Barcelo Bavaro Palace Deluxe

[disazaja]

Elycoco - so I havent even started thinking about welcome bags, but my friends have recommended having these things on them: advil/ alkaseltzer (for the hangover), maps of the resort or the island, brochures of what to do, wedding itinerary (in case you are having extra activities), spa prices for guests who wish to do their hair and make up, a list of where the other guests are staying so they can meet and go to dinner , etc. My friend got married in Charlotte, NC and she had welcome bags, in there she had brochures of things to do in the city, a water bottle with their names, a postcard of the city, NC souvernirs (cheerwine, sundrop, moonpie, honey and wine), itinerary and phone #s of wedding party just in case, candy/chocolate with thank you labels and advils, toothpaste and toothbrush in case they forgot one at home.

[trivera5521]

Welcome back Julissa!! You look gorgeous!! I am very much looking forward to the video, I assume Tropical Pictures did it? How was the food? Lots of onlookers at the gazebo?

 

Ely....hey stranger , I got my personalized backs from Vistaprint and used a groupon, I can send pics if you want to see them. So far I have personalized T-shirts also from vistaprint, first aid kits, hand santizer, travel sunblock, disposable cameras, and a deck of cards. As I get closer I will purchase things for our "Oh shit kit" which include pepto, tylenol, alka seltzer, etc. I will also add a brochure/welcome book with things about the resort specifically restaurants, and include schedule of any excursions we will be doing and games for anyone who wants to participate. As I dont want the week to be scheduled and have to keep in mind people are on vaca too.

 

I am waiting for Airtran to release there fares because the prices as you ladies know from NY are ridiculous right now! I am hoping one everyone has their fares out then it will get a bit more competitive and things will go down a bit.

 

P.S. I started a Vistaprint thread on here for groupons and one of the girls just posted that there is an active one now that needs to be purchased within the nxt 6 days and its $17 for $70 worth of merchandise. It must be used my Jan 2013 but huge savings as all my visit print stuff was purchased with groupons and is sooo reasonably priced.

[JRM426]

Hi ladies,

 

I haven't posted in FOREVER since I was so busy planning the wedding. I was the other bride that got married the same day as Julissa (who looked beautiful btw). I was also the bride with all the decorations including the suitcase (I have a crazy sister who aspires to be a wedding planner). 

 

As Cindy (I believe that is her name) said before, everything comes together so nicely and all the worrying will be for naught.

 

I was originally assigned Marlene as my coordinator and all my correspondence was with her so you can imagine when she tells me a week prior to the wedding that she's reassigning me to Lianny. I almost had a heart attack but in retrospect, it was a blessing in disguise. She was professional and courteous and not to mention very accommodating. She had my file with her and went through it thoroughly. We discussed every detail from how we wanted the decorations to the order of the wedding party coming in. We also had a site visit to the wedding venue (Bar Higuey and Garden Gazebo) to hash out how everything would be decorated. Let's just say that after that meeting, I breathed a sigh of relief.

 

As for the wedding week itself, we had quite a few activities planned that went beautifully. We had a welcome party at the Chill Out Roof, which is well worth it if you're considering it. We also had included in that welcome party, cocktails/canapes and a cigar roller. It was worth getting the cocktails cause the bar is a about a 2 minute walk and people didn't seem to want to walk back and forth. Also, the ladies serving the cocktails were taking drink orders from my guests and bringing it to them. The cigar roller was a hit but I'd advise you do this for an event outside of your wedding since they have an entire demonstration where they give you a history of cigar rolling. Btw, he was a hit! Included in their package is 20 cigars they give out to guests...we had everyone just relaxing and smoking on the rooftop.

 

Our rehearsal dinner was at La Cava (the wine cellar...more like a room with lots of wine) in the steakhouse, which was nice and private. That cost $20 per person regardless of whether or not you're Club Premium. The only caveat is that it holds only 14 people so we had to limit our number of guests. I recommend doing it there and not at the French Restaurant which will run you $35 per person and wasn't as good as the steakhouse. 

 

We also had a shopping tour for the ladies courtesy of my family from DR. They got us a charter bus to take the ladies shopping around town while the guys had a golf outing. Lastly, my sister threw me a bachelorette in a private room located on the VIP section of the nightclub. She had the hotel hire a local stripper...which was interesting to say the least. I think we left a bit traumatized but we all had fun.

 

The day of the wedding, all of my ladies from the wedding party got ready at the spa. I had access to the bridal suite but I think that was a matter of logistics since my wedding was taking place an hour earlier than Julissa's. Even though they say they allow only one person, my ladies were walking in and out of the bridal suite the entire time I was there. The guests were given a gathering point and were taken to the convention center by their trolley which was decorated with white balloons. I got there a little late since Lianny was running an errand for my dad. Everything from that point on was seamless. 

 

Ah, almost forgot, we added the fire show to the wedding. What an awesome performance...your guests will talk for days!

 

We used Tropical Pictures and they were well worth it! We didnt speak to them the entire year and a half of planning but they come through. During your meeting with the wedding coordinator, they are there to go over your package and they provide you with a checklist of photos that you definitely want taken. My photographer was Malena and she was so freaking awesome. She took amazing pictures...see below. 

 

As for some logistics:

All of our guests had the beef dish which was OK, not great and the vegetarians had fish (at no extra cost to us)

We brought our own decorations including: chinese laterns, fans, bubbles, napkins, menus, place cards, candy, candy jars, souvenirs, parasols etc etc

We had an outside DJ who was awesome: DJ Mannia but we counted them as a guest in order to play at our wedding

Extras we paid for: lighted balls in the entrance ($21 each); silver tifany chairs: ($5.50 each); flower petals down the aisle ($40). 

Welcome bags were beach bags that my mom got from DR with a map of the country in front...inside was a survival kit for our guests: water, pepto bismal, advil, hand sanitizer, dominican coffee and for some of them, goodies such as condoms, etc. Also included was the week's itinerary. 

 

I will try to answer your questions as best as possible. I know how aggravating all the planning can be but in the end, it's all well worth it. Good luck ladies!

Johanna

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JRM426]

I forgot to add that I had the Tangerine package and had 88 guests including myself and my husband (so weird to write that). They gave us everything in the package, including all the Spa amenities. A few weeks before your wedding you'll get a wedding questionnaire and a spa roster for you to fill out. Once you're there, they'll provide you the times for all your spa appointments. I also got the Spa Bridal Party for my bridesmaids which was some nice time alone with them...I booked that on my own. 

 

And one last thing...the resort is super large so prepare yourself to lose your guests. Some I only saw at the wedding....

 

Johanna

[Bjeantil]

JRM426 and JG, thank you so much for your reviews. A sigh of relief. I have Susana so it great to hear positive things.

JRM426 My wedding is being held in the exact locations you held your ceremony and reception... so its great to see how you set things up and get a visual of how my wedding will look like.

How much was the fire show and did you hold it during the reception, after, or before? Which package did you select for the cigar rolling?  Did you bring your own center pieces or did  you get them from the WC? Did you hold a cocktail hour after the ceremony? If so, where did you hold it and do you have pics? if not, what did you guest do to kill time before the reception?

 

Thank you once again!

[sunny55143]

Congrats to the new BBPD brides!  We should start a club

 

Elycoco,

 

Here is the thread I started on our welcome bags.  They were a huge hit and I think it was totally worth it.

 

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/79630/our-oot-bags

[JRM426]

Originally Posted by Bjeantil 

 

JRM426 and JG, thank you so much for your reviews. A sigh of relief. I have Susana so it great to hear positive things.

JRM426 My wedding is being held in the exact locations you held your ceremony and reception... so its great to see how you set things up and get a visual of how my wedding will look like.

How much was the fire show and did you hold it during the reception, after, or before? Which package did you select for the cigar rolling?  Did you bring your own center pieces or did  you get them from the WC? Did you hold a cocktail hour after the ceremony? If so, where did you hold it and do you have pics? if not, what did you guest do to kill time before the reception?

 

Thank you once again!

Bjeantil:

 

I'm glad we eased your mind...to answer your questions:

The fire show was $488 held during the reception while our guests were having dinner. It lasts about 10-15 minutes

The cigar roller package we got was La Perla Gold Package: $308 for an hour and 20 cigars

BBPD made our centerpieces based on pictures we sent to them, they cost $60 each

We did have a cocktail hour after the ceremony which I don't have pictures to since we were taking pictures with the photographer at that time....if a friend forwards me one I'll post it...the cocktail hour is located right next to the gazebo on the right hand side if you're facing it a little towards the back so it doesn't come out in pictures. We also had the trio playing during the cocktail hour to entertain guests while we were away....they were pretty awesome. We rented their AV system for the ceremony, which hooks up to your iPod and played our own music during the actual ceremony. Hope this helps. 

 

Johanna

[disazaja]

Hi JRM426!!! Thanks for all the pics!!! they look awesome! just as curiosity, how many chinese lanterns did you bring with you? I want to bring my own too but I want to get an idea of how many are needed to fill Bar Higuey. how many lighted balls did you get too? I saw those online but they will be impossible to bring so I would have to get them in the DR. Did you have decorations on the pools around bar higuey? JG Corona thanks for the video! so pretty! did you girls felt that you were rushed on the spa because your weddings were the same day? or it didnt really matter? mine is at 3 pm and there is another bride at 5pm .. so I dont want to be ready by 12....

[JG Corona]

Hello Ladies,

 

I posted our wedding video on you tube =)

 

Enjoy!

[JG Corona]