Paradisus Punta Cana (PPC) Brides POST HERE!!

[shortnsweet]

Any suggestions for worthwhile excursions?
 

[Rawnie Hansen]

There are LOTS of excursions. My favorite are Bavaro Runners, Hispaniola Explorer VIP, Marinarium, Reef Explorer. You can also check out www.grouppalmera.com for more excursions, golf, etc. 

[kissta]

Hello Everyone!
I was just curious as to if anyone has decided to get their flowers/centrepieces through a local florist. I've noticed the prices are MUCH better than that of the PPC's Decor company. Does anyone know if the PPC will allow an outside florist? Is there a charge? Thanks for your help!

[kissta]

Originally Posted by shortnsweet 

 

Any suggestions for worthwhile excursions?

 

I love the catamaran/snorkeling adventures! It would be great if you got your whole group involved! They do a little show on the boat and give you "Mama Juana". It was a lot of fun. Two years ago my fiancé and I did a similar trip that had swimming with the sharks and petting stingrays. I didn't like those parts, but the boat ride and snorkeling were amazing!

[shortnsweet]

Thanks Kissta! Do you remember which tour operator you went with? I'm reading a lot of complaints about the majority of them out there.

[kissta]

Originally Posted by shortnsweet 

 

Thanks Kissta! Do you remember which tour operator you went with? I'm reading a lot of complaints about the majority of them out there.

To be honest, I don't remember. I know they were at the lobby in our resort and we just signed up! It was easy and we actually had an AMAZING experience. The whole group gets seperated into 6 people and you go off with one of their "pro" snorklers. We had a water-proof camera and our instructor offered to take pictures of us. He did a great job!!

[mariel12]

Past and future brides: does anyone know where in the contract or in the paperwork is it stated the terms for bringing an outside photographer? I know I've heard that you could avoid the $1000 fee by booking them a 3 night stay, but as I spoke with one of the planners they said they no longer honor that and it is only the $1000 fee. Im not sure if this is true or they just wanted to push even more for their in house photog and would like to confirm since at the time when we booked our wedding you could book the 3 nights and i feel they should honor that. Please help as we are leaving this wk and would like to find the info to back it up before we leave. THANK YOU!

[kissta]

Originally Posted by mariel12 

 

Past and future brides: does anyone know where in the contract or in the paperwork is it stated the terms for bringing an outside photographer? I know I've heard that you could avoid the $1000 fee by booking them a 3 night stay, but as I spoke with one of the planners they said they no longer honor that and it is only the $1000 fee. Im not sure if this is true or they just wanted to push even more for their in house photog and would like to confirm since at the time when we booked our wedding you could book the 3 nights and i feel they should honor that. Please help as we are leaving this wk and would like to find the info to back it up before we leave. THANK YOU!

I just faced this problem. For some reason I thought that they just charged the $1000 for an outside photographer. I just pulled up our contract and it says this on page 3 of 4:

 

Outside Vendor Services

Paradisus Resorts has on-site support for all your needs and will provide our couples with a variety of in-house services to choose from {photography/ videography, florists, décor, audio visual companies, entertainers, etc.}. A price list is available for your reference and you may contact their representatives directly. Paradisus Punta Cana will invoice you directly for those rental items. If you wish to bring your own vendor there is fee of a thousand dollars {USD$1.000} per every outside vendor plus a day pass fee per crew member. This fee is waived for foreign/U.S. photographers/videographers when staying at the hotel as a part of the Wedding Group for three or more nights. A list of all external and rented audio visual equipment should be registered with the Resort security department. The non-compliance of this procedure will indemnify the Resort of any loss or theft of such equipment.

 

It's really too bad because I wanted to use an outside florist, who would give me a much better price for everything, but I think with the $1000 vendor cahrge, it won't be worth it.

[kissta]

Hello Everyone,

 

I am just curious as to if any of you are using an outside florist?

 

I have confirmed with the resort that I am able to use the flowers of a local florist (much cheaper), but I have to go pick them up to avoid the vendor fee!

 

Has anyone used FLORISTERIA SISAY (Sisay Flowers)?

 

Any recommendations?

Thanks so much everyone!

[mariel12]

Originally Posted by kissta 

 

I just faced this problem. For some reason I thought that they just charged the $1000 for an outside photographer. I just pulled up our contract and it says this on page 3 of 4:

 

Outside Vendor Services

Paradisus Resorts has on-site support for all your needs and will provide our couples with a variety of in-house services to choose from {photography/ videography, florists, décor, audio visual companies, entertainers, etc.}. A price list is available for your reference and you may contact their representatives directly. Paradisus Punta Cana will invoice you directly for those rental items. If you wish to bring your own vendor there is fee of a thousand dollars {USD$1.000} per every outside vendor plus a day pass fee per crew member. This fee is waived for foreign/U.S. photographers/videographers when staying at the hotel as a part of the Wedding Group for three or more nights. A list of all external and rented audio visual equipment should be registered with the Resort security department. The non-compliance of this procedure will indemnify the Resort of any loss or theft of such equipment.

 

It's really too bad because I wanted to use an outside florist, who would give me a much better price for everything, but I think with the $1000 vendor cahrge, it won't be worth it.

 

 

Thanks for this info! I still think its ridiculous and it doesnt make me feel better lol but i guess at least I know that it was stated in writing somehow and my fault for missing it if it was on my version of the contract. I think at this point I'm just gonna suck it up and do it anyway. The highest package for the outside photographer HDC is $1550 and it includes 300 small prints, 30 medium & 5 larger ones. It also brings DVD with 550 pictures to print/use at your leisure, online access and a few other things. The resort photographer highest package as per the email they sent me was $1950 and it only had like 300 photos in a cd. So in the end it would be like paying $500-600 extra instead of the $1K which of course I would still rather save but at this point we've invested so much into making sure everything is as smooth as possible that its like why not. We dont wanna skimp on the most important thing we will have after the wedding. And it's not to say that theres anything wrong with Arrecife - I would actually love to hear anyone else's experience that has used them and what they thought they got for the money the spent. But i rather pay for peace of mind which is what I have with the outside photog as our cousins used them 2 yrs ago for their wedding. And their pictures were one of the main reasons we chose to have our wedding a destination wedding - we just fell in love with them. I just feel like i really like their style and ability to capture the little details. I havent made any deposits yet but Im 90% sure we will end up going w/ outside photog just because they offer more at the end of the day for the money. 

 

As for the florist - I do lovee flowers but ive always found it insane how much they charge for such simple arrangements. And being that we chose ours for outside (beach) we made used of lots of lanterns which we are bringing with us and just using my bouquet and my sisters' for the flowers as centerpieces too. It definitely is a pain cuz we are bringing quite a few things with us - and as i write this i still havent packed and im wondering hoping everything will fit! lol but i do like that i have more of an idea of how everything will look and the stuff im planning to bring back with us and used them for an informal graden/pool party or gathering for those who werent able to attend. So cheaper cost and i get to double use the stuff and keep them for the future. Once i figure out how to bring there and back all in one piece ill be one full happy camper

 

I hope you find a happy medium with the flowers arrangements (oh also one tip that our cousin used they got BEAUTIFUL fake flowers - you really couldnt even tell they were becuase they were good quality - which they brought from here and she used them for her bridesmaids as small bouquets and then for table centerpieces. They looked great. So thats another option maybe.