Gran Bahia Principe Cayo Levantado Brides?

[taniya]

Hi I am getting married at Cayo Levantado on April 12/13.  I am in desperate need of a good photographer, I do not trust the ones the resort will provide.  Is there anyone who is getting married around the same time who might want to share the travel/accomodation costs of a really good photographer?

 

Also I have been to the resort before, March 2012.  It is an amazing place very quiet and secluded.  The way it works is the resort area basically shuts down after ten.  They like to keep everything quiet as not to disturb the other guests.  It actually makes sense and you will understand when you get there.  There is a public beach "known as the Bacardi beach" during the day the beach bar is not all inclusive, the reason being it is a really nice beach and cruise ships and tourists from other resorts come in to see it.  However, after hours people from off the island do not visit so the resort takes over the beach bar and drinks are free after 10pm for guests who want to party.  Basically, the people who want to continue partying after the main lobby closes walk down to the public beach.  This island is very small it is not a long trek from where you would be having your wedding dinner and there is only a small amount of other guests that will be there.  I really don't think it will effect anyone's after party, it might actually be more fun because when I went everyone was was friendly and having a great time.  My fiance and I met a couple from the States that taught us some crazy dance moves, it was a blast.  But yes I understand that if you want your after party to be private this is probably not the resort to go to.  This is NOT A PARTY resort.  It is a romantic, secluded getaway.  If you want to party all week long you probably should choose another resort.

 

I have booked the Don Pablo restaurant for my wedding, it is an additional $3,500 USD if you want the whole restaurant for yourself.  I think it is worth it in my opinion but everyone has their own budget. 

 

When I was there the public beach bar was opened the two days I did go in the week, I did not check every night.  So maybe as a suggestion when you get there insist on the DJ being at the public beach bar for your wedding night.

 

Hope that helps.. and please message me if you want to share costs on a really good photographer.  I wanted Phil Steingard but he is already booked in punta cana that week...

 

 

Taniya

[Peach]

Originally Posted by Barash 

 

Hey, I am new in here and find this forum extremely useful!

 

We are planning our wedding for early April 2013. In fact that's gonna be our 5th anniversary, but we never had a ceremony and celebration with family & friends. As well as the honeymoon. I was looking at Punta Cana resorts at first, but when I accidentally saw BP Cayo Levantado, I simply fell in love with it.

 

Since we are already married, I want a really small ceremony, and I don't want any special arrangements for the reception. We want our friend to hold the ceremony. You know, just like Joey in "Friends".

 

I was trying to get the information from the wedding coordinator Amaradai (at [email protected]) regarding our specific needs, but it's been a week, and I haven't received any answer yet. I saw that unfortunately it's normal for them to be very slow to respond.

 

Maybe any of you have the answers?

- Basically what I'm trying to find out is the price for the bamboo gazebo/arch for the beach.

- How much is the bride's make up.

- Who is the photographer.

 

Photography is rather important to me. I was looking at HDC photo as an option. But once again, I've got no idea if they take a fee for the photographer you bring on site.

 

Those of you who called the hotel, was it simple and easy? Or is it worth it waiting for their email? From what I've read, the date reservation is made by email anyway...

 

 

As for photography, there is some included in the packages, but little. If you have an outside photographer, you need to pay a day pass for them to be at the wedding, unless they are a guest at the resort; then the fee is waived, according to what I understand from the information I have received from the wedding coordinator. That is what we are doing for ours, and since they are coming from Punta Cana they will be staying anyway. It works out. 

Please note that pretty much all photographers, in this sense, will require you to pay their travel fee and for their hotel rooms. 

 

I do not have information regarding the arches, though please let me know if you find out! And I am not sure about the bridal makeup charges either; I would think this may be listed on the website for the resort, under the spa information?

 

Hope that helps, and sorry I could not be of more assistance.

 

And yes, the reservation for wedding booking is online. It made me nervous, since they did not take much information or a deposit, but I have been assured that this is their procedure. Hope that is still true!

[Barash]

I was just wondering: which location did you choose for your ceremony? Are you going to have it on the beach, in the gazebo, on the terrace somewhere around main building?

 

We are thinking to have ours on the private beach, but I saw one of the recent reviews on Tripadvisor, and it looks like you won't get as much privacy on the beach as on the terrace for example...

[Peach]

Originally Posted by Barash 

 

I was just wondering: which location did you choose for your ceremony? Are you going to have it on the beach, in the gazebo, on the terrace somewhere around main building?

 

We are thinking to have ours on the private beach, but I saw one of the recent reviews on Tripadvisor, and it looks like you won't get as much privacy on the beach as on the terrace for example...

 

I am not sure if this was addressed  to me or not, but we still are wanting ours on the beach. We are also going during off season, so hopefully it won't be too busy. I am not opposed to the terrace or gazebo or anything, I just am really wanting to get married on the beach... that is a big part of the reason we are going all that way! I guess we will make that final decision when we get there, but that is what we are leaning towards.

[saucypantalon]

Hi there,

 

We had our wedding at Cayo Levantado in November and had our ceremony on the beach.   One of the main reasons we chose a destination wedding was so that we could have a beautiful wedding on the beach.  As we are private people we had some anxiety about having a bunch of strangers be able to watch our wedding.  When all was said and done though, it was totally fine.  When you are in the moment you are so focused our your partner and your family and friends that you don't even notice the others.  Didn't bother us at all.  The happiness we felt superseded any anxiousness.  I wouldn't have wanted any other location.  It was beautiful and perfect.
 

[Peach]

Originally Posted by saucypantalon 

 

Hi there,

 

We had our wedding at Cayo Levantado in November and had our ceremony on the beach.   One of the main reasons we chose a destination wedding was so that we could have a beautiful wedding on the beach.  As we are private people we had some anxiety about having a bunch of strangers be able to watch our wedding.  When all was said and done though, it was totally fine.  When you are in the moment you are so focused our your partner and your family and friends that you don't even notice the others.  Didn't bother us at all.  The happiness we felt superseded any anxiousness.  I wouldn't have wanted any other location.  It was beautiful and perfect.

 

 

Oh thank you so much for your post! Congratulations, and I am glad to hear that the beach wedding was successful.

Can I ask what package you chose, and where you had your reception? I would love to hear any details you have!

[saucypantalon]

Thank you for your congrats   We chose the sunshine package and had our reception outside at the snack bar. 
 

[charlong]

The beach is absolutely gorgeous and your pics will be amazing.

We got married 2 months ago and chose the beach and I was not a fan of any other locations. The coordinator does a good job of getting poeople to move, but you will have people watching you, but you will not notice since you are in "your" moment.

The only way to get complete privacy at any all inclusive resort would be having in a restaurant that you can book out for your group.

I didn't really notice the poeple..I had guest tell me that there was one couple that watched the entire ceremony, but again you are not paying attention to that..your focus is elsewhere

[Peach]

Originally Posted by charlong 

 

The beach is absolutely gorgeous and your pics will be amazing.

We got married 2 months ago and chose the beach and I was not a fan of any other locations. The coordinator does a good job of getting poeople to move, but you will have people watching you, but you will not notice since you are in "your" moment.

The only way to get complete privacy at any all inclusive resort would be having in a restaurant that you can book out for your group.

I didn't really notice the poeple..I had guest tell me that there was one couple that watched the entire ceremony, but again you are not paying attention to that..your focus is elsewhere

congrats on your wedding there! I would love to see pictures!

Where did you have your reception?

[Barash]

Originally Posted by Peach 

 

 

I am not sure if this was addressed  to me or not, but we still are wanting ours on the beach. We are also going during off season, so hopefully it won't be too busy. I am not opposed to the terrace or gazebo or anything, I just am really wanting to get married on the beach... that is a big part of the reason we are going all that way! I guess we will make that final decision when we get there, but that is what we are leaning towards.

 

Well, I wanted to get as many opinions as possible. From current and ex-brides.

 

I've got the same situation: we want a barefoot wedding on the beach. And that was one of the main reasons why we chose Cayo Levantado - a fairly small resort away from the main land with a private beach, as opposed to possibly crowded Bavaro beach in Punta Cana.

 

We are planning on a small short ceremony, so I think it should turn out nice on the beach.