Ocean Blue & Sand-Punta Cana

[alittlerandr]

A few people in our group (maybe 4 or 5 out of 60) had a stomach issues that lasted a day or two, but for the most part no one had any problems....probably the same as one would expect when traveling, and eating/drinking in unusual quantities

 

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ntlsnow 

Thank you so much for the details! Good to know the food is good there, I was worried about it.

When I went to PC last June, we went to the Grand Palladium and it was awful. We had about 15 people and everyone was sick from the food. I thought their food was so disgusting. And now after reading even recent reviews on Grand Palladium, there are still a ton of complaints. So this to me is AMAZING news to hear about Ocean Blue. My TA said it was really good food too.

 

 

 

[KristinaM]

Welcome Lorraine.. I'll add you in. Your date is come up before all of us! How is your planning going?

 

 

 

Lozzawatts (Lorraine)             Wedding: August 9th, 2012         Travel: Aug 7-12

gina24 (Marcia)                      Wedding: Jan 23, 2013               Travel: Jan 19-26

DominicanAlly (Alicia)             Wedding: April 11, 2013             Travel: April 6-20

jlb392 (Jessica)                      Wedding: April 17, 2013             Travel: April 14-24

KristinaM (Kristina)                 Wedding: April 18, 2013             Travel April 13-27

[Dominican Ally]

I wish April 2013 would hurry up and get here! I'm so excited!
 

Originally Posted by KristinaM 

Welcome Lorraine.. I'll add you in. Your date is come up before all of us! How is your planning going?

 

 

 

Lozzawatts (Lorraine)             Wedding: August 9th, 2012         Travel: Aug 7-12

gina24 (Marcia)                      Wedding: Jan 23, 2013               Travel: Jan 19-26

DominicanAlly (Alicia)             Wedding: April 11, 2013             Travel: April 6-20

jlb392 (Jessica)                      Wedding: April 17, 2013             Travel: April 14-24

KristinaM (Kristina)                 Wedding: April 18, 2013             Travel April 13-27

 

[Lozzawatts]

Haven't started much planning yet as we only got engaged 2 weeks ago so it's going to be a bit full on over the next few months. We'd both been to Dom Rep years previously and fallen in love with the island and so after looking at UK venues and realising how expensive it would be it seemed a natural choice. we chose Ocean Blue and so pleased to get a date so quickly. Deciding on colour themes next so that I can think about flowers and centrepieces. Our boys are so excited, we both have one from previous relationships same age (both 8) so they're both excited about getting suited up and being part of the ceremony. This forum has been brilliant in answering some questions in my first few tentative steps of booking and looking forward to getting to know everyone on here as all our dates draw nearer xx

[Oct 2012 Bride]

Can someone email me the packages information as well. [email protected]

[mzthan6]

Congratulations on your engagement and happy planning

Originally Posted by Lozzawatts 

Haven't started much planning yet as we only got engaged 2 weeks ago so it's going to be a bit full on over the next few months. We'd both been to Dom Rep years previously and fallen in love with the island and so after looking at UK venues and realising how expensive it would be it seemed a natural choice. we chose Ocean Blue and so pleased to get a date so quickly. Deciding on colour themes next so that I can think about flowers and centrepieces. Our boys are so excited, we both have one from previous relationships same age (both so they're both excited about getting suited up and being part of the ceremony. This forum has been brilliant in answering some questions in my first few tentative steps of booking and looking forward to getting to know everyone on here as all our dates draw nearer xx

 

[Lozzawatts]

Evening girls. Can la brasa be booked as the restaurant of choice with the blue affair package?

[Dominican Ally]

I'm really not sure - I would suggest emailing Ada or Yinette and asking. I know it's an option with the Sand Ext. And the one above....but not sure the guide specifies if it can be booked for Blue Affair.
 

Originally Posted by Lozzawatts 

Evening girls. Can la brasa be booked as the restaurant of choice with the blue affair package?

 

[erinmc]

Do you feel you saved $ by getting the flowers from the wholesale florist? Do you have the contact info? My BM is a florist and offered to do our bouquets!!

 

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

 

[erinmc]

I check trip advisor everyday!! It have also been very helpful along with this site.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147293-d584407-Reviews-Ocean_Blue_Sand-Punta_Cana_Dominican_Republic.html