Now Larimar 2014 Brides

[Danamarielouise]

Hi everyone,

 

Does anyone that has gotten married already have pictures of the fountain location / pool reception areas decorated?

 

I've seen a couple, but am having a hard time knowing how many of my own decorations to take down...

 

Any pictures would be great if you can email them! [email protected]

 

Thanks!

[KAT2015]

@@Danamarielouise

 

Here is the fountain set up with the add-on package ($1500) and folding chairs

 

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/image/id/581541/width/600/height/400

 

Without the $1500 add on this is how it will look (if you put sashes on chairs)

 

http://hereandnowresorts.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/jens-wedding-271.jpg

 

 

I LOVE the full fountain set up myself, but we went with a beach ceremony as we didn't want to commit to the $1500 add ons.  I just can't picture myself walking down the side and off centre of the gazebo - I want the aisle down the middle which you don't really get unless you get the plank rental. If we could have afforded it (or if the money is there later) we may think about it.

@@Danamarielouise

 

 

As for decorations, if you take your own - what we are thinking of doing is bringing chair sashes for the back row and aisles.  We may do a few pom manders (the flower balls) at the start of the aisle but I may just make them myself (or do paper pouffes) and rent the hooks to save money. 

 

We are doing the pool reception, and I know it is all white (I've seen photos, if I can find them I will link you).  I think what we will do is likely bring table runners for each table and a centre piece (I'm thinking a charger plate with sand and either a plastic vase with water, flowers and floating candles OR a lantern), while leaving the chairs plain.  For place cards, we might make signs to hang over the chairs which will act as 'decor' - Ikea has super cheap wood frames we could paint, put the names inside and then hang with ribbon. 

 

Those are just a couple of my ideas 

[Danamarielouise]

@@KAT2015 thanks!

Forgot these qs -

 

For any past brides as well, when do you actually meet with the wedding coordinator / see the set up and locations / how long does the meeting usually take? We land on a Tuesday afternoon, get married Friday afternoon. Know they'll tell us eventually, but was curious!

 

As well, has anyone booked a private catamaran/boat tour? Any recommendations?

 

Thks!

[KAT2015]

As an FYI for any Calgary potential brides in PC.

 

My travel agent has just confirmed that Transat, WestJet, and Sunwing have all discontinued their direct service to Punta Cana from Calgary as of April 2015.  So any travellers will need to connect through Toronto.

 

This means that for easy booking, you are really restricted to Westjet or Air Canada.  Transat and Sunwing will depart out of Toronto, but that means anyone coming from the west will need to book their own flight to Toronto to take these trips.  At least with a Westjet or Air Canada (Sunquest is using Westjet for flights) you can book connecting flights, still at a decent discount.

 

When I ran a search today, it was $567 round trip YYC-YYZ on my travel dates, plus $1333 for the trip from YYZ totaling $1900.  Whereas if I do the flights connecting, the cost goes to $1667 after taxes.  A difference of $250 almost!!

[DR2015]

@@duchovny0901 thanks!!!!

[JodyEdm]

@@KAT2015 thanks!

Forgot these qs -

 

For any past brides as well, when do you actually meet with the wedding coordinator / see the set up and locations / how long does the meeting usually take? We land on a Tuesday afternoon, get married Friday afternoon. Know they'll tell us eventually, but was curious!

 

As well, has anyone booked a private catamaran/boat tour? Any recommendations?

 

Thks!

I emailed a few catamaran tour places in Punta Cana to get a quote for a meet and greet booze cruise for our guests. Approx 2-3 hour sail with snacks and drinks. The quotes I am getting are between 70 - 80/per person and kids are free. I emailed my wedding coordinator to see if she had any recommendations.

[duchovny0901]

@@Danamarielouise Hey we just got back from our wedding at Now (which was amazing!)!!! When you check in, you'll be given an envelope from the front desk with the date, time and location to meet with your WC. So we flew in on Monday Aug 25, we met with our WC on Tuesday Aug 26th and our wedding was Saturday Aug 30. The meeting was about an hour. You go through the Wedding Planner in more detail to verify info is correct, and if you want to make any changes. Also the WC will give you any recommendations she has about your decisions (i.e. she may suggest charger plates if you don't have them in the planner) but that's completely up to you to change. She'll also go through the décor you brought and you tell her how you want things set up. If you have a package with the photographer, you'll meet with them also.

 

We did 2 excursions on our trip; one Dune Buggie tour and one party boat, which we didn't book until we got down there. I totally recommend waiting until you get down there to book because you can work out discounts. We were hanging at the pool and all day you have tour operators walking around booking excursions. Our party boat actually took us snorkeling and then to a "natural pool" area of the ocean where the water's about 4 feet deep. Booze was served after snorkeling (because they don't want you to be intoxicated before snorkeling, lol). The boat excursion was 3 hours and everyone loved it! We had over 25 ppl and got a private boat, and our guests only had to pay $55/piece! Also, the bride and groom were free! The tour operator for this excursion was SeaPro, and they wear red and white polos. Hope this helps! 

[Jahanee Conner]

@@duchovny0901 Welcome back!!! How was your wedding overall? Do you have any words of advice and any other things you can recommend?

[alwalters625]

Does anyone who has had there wedding already know what kind of makeup the salon uses? Shoulda I bring my own, or do they have high quality makeup?

[duchovny0901]

@@Jahanee Conner Thanks! And your wedding is just around the corner! Our wedding was amazing!!!!! We are still in the process of going through pics but I will post as soon as I can!

 

I guess the advice that I would give will mimic the past brides from this forum; don't stress about the small details and the 'what ifs'! The wedding coordinators know what they're doing and they have backup plans for 'just in case moments'. Show them pics of what you want in terms of setup and décor, and they'll make it happen. I seriously brought a 30inch suitcase full of décor and favors, and I'd emailed Luisa (our WC) pictures before we traveled down there, showing how I wanted things set up at the fountain and in the ballroom. She said it wasn't a problem. Then when we got down there, I went through the suitcase of items with her, she said great, and on the wedding day everything was set up like I wanted!

 

Things I would definitely recommend:

 

1) If you are getting a picture package with the resort, inquire about the "Groom Getting Ready" photos. We ended up adding that to the Passion of Love Package with WBA and it was the best thing to see my now husband hanging out before the wedding. Also, note that their printed pics come in big sizes (like 5x7 or 6x8) that may be too big for some photo albums. We got a CD with our pics so we are just printing them at Walgreens in 4x6 sizes. We love our pictures and our photographer was awesome and really patient (Amalia). If you are getting a video for the ceremony too, make sure you pick out 3 songs you'd like playing in the background of the video. We were caught off guard with this but luckily we both know a lot of music so we were able to come up with songs pretty quick!

 

2) If you are still wondering about what to do for music for your ceremony or cocktail hour, the violinist is AMAZING! He was included in the Divine Package for the ceremony. I'd already told Luisa that I brought my music for the precessional and my entrance, and told her that the violinist could play while everyone was getting seated. Well while we were lining up I heard him playing "Am I Wrong" by Nico & Vinz. ON THE VIOLIN!!!!! I was jamming! LOL. After the wedding too my cousin told me he played "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke. I'm trying to get video to post for you guys but seriously he sounded crazy good!

 

3) Pastor Mark Lykins. Just a great man. He presided over the symbolic ceremony and his reading was emotional and just beautiful. Definitely worth the money and it lasted about 20-25 mins, similar to a church ceremony in the states.

 

4) Don't feel like you need to splurge on a lot of fancy stuff; the resort is beautiful and your guests are going to just be happy to be with you on your special day. For instance, at the reception we got tiffany chairs at $10 each for a group of 90 (crazy I know) and when I look back on it, I could of bought another set of chair sashes and had them put on the regular chairs for $1 each instead. We were going for a more elegant look in the ballroom, and I know the only people who were concerned with that were us because everyone else was partying!

 

I have tons more to share, but it's probably easier just answering questions! Feel free to ask away (just make sure to @ mention me so I get a notice that I've been summoned!). Talk to you soon!