Dreams La Romana

[uninspired1979]

Hi Dressa,

 

Welcome to the forum. To answer the question that you posted about just serving hors devours, I have to agree with your parents, sorry.

 

People always expect to be served a meal when they go to a wedding, sit down, buffet, or any other way. To us the point of a wedding meant for everyone to be together, during the trip, and on the wedding day. If you are having your ceremony, than sending your guests off on their own to eat dinner, than asking them back just to have really and watch you cut the cake, well it's not really a wedding anymore. Who's to say that your guests even come back after they have dinner on their own.

 

Will you be upset if some people don't come back after they go to dinner? Will it bother you to hear that your guests are disappointed with how you chose to do things? Don't forget that you will be seeing your guests the following day, and if they are disappointed, maybe you won't hear it, but you will see it in their faces.

 

These are my thoughts, I hope they help you make the right decision. Your wedding is ultimately about you and your FI, but you can't forget about the people who are traveling to spend this wonderful time with you.

[dcairns]

Hey Dressa,

 

I was in the same situation as you were.  I have 45+ people coming.   I decided to rent out the SSG. Their menu, and we (bride and groom) pick options off that menu. the 1260 usd covers up to 60 people.  You have to pay per head for the bar service (was not pleased about that, but what are you going to do?)  12.60 per person.  After 60 people it is 20$ a head and it becomes a buffet.  I chose the SSG for the reason that it will be sit down dinner, inside (a/c) and I am getting a DJ and would like to do all the dancing (father/daughter, first dance etc)  I get that its almost ridiculous you pay more at an all inclusive, but on the same note this is a wedding. Everyone paid to go to it, I think its a nice thank you. I'm being un traditional by marrying down south, but the traditionalist in me wants the white wedding with a nice sit down meal. And I think its almost expected, but that is just me and the family and friends that I am with.

 

Also in my situation, I know people, on top of paying for a vacation, will be giving us envelopes. So I do feel its right to have a dinner.  NOW, that being said.. the cocktail hour just has a limited amount of options.

 

BUT, if you coincide with your entourage, you probably could all hit an a la carte at the same time and hopefully you get everyone in at the same time. I have the SSG menu,  but was told it changes every three months. That being said, I don't know what the choices will be until i get closer to my date in April.

 

When crunching numbers, this is what came out to be the most economical for us.

[Pink_Petals]

Hi Dressa,

 

My in-laws and my hubby were also outraged at the idea that you have to pay for food at an AI resort (which is true)! I was lucky b/c my parents paid and there was no way they would have allowed me to have a wedding without a sit down dinner. You have to keep in mind that these people are travelling such a long distance and paying so much $ to be there on your wedding day; sure they are also getting a vacation out of it, but Im sure there are some who could have saved the money for something else but they decided to come because they care for you. In my case, I had people come from as far as France! I had numerous people who had financial problems such as both of my hubby's uncles who had lost their job a couple of months before the wedding so they could have used the $ to pay off bills, yet they decided to come celebrate with us!

 

As for the hors d'oeuvres, they are served at the cocktail hour which only lasts an hour and are very limited in what they give you; However, you still have to pay per person as well as the alcohol. 

 

What is your budget for the wedding? My wedding was about $3500 ( I have to look for the receipt) but I had a lot of extras which you dont need such as the tiffany chairs; champagne; too much cake; trio band ; cocktail hour, etc. And I also had 40 people attend! Once I find my receipt, I can tell you how much it costed me to have the dinner at the SSG (silver menu).

Originally Posted by Dressa 

Hey Girls! Hope you all (Canadian brides) had a great thanksgiving!

 

I got some prices for the private reception (still waiting for more info) but I am just not willing to pay for food in all inclusive resort...it seems so wrong!....our original idea was just to reserve some tables at one of the A La Carte restaurants but since we already have 30 ppl booked we're over the limit for that...I'm now contemplating just having an hors d'oeuvres since it costs less per person.

 

The ideal scenario would be we have our ceremony at 5:00pm and go take some pictures while the guests go grab something to eat..then around 7:00 pm or so have the hors d'oeuvres and cut the cake and do the speech at that time..after that everyone would head to the disco or lounge for drinks.

 

Did anyone try to go for the hors d'oeuvres only? My parents think the guests will expect at least a dinner...would the hors d'oeuvres only be too bad?

 

What do you girls think? Your honesty is greatly appreciated...

 

Thanks again!!

 

Dressa

[georgie2b]

I'm off to a beatiful hotel/spa with 6 wonderful ladies tomorrow for the first of 5 hen do's/bachorette party! I'm so excited and will be glad to relax and chat without screaming kids tugging on my clothes....What plans do the rest of you have??? Wedding planning free weekend..yay!!!

Let you know how it goes next week x x

[dcairns]

Sounds wonderful, birthday parties and a long drive in the country on Sunday for me   Have fun and enjoy!!

 

Originally Posted by georgie2b 

I'm off to a beatiful hotel/spa with 6 wonderful ladies tomorrow for the first of 5 hen do's/bachorette party! I'm so excited and will be glad to relax and chat without screaming kids tugging on my clothes....What plans do the rest of you have??? Wedding planning free weekend..yay!!!

Let you know how it goes next week x x

[NancM]

Ladies,

 

I've got a question about taking meds before heading to the Dominican...went to the Dr.'s yesterday and she prescribed Dukoral for my family (including my 2 boys).  Has anyone who's travelled there before heard of it or used it?  It's to prevent you from getting sick (i.e. the runs!) from such things as E coli or cholera...

 

Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated as my boys' father is not too keen on me giving them anything and I would love to know if anyone has used it especially in children and if so, how it worked.

 

By far, this has been the most stressful part of going away!

 

I hope each and every one of you enjoy your weekend!  Thanks again for any help...

 

Nancy     

[NancM]

Ok, now on to something completely unrelated...

 

Bee,

 

I absolutely loved your make-up for your wedding...did you do it yourself or was it done at the spa?  I am no expert when it comes to putting make-up on and how it should look in photos so would actually love to have it done or know which products to use.  I'm a girly girl who can't do eyeshadow to save her life!  Any tips or advice, or product recommendations would be a HUGE help!  Thanks!!!

 

Nancy

[Pink_Petals]

Thank you so much Nancy!

 

Yes, I did do my own makeup and personally, I would never get it done at the spa! I just dont get a good feeling from resort spas! Ive just read so many bad things...thats why I even got my friend to do my hair!

 

I loooveee makeup and I own A LOT of it but I do not like to pay a lot for it; I never buy expensive brand names but I figured for the wedding I could spend a little extra money on it.

 

Since I shop at Shoppers Drugmart a lot, I had a lot of points I could have used to buy makeup products with. You can book a professional to do a makeup trial for you if you spend at least $75 on makeup products afterwards. The makeup pro can suggest brands and can find the right colors and shades for you.

You do not have to go to Shoppers; you can go to other places such as MAC or Sephora to get a pro to hel you out!

 

Hope that helps!

[NancM]

Thanks Bee,

 

I was wanting to go to the MAC counter here in Windsor anyway, so this will be a great excuse to do it before the wedding and I can buy the proper make-up.  I too love make-up but don't spend a whole lot on it, ever!  Really don't see the need to but, like you, for this, I will go all out to make sure everything looks just right for the "big day".  Thanks for the advice...I can't wait to see what I can do.  Just hoping I'm ok to do it on my own for the ceremony...wish me luck! 

 

Nancy

[uninspired1979]

Hi NancM & Bee,

 

I am in the same boat with the makeup situation. Though I have already payed for makeup application (part of our wedding package) I will be passing on that appointment to my mom. My mom thinks I'm crazy not to have my makeup done by someone, but I have been using makeup since I was 15 and I know I can pull it off.

I'm planning on going to Macy's department store in the next few weeks and buying eyeshadow from MAC, I think that they have the most saturated colors when it comes to eyeshadow. I have been using their concealer and mascara for a few years now and really love it. The only thing that I am unsure of is foundation, I have had so many different recommendations for foundation, some people swear by Bobbi Brown, my mom just bought Armani foundation she says is amazing, I don't know. I guess I'll just walk the counters and see what feels best on my skin.

Bee- What foundation did you use? You look absolutely flawless in your pictures, so perfect.

 

NanC- what dates will you be at DLR? We are flying in on November 22, will you still be there?