Dreams La Romana

[Pink_Petals]

 

 

 

 

Hi Ladies,

 

I finally found some time to write up my review

 

Quick Info -There were 40 of us in total. We had our wedding at the Gazebo;  Cocktail hour on the Pier and the reception at the Sea Side Grill Deck. We stayed for 2 weeks and flew with Sunwing. Little tip about Sunwing- the plane does not have a closet so I had to put my dress in the overhead compartment. No worries though; the resort steams the dress as well as the suit for free and they do a really good job!

 

 

Dreams La Romana:  A

 

Ill quickly provide you with a brief summary of the resort...Trip Advisor has enough reviews about DLR Both hubby and myself have been to several AI resort in the past, and I gotta say that you can def. feel the difference between a  4 star resort and a 5 star resort. Dreams La Romana was an amazing resort and all of our guests were extremely happy with it. The lobby was beautiful; the food was amazing; the rooms were beautiful and clean; the grounds were gorgeous; the service was top notch, etc. The only thing I could say was not that ‘amazing’ would be the beach....The water isn’t the cleanest and bluest Ive ever seen and the sand was not the greatest but it was still beautiful and we spent every single day for 2 weeks at the beach.

 

 

WC:  A

 

All of my wedding planning/communication up until 2 weeks before the wedding had been with Tiara; however, Tiara was away on vacation on my wedding day so I was assigned to Yana. I met with Yana in the lobby on Wednesday morning (we arrived very late on Tuesday)...the meeting was quick; She had all of my info printed and we just reviewed the things I wanted for the wedding. I brought a lot of decorations down with me, and I dropped them off on Thursday in her office. I explained how I wanted everything to be set up and she did an amazing job at doing exactly what I had asked of her. What I loved about Yanna was the fact that I could reach her so easily....anytime I needed to get in touch with her, she was always available and ready to help out! She was also able to give us a big discount for our upgrade to a suite; usually it costs $100 extra per night and she was able to talk to reception to give us the suite for $300 for 5 nights; we did a lot of negotiating until we brought the price down and it worked out great!

Just to quickly mention to those who were wondering if my vases made it...Unfortunately...only one out of the 5 made it so I could not use my original centerpieces...the ones the resort gave me weren’t that great and pretty pricey*sigh*....so for those who are thinking of taking their centerpieces in their luggage, I most def. would not recommend it!!! Ship them ahead of time....I wish I would have done that...they were absolutely gorgeous *tear*

 

 

 

Spa: B

 

None of us went to the spa except my mom; she got her hair done and it looked very nice; she was pretty happy with it but it didnt last the whole day! I got my hair done by one of my bridesmaids and I was extremely happy with it. I read a lot of bad reviews about them using too much hair product at the spa so I freaked out and I couldn’t take that chance...The rest of my bridesmaids also did their own hair and they looked beautiful! 

In regards to my nails, I got them done at a salon beside my house on Sunday and they stayed just as beautiful until my wedding day on Friday even though I was in the water constantly. For those of you wondering, I paid a little extra and got the gel nails. They last about 1.5 weeks beforfe they start growing out and eventually they start turning yellow and EWWWWWWWWWWWW I couldn’t wait to get them off....I didn’t have time to go to a salon to get them removed so I cut them off myself and then peeled them off.....that was painful and they ruined my real nails but I wanted them off ASAP! For a wedding they are well worth it, but never will I get them done again!!

 

 

Elke: A

 

I originally wanted Pastor Rick to perform my ceremony, but he was away on vacation on my wedding day. Tiara then agreed to perform my ceremony for me for free, however as I mentioned earlier, Tiara ended up having to go away on vacation on my wedding day as well. She recommended me Elke, who is the spa manager at DLR. She is actually from Austria, but moved to Dominican Republic and her English is great!!! The day before the wedding, I met with her at the spa because she wanted to make sure that she was correctly pronouncing some words in my script. Yanna mentioned that it would be great if I would tip Elke (did not matter how much) and my dad did on the wedding day after the ceremony was over. My dad also tipped Yanna and the servers who served us Champagne after the ceremony as well as the Trio Band who played at our cocktail hour. He also tipped the servers at my reception A LOT but I will talk about this once I tell you about my wedding reception.  Anyway, Elke did an amazing job and I would totally recommend other brides to use her.

 

 

HDC: A

 

I booked HDC for both my photography and videography and I had them cover the wedding day from 3:00 p.m. until about 8:30 p.m.  They were absolutely amazing to work with and my pictures came out beeaauuutiiiffulll!!!  A few days later, Arnaud sent someone with a DVD of my pictures and I  paid the amount I owed; That day, Arnaud e-mailed me,  telling me how many pictures I had to choose...I did this within a few days and I e-mailed them back to him. In a couple of days, the same person met with me in the lobby where he gave me my printed pictures as well as my video. I would highly recommend hiring HDC!

 

 

 

Music/DJ:  A

 

We actually did not hire a DJ. We rented a huge speaker from back home which we carried in a luggage as it weighed 20 Kg. We connected this to our Logitech iPod dock and played our music off my iPhone. Before getting to the resort, I signed up with grooveshark.com where I got all my music and then made different folders on my phone with music. i.e. One folder named “Music for guests waitingâ€, “Music for Bridesmaids walking down the isleâ€, “Music for Bride walking down the Isleâ€, etc I had one of my friends who is a DJ, just press play for each stage of the ceremony. For the reception, my DJ friend had brought some of his equipment from back home with him which he hooked up to our big speaker and iphone and he took care of introducing us; announcing and playing our first dance as well as the father and daughter dance. During dinner, we just had dinner music playing in the background which I downloaded off grooveshark as well (a lot of lounge/chillout Brazilian/French/Spanish music). The music for the rest of the night was again played off my iphone from my “Party Music†folder, and people went up to the phone and chose the different songs they liked. It didn’t sound bad as we had purchased something called “a mixer†which makes the songs flow nicely from one to another.

 

 

Flowers:

 

I got my flowers from Angel Accents -my bouquet as well as the 6 peonies which were placed on my cake. She did an amazing job!!!! My flowers looked gorgeous. Only thing I did not like was my hubby’s boutonniere; it was HUGE! I will post a picture of it when I have time! But this didn’t upset me at all; I just simply told Yanna I needed a pink orchid flower for him and she got him one If you want to book Angel Accents, you have to do it ahead of it as she only does about 5-6 orders per month and she gets booked up very fast! My flowers were ready in June 2010 and I had booked her in November of 2009.

 

 

My Bouquet from Angel's Accents

 

 

My Beautiful bouquet from Angels Accents

 

 

 

Ceremony: A

 

Just to quickly mention, a couple of months before my wedding, I told Arnaud (my photographer) that I want pictures of me getting ready in one room AS WELL as my hubby in another room and he said that this would not be a problem. The day before, I told Yanna that I wanted a suite for a couple of hours on my wedding day and she was able to do that for me for free. My hubby got ready in our room in building 7, while I got ready in building 8 in one of the suites.Thank you past brides who gave me this wonderful idea

 

So my ceremony was supposed to be at 4:00 p.m., but we ran about 20-30 minutes behind as HDC was a little late (no biggie) and they also had to take pictures of the ladies getting ready; then had to run off to take pictures of the guys getting ready and then back again to our room for more pictures. On my wedding day, there were clouds in the sky but it was super sunny This was a huge relief as the weather was one of the most stressful things for me. In fact, the previous day, it had poured all day long so I was extremely stressed and sad but it all worked out in the end.

Since I had gotten ready in building 8, it did not take me long to walk to the gazebo as buildings, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are very close to it. When I got to the ceremony site, Yanna instructed for my bridesmaids to start walking as soon as their song came on while I was hiding behind a few big tropical plants with my dad before it was my turn to walk down the isle. As soon as “Ave Maria†came on, I started getting all teary eyed and my dad and I started to walk slowly towards the gazebo.  For those who are concerned about the gravel, don’t be; I found it very easy to walk on it.

As I was walking down the isle, I noticed how beautifully Yanna had set up my gazebo with my pink lanterns; she had also set up my sand ceremony nicely. The ceremony took about 15-20 minutes in total. A little problem I encountered was with my sand ceremony; I wanted to have my sand poured into a picture frame (like the Umbra Ether one) but I searched everywhere for one, and at the time they were completely sold out! So I decided to buy my own picture frame and to make a hole at the top where the sand would be poured. As we started pouring the sand, it was going sooooo slow so after a few minutes we decided to stop pouring so we could continue the rest of the ceremony. So I never got to finish pouring all of the sand...but we’re going to do it again here at home LOL ahhh well.....its not a bigge at all!

After we were pronounced husband and wife, we toasted champagne with all of our guests and then we took some pictures. Everything went well except for the fact that my best friend (maid of honor) ended up fainting as it was hot and she had not eaten all day. Her sister (bridesmaid) and her boyfriend took her to the medical center and she was able to attend the reception. My biggest regret is that she did not get a chance to be in many pictures but Im just glad she got better later on in the evening. Which reminds me; its worth mentioning that the medical center at DLR is amazing! Ive been to other AI resorts and the medical centers were filthy; however, the one at DLR is clean and their staff is very knowledgeable.

 

 

 

 

Getting Ready 

 

 

Makeup time

 

 

Putting on my Jewelry 

 

 

Hubby getting ready in building 7

 

 

Pictures in building 8 before the ceremony

 

Me and Daddy before the ceremony

 

 

 

My beautiful bridesmaids and I

 

 

Walking towards the ceremony...I was very very nervous

 

 

 

The guys before the Ceremony

 

 

 

 

Hubby waiting for me in the Gazebo

 

 

My Bridesmaids walking towards the Gazebo

 

 

 

My beautifully decorated Gazebo

 

 

 

My daddy walking me down the isle

 

 

Daddy all emotional

 

 

 

Exchanging vows

 

 

 

So much pink

 

 

 

 

Sand Ceremony

 

 

 

 

Officially Hubby and Wifey

 

 

 

Champagne after the ceremony

 

 

 

 

The guys in the Gazebo

 

 

The guys

 

 

 

The guys and I

 

 

 

 

Cocktail Hour: A ---> from what I heard from the guest

 

After we took pictures as a group, my guests when on the Pier for cocktail hour, while I went off with my hubby to do our wedding photo shoot. Since I was busy taking pictures, I was not able to attend the cocktail hour. However, from what I heard, they had really delicious food (Sushi, veggie rolls, etc) and the drinks were also good. I also hired a Band to play live music which the guests enjoyed. I have some pictures from the cocktail hour off people’s camera..I will try to find them and I will post them here! Im sorry I don’t have more info on the cocktail hour; I wish I could have attended at least 5 minutes of it but the photo shoot took longer than I thought!

 

 

 

Non-pro picture from the cocktail hour: My parents 

 

 

Non-pro pic from the cocktail hour: Daddy and the Trio Band

 

 

Photoshoot of hubby and I while our guests were at the cocktail hour:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MissTaken]

WOW Bee awesome review and pix ... glad that everything turned out great, especially the weather! You looked stunning!!!!

 

I have a couple of questions if you don't mind

 

* Did you rent out the whole SSG or were you semi-private just on the deck? How was the weather at night and the mosquito's?

 

* Did you have to pay extra for them to decorate the gazebo? I just heard from Tiara that they charge for that now just don't know how much?

 

I'm sure I will have some more just can't think of them right now ... thanks alot

 

p.s thanks for adding me on FB <3

[hermosahoops]

Thanks for the review Bee! I've been checking this website almost daily hoping you'd put it up.   I'm glad to see that everything worked out well for you and that you had a great time!

 

I wanted to know as well, how were the mosquitoes at the resort? Were they as bad as you feared?

 

Were all the poses of you two during the cocktail hour guided by Arnaud, or did you come up with those on your own? They look nice but I'm not sure if it is quite my style. I'm not so high fashion.

 

Beautiful dress, btw. It fit you perfectly.

 

 

Congratulations.

[uninspired1979]

Bee- Thanks so much for the review. I have been looking forward to hearing good things. With only 7.5 weeks till my wedding you have put me at ease. I have been working with Yana for awhile and am very happy to hear that you had such a good experience with her.

 

Only 1 question for you; Were your vases in your checked suite case or did you carry on? I am bringing vases with us to use for table numbers, but that is my only fragile item, so I plan on making sure that I carry them on. Just wondering what you did with yours as it is way too late in the game to ship them down there.

[dcairns]

Bee,

 

You are just awesome and so damn beautiful! Seriously, it looked like a bridal magazine! Thank you for sharing, i was so excited when i got the email with your review. I kicked my FI off the computer and made him sit there and read it with me lol...  Being a photo snob, he thought your photos were beautiful.

 

My question is as others.  Did you get charged to decorate the gazebo and if so how much?

 

I cringed at your story about your centerpieces, can I ask how much they charged for theirs? And all of them were broken in your luggage?? Yikes! I'm definately going to have to rethink this....

 

But everything looked wonderful and I'm so happy for you!

 

[dcairns]

OH yes, and for your cake, was that the cake for 10 people or did you order the extra pound(s)? I know other brides in the past have said that the cake was more than enough...

 

thank you!

[dcairns]

OH AGAIN! How was it transporting your bouquets? How was the bus ride to the resort?  LOL sorry... just they keep popping into my head.

[Pink_Petals]

 

 

Originally Posted by MissTaken 

 

WOW Bee awesome review and pix ... glad that everything turned out great, especially the weather! You looked stunning!!!!

 

I have a couple of questions if you don't mind

 

* Did you rent out the whole SSG or were you semi-private just on the deck? How was the weather at night and the mosquito's?

 

* Did you have to pay extra for them to decorate the gazebo? I just heard from Tiara that they charge for that now just don't know how much?

 

I'm sure I will have some more just can't think of them right now ... thanks alot

 

p.s thanks for adding me on FB <3

 

I rented out the whole SSG deck and got the Silver menu...the food was amazing! The weather at night is really nice and no mosquitos at all...not one single mosquito.! Not even at the jungle restaurant where supposedly there are a lot!!!

 

No I did not get charged for the decorated gazebo! However, I booked my wedding all the way in March/April so maybe they changed some things since then!

 

 

Originally Posted by hermosahoops 

 

Thanks for the review Bee! I've been checking this website almost daily hoping you'd put it up.   I'm glad to see that everything worked out well for you and that you had a great time!

 

I wanted to know as well, how were the mosquitoes at the resort? Were they as bad as you feared?

 

Were all the poses of you two during the cocktail hour guided by Arnaud, or did you come up with those on your own? They look nice but I'm not sure if it is quite my style. I'm not so high fashion.

 

Beautiful dress, btw. It fit you perfectly.

 

 

Congratulations.

 

Like I mentioned above; I didnt see one single mosquito! 

And yes, the poses were guided by Arnaud...just tell him how you would want them to be.....he is an amazing person/photographer!

 

 

Originally Posted by uninspired1979 

 

Bee- Thanks so much for the review. I have been looking forward to hearing good things. With only 7.5 weeks till my wedding you have put me at ease. I have been working with Yana for awhile and am very happy to hear that you had such a good experience with her.

 

Only 1 question for you; Were your vases in your checked suite case or did you carry on? I am bringing vases with us to use for table numbers, but that is my only fragile item, so I plan on making sure that I carry them on. Just wondering what you did with yours as it is way too late in the game to ship them down there.

 

Yes, my vases were in my checked suite case and I wrapped them up really well and also put them into one of those old style hard plastic suit cases but still, 4 out of 5 broke! My vases were VERY big....they were tall apothecary jars. I posted a pic of them a long time ago on this forum if you wanted to see what they looked like. How big are your vases? If they are small, they should be ok in your checked luggage. My sand ceremony vases and all 3 picture frames (you can see them in the pics) were put in my checked luggage and nothing happened to them. I went to the dollar store and bought bubble wrap and wrapped them really well

 

 

 

Originally Posted by dcairns 

 

Bee,

 

You are just awesome and so damn beautiful! Seriously, it looked like a bridal magazine! Thank you for sharing, i was so excited when i got the email with your review. I kicked my FI off the computer and made him sit there and read it with me lol...  Being a photo snob, he thought your photos were beautiful.

 

My question is as others.  Did you get charged to decorate the gazebo and if so how much?

 

I cringed at your story about your centerpieces, can I ask how much they charged for theirs? And all of them were broken in your luggage?? Yikes! I'm definately going to have to rethink this....

 

But everything looked wonderful and I'm so happy for you!

 

 

I was not charged for having the Gazebo decorated; check with Yanna if this has changed.

I was charged $300 for 5 centerpieces which were pretty *blah*...this did not include real flowers...I just used my fake flowers which I had bought for my own centerpieces. 4 out of 5 vases broke

[Pink_Petals]

 

 

Originally Posted by dcairns 

 

OH AGAIN! How was it transporting your bouquets? How was the bus ride to the resort?  LOL sorry... just they keep popping into my head.

 

 

Transporting the bouquet was very easy; my mom put it in a wide gym bag which was her carry-on and nothing happened to it.

 

The bus ride to the resort is long as you know but time flew by as we were all *drunkie drunkie* at this point lol. Our flight was in the evening so we drank at the airport; on the plane and on the bust towards the resort (the guide stops at a liquor store if you want him to and gets you beers for cheap

[Mrs. Williams]

Bee your review was AMAZING and you were such a beautiful bride.  Thank you for your review and putting my mind at ease - at least for the time being. LOL!  i just wanted to know, like Dana, whether that was the cake for 10 people or did you get extra pounds?  If you got extra pounds, how much extra did you get? I'm expecting about 100 people and I don't know how much to order.