Dreams La Romana

[georgie2b]

Hi Latiinblond

 

Samples of vows on thread page 173 I had to trawl through them myself!!! I dont know how helpful this is but I'm loading the ipod with music and then hiring the DJ that way we dont have to worry about speakers (extra weight in baggage). If it does go wrong not that bothered...havent quite turned into bridezilla!!! As for the favours I'm sure if you hve paid for people's holidays they wont be expecting any extras, i know i wouldnt.

We arrive on 20th March so we just miss your special day, you'll have to fill me in when we arrive and offer advice before we meet with Tiara/Yanna.

Hope all goes well and good luck with the planning. x

[dcairns]

 

Originally Posted by Latinblond 

Hi ladies!!  I have been following this thread for about a week or two and just want to say that you are all a bunch of lifesavers.  My fiance and I want to get married pretty quickly (no not pregnant yet ) and thanks to all your posts we decided that Dreams La Romana was the place.  I just received confirmation from Tiara yesterday that we are booked for March 19, 2011!!  So that only leaves me 51 days to plan this wedding which is why I am so thankful for this forum.  We booked the Ultimate package for 20 people and figured that way we wouldn't have to sweat some of the details.  Now I must admit that it has been challenging to try and read 190 pages of postings so I was looking for some guidance/advice on a couple of things:

 

• Music - I'm torn between using the DJ and packing my Bose sound dock.  It seems that many of the brides end up creating their own iPod playlists (which I probably will do too) so I'm not sure I see the value in getting the DJ but at the same time I really don't want to lug speakers with me.  My question is: if I don't get a DJ and I don't bring speakers does that mean I have absolutely no music at the ceremony?  I appreciate any feedback/suggestions on the subject.
• Wedding Script - We are planning on a symbolic ceremony and I'm wondering if there is a standard script they use as a starting point or am I on my own to create one from scratch?  Any samples are greatly appreciated.
• Gifts/Welcome kits - I think this is more of an etiquette question.  Since we planned our wedding on short notice and didn't want any of our closest family/friends to miss it we paid ALL expenses for our core 15 guests.  So do you think we still need to do welcome kits/baskets? While I think its a nice touch I don't have time and would love to save the added expense. Also, do I still need to buy gifts for MOH and best man?

 

I appreciate any feedback or comments and thank you for sharing!!!

 

Yvette

 

 

 Hi Yvette,

 

from my understanding the DJ is just for the actually reception. There is a speaker system and mic set up for the ceremony and you can plan your music by telling Tiara, or bringing it just in case.  I opted for the Dj as well, you can rent the speakers for the same amount of money. I'm personally bringing a whole bunch of music for the reception (but thats just me)  My family has alot of favorites and considering we will be listening to the island music (which I love) all week, it will be a nice break. My cousin is my "MC" of sorts, so he will make sure that the right songs will be done at the right place, but from what I heard from other brides, the weddingc coordinator is right on it as well. Essentially I just want everyone to dance and have fun

 

My email is in my signature, but also a few people posted their scripts. i haven't looked at it in ages and you just reminded me I have to finish off our changes and send it back to Pastor Rick!

 

For gifts, in my case, everyone paid their own way. I'm giving an OOT bag with a few items nothing huge, and my FI decided as bobonieres to go to local village and buy (and haggle) a local souvenir for everyone. We are bringing so many things down already... that I thought that was a cute idea.

 

I'm going a little wedding nuts now with extra touches here and there so i'm sure we are gong to have too much to bring lol... i guess bridezilla is kicking in

 

For my MOH and Best Gal, we are still giving gifts that are personalized to them. I got an artist from Etsy to make the bridal party and parents personalized champagne glasses.  I can't wait to see them and put together a planning thread.

 

I don't think it necessary for you to give a gift to all your guests as you paid, but if you feel like you should, at the wedding give a small thank you. Buy favor boxes that are flat for shipping and maybe buy a bunch of candy or chocolae covered almonds for them and assemble there.

 

=)

[LisaRob]

 

 

Hi Ladies!  We have just returned from our wedding at DLR!!!!!  The week was fantastic and I loved every moment of the wedding...I wouldn't have changed a thing   I absolutely love DLR, it is definitely one of my fav AI's that I have visited so far and we will return.  In fact, all of my guests (we were 46 in total) loved the resort and many of them are planning their next visit back.

 

I will show you a few pics as a preview, but I will write a review in a few days and include more pics...so much to do and it's back to work tomorrow

 

 

 

 

[bride5656]

 

Originally Posted by MrsEtienne2b 

Hey Ladies..

Thank you sooo much for coming back to me with so many fab ideas.

The marriage in the UK prior to departure sounds so much easier, I dont know why I never thought of that!!! Ive priced it up and it would save us over £700!!!!!!

I am seriously considering the beach reception, as we get married at 4.30 and it saves moving people about too much. Plus, (im gonna sound like a stalker here ha ha ) Dolphinluck, your beach reception looked amazing!! But my partner thinks one of the kids might end up on the bonfire, ha ha. We have a 3 year old and an 8 year old who suffers from ADHD and unfortunately, has no sense of danger!!

Is the fire maintained by staff? Also, do they waiter/service the drinks and food to the beach for you?

DCAIRNS, I cant believe you are almost there. I feel like you have been a shoulder for so many brides on here and now its almost your turn woo hoo..

Does anyone have any idea which photographer is included in the packages?xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Hello ladies,

Haven't been here for few days and hope your planning is going just great!

 

LisaRob - OMG you look soooo beautiful and pictures are amazing, looks like you all had loads of fun!!! Can't wait to read your full review  ...and I feel for you that after such an amazing week you have to go back to work so soon

 

 MrsEtienne2b  - --
After looking at how much we will be able to save if we were to get married in UK prior departure to DR, it was no brainner really lol we better put this extra almost £1000 towards our second honeymoon or some awesome trips in DR!!! Also we might get all cheesy and as we are leaving for DR 29th February, get married in register office in UK on 14th of February lol...

 

Also, we are planning to have our reception on the beach and have that awesome bonfire too and Yanna told me that there will be waiters there for us and also they will set up a little bar as well for drinks (like the one you have when you do cocktail hour before reception Hope it helps...oh and fire is maintained by staff, - they don't allow it to be for more than an hour as I understand 

About photographer I remember someone mentioned the name of the one that is included in the package...but unfortunately it was some time ago and I can't find it.. We decided to go with HDC photographers, pictures I looked at look very beautiful and they don't mind traveling to La Romana for no extra cost. Also, they are quite flexible with their packages, so you can negotiate your own unique package to make it suite you and your budget here is their website, quite few ladies on here used them too http://www.hdcphoto.com/ 

- btw MrsEtienne2b, where abouts in UK are you from (sorry i am just nosy lol )

 

Btw, if any of you ladies planning to have your big day this February - March or in 2012, watch out for whale watching trip in La Romana...apparently 1000nds of whales are coming around there every year during that period and they can get you really close to them ...I know maybe its not everyone's cup of tea, but my fiance loved the idea and I thought I will share it with you gals

 

Best of luck  xoxo

[MissTaken]

Hello ladies,

 

* The photographers included in the package are from Tropical Pictures and the Videographers from Filmaciones Futur@.

 

* We are having a 2 hour bonfire on the beach after dinner, so it is an option to have the bonfire for longer you just have to pay for the 2 hours. We are going to bring down an IPOD player so we will have the dancing and fun games on the beach

 

* dcairns I know what you mean I think bridezilla is kicking in over here too, we both get married on two months and I'm starting to stress a little lol ....

 

* LisaRob you guys looked amazing, looking forward to the review!

 

I pick up my wedding dress on Friday YAY! and were having our legal ceremony on February 14th Valentine's Day ))))

 

 

[bride5656]

 

MissTaken - you are getting married on 14th of February yay, its sooo romantic ) and it is only 2 weeks away from now!!! You must be so excited congratulations to you and your husband to be in advance!!!

Btw if you don't mind me asking, did you plan anything special for that day after legal ceremony?! ...we are kind of at lost at what could we do special lol we will have our two friends as witnesses, cos they cant make it to DR for our "real wedding", they just had a baby

The reason I am asking is because we are not sure should we play it low when we have our legal ceremony and don't do anything special after (cos the real wedding will be in DR) or should we still do something? Would appreciate anyone's advise on that )

 

xoxo

[MissTaken]

Thank you amurka! We are also only having 2 of our friends as witnesses that cannot come to DR,

we want to make it low key but we did decide to go out for dinner and have a few drinks as it is also V-day and my sister's birthday all in the same day lol

 

XOXO

[bride5656]

MissTaken i am sure you will have loads of fun on your very special day!!! very excited for you and it is sooo close!!!

Btw, did you decide to tell anyone from your family that you are doing legal ceremony before you are leaving for DR?!!!... we are not really sure about it to be honest.. maybe it will be our little secret lol

 

[dcairns]

I'm keeping it a secret, making it very "official" and not a big deal.

[LisaRob]

Alright Ladies, I am going to try and tell you everything I can about the hotel and wedding.  I hope I haven't missed anything, but please do ask if you have any questions....I hope I can be of some help!

 

Check-in at Toronto Airport:

We flew from Toronto with Sunwing.  Most of my group arrived at the same time at the airport and check-in was not so fun.  I think Sunwing had their "newbies" working the check-in counter that day as we had sooo many problems, and it seemed like they had to go ask questions/concerns to senior staff.  First of all, they started weighing the carry-on luggage and including that in everyone's weight allowance.  My brother-in-law went to check in with his family, the woman at the desk began to help him but when she realized that he was part of a group, she mumbled something, got out of her chair and walked away.  He waited and waited for her...she never returned to finish checking him in!  I had my travel agent, Jennifer from Flight Centre, on the phone on standby as she was prepared to talk to the check-in agents, send emails or faxes if need be.

 

The flight itself was great.  The flight attendants were quite attentive.  They don't have closets on board but laid my dress and hubby's suit flat in 2 overhead compartments.  Nothing else was allowed in those 2 compartments   Everyone on the flight was served a glass of champagne and the food was actually decent for airline food! lol  They gave all the children an activity package.

 

Arrival at La Romana/DLR:

The transfer from La Romana airport was quick and easy, about 20-25 min drive.  We were greeted at the hotel with a glass of champagne.  The hotel is absolutely gorgeous!  As I mentioned before, it quickly became one of my fav AI's.  Most of my guests had no problem checking in.  For those of us who did have incorrect rooms assigned to us, the hotel staff did work diligently to fix the errors.  If they weren't fixed that same night, then they were the next morning.

The grounds are beautiful and well-maintained.  You always see the grounds maintenance workers fixing something or cleaning.

 

Our room was in the preferred section.  The rooms are all pretty much the same, the only difference being in the preferred is that you get to use a yellow beach towel (vs the standard blue), you can use the preferred swimming pool, you get free access to the internet and you can snack and drink in the preferred club area.

 

I have no complaints about the food.  We ate in the buffet and most of the a la cartes restaurants.  The food at the buffet is quite good with a lot of variety.  If you can't find something to eat there, then you have a problem!!!  I think the Japanese and the Italian restaurants were the favs of my guests.

 

There was always something to do at the resort.  Every night they deliver to each room an agenda for the following day...what was happening at what time, activities for the kids and adults, the drink of the day, which restaurants were going to be open, etc. 

 

We met with Yanna....she went over all the details with us, and we gave her all of the things we had brought with us.  The ceremony was scheduled for 4pm in the gazebo, cocktail hour to follow with the live trio playing music, and dinner at 6pm.  We had purchased the "Ultimate" Package.  My only note: beware, as you have to pay for open bar service at the reception.  And for those who want to have waiters and open bar at your bonfire, you will be charged for that also, it is not free!  We had originally chosen the SSG as our dinner location, but after reading some of the reviews here, we opted for Oceana restaurant.  Oceana is definitely tucked away and more private than the SSG, and with the number of guests we had, we would have had the whole Oceana restaurant to ourselves, which is what we wanted.  But, after meeting with Yanna, she seemed to want us to change it back to the SSG and if we did, she promised to make it private.  So we did, and it was still fantastic!

I had my hair trial the day before the wedding.  The easiest thing to do is bring a pic of something you have in mind.  The women in the salon speak limited English so if you have something visual to show them, it is the best thing.  I was doing my own make-up so I can't comment on that service.

 

The day of the wedding:

It was wonderful to wake up and not feel tremendous pressure or feel rushed!  I did go by the pool for a little bit.  I went to the salon to make sure everyone was getting their hair done and that it was all turning out.  Before I knew it, it was my turn!!!  Maria did my hair, and she did a great job   I finally started to feel like a bride when she put the veil on me....I began to cry!

 

We hired HDC to do our photography...Arnaud and his team are fantastic and easy to work with.  Everything that you have heard about them is true and I highly recommend them if you are thinking about hiring them.  Miljan, was prompt and ready to start photographing! 

Once again, before I realized the time, Yanna was at my door telling me it was time to go outside and get married!

We also hired the DJ.  Hubby and I debated over and over again what to do with the music.  Whether to bring speakers down with us and play our music off our ipod.  We decided to hire the DJ because we didn't want to bother with the speakers and to have to fuss the whole night with the music.  We gave instructions to the DJ for the ceremony music but we pretty much let him have free range for the reception/dancing music.  When he played something we didn't like, we let him know and he changed it.  His English is also limited, but Yanna was always close by to translate.

 

The wedding was beautiful, it was everything I imagined it to be and more!!!  We had a symbolic ceremony as we had a civil ceremony at home a few weeks before leaving for the DR.  (And we also kept the civil ceremony under wraps as we really didn't want everyone knowing about it.)  To make the symbolic ceremony "look real", Yanna prepared a document for us to sign with the Maid of Honour and the Best Man.  Elke, the spa manager, officiated the wedding. 

 

The flowers were absolutely gorgeous!!! I asked for a white roses for my bouquet, and fushcia pink roses for my MOH and BM.  Since we brought down with us our own vases for the dinner tables, Yanna only wanted to know the colour and type of flowers I wanted to be put in them.  All I said was I wanted fushcia pink, orange and yellow flowers, something tropical looking.  She gave me those colours in all roses!  They were spectacular and everyone commented on them.

 

Yanna was a pleasure to work with...I know in the months leading up to the wedding, at times I was frustrated with the lack of info I was receiving and the time it took for an email to be answered, but somehow, everything was pulled off.  She really does read her emails, but she is also a very busy woman as I can't tell you how many weddings happened during the week I was there!  It seems like she writes her emails in order of urgency, ie. if your wedding is happening soon, she will answer within a few days.

 

It was truly one of the happiest times in my life and I wouldn't have changed a thing!  There were a few more surprises given to us, but I don't want to ruin it for you...you will love all the extra little bonuses!!!  

 

One more note: even though we hired HDC, we were still given the 50 free photos from the resort photographer (Tropical Pictures) as it was part of the Ultimate Package.  However, when you have to go choose your 50 pics, they will try and sell you their own package, and they are quite pricey!  And they don't seem to take "no thank you" very well...beware! 

 

Bonfire:

We had a bonfire on the beach the night after the wedding.  (The wedding was on day 5, bonfire was day 6, our last night there.)  It was nice to relax on the beach but everyone was pretty tired...not sure if they truly enjoyed or appreciated the bonfire.  We also served the remainder of the wedding cake as we had soooo much leftover.  We still didn't finish it all at the bonfire so when the staff came to clean up the bonfire, we told them to take it back with them and share with their colleagues.

 

 

Again, if you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them.  You will not be disappointed with the resort or your wedding.  Just remember to enjoy every single moment!!!

 

 

Lisa