Dreams Palm Beach 2013 Brides

[ellie0717]

Yay!  So exciting!  Your Save the Dates are DEF not going to be too late!  We just sent our out in January because that's when we booked and were super excited   I love the boarding pass invites and the passport ones as well!!!  I had a very hard time deciding!  We did something a little different with out save the dates and I'm leaning toward Passport invites.

Save the Dates:

Link to My post on these: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/77740/diy-save-the-dates-tons-of-pictures

 

 

Mock up of our Passport (Please don't judge, they are by no means finished )

 

We are having an at home reception as well and we aren't inviting everyone that will be invited to the At Home to the Destination Wedding.  I think everyone understands if you say "We're just having an intimate wedding and then we plan to celebrate with everyone when we return"  however, my fiance and I aren't really able to say that anymore since our "intimate" wedding in Punta Cana has turned into a rather large group   We each have large families (family takes up nearly 150 of our guest list) We ended up with a guest list of around 200 but plan for more like 50-100 to attend.  It's hard when our families are so large.  Our guest list includes family, our bridal party and a few of our super close family friends but we will be inviting all the rest of our friends, parents friends, co-workers and such to our at home reception.  Just remember to do what make you happy.  People will understand!!!!!!  It's your day

 

The beach is beautiful, not too rocky, but I did notice that depending on the time of year there's quite a bit of seaweed that washes to shore.  They do their best to rake it up but they can't be doing that non stop.  It wasn't that big of a deal to us though.  You can walk along the shore all the way down because the resort isn't next to another one.  It's pretty cool.  When we visited we'd walk down the shore at sunset and loveddd it!  Makes you almost feel like you are on a deserted island of sorts because there's no one around. 

[stephp1]

Hi !

Oh I'm so glad this thread is getting lots of activity - I can't wait to hear all about your planning ! I'm already having to read to catch up!

 

ellie0717 - beautiful save the dates - I ordered a postcard-type STD from weddingpaperdivas.com and we sent them out in October with just Caribbean Wedding, Spring 2013. Really vague but the all-inclusive packages are so expensive here I really wanted guests to start saving in advance.

 

So I have lots of new information to share about DPB:

 

Honeymoon Suite - hard to find pictures, but I did find a youtube video that walks through the room: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOMH7KPgwlI

 

Coco Cafe - My FH loves this idea and I think most of our guests will be dropping by here most mornings for a cup ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjcfOKThMCA

Maria, the WC, has emailed me a few times and she answered a lot of my questions in this last email (not sure if I'm allowed to copy and paste into the threads, but here it is):
 

If I choose the Dreams of Love or Ultimate Package, it appears that the Dreams Eternity Honeymoon Package is included for free - is this so? Is the honeymoon package included with the complimentary wedding? [María Augusta Acebo] yes

This package includes:

• Champagne on arrival

• Fresh flowers and exotic fruit platter in room upon arrival

• Champagne breakfast in bed the your morning after arrival

• Tension Release Massage for two in our couples massage suite room at the Spa (25 minutes each)

• Choice of either a European Facial or a Salt Glow Scrub body treatment (25 minutes) for each person

• Private beach front dinner. Upon returning from dinner you will find a romantic rose petal path and lighted candles in a specially set atmosphere just for you. Includes bottle of domestic wine and silver menu

• Petit fours each evening at turn down service

• Earn Free Nights towards a first anniversary return stay And will we receive the champagne breakfast the day after the wedding?[María Augusta Acebo] yes.

 

4) Several reviews have said that I will be unable to confirm my reception location until I actually arrive at the hotel. When do we meet with the wedding coordinator and make these choices?[María Augusta Acebo] we will. Confirm the location if you want the terrace, beach or banquet room, but we will confirm the specific location because we have 3 areas at the beach, several banquet rooms and 2 terraces.

 

5) Am I able to have DJ Mannia at the reception? Does this need to be booked through the hotel or can I book directly with DJ Mannia?[María Augusta Acebo] if you book directly with them then you need to pay for their day pass. If you book them trough us you pay them trough the hotel and there is no need to pay for the day pass.

 

6) Your first email said “The wedding couple needs to come to 3 days prior the wedding date no matter the type of ceremony†– for a symbolic wedding, does this include weekends? [María Augusta Acebo] it does not include weekends.

 

We're also looking at organizing a group excursion on a catamaran and came across the Happy Hour Cruise which looks nice - anyone else planning group excursions? http://www.marinarium.com/happy-hour/

** Also for those of you still looking for invitations, Etsy has an amazing selection! They are a little pricier, but the sellers are so flexible you'd probably be able to get them to put together a custom listing for your needs.

[ellie0717]

Stephp1.. Thank you so much for all of that information!  I have a question for you.  You're question to her about needing to be on the resort for 3 days prior said this doesn't include weekends.  We were planning to be there on Friday for our Monday wedding.  Does that mean that we'll need to be there by wednesday instead??  Thank you again for all the info!  Really helps a lot!

[stephp1]

Hi Ellie - I'm pretty sure the 3 days before are 3 "business days" which would not include weekends. However with that being said, in another email I told Maria that we would be arriving Thursday, April 25 and asked when was the first day we could get married, she replied with April 27 or April 30 (apparently April 29, 2013 is a holiday in DR and so they would only perform symbolic ceremonies on Apr 29) ...

You should email her directly and see what days are available for a legal wedding (if that's what you're having). It seemed that for symbolic ceremonies they are a little more forgiving, and the 3 day rule for symbolic is just to give enough time to meet with the WC and confirm all the details, as opposed to being a hard "rule".

 

Let me know how it goes !

[stephp1]

Does anyone have the bar prices for private bar service (ie at the beach or poolside)? Just realizing now that my preferred poolside location only allows receptions until 10:30pm, but the party will just be starting by that time ! May go with the beach instead .. and thinking of doing a cocktail / hors d'oeuvres only reception (for several hours) instead of the buffet.

Any other brides with reception plans?!
 

[AshTooner]

Hello 2013 Brides!

 

My fiance and I will be getting married at DPB on February 20, 2013. I am so excited!  This resort looks so beautiful and I think our guests are really going to be amazed by it.

 

 At first, my fiance and I were going to have the ceremony and reception at the resort, using the Ultimate Package.  However, the more we looked into things, the more I didn't like with some of the wedding options/prices.  I was really bothered that receptions are limited to 3 hours only (until 10:30).  I didn't want to have the party end and then have to go to a disco on my wedding night.  So, here is what we are doing.

 

Our wedding ceremony is going to be on the DPB beach in the late afternoon.  After the ceremony, a bus is coming to transport our guests to a reception location outside of Dreams Palm Beach - The Jellyfish Restaurant, where we will occupy the whole main floor of the restaurant.  When our guests arrive, there will be a one hour cocktail party and then we have a personalized menu for dinner.  After that we are going to have the speeches, cake cutting and  dance the night away on the beach. I like that at Jellyfish there are no restrictions on time... the party can go as late as we would like it to. 

 

Good luck with all your planning, ladies!

 

Any other February 2013 brides???

 

 

[sajafaja]

I just sent off our deposit for Dreams Palm Beach, May 2013... How are you ladies finding the process? Have any of you started your wedding website?

[sajafaja]

Thanks for all the information! It's so hard to find any pictures of the suite, let alone a walk thru! You've got me really concerned about the wedding date we set, we'll be arriving on Thursday for a Saturday wedding...

[kelly1218]

Hi Ladies and Congrats to all of you!

 

I feel as though I have been stalking the BDW forums for the past two weeks and thought it was about time to pipe up  Although our date hasn't been confirmed by the DPB WC yet, the game plan is for March 16th. Compared to some of you girls I'm a bit behind in my planning so I was hoping you could help answer a quick question to get things rolling...

 

- I'm torn between looking for a local TA here in Colorado or one with more experience with DWs such as Wright TA from the BDW website. Any suggestions??

 

Also, this is random but.... In case any of you were trying to decide on which wedding package suits you best, one of the brides (Tyandnique, page 12) in the DPB 2012 forum posted an Excel spreadsheet that you can download and alter to fit your needs. It's based on last years pricing and way too indepth for me at this time; but I thought it could be helpful to some of you ladies!

 

Thanks for your help!

[lilt88]

Your invitations are beautiful...can you help me find some like this? Or did you make yourself...were planning our wedding...were really considering Dreams Palm Beach...We went to the other dreams in punta cana two years ago...it was beautiful....can't decide which one!