2013 Paradisus Palma Real

[angelnjewels]

Hi Ladies, I haven't spend a lot of time posting on the message board, but I just had my wedding on September 27 and I thought I'd share my experience. We arrived on Wed and met Mariela who was our assigned wedding coordinator.  We reviewed all of our details and I must say, they were on top of things. If you have a good MOH, bring her to this meeting.  My sister was present to take notes and manage all of the final details, which I must say was priceless. Couple of notes: We held a welcome cocktail event on Thursday for our guests in the Plaza Colonial. I had 52 guests and requested large group dinner reservations at three restaurants to accommodate everyone. My sister created a sign-up sheet that we passed around at the cocktail party so that guests could choose where to dine. We did go ahead and get the Bridal Suite which turned out to be pretty nice since it allowed the groom to use our hotel room to get dressed and my girlfriends and I had our own little party in the Bridal Suite.  I had a couple of guests that cancelled at the last minute which helped defer some of the $300 cost.  I did not use the PPR team for hair and makeup, but only because I knew my girlfriends could get the job done and that was one less expense. :-) Although our wedding was held in the Garden Gazebo area, we elected to have the ceremony on the lawn across from the gazebo since the gazebo itself is so small and guests have to sit far away. We provided our own wording for the entire ceremony (use the web for ideas- and it's a great assignment for the groom), and provided a transcript to Mariela about a week before the wedding. (We used my ipod on their sound system for the ceremony music.) Make a note to bring your own runner for the ceremony (I forgot).  The only options are at PPR are a burlap runner (which is perfect for the beach or more rustic themes) or a white feathery thing that looks like a boa and is a nightmare to walk on. Overall it was very hot, but the wedding was beautiful. My cocktail reception was at the Plaza Colonial. We used our own docking station and ipod for music since it was only an hour. My reception was in the Apollo Ballroom.  I was thankful my guests had some relief from the heat.  The decor was beautiful (I used amber lighting and draping) and the DJ was great.  I provided a complete list of music for dinner and the party and he improvised perfectly.  I asked a really good friend to emcee the evening and she did and outstanding job and made it much more personal than the DJ could have done. Also I added an hour to my reception so that things would not feel rushed. Since my wedding was on Friday, we had all day Saturday to relax at the pool and enjoy visiting with our guests. On Sunday we had breakfast at Naos with all of our guests, which was the perfect way to say goodbye before we departed. Sidebar: About 3 weeks before the wedding, I sent all of our guests a mailing that included tourism information about punta cana, a weekend intinerary, info about the PPR restaurants (including dress code and access). I'll try to post some pictures. Adey

Hi Danny, Thanks for the review. I love your pictures. So beautiful!!!!! I am super excited... My wedding is less than 6 months away at PPR. I am going to book the bridal suite and going to have my hair done at the room. Ugh I find that there is so much to think about... But it sounds like once you are there it is amazing... We are going with the tailor made package. And we will be having our reception at the apollo. How did the draping work out? I am thinking of adding this to the room. Any other tips would be greatly appreciated... Congratulations!!!

[Katherine2go]

So beautiful!!

 

Did you use the on site DJ?

[DannysAp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by angelnjewels 


Hi Danny,

Thanks for the review. I love your pictures. So beautiful!!!!! I am super excited... My wedding is less than 6 months away at PPR.

I am going to book the bridal suite and going to have my hair done at the room. Ugh I find that there is so much to think about... But it sounds like once you are there it is amazing...


We are going with the tailor made package. And we will be having our reception at the apollo. How did the draping work out? I am thinking of adding this to the room.


Any other tips would be greatly appreciated...


Congratulations!!!

Thank you!!  I did use the in house DJ and he did a great job. I must admit I provided a list of music that covered 4 hours and he didn't play everything, but he improvised with music that fit along the same theme.  The draping and the amber lighting helped to make the ballroom feel more intimate. I have no doubt your wedding will be beautiful!!! Stay on top of the Miami folks- they sometimes forget details you've already agreed to- confirm everything in email.

[DannysAp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katherine2go 
 

So beautiful!!

 

Did you use the on site DJ?

Thank you! The DJ did a great job. I created an excel spreadsheet of all of the music I wanted to hear and he stayed within that theme.  I was very pleased.

[DannysAp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EVKnowsitall 
 

 

Beautiful. Your set up worked out nicely. I agree the Garden Gazeebo is terribly small. It looks bigger at Paradisus Punta Cana- you would think with all their weddings they would have a bigger gazebo lol. We had our cocktail hour at the Plaza too. I think its the best spot for cocktail hour. It is already set up for a nice, chill ambiance, photographs beautifully, and is a nice reprieve from the heat too since nice breezes flow through.

Thank you so much.  I wonder what the logic was in the design and placement of the Gazebo at PPR.  I agree the one at PPC looks much more ideal for a wedding. Yes I too loved the natural backdrop provided by the Plaza Colonial- no additional decor required.  And now that they've added the additional bar and music, it's a ready-made cocktail party location.

[Katherine2go]

Good to hear! I was getting nervous about using the in house DJ, but your comment makes me feel so much better .  The excel spreadsheet is an excellent idea, too!

[angelnjewels]

Hi ladies, For those of you who have done the draping at the Apollo ballroom.... was it worth it? How much was the draping?

[lisanatywa]

Hey!

 

I am somewhat new to this post, but just as a reader I had my wedding at the Paradisus Palma Real on October 11 and had such a wonderful experience, I thought I'd share. Like many of you, I had my uncertainties and hesitations just based on what past brides have said. My advice to you is stay calm, stay organized and remember that your wedding day is about who you are sharing it with! Our ceremony, cocktail hour and reception were on the beach. It did begin to rain about half-way through our reception and it was suggested that we move indoors so we could continue to have the DJ. Obviously this wasn't ideal, but we got all of the important stuff taken care of outside before it rained. They moved us to the one of the ballrooms which had air-conditioning, that was a plus!

 

Here's a link to our "Sneak Peek" photos from our photographers. They are friends of ours and stayed with us as guests so we didn't have to pay the "outside vendor" fee.

 

http://blog.beyondthewell.com/2013/10/lisa-jeff-sneak-peek-paradisus-palma-real-wedding-punta-cana-dominican-republic/

 

Massiel was my coordinator on-site and she was absolutely amazing! She even offered suggestions during our planning meeting regarding lighting that made our wedding even more perfect/ true to our vision. She worked with us to plan a rehearsal the night of the wedding and 3 group dinners for 30 people at Vento, Aqua, and Bana- Bana was absolutely hands down the best food we had on the trip!

 

DJ Abentos was terrific! They respected our special requests and got the party started... fast! I don't think I stopped dancing for 3 hours straight. They are really good about taking requests of your guests, too. The Dominican Trio was also great and super friendly. We had them play during the cocktail hour.

 

Food- AMAZING! The appetizers at the cocktail hour were just enough to hold us over before the buffet at the reception. I'm normally not a buffet person, but selection #1 did not disappoint! The cake, like most say, is to die for too. They even made me a special gluten-free cake for the cake cutting!

 

Bottom Line- be patient, cooperative and kind with your coordinators and the staff at the resort and you're guaranteed to have a flawless wedding like we did!

 

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have!

 

Lisa

[Katie83]

Can you buy sparklers in punta Cana of can you bring them on the plane

[Katherine2go]

DannysAp, did you elect to have a symbolic ceremony? Fiance and I booked symbolic but naturally we are both excited to be unique, and honestly scared!, to see how it turns out.