getting married at Paradisus Palma Real Punta Cana and i need soooooo much help looking for ideas and where to have the receptions etcccccc.... THANKS!!!

[SoonToBeDickens]

For Starters, CONGRATS on your engagement and upcoming wedding. My fiancé and I are getting married at Paradisus Palma Real in less than two months. YIKES {talk about nervous}! We selected the Garden to get married at and the Olympus terrace, as the idea and look alone gave enough without us having to go crazy with spending tons of money to decorate that site. Honestly, the prices for some of the décor was outrageous and we refused to get ripped off, so we’ve decided to bring our own accents for the resort to set up. I believe they charge a $50.00 set up fee, which is cheaper than paying them for some of the options they have. NOT WORTH IT! We are using the brokerage firm that the Romance team suggested, only b/c it seems like UPS and other carrier packages have to go thru a different process and are often left at some holding place at the airport {I read this someplace}. Since we do not want to chance our belongings getting lost, we’d rather ship and be comfortable with the notion that they have received it before we leave New Jersey. We are carrying our wedding attire onto the flight with us, as carry-on. The thought of shipping or asking someone else to do so is tooooo stressful and worrisome. I suggest you do the same and have your bridesmaids to do the same, especially since airlines lose luggage everyday. Please note, the resort does not {which I do not understand} have a steamer for wedding dresses. Not even in the bridal suite, to which is a RIP OFF. Its $300 with sparkling wine and fruit included. I was going to rent this suite, until I learned nothing came with it, and not all my bridesmaids {5} would be able to fit. I mean you would think for the money it would be sizable enough like one of their rooms. NOT! With respect to the photography, we are using Arrecife for pictures and videography. If you do not want to use them, if you google “I got married at Paradisus Palma Real†and select images, you’ll see other couples who used other photographers. However, I must admit the pictures from the others are no different than the resort. Actually the resort is better b/c of the amount of access they have throughout the entire resort. I think the prices are okay too, but maybe you may discover different. If you have 10 or more rooms book, the resort will host a welcome cocktail party, on the date of your choice for free. They allow you to choose the location, which I think is about 3. We have about 30 people coming to our wedding, but afraid everyone will not be able to take advantage of the welcome cocktails b/c of the time of arrivals. Be sure to book air early b/c as I am experiencing with my guests, airfare from New Jersey is WICKED! Believe you me. Lauren is a sweetheart, she gets very busy but she’s usually on point with her responses when she does respond. NO COMPLAINTS. CAKE CAKE CAKE. I asked the same question but b/c there are no bakeries in the Punta Cana area, the cost for a customized one is $1000. We ended up going with the butter cream, that it comes with and left it like that. We have the chill out chic package, so it came with it. They do charge to upgrade your cake to fondant, but no one really eats that type of cake b/c of the thickness/richness of it. Personally, we wanted our guests to be able to enjoy the cake, not look at it (LOL). MUSIC, I’ve heard GREAT reviews about DJ Mania and we have decided to use him. We have been in contact with him and from reading other posts or speaking to other brides, he seem ON POINT. He sent us a sheet requesting a list of songs that we want to hear throughout the night. We are also bring house music cds b/c we love to dance so this should be FUN. Any more questions, email me at [email protected]

[nancya]

Welcome and good luck!

[dotsnotfeathers]

how much does she charge?

[indie2011]

Her prices are reasonable. I would reach out to her and see what you need. Give her a call, it doesn't hurt to get an idea of how she can help you and how much she will charge. Her rates are just under a thousand dollars. If she can save you two to four thousand its totally worth it, she has already saved me about $1.5K.

[SoonToBeDickens]

Let me just say that Paradisus Palma Real is “The best†resort on the island. This place is absolutely stunning in ambiance with breath-taking views throughout the resort and beyond superb in terms of food and experience. From the open lobby floor plan, enormous pool area and Royal suites, every aspect was on the money.

• NOTE: YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE A VERY RIDICULOUS, YET NERVE WREAKING PICKY PERSON AND SOMEWHAT OF AN UNHAPPY ONE TO NOT LOVE THIS PLACE.   

When we arrived, we were set to prepare for our destination wedding with 27 other guests from New Jersey, Atlanta, Washington DC, etc. During the check-in process, we were whisked away to a private concierge area where we were checked into the Royal Service with an amazing view of the ocean and the Royal Service pool. Greeted with cocktails and appetizers before we were escorted to our Royal suite by our butler “Henry†was an experience in itself.  Not only was he eager to please, attentive, professional, he was very friendly as well.   Throughout our stay he work ethics will prove to be true, as he catered to our every need. From making reservations at restaurants to room service. He went above and beyond and we rewarded $$$$$ him for that. Our stay was an event in itself. Every night there was a show and we had the opportunity to eat at every restaurant on the grounds, including dinner at the Gabi Club (FOOD WAS DELICIOUS, esp. the shrimp and salmon) which was situated in the Reserved area. The swings were romantic and we ate poolside for dinner the day after our wedding. We ate at Naos (GREAT BREAKFAST & LUNCH FOOD), Market Grill (BEST SALMON & STEAK), Passions, Bano, Royal Palazzo (LOVED THE DRINKS AND LUNCH FOOD).  Room service was average, but they had the best pasta and chicken pasta. Stay away from the pizza. The burgers are just okay, but we enjoyed the late night snacks after drinking all day.

 

ROMANCE DEPARTMENT:  We met with Massiel Jimenez and Lara from Caribbean Celebrations on the day of arrival to finalize on the last minute wedding details. Thriving to have every element of our wedding to be as unique as we are, the romance department outdid themselves when they made our dreams become a reality. They were able to put our vision together and even went so far as to filling in the blanks when we overlooked things. THEY ROCK!  We used DJ Mannia, although we bought club music to the island so that guests would dance non-stop. Let’s just say we had non-wedding guests, asking to attend our poolside reception. Without boasting …WE TURNED Paradisus Palma Real out and til this day guests are still talking about their experience at our wedding. Paradisus Palma Real …… (5-stars) in our book. 

[indie2011]

Amazing review! I can't wait for my November 11 wedding. If you're free I'd love to talk with you more about your experience, especially the reception centerpieces and DJ Mannia. My whole family is from New York and we like to think we're some serious party animals. I'm a bit worried about the dj but would love to hear more about your experience.

 

I'd also love to see any pictures you may have. I've found it so helpful to have images to reference.

 

Thanks so much and congratulations Mrs. Dickens!!!

 

- India 

[JanelleB]

Hi girls! I am getting married at Paradisus Palma Real on November 9th! Do you have pictures you can share?! I would GREATLY appreciate it! India, if you can tell me a bit about the weather in November i would sooo appreciate that too!

[Moments That Matter]

Congrats indie2011 on your November wedding! hope everything goes really well and you have an amazing day

[JennyAdele]

What is her fee? Do you think she has saved you enough money on other things to cover her fee?