Ocean Blue & Sand-Punta Cana

[alittlerandr]

@lozzawatts & @missjade - I just emailed the additional services pdf for 2012.

[Dominican Ally]

Cheryl - can you PM me your email address? I can send you all of the pricing and extras I have for Ocean Blue

 

thanks!

Originally Posted by CherylW 

Hi there,

I too am getting married next year but in March.  I was wondering about the pricing, packages also if you wouldn't mind sending them to me too that would be wonderful.  I was also wondering about all the legal fees and documents you need.  Whether they need to be translated to Spanish or not, if you have any insight I would be appreciative.  Some website say one thing and then another says something else. Any info would be great.

Thanks Cheryl

 

[Dominican Ally]

If you can PM me your email address - I can send you everything I have for extras/pricing etc. I just got the updated 2013 pricing list a few weeks ago, so I can forward it to you via email.

 

 

Originally Posted by Lozzawatts 

Thanks Alittlerandr, good to know I wasn't sure but some of those ideas are good and like the idea of mixing of sand. I've found some nice readings too that hopefully we can incorporate.
Need to think about extras now, eg table decorations so if anyone has the hotel extras PDF they can send me would really appreciate it,s o little time to plan, already getting very excited )

 

[Dominican Ally]

OOPS! I found it - just sent you the email
 

Originally Posted by Lozzawatts 

I have just today booked my symbolic wedding at Ocean Blue for 9th August so this is my first post. Could someone send me the list of extras, I am unable to download pdf's yet and I would like to see extras eg flowers, photographer details etc. Also as were having a symbolic ceremony does anyone know if there is still any part our two young boys could play in the ceremony. They wanted to each be a ring bearer but I don't know if that part is needed in a symbolic wedding as we will have married in the uk a few days prior to our trip so would already be married? Many thanks for any help anyone can provide and look forward to getting to know everyone on this forum over the next few months [email protected] Lorraine x

 

[Lozzawatts]

Thank you much appreciated ))

[jlb392]

Looks like we have our date!  April 17th of next year.  We'll be just after you, Alicia!

[ntlsnow]

Alicia is very helpful!!! :-)
 

Originally Posted by Dominican Ally 

If you can PM me your email address - I can send you everything I have for extras/pricing etc. I just got the updated 2013 pricing list a few weeks ago, so I can forward it to you via email.

 

 

 

 

[ntlsnow]

I plan on having about 25-30 people here, would you have to pay extra for the people beyond the 10 for the ceremony? Also, I might just go with a reservation rather than a reception since we are having a AHR here. Thoughts?

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by alittlerandr 

Hi Cheryl -

 

(Just thought I'd jump in with some of my experiences here!) Things may have changed, but I believe the free wedding is only available to groups of 10 or fewer. Since you have 21 guests, this may not be an option for you. I'd recommend confirming this with Yinette/Ada asap so you don't have a rude budget awakening down the road!

 

As far as communicating with them, I generally expected a 48-72 hour response, and, if I didn't hear back, I'd try again. They average 2-3 weddings per day at the resort and are often out running around, so they aren't in the office much. It took some getting used to on my part, but I just had to remind myself to be patient )

 

We had a cocktail hour included in our package (we went with Sand Extravaganza) and it was great - I'm really glad we did it.

 

We gave Yinette our first and second choice for dates, and she then assigned us a time. It's based on who else is getting married that day and the officiant's schedule, so we didn't have any say in it. (Our wedding was at 4 and I thought that was perfect because it was starting to cool down and then our reception started as the sun was setting.)

 

Hope that helps! Happy planning

 

 

[ntlsnow]

Thank you for the tips! Extremely helpful!!!!
 

Originally Posted by alittlerandr 

Hey ladies!

 

Well, I've been back for a few days now from what was literally THE BEST WEEK OF MY LIFE (You guys are going to love it!) I'm going to post some unsolicited tips/thoughts/etc below...but please feel free to ask me any specific questions!!

 

Life at the resort:

Beautiful! We were in Villa 7, just steps away from the main buffet and we were thrilled about it. (Others in our party were in 6, 9, and 10, which is much closer to the beach.) Be sure to ask for a view of the grounds. (The back side of 7 faced the service road and a chain link fence.)

We never had a problem finding chairs at the pool or beach. We even slept on the beach one night on the 'Privilege' area beds...so wonderful and relaxing, I totally recommend it.

Food: Buffet was great, although we didn't realize until the last day that it was open for lunch, too. (Beach restaurant is also open for lunch, but selection is more limited.) Italian restaurant was so-so, though the wine was good. Steakhouse was definitely worth the reservation. And, we ate at Overtime just about every night after we closed down the lobby bar or disco

Shopping area is right next to the resort...probably 15-20 shops with typical touristy items (jewelry, paintings, clothing, cigars, mamajuana, etc)

 

OOT bags:

Biggest hits: 22 oz insulated mugs. People RAVED about these; I'm so glad that we splurged on larger, insulated mugs. Another big hit was lanyards with keycard holders. Lastly, our 'in sickness and health' kits were well used.

Here is everything from my bags: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/76281/oot-bags-on-a-budget

 

Rehearsal:

We staged our own rehearsal on the beach the night before. We then had a rehearsal dinner at the main buffet. (Yinette was able to make reservations for us.)

 

Wedding:

Beautiful. Yinette worked really hard to make everything a reality for us, and she totally pulled through. We did the Sand Extravaganza package, with the ceremony on the beach, cocktail hour at the dive center, and the dinner at La Brasa. Instead of a dj, we rented the sound equipment, and my cousin appointed himself as dj for the day/night (he really got into it...I think he had as much fun as we did!)

Food at La Brasa was amazing (we did the beef dinner and got tons of compliments on it.)

Ceremony will not be private, but, honestly, you won't even notice. (I am starting to see some of our guests' pictures and people literally were standing feet away from the minister, drug beach chairs up, etc.) It's kind of neat how many people you don't even know are excited to see your ceremony.

We had my aunt do a reading, the minister read the vows we'd provided, and we did a sand ceremony.

 

Wedding details:

Flowers: I found a wholesale florist who delivered fresh but flowers so my mom, who is a florist, could make the bouquets. (Because of this, I cancelled the bouquet that came with the package and was able to save some money off the sound system rental.)

Decor: I went with the basic package, so the gazebo was decorated and chairs were covered. We also got a few floral items which were moved to the reception area post-ceremony.

Reception decor: My mom bought large starfish from the shopping area. She used these as a container for some of the extra roses. She also brought vases for BM bouquets.

Videographer: I purchased the gold package through the resort, and am so glad I did. He was there until the reception ended, and it's been so fun watching the videos of the day, and seeing the things we missed.

Photographer: I went with HDC's largest package, with prints. We had everything in hand 3 days after the ceremony, but I really appreciated the quick turn around....one less thing to do once we got home. And it was a great value! My husband's photographer cousin (who was also a guest) said the package we got would've been at least 3x as expensive back in Minnesota.

 

Oops:

Snafus were so minor, but that's what makes some of the best memories!

Reading: Minister forgot we were having a reading, so my aunt had to interrupt him (husband and I simultaneously made the 'time out' sign to the audience and that made for some pretty cute pictures.)

Flower girl: (She just turned 3.) Her dress was a bit long, so she had to pick it up to walk through the sand. Well..she picked it up so high she flashed the entire crowd her undies. It was just precious

Sand ceremony: Sand ceremony went fine, and I carefully packed it in our checked luggage...not thinking that my suitcase would be turned upside down several times...so the sand got all mixed up and much of it spilled since the lid wasn't totally airtight. Oops!

Sky lanterns: It was pretty breezy the night of our reception, and guests didn't let the lanterns fully inflate before letting them go...one landed on the roof of the bar, another on the grounds, etc...only one actually took off before we decided we'd better play it safe and put a stop to it. (If anyone else is planning to try this, find a calm area - probably closer to the lobby than the beach. I purchased these online and packed them in my checked luggage with no issues.)

 

Hope that helps with some questions and/or planning! As I mentioned earlier, I'm more than happy to answer any other questions or provide more details. Believe me, I could talk for days

 

[jlb392]

She absolutely is!!
 

Originally Posted by ntlsnow 

Alicia is very helpful!!! :-)