Now Larimar - 2015

[DR2015]

Hello everyone and congratulations!! If anyone is looking for favors we used Jimmy with Dominican favors for our 70 personalized bottle of Brugal rum! We had no problems with communication through out the entire process. I emailed him a week before we left to confirm date, time, and location of delivery- he confirmed date, time, and met us in the lobby of the resort. All of our guests loved the favors our coordinator was even blown away. Good luck and happy planning!

[abrinton8811]

@@DR2015

Do you have contact information for Jimmy and maybe some pricing information! That sounds like an awesome idea for a favor! 

[RebeLight]

Hey everyone!  We’re back from our AMAZING wedding and I wanted to write a detailed review to help any future brides.  This website was so helpful throughout the planning process so please let me know if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to help! 

 

We got to the resort on the Wednesday before our wedding and we met with our wedding coordinator, Yeomandry, Thursday morning.  She was super nice!  She went through our wedding planner spreadsheet step by step to finalize all of our details and calculate the final cost based on our choices and number of guests.  We also gave her all of the decorations that we brought from home.  We brought small lanterns, candles, vases, menus and easels for the menus.  We purchased flowers from the resort and the centerpieces turned out great.  We also brought Mr. and Mrs. signs for our chairs and programs for the reception.  They did a great job setting everything up, but in hindsight, I would’ve had one of my bridesmaids go look at everything during cocktail hour while we were getting our pictures taken.  The pool closes at 6 and our reception started at 7 so they set everything up really quickly.  That may make some people nervous, but they literally do 3 weddings every day so they’re like a machine.  We were able to see several weddings in the same spot ours was the 2 days leading up to ours so it was cool to see before our big day.  Back to the centerpieces…they looked completely fine, but they weren’t placed exactly like I wanted, but nobody knew that except for me.  You also couldn’t see our Mr. & Mrs. signs b/c our bridal party table was under the wooden canopy by the pool and the back of the chairs were facing the bushes.  Not a big deal at all, but if my bridesmaids would’ve gone over to look at it, they probably would’ve hung them off the front of the table so you could see them.  My sister also made some really cute floating flower balls to put in the pool and they turned out great, but they all floated to the side of the pool so it didn’t really turn out the way I envisioned, but it wasn’t a big deal at all.

 

Our wedding was literally perfect…I couldn’t ask for a better experience!  Our ceremony started at 5:30 at the fountain, cocktail hour was at 6 and the reception started at 7 at the pool.  The only thing I would change is to make it longer.  We thought about extending our ceremony to 4 hours but we didn’t and it went by soooo fast.  I think every couple says that though so one more hour probably wouldn’t have made a huge difference.

 

We used the resort DJ and MC and they were both great.  The resort photographer and videographer were also great…our photos and video turned out so great!  The resort photographer only covered our ceremony, not the reception or anything before.  We hired HDC Photography (www.hdcphoto.com) and I’m soooo glad we did.  I don’t think I’ve ever been happier with a service in my life.  Arnaud was quick to respond to all of my emails leading up to the day.  Our photographer was Miljan and he was AMAZING.  He was like a drill sergeant telling us exactly how to pose, where to look, etc. which was so awesome.  I’m not great at posing for pictures so it was so helpful to have him tell us exactly what to do.  He was also really great at making sure we got all the normal wedding photos and kept a close eye on the time to make sure we got pictures with everyone, pictures of the cake, dancing, etc. before his time was up.  Here’s a link to some of our pictures: http://bit.ly/LightHartWedding.  A few days after the wedding, Arnaud came to the resort to meet with us and show us the pictures.  He was so nice and I think he was the only person that didn’t try to up-sell us or get us to buy something while we were there.  He gave us some great local information and even offered to drive us to a restaurant he recommended.  We had over 400 pictures from them!

 

The photography package that came with our wedding package (Divine) provided 24 pictures.  I didn’t want to regret not getting all of them so we ended up paying $300 for all of the pictures the resort photographer took during our ceremony…that was almost 200 more so we have a ton of great pictures!  The prints didn’t turn out great, but we have them all on a CD so we can get them reprinted somewhere else.

 

We also hired Pastor Rick York and I’m sooooo glad we did!  He’s American and so funny and personable.  Several guests thought we knew him b/c the ceremony seemed so personal.  We didn’t have to pay the outside vendor fee for him and we paid him cash right after the ceremony.  My mom and aunt saw another wedding at the beach and they said it was beautiful, but it was very short and the wedding coordinator performed the ceremony and English isn’t their first language so they were glad we hired Pastor York.

 

A few things to note: If you bring your own decorations, they pretty much just shove them in to a bag and return them to you.  I read that before so it didn’t surprise me but I’ve seen other people get upset about that.

 

There was a wedding reception on the beach on the Thursday after our ceremony (we went to Secrets for our honeymoon) and it was the same night as the big beach party.  I felt terrible for that couple b/c there were literally 200 people about 30 feet away from their reception.  Their reception area was ‘blocked off’ by beach chairs laying sideways to build a barrier.  There was also a reception that same night at Castaways which is also right by the area where the beach reception was so there were TONS of people in that area and it didn’t seem very private.  Our reception at the pool was completely private.  Our ceremony was also much more private at the fountain, but I know a lot of people want to be on the beach.  That wasn’t an option for us b/c my hubby is 6’4” and I’m 5’1” so I had to be able to wear heels!  I believe they have beach parties on Thursday and Sunday nights so I would check with your wedding coordinator to make sure they’re not having one the same night of your wedding if you are planning on having your reception at the beach or at Castaways. From looking at all the pictures, I thought Castaways looked like a great place to have our reception, but I didn’t want to pay $3K for it and I don’t think it’s worth it at all.  I think the pool was a much better venue and it’s more private and no extra cost.

 

Our wedding was sooo AMAZING and I’m so happy we did it there.  It turned out so perfect and I couldn’t be happier!  I hope this helps everyone.  Let me know if you have any questions and I’m happy to help if I can.  Good luck planning and congratulations!

 

~ Rebecca

[DR2015]

@@abrinton8811 we paid a little over $400 U.S. for 70 personalized bottles- there are many other options on the site http://www.dominicanfavors.com

[AshleyNYC323]

 

 

 

We also hired Pastor Rick York and I’m sooooo glad we did!  He’s American and so funny and personable.  Several guests thought we knew him b/c the ceremony seemed so personal.  We didn’t have to pay the outside vendor fee for him and we paid him cash right after the ceremony.  My mom and aunt saw another wedding at the beach and they said it was beautiful, but it was very short and the wedding coordinator performed the ceremony and English isn’t their first language so they were glad we hired Pastor York.

 

 

Thank you so much for sharing!  Can you share the contact information for Pastor Rick?  Also how did you get around the outside vendor fee?   thank you!

[Dina821]

@@RebeLight if you could please share the contact information for pastor Rick? Also do you know if he is able to do a legal ceremony?

[RebeLight]

@@AshleyNYC323 & @@Dina821 Here's Pastor York's email address: rickandsuzanneyork@@gmail.com. 

 

Ashley--I didn't try to get around the outside vendor fee...they just didn't charge it.  I would just ask your WC about it!

 

Dina--I'm not sure if he can do a legal ceremony or not.  I believe you have to go through the Dominican government just like you do in the US.  He does have you both sign a document and two witnesses sign as well.  

 

Good luck!

Edited June 2, 2015 by RebeLight

[agg1975]

 

 

 

We used the resort DJ and MC and they were both great.  The resort photographer and videographer were also great…our photos and video turned out so great!  The resort photographer only covered our ceremony, not the reception or anything before.  We hired HDC Photography (www.hdcphoto.com) and I’m soooo glad we did.  I don’t think I’ve ever been happier with a service in my life.  Arnaud was quick to respond to all of my emails leading up to the day.  Our photographer was Miljan and he was AMAZING.  He was like a drill sergeant telling us exactly how to pose, where to look, etc. which was so awesome.  I’m not great at posing for pictures so it was so helpful to have him tell us exactly what to do.  He was also really great at making sure we got all the normal wedding photos and kept a close eye on the time to make sure we got pictures with everyone, pictures of the cake, dancing, etc. before his time was up.  Here’s a link to some of our pictures: http://bit.ly/LightHartWedding.  A few days after the wedding, Arnaud came to the resort to meet with us and show us the pictures.  He was so nice and I think he was the only person that didn’t try to up-sell us or get us to buy something while we were there.  He gave us some great local information and even offered to drive us to a restaurant he recommended.  We had over 400 pictures from them!

 

The photography package that came with our wedding package (Divine) provided 24 pictures.  I didn’t want to regret not getting all of them so we ended up paying $300 for all of the pictures the resort photographer took during our ceremony…that was almost 200 more so we have a ton of great pictures!  The prints didn’t turn out great, but we have them all on a CD so we can get them reprinted somewhere else.

 

 

 

Thanks for the detailed review!!!  Lots of great points.  I will be emailing Pastor Risk ASAP. 

 

I had a question regarding your photography choice, if you don't mind me asking.  Why didn't you elect to use the photographer that came with the package for before ceremony and reception? 

 

Did you bring your decorations with you on the plane or did you ship them ahead of time.  Between the dress, the welcome bags and welcome stuff, and decorations, I don't think I will have any room for anything else!  LOL. 

[RebeLight]

@@agg1975 I saw pictures from HDC Photo and thought they looked amazing and I saw a lot of great reviews on here about them.  I also read a few reviews on here about people not loving the pictures from the resort.  I thought our pictures by the resort photographer turned out fine, but I'm really happy we hired HDC...I loved how much direction he provided!  You also have to pay to upgrade your package with the resort photographer if you want any pictures other than just pictures of your ceremony b/c that's all that's included with the wedding package, so either way, you'll pay more, and I felt like that was something that was worth splurging on since pictures and memories are all you have after it's all over.  Their prices were extremely good...especially compared to photographers in the US.  Hope this helps!

[Dina821]

@@RebeLight did you have to pay the outside vendor charge to have HDC take your photos