Planning Dr Wedding - Recommendations?

katschmidt11 · February 3, 2014

Hi Ladies (and gents),

My fiancee and I are looking to plan a Punta Cana wedding for February 2015. We live in Ottawa, Ontario and are planning for ~40-50 guests. We're currently looking into Grand Bahia Principe and are wondering if anyone has been there recently for a wedding and/or has any advice for booking there. We're also open to other resort suggestions.

My questions:

What is the average cost of a wedding this size with a private dinner/reception service?

Is there one wedding consultant in particular that you would recommend?

Is the on-site photographer adequate? Will they allow a member of the party to do video?

Has anyone gotten married before hand to reduce the hassle of marrying out of country?

Any information on the booking and planning process would be REALLY appreciated, we're new to the whole thing and just want a fun, casual, relaxing week to celebrate with family and friends.

Thanks!

megan224 · February 3, 2014

We are getting married this June in Punta Cana at Majestic Elegance. We loved it there on vacation and got to see so many weddings there. At our resort, a private dinner/reception can run anywhere from 1,000-3,000 depending on the number of people. The wedding consultant's have been helpful, I have had about 3 different ones so it's been a little confusing, but at first they did take longer to respond since my wedding was not close, now they get right back to me. There is an onsite photographer at our location. We used them for pictures when we were on vacation so we know the quality of their services and it's usually more when you go outside of a resort. You will most likely have to pay a fee for them to come. I know someone who did get married before hand, but that was back when you needed bloodwork and all that down down in the DR which they didn't want. It may end up being cheaper ceremony wise because you would just be paying for a symbolic ceremony instead of a civil. My advise would be to contact the resort ASAP and have them send you the packages- it should have all the info you mentioned above included! Happy Planning!

TammyWright · February 4, 2014

Welcome to BDW! DR is a great option for your destination wedding...amazing beaches!

TA Patty on here is one of our DR specialists and could help answer your questions and narrow down the choices for you. SHe was just in DR a couple of weeks ago.

Mandiesue · February 4, 2014

Has or is anyone doing the legal ceremony in the Dominican Republic??

katschmidt11 · February 4, 2014

We're looking into it, but GBP charges $750 for it, where as at home (Ontario) its under $300.. I'm struggling with it because I want to stay within our budget, but at the same time - that is our one moment where we really become husband and wife and you can't really quantify that with any dollar amount. I think that getting married before hand would take away from the significance of the wedding in DR.

Mandiesue · February 4, 2014

We're looking into it, but GBP charges $750 for it, where as at home (Ontario) its under $300.. I'm struggling with it because I want to stay within our budget, but at the same time - that is our one moment where we really become husband and wife and you can't really quantify that with any dollar amount. I think that getting married before hand would take away from the significance of the wedding in DR.

I also want to stay within budget; however, members of our immediate family have never been out of the United States and I would feel awful for them to come to share in our wedding and it just to be symbolic. I also don't want to start our marriage off by lying to everyone. My travel agent assures me that this is what everyone does but I have very mixed feelings about it.