Barcelo Bavaro Palace Deluxe

[trivera5521]

Congrats Mandi and welcome back as a married woman =)

 

A few questions if I may:

 

What were your food options during your reception and were you pleased with the quality and portions?

 

What did you end up doing for your centerpieces? This is weighting heavily on me as it can potentially add another $400 to my budget at minimum.

 

Any feedback on the food during cocktail hour?

 

Did you guys to a TTD session with your photographer and if so what type of dress did you have? Was it super heavy after being all wet and such?

 

I think you mentioned your colors were aqua and coral. They have 2 aqua options on their color swatch, which did you choose?

 

Cant wait to see pics!!!

 

Thanks,

 

~T

[mtrevena]

Originally Posted by MissJali 

 

Congratulations Mandi!!! Thank you for your post! I was going to ask you about the welcome drinks as I am looking to do the same. I was glad to see your response and how you went about doing it. As for the rehearsal, did you guys have an actual rehearsal or did you wing it on the day of the wedding? I'm a little about that as well as having an emcee. As you can imagine, this is only my first wedding lol I'd like to know that Susana will do a rehearsal with us to make sure we all walk down in the correct order, etc etc.

 

 

Thanks again for your review!

 

Hi Missjali!  And thanks!  Our welcome drinks/location worked out very well, let me know if you need me to clarify anything on that.  As far as the rehearsal, no, we did not have one.  Susana basically tells everyone what to do the day of the wedding.  It seems a bit nerve wracking at first not knowing, but she does a great job and it's pretty self explanatory so we actually didn't feel like a rehearsal would have been needed.  She gives you most details at your meeting when you arrive, and then guides everyone on what to do the day of.  She is there through the entire wedding and reception, and tells everyone when to walk, and lets everyone know where to line up ahead of time.  As for the Emcee, they charge extra if you want to use one of theirs for the reception.  I had my step dad be the Emcee and that worked out well, he coordinated timing with the DJ on announcements and used their microphone.  I think the DJ with the Emcee is around $700, and the basic DJ is only $488.  Let me know if you have other questions!

 

Mandi

[mtrevena]

Originally Posted by trivera5521 

 

Congrats Mandi and welcome back as a married woman =)

 

A few questions if I may:

 

What were your food options during your reception and were you pleased with the quality and portions?

 

What did you end up doing for your centerpieces? This is weighting heavily on me as it can potentially add another $400 to my budget at minimum.

 

Any feedback on the food during cocktail hour?

 

Did you guys to a TTD session with your photographer and if so what type of dress did you have? Was it super heavy after being all wet and such?

 

I think you mentioned your colors were aqua and coral. They have 2 aqua options on their color swatch, which did you choose?

 

Cant wait to see pics!!!

 

Thanks,

 

~T

 

Hi trivera, thanks!  I can't wait to see my pictures too!  :]  Here's answers to your questions, let me know if you think of anything else.

 

 

What were your food options during your reception and were you pleased with the quality and portions?

 - We had the caprese salad, the fish medallions with risotto and asparagus, and the creme brule for dessert.  The portions are a bit small, but I don't even think I finished my food as there was so much going on.  The caprese salad was delicious, very good.  The fish medallions were decent - not great, not bad, and the parmesan cheese risotto was actually quite good.  Creme Brule was good too, but I think I only ate a bite, I was rarely at my table!  Overall the food was pretty good, and they were nice enough to make up a couple chicken plates for guests of ours that didn't eat fish.

 

What did you end up doing for your centerpieces? This is weighting heavily on me as it can potentially add another $400 to my budget at minimum.

 - We brought our own items and made up our own centerpieces.  This is a much more affordable option, and Susana actually did everything for us, which was nice!  My Mom just gave her instructions on what to do and she set it all up for us.  We had vases and put in them submersible LED lights and those beads that expand in water, and then starfish and seashells placed around the center and table.  They looked really cute, we got a lot of compliments on them.  I would recommend bringing your own with you if you can - I think it's better then paying $60 minimum per table.

 

Any feedback on the food during cocktail hour?

 - As far as the food during the cocktail hour you don't have a choice on what is served, it was appetizer type food and it all tasted good.  I think it was chicken skewers, empanadas, cheese balls, and maybe 1 or 2 more items.  I tried a couple things and was pleased with it.  It's nothing fancy, basically just tray passed appetizers, but it was a nice touch.

 

Did you guys to a TTD session with your photographer and if so what type of dress did you have? Was it super heavy after being all wet and such?

 - I am not sure what TTD is actually, so if I don't answer your question correctly let me know!  We had a separate day with our photographer 2 days after the wedding where I wore a short white dress and we took pictures by and in the water.  It was a pretty simple strapless dress, so it wasn't too heavy after I was thrown in the water.  We had a 5pm reception, and it started raining around 5:40, so there wasn't a lot of time for beach shots directly after the ceremony.  Since I did not want to see my fiance before getting married having the 2 separate sessions was nice so we could have actual location wedding photos, and beach photos during the day too.

 

I think you mentioned your colors were aqua and coral. They have 2 aqua options on their color swatch, which did you choose?

 - I picked Aqua 1, it looked so nice with the coral.  My bridesmaids wore coral dresses, and I had a coral sash, and the chair sashes actually matched our dresses pretty well.  I was very pleased with the colors.  I am attaching a picture of me sitting on a chair showing the chair sashes, if it doesn't come through let me know and I will email it to you so you can see.  I will also post a link to pictures once I get them back from our photographer, hopefully they'll be ready soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mandi

[Curls2013]

mtrevena,

 

You are AWESOME! Thanks so much for helping us out. Just a few questions.......

 

1) How did you figure out what bar you wanted to go to for the Welcome Party and how did you communicate it to your guests?

2) How did you actually ship/travel with the vases you used for the centerpieces?

3) We've got 40 in the wedding party and 60 total. Any suggestions for a Rehearsal Dinner? I've asked Marlene, but have yet to get a response. 

4) How did the dinner reservations work? Do you really have to make reservations for every night the first night you get there? I was considering putting nightly restaurant reservations on my itinerary and having everyone make them in advance. Too much? 

 

Thanks! 

[WTunner]

High ladies, i havent been here in a while, but wanted to share since this forum helped me make so many decisions. (still on honeymoon lol) Just wrote a long review and deleted right before posting.... Ughhh So here is the shorter version. Wedding was Nov 2nd at 5pm Package: tangerine Ceremony: rooftop deck (totally worth the extra $500) Reception: bar higuey (perfect) Susana... Best wedding coordinator in the world! Trust her, she totally knows what she is doing Centerpieces: I paid ($75 a piece times 5 tables) people loved them and couldn't stop talking about the decor (which included the Tiffany chairs at an added cost of $5 per chair) Food: I went with the buffet (it's based on a 40 person minimum). I only had 33, so I paid extra and there was a lot of food left over, but my guests loooved the food, Pictures: I was terrified of using someone I didn't know, but tropical pics was amazing! Malena was our photographer and Santiago our videographer Excursions: zip lining.... Way fun and guests loved! DJ: we used the package with the MC and it was totally worth it. Highly recommend upgrading to club premium... A few perks plus wifi included. Hair/ makeup: it was included, but I used to be in beauty industry so I'm very picky about it (specially for my wedding) Lady at spa was very sweet and tried doing it, but I ended up finishing my hair and makeup which was totally ok with me. They don't have too much variety in colors, so if you have a specific look you want, bring your own makeup. I went to MAC, had my lady do my wedding makeup, then had her teach me to do it just the same. Dinners: have your WC reserve a week ahead of time.... They book fast Can't think of anything else of the top of my head, but if you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or message me on our Facebook fan page. Tons of pics on (over 200) on our fanpage at www.facebook.com/teamtunner . These are the professional ones by tropical pics Happy planning!

[WTunner]

High ladies, i havent been here in a while, but wanted to share since this forum helped me make so many decisions. (still on honeymoon lol) Just wrote a long review and deleted right before posting.... Ughhh So here is the shorter version. Wedding was Nov 2nd at 5pm Package: tangerine Ceremony: rooftop deck (totally worth the extra $500) Reception: bar higuey (perfect) Susana... Best wedding coordinator in the world! Trust her, she totally knows what she is doing Centerpieces: I paid ($75 a piece times 5 tables) people loved them and couldn't stop talking about the decor (which included the Tiffany chairs at an added cost of $5 per chair) Food: I went with the buffet (it's based on a 40 person minimum). I only had 33, so I paid extra and there was a lot of food left over, but my guests loooved the food, Pictures: I was terrified of using someone I didn't know, but tropical pics was amazing! Malena was our photographer and Santiago our videographer Excursions: zip lining.... Way fun and guests loved! DJ: we used the package with the MC and it was totally worth it. Highly recommend upgrading to club premium... A few perks plus wifi included. Hair/ makeup: it was included, but I used to be in beauty industry so I'm very picky about it (specially for my wedding) Lady at spa was very sweet and tried doing it, but I ended up finishing my hair and makeup which was totally ok with me. They don't have too much variety in colors, so if you have a specific look you want, bring your own makeup. I went to MAC, had my lady do my wedding makeup, then had her teach me to do it just the same. Dinners: have your WC reserve a week ahead of time.... They book fast Can't think of anything else of the top of my head, but if you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or message me on our Facebook fan page. Tons of pics on (over 200) on our fanpage at www.facebook.com/teamtunner . These are the professional ones by tropical pics Happy planning!

[trivera5521]

Thanks Mandi!!

 

Did they charge you extra for the double sashes on the chairs? Did you also have them on your chairs during the ceremony?

[disazaja]

Thanks you Mandi and WTunner!!

 

Cant wait to see pics!

[newbride101]

Thanks WTunner.

I just read your post and had a look through your pics. You look amazing! And congratulations to you and your new hubby.

We are also using the roof top for our ceremony, what time of day was your ceremony? Was it too hot for you or your guests (you all look very comfortable in your pics)?

I know the roof top is a pretty big space, did they leave any of the lounge furniture on the roof top during the ceremony? I thought it might be nice to have if we do a cocktail hour after wards. Did you have enough daylight for pictures after wards? What time was your reception?

How did you like the bridal room? Was there any issue with how many people you could have with you while getting ready?

Thanks for your post and your help.

[mtrevena]

Originally Posted by Curls2013 

 

mtrevena,

 

You are AWESOME! Thanks so much for helping us out. Just a few questions.......

 

1) How did you figure out what bar you wanted to go to for the Welcome Party and how did you communicate it to your guests?

2) How did you actually ship/travel with the vases you used for the centerpieces?

3) We've got 40 in the wedding party and 60 total. Any suggestions for a Rehearsal Dinner? I've asked Marlene, but have yet to get a response. 

4) How did the dinner reservations work? Do you really have to make reservations for every night the first night you get there? I was considering putting nightly restaurant reservations on my itinerary and having everyone make them in advance. Too much? 

 

Thanks! 

 

Hi Curls2013!  Thanks for your kind words.  :}  Below are answers to your questions, let me know if I can help with anything else.

 

 

1) How did you figure out what bar you wanted to go to for the Welcome Party and how did you communicate it to your guests?

 - My parents had done a site visit back in March and really liked the Carey Lobby Bar for the welcome cocktails.  It's a really nice bar, close to everything, and could easily host our group size.  We had itinerary's made up for our guests that were given to them at check in, and the welcome cocktail party was listed on there.  For the guests that had already arrived, we hand delivered the itinerary's.

 

2) How did you actually ship/travel with the vases you used for the centerpieces?

 - We packed everything in suitcases.  We traveled with lots of luggage!  It worked out well, we had 2 free checked items per person on the airline we traveled on, and so did my parents, so it was the best/cheapest option.  I did not want to ship anything there just in case.

 

3) We've got 40 in the wedding party and 60 total. Any suggestions for a Rehearsal Dinner? I've asked Marlene, but have yet to get a response.

 - We had our rehearsal dinner in the Santa Fe Steakhouse.  I would recommend that option if it is available. They tell you initially that it is for only up to  40 people, but we had 43 and easily fit, I'm sure they could have fit in another couple of tables, the private room is pretty big.  The service there was great also and the food was good.  You do have to pick 1 prix fixed menu, but they make up other dishes for any vegetarians or non-steak eaters.

 

4) How did the dinner reservations work? Do you really have to make reservations for every night the first night you get there? I was considering putting nightly restaurant reservations on my itinerary and having everyone make them in advance. Too much? 

 - If you're a Club Premium guest it seems you get better options for the dinner reservations, although they do fill up fast.  Many of our guests made dinner reservations on the first day for the entire week.  We made ours day by day and were able to pretty much get into anywhere we wanted, sometimes just an early or late dinner depending on what they had available.  If there's specific restaurants you or your guests for sure want to try I would recommend making reservations in advance since they do fill up quickly.  Putting nightly reservations on your itinerary might be a bit much though as with 60 people you may not all be able to get in the same restaurant every night.  Bigger groups have less options as far as the time for dinner also, when we were in smaller groups options for the dinner times were better.

 

Hope this helps!

Mandi