ana told me the restaurant will be open so there will be alot of people shuffling through and if we wanted more time for pictures (which we did end up using extra time for that), it would be hard to extend the cocktail hour if the restaurant was open.

 

So we changed it to the Lobster House veranda, which has its own private patio overlooking the beach and is separate from the restaurant. People said it remained breezy and cool there, which was good. That particular area has such a nice view of the ocean/beach too.

 

The service at the spa was incredible! They did my toenails and my bridal party's the day before the wedding. I decided as a special treat to all our guests, whoever wanted to get their nails done, it would be my treat. Some guests took me up on the offer and of course the bridesmaids were treated. The day of the wedding, I had my fingernails done, my hair (which took the longest), all my bridesmaids' hair and my mother in law's hair. I did my own makeup. Ana came to the spa to explain how I wanted my hair and they made it better than I imagine it could be.The girls that worked there were friendly. Everyone complimented my hair throughout the evening and when looking at pictures.

 

When it came to do my makeup, I am very particular about the lighting I need (especially because all pictures would be taken outside). so they carried chairs up the winding staircase for me to sit on and prop my mirror on in the hallway next to the huge window that spans across the entire spa. It was a project, but they were more than happy to make sure I had everything as I needed it.

 

We got dressed in a private room on the second floor and Ana came to make sure my dress was on correctly and that we had the flowers and she took my bridesmaids to the wedding location. I didn't really get any pre wedding pictures with the bridal party aside from a couple "getting ready pictures" and some nice portraits with my mom. But we made up for that later when we took some hilarious bridal party pictures!!

 

Severine from Photo Souvenir took a few pictures of us getting ready in the spa(I didn't want her to take many of those), me alone, and some with my mom and of us in the carriage before the ceremony. The spa made for some pretty pictures.

[TRose]

Dolcenotte12 you are sooo helpful! I was debatting between a couple of resorts but I think I have decided on EPC. I am dealing with Ana right now and she seems very helpful and willing to make every detail perfect. I will def. bring my own chair sashes (thanks for the advice)...I never saw the fruitlady on our options but it sounds pretty cool. What does she do?? We are doing the Mariachi band at our cocktail hour...but we are looking for some entertainment for our reception. I'm so glad I found this forum .. it is making me feel sooo much better about everything!

[TRose]

I forgot ... You said it was hot at the park...do you think if I asked for umbrellas or something to block the sun they would have some? Most of my family is from Northern Canada so they would struggle in the hot sun! haha I think I will provide some fans or something as well...does anyone have any other suggestions on keeping our guests cool? Thanks Ladies!

[Dolcenotte12]

Trose, You will love Ana! Even if she does not end up being your wedding coordinator when you get there, just knowing she is the manager and runs everything at Excellence makes it so amazing! I've heard alot of wedding planner disasters for destination weddings and it just doesn't seem to happen at Excellence (crossing my fingers lol)

 

We saw the fruit lady at the dominican party on the beach a couple of years ago and liked the idea. She cuts up fresh fruit of your choice right in front of you. She comes around carrying fruit on sticks. My only complaint was that she was put in a place where most people didn't even notice her stand so when she wasn't walking around giving out fruit nobody knew where her fruit stand was. It was 50 bucks which was cheap ( I think she was there for 4 hrs??) She even ended up dancing with my brother at the end of the night!! LOL

 

The natural park/gardens is sooo beautiful. It is a very green lush area with ponds, mini bridges over the water, canopies, and a mix of wildlife. I think it would be a very expensive selection for a wedding in the states. The one caveat is that it is soooo hot there, more than anywhere else (especially in the middle of the day) Also, I believe the walkways are lined with gravel so that is something to consider also (yikes, no high heels) so I would tell Ana you might be interested in an non-beach wedding and ask her about the gardens near the shops and see what she says. At the least, it is a beautiful spot to take pictures afterwards. I am sorry we did not get to do that.

 

Any other questions, let me know!

[TRose]

Hey, I was wondering if they rent out empty vases. I am already going to buy an additional 5 centerpieces with flowers for 80 dollars a piece. But I want to reuse my bridesmaids bouquets for the head table because I have 6 bridesmaids and their bouquets are 40 dollars each! Do they let you rent our empty vases? Or maybe if I want floating candles or something on the tables, should I bring my own vases? I'm already bringing so much so I'm trying to figure out things I can get there without getting ripped off...

 

Thanks!

[Dolcenotte12]

Trose,

 

I'm sure that can be done. Ask Ana and if they charge or not. I do not think you need to bring your own vases unless you have a particular vase in mind. We had 3 cylinder vases at each table with fuschia orchids immersed in water and candles floating on top. There was a nice mirror under each centerpiece. It was so beautiful.

 

How many guests will you have? Have you picked flowers or have a certain kind in mind? I'd love to share some pictures with you, but I may need some time because I screwed up my snapfish account. I'll try to fix it and send a link later.

[Diva]

Hey Boston, a little more than a year away for me!!! I LOVED your decor! Was that provided by Excellence? How much did you provide? Also, did the resort staff take any photos for you, if so do you have samples of those? I do not have a private photographer, but I want great pics too!!!