Barcelo Bavaro Palace Deluxe

[Tina G]

Hi chicas! 

 

Happy New Year! I haven't posted in while because I've been caught up with work/family stuff and with the password change I wasn't able to log in for while so I have a few questions. 

 

I bought my dress and I love it! We confirmed our date 10.11.14 @ 5pm and blocked our rooms! I am very excited but also stressed out. Save the dates will be out by the end of the month. However my parents and family members in DR think I should go see the resort now before moving forward. Is anyone else on here planning their wedding without having been to BBPD before? I rather not spend the money on a trip to DR. 

 

Does anyone have Laura as their wedding coordinator? I am having a hard time getting her to accommodate what I presume are reasonable requests. 

 

Tuxes: Where have your grooms/groomsmen rented tuxes from? Most of the places we looked at have high rental costs since we aren't able to return the tux the next day. 

 

Hair/Makeup: Anyone booking with Anna Nuet, or are you utilizing the resort salon? I've contacted her and she is available for my date but since the hair/makeup is in included in my package I'm not sure whether to try my luck with the salon or pay for Anna. 

 

Sorry for the million questions but no one in my "real life" understands what I'm going through or why I am so concerned about a Destination Wedding. 

[LovelyGemini]

Hi chicas! 

 

Happy New Year! I haven't posted in while because I've been caught up with work/family stuff and with the password change I wasn't able to log in for while so I have a few questions. 

 

I bought my dress and I love it! We confirmed our date 10.11.14 @ 5pm and blocked our rooms! I am very excited but also stressed out. Save the dates will be out by the end of the month. However my parents and family members in DR think I should go see the resort now before moving forward. Is anyone else on here planning their wedding without having been to BBPD before? I rather not spend the money on a trip to DR. 

 

Does anyone have Laura as their wedding coordinator? I am having a hard time getting her to accommodate what I presume are reasonable requests. 

 

Tuxes: Where have your grooms/groomsmen rented tuxes from? Most of the places we looked at have high rental costs since we aren't able to return the tux the next day. 

 

Hair/Makeup: Anyone booking with Anna Nuet, or are you utilizing the resort salon? I've contacted her and she is available for my date but since the hair/makeup is in included in my package I'm not sure whether to try my luck with the salon or pay for Anna. 

 

Sorry for the million questions but no one in my "real life" understands what I'm going through or why I am so concerned about a Destination Wedding. 

Hey Tina,

 

I really can't speak for not having seen the hotel as my FI and I have been there twice already. We chose it after only having been there once back in 2011 and went back because we loved it so much. I almost chose to have my wedding in Mexico and wasn't planning on seeing the hotel before so I can understand the way you feel. This resort is absolutely gorgeous and having been recently renovated about 3 years ago, I can honestly say, everything really does look exactly like the pictures. Everything is so brand new and the grounds are immaculate as everyone who works there is constantly helping with the upkeep. 

 

Aris is my WC and sometimes they can be a little tough to convince in getting your way. It took me 3 tries to finally get her to agree to rent a cylinder vase and base mirror for the centerpiece at a reasonable price ($20 a table) because I insisted on bring my own fake flowers to submerge in the vase. Otherwise they would have charged upwards of $70+ a table!

 

Our groomsmen are going to be wearing tan linen vests and pants and the only reasonably priced options we have found require the guys to purchase the pieces. They found the two pieces for about $130 and just need to buy matching ties and white shirts. I'm sure that if you start searching now, you'll probably be able to get a good deal, probably by the summer. 

 

Several brides in this forum have used the salon and looked beautiful. I'm going to be taking most of my own make-up, especially foundation and plenty of pictures for the salon to work with with my hair and make-up. That seemed to work out well for the other brides as well. 

 

And that's what we're all here for! No one here seems to understand why I'm so nervous about having an exact number of expected guests when it's two and half months away. I'm like, how the heck am I supposed to prepare the welcome bags then or know how many favors to take??!!! LOL

Yay I'm back in! Missed you ladies. I could only read for a while, couldn't post because the password reset wasn't working for me.

 

Soooo general question.... How is it having a September wedding in DR? Thinking about moving my date, but weary of hurricane season. Anyone on here have a September wedding or been to DR in September?

 

What was the original date you were considering? I've never been to DR in September but have plenty of family that travel back in forth. With September, you'll be taking a chance. It does rain a lot around this time but earlier in September, it's still really hot and you run the risk of having those downpours that really only last 20-30 minutes or so. But if it helps, DR hasn't really been hit very hard by a major hurricane in quite a few years. They're honestly not as common in DR as many might think. 

 

Many of my family members that do travel to DR in the fall usually go in October (lots of baseball leagues do tournaments during this time) and from what I've heard, it does rain less then. 

[Sagesma]

Hi Ladies! Happy New Year! I hope everyone is happy, healthy and doing well.  Its be a long time since I last logged on to the forum.  Been so busy over the holidays and with work.  Finally found some down time to catch up on the forum.  My wedding is less than 4 months away. Im starting to get super nervous!! My dress still has not come in yet - starting to panic! I hope there will be enough time for alternations! It sounds like everyone's planning is going well. I still have a few items that I need to get for our welcome bags. I am still trying to decide the best way to present them to our guests - either shipping them over and having my WC Hildebranda place them in everyone's room upon their return or having a welcome party on the beach or restaurant and presenting it there. Any suggestions?

 

We are having our reception at Bar Higuey and we are interested in using the LED par lighting, but according to Hildebranda the venue requires 24 lights at $59 a piece! Is 24 lights really neccessary?? I would at least like to have the lighting behind the drapes for the head table and the cake cutting table.

 

Also, is anyone extending their time for the reception?  I am going with the tangerine package and it includes 3 hours of reception time, but I am thinking that is going to be rushed and looking to extend it for additional 2 hours for a total of 5 hours.  Any past brides have recommendations?

 

Thank ladies for your time on these questions!! Any tips or opinions are welcome! Cheers!

[LovelyGemini]

Hi Ladies! Happy New Year! I hope everyone is happy, healthy and doing well.  Its be a long time since I last logged on to the forum.  Been so busy over the holidays and with work.  Finally found some down time to catch up on the forum.  My wedding is less than 4 months away. Im starting to get super nervous!! My dress still has not come in yet - starting to panic! I hope there will be enough time for alternations! It sounds like everyone's planning is going well. I still have a few items that I need to get for our welcome bags. I am still trying to decide the best way to present them to our guests - either shipping them over and having my WC Hildebranda place them in everyone's room upon their return or having a welcome party on the beach or restaurant and presenting it there. Any suggestions?

 

We are having our reception at Bar Higuey and we are interested in using the LED par lighting, but according to Hildebranda the venue requires 24 lights at $59 a piece! Is 24 lights really neccessary?? I would at least like to have the lighting behind the drapes for the head table and the cake cutting table.

 

Also, is anyone extending their time for the reception?  I am going with the tangerine package and it includes 3 hours of reception time, but I am thinking that is going to be rushed and looking to extend it for additional 2 hours for a total of 5 hours.  Any past brides have recommendations?

 

Thank ladies for your time on these questions!! Any tips or opinions are welcome! Cheers!

 

 

Hey Sagesma,

 

My wedding is 3 days before yours and my dress still hasn't come in yet either. And I ordered it back at the end of JUNE! 

 

You're way ahead of me as I haven't gotten anything for our welcome bags yet as I still don't have a final guest count. (Add that onto my already growing stress level!)

 

We included a "welcome gathering/unofficial get-together" on our invitation "itinerary" at Strikers the night before our wedding, to have everyone together in one place and be able to give out the welcome bags. To my knowledge, the hotel charges per bag if you ask them to distribute them so this was our only option. I'm waiting on the pricing to use the LED lighting in the ballroom, I really think it gives it a beautiful effect, especially since our reception is indoors. 

 

We are definitely extending our reception time and couple of past brides did as well. Our WC, Aris, recommended it because we have such a large guest list and the dinner portion alone will probably take up a lot of time. We chose one extra hour as of now until we get a final count, only because it's so expensive. The cost of the extra hour is the cost of the DJ ($433) plus $15 per person!

[Sagesma]

Hey Sagesma,

 

My wedding is 3 days before yours and my dress still hasn't come in yet either. And I ordered it back at the end of JUNE! 

 

You're way ahead of me as I haven't gotten anything for our welcome bags yet as I still don't have a final guest count. (Add that onto my already growing stress level!)

 

We included a "welcome gathering/unofficial get-together" on our invitation "itinerary" at Strikers the night before our wedding, to have everyone together in one place and be able to give out the welcome bags. To my knowledge, the hotel charges per bag if you ask them to distribute them so this was our only option. I'm waiting on the pricing to use the LED lighting in the ballroom, I really think it gives it a beautiful effect, especially since our reception is indoors. 

 

We are definitely extending our reception time and couple of past brides did as well. Our WC, Aris, recommended it because we have such a large guest list and the dinner portion alone will probably take up a lot of time. We chose one extra hour as of now until we get a final count, only because it's so expensive. The cost of the extra hour is the cost of the DJ ($433) plus $15 per person!

 

Hi LovelyGemini,

 

I ordered my dress in July!  I called the bridal store and they said they should be expecting it end of this month or early Feb. they reassured me that there will be enough time for another fitting and alternations if needed. I guess that will give me more time to get beach body ready and fit into dress. I was one of those girls that ordered one dress size smaller! haha

 

How many people are you expecting for your party? I dont have a final head count either as I have some people that are looking to book last minute, hoping to fnid a better deal. As of today we have 37 guests booked.. we are expecing about another 4-5 people.

 

Oh wow I had no idea they charged to have the welcome bags distributed. It will be way cheaper to do it ourselves.  I am leaning towards a "welcome" dinner the day of arrival and handing out the bags then.  Did you make reservations at Strikers for your welcome get-together? I need to figure out if they will take reservations at any of the restuarants and if I can book now. One less thing to stress about.

 

how much is it for the draping in the ballroom?  my WC is quoting us $2230 for Bar Higuey! If pricing is the same across the board, they charge $59/LED lighting.  Here is the quote I got from my WC

 

 

 

Tiffany chair unit

12

Drapping Bar Higüey (Casablanca ceiling and walls)

2230

Led par lights    (each one)

59

 

I am blown away that is gonna cost $433 plus $15/pp to add an extra hour! That is ridiculous! thats gonna cost me $3,144 since we want to add additional 3 hours. We dont want to feel rushed and want extra time to dance the night away. lol

[LovelyGemini]

Hi LovelyGemini,

 

I ordered my dress in July!  I called the bridal store and they said they should be expecting it end of this month or early Feb. they reassured me that there will be enough time for another fitting and alternations if needed. I guess that will give me more time to get beach body ready and fit into dress. I was one of those girls that ordered one dress size smaller! haha

 

How many people are you expecting for your party? I dont have a final head count either as I have some people that are looking to book last minute, hoping to fnid a better deal. As of today we have 37 guests booked.. we are expecing about another 4-5 people.

 

Oh wow I had no idea they charged to have the welcome bags distributed. It will be way cheaper to do it ourselves.  I am leaning towards a "welcome" dinner the day of arrival and handing out the bags then.  Did you make reservations at Strikers for your welcome get-together? I need to figure out if they will take reservations at any of the restuarants and if I can book now. One less thing to stress about.

 

how much is it for the draping in the ballroom?  my WC is quoting us $2230 for Bar Higuey! If pricing is the same across the board, they charge $59/LED lighting.  Here is the quote I got from my WC

 

 

 

Tiffany chair unit

12

Drapping Bar Higüey (Casablanca ceiling and walls)

2230

Led par lights    (each one)

59

 

I am blown away that is gonna cost $433 plus $15/pp to add an extra hour! That is ridiculous! thats gonna cost me $3,144 since we want to add additional 3 hours. We dont want to feel rushed and want extra time to dance the night away. lol

 

 

Right now, we have 82 confirmed. I'm expecting hopefully no more than 20 more, but we estimated somewhere between 100-120 for the final count. Last time we visited, back in June, Striker's did not require reservations, it is a large space and I'm crossing my fingers that we won't get in trouble for just taking over the place. I wanted it to be informal and formal welcome/rehearsal dinners are only free up to about 20 ppl I believe at the other restaurants. If it becomes too much, we'll probably go meet somewhere else, there are so many places to sit, maybe even at the area where they hold the evening shows, since they don't start until 10pm.

 

Aris quoted me about $2100 for draping all the walls in the ballroom. While I thought it would have a nice effect for the LED lighting, we might be able to do without the draping for that price. LOL. I was just told the same for the number of LED lights, 24. I've really had my eye on them though so that might be our second splurge along with the tiffany chairs.

 

As for the party, since it's under 50 ppl, I think one hour extra will probably be good enough. We figure after our 4 hours are up, we can just continue the party at the "Disco".

[MissJali]

Hi Girls!!!! I've been MIA!!!! 50 days left to the big day! and I have a total of 33 booked. Tangerine package with the pier for the ceremony. 

[Shanna2015]

Did everyone's wedding go good? looking to have my wedding there

how long have you ladies been planning your wedding? Are you paying for their decorations or bring your own? I found a site where the chair covers and all are really cheap. What is the average price so far for you ladies ceremony and receptions?

[LovelyGemini]

Hi Girls!!!! I've been MIA!!!! 50 days left to the big day! and I have a total of 33 booked. Tangerine package with the pier for the ceremony. 

 

Your ceremony is going to look absolutely gorgeous on the pier, can't wait to see the photos!

[Sagesma]

Hi Girls!!!! I've been MIA!!!! 50 days left to the big day! and I have a total of 33 booked. Tangerine package with the pier for the ceremony. 

 

 

WOO HOO! Best of luck MissJali!!! Please come back and share your experience with us!  

Did everyone's wedding go good? looking to have my wedding there

how long have you ladies been planning your wedding? Are you paying for their decorations or bring your own? I found a site where the chair covers and all are really cheap. What is the average price so far for you ladies ceremony and receptions?

 Hi Shanna2015!!!

 

I've started my "real" planning July 2013 and my wedding is April 8, 2014. Our wedding is going to cost us anywhere between $10K to $15K (this is including mine and my fiance's flights to and from Edmonton, Canada) . Some costs are are still up in the air.  I am still debating on the spluring on LED lighting, Tiffany Chairs and extending our reception for addtional 2-3 hours. Here are some details of my wedding so you have a rough idea how much it may cost you.

 

- Tangerine package - expecting 40ish guests

- Catholic Ceremony at the Chapel

- Reception at Bar Higuey

- Gold Package for Photographer with Tropical Pictures

- Sunset package for Videographer with Tropical Pictures

 

If you have any more questions please let us know.  The girls on here are amazing!  We are all willing to share as much information as we can. Best of luck on your wedding planning!  

Right now, we have 82 confirmed. I'm expecting hopefully no more than 20 more, but we estimated somewhere between 100-120 for the final count. Last time we visited, back in June, Striker's did not require reservations, it is a large space and I'm crossing my fingers that we won't get in trouble for just taking over the place. I wanted it to be informal and formal welcome/rehearsal dinners are only free up to about 20 ppl I believe at the other restaurants. If it becomes too much, we'll probably go meet somewhere else, there are so many places to sit, maybe even at the area where they hold the evening shows, since they don't start until 10pm.

 

Aris quoted me about $2100 for draping all the walls in the ballroom. While I thought it would have a nice effect for the LED lighting, we might be able to do without the draping for that price. LOL. I was just told the same for the number of LED lights, 24. I've really had my eye on them though so that might be our second splurge along with the tiffany chairs.

 

As for the party, since it's under 50 ppl, I think one hour extra will probably be good enough. We figure after our 4 hours are up, we can just continue the party at the "Disco".

 

Holy cow you are expecting a lot of guests!! Good for you!!! Are any of your guests booking their package on their own and not with your travel agent? I have a few that are. I am trying to still figure out how I am going to keep track of everyone. Lol.

 

I have never been to the resort so Its been really hard for me to plan my wedding!  I may steal your idea about having our welcome dinner at Stikers.  If that doesnt work out Im glad to know that the area where they hold evening shows is another good option.  Is there any other place you would recommend? may be at one of the bars that is more central?  Most of my guests are staying on the adults side and I have a few staying at the family side. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we wont be scattered all over the resort. 

 

The LED lighting will def. have a beautiful effect. I am for sure splurging on lighting and draping if we are extending our reception a few more hours. my WC has emailed me back yesterday and said to extend our reception its gonna cost us $15/pp PLUS extra $$ if we want to extend our hours with the DJ. I am thinking we will pass on extending the DJ and just use our Ipod and have a play list play from there.

 

Haha yes, My original plan is to move the party to the disco but after really thinking about it, my Fiance and I want to keep our wedding more intimate, and since we're sprluging on drapping and LED lighting we should just keep everything at one location. Once we start moving locations, I think everyone will be tired and just go back to their rooms to sleep. lol.