2015 Grand Palladium Punta Cana Brides

[Jc14]

Hi everyone! So we are officially ENGAGED as of Thursday night!! I am sooo excited that we can finally start booking and confirming our destination wedding! 

 

Question: has anyone heard if the food at the resort (meals for the duration of the trip, not for the wedding dinner) is any good? I recently heard that it's not? I feel like you can't be that picky in the Caribbean unless you are at an expensive 5* resort..

[Meandhim]

@@Jc14 Congrats!!

When I was at the resort 8 years ago the food was great. None of our group got sick... Other than hung over.. Lol my BF has been back 3 time since and she said no one had a problem with the food... The first time I went they didn't have the 24 snacks at the sports bar or the beach BBQs either there are tons of options. @@rebeccalane just came back and @@Kerrierf should be back soon... Perhaps they would have a opinion on the quality of the food... I hear the chocolate wedding cake is to die for!

 

Where did you hear the food was not good?

 

 

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[Jc14]

@@Meandhim Thanks! Ok well that's reassuring. I heard it from a photog I was talking to. But I guess everyone has their own opinion!

[Meandhim]

@@Jc14 guess it all depends on how picky of an eater you are...Check out the palladium addicts site there is a lot of info there...they even have some of the menus posted

 

 

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[Jc14]

Hi all,

 

For those who used/are using a travel agent, what was your timing for sending out save the dates and invitations? i.e., if your agent confirms your rate today, it's good for 3 months. But only now can you send out your save the dates, right? If you send out your invitations a few months later/a few months before your wedding date, then the deadline to book the group rate is pretty much the same time you send out your invitations. Sorry if this sounds confusing, but I'm kind of confused myself! lol

 

Help please!

[shevette925]

@@Jc14

 

Congrats on your engagement! I completely understand your confusion, the timing of save the dates and invitations can be really complicated when there are group booking involved. There are few ways to do it and I think it depends on your TA and where your guest are traveling from. We had a longer engagement than most (17 months) so we tried to spread out information so that guest would have enough time to plan and save money if they had to. So we sent out save the date in August of last year (16 mo prior) with info for our wedding website with the detailed booking info. Our deadline for booking within our group rate was December/January (we extended it for some people) and we got a good number of people put in a deposit. 

 

Some people complained because they felt that  a year is too far to commit to something, but this worked for us because we wanted to have an estimate of guest sooner rather than later since we invited about 200 guest and we had no idea what kind of response we would get. 

 

I will be sending out my invitations this June or July with probably a August RSVP deadline to get our final head count. Our guest that decide to come who did not commit before the  group booking deadline will have missed out on the group rate, but they knew that a year ago.  I suspect that we will get a few extra guest but not a ton more. 

 

This worked for us because our group deal only included hotel since our guest are coming from around the world and there would have been no way to include airfare with our booking deal. Most of our guest travel frequently and are used to making their own travel arrangements, so they did not mind.  Hope that's helpful 

[Kerrierf]

OKAY… so here we go!

 

I can honestly say that I have ZERO regrets about our decisions.  It’s easy to get caught up with second guessing yourself, but I couldn’t be happier with how everything worked out and our experiences at the hotel.  I’m going to be completely honest in my review, but I really need to highlight that anything slightly negative is greatly outweighed by the positive.

 

FAVOURS

Our favours were bright green sunglasses with our names and date on them, and I can honestly say they were probably the best investment of the trip.  We got married early in the week (on the Tuesday), and so everyone wore them for the rest of the time we were there. It was perfect because we could easily spot people from our group when we were at the beach.

 

FLOWERS

Our flowers were real-touch silk from Wedideas on Etsy and I can’t rave about them enough.  The husband of my Matron of Honour was running our errands the day of the wedding and he kept asking if he should put the toss bouquet in water – he didn’t even realize they were silk!  And because they were fake, they didn’t wilt in the heat.

 

THE FLIGHT AND TRAVEL

• On the flight on the way there the plane didn’t actually have a closet for my dress, as our travel agent had promised.  We flew Air Transat, and it ended up having to go in the overhead bin.  The dress had a lot of netting and lace, and I had it steamed at the hotel anyways, but it would definitely have been worse if the dress was silk or chiffon.
• At the airport, we were picked up by our own bus that took us to the hotel.  They even had a sign with our names and Wedding on it.  At the hotel they had a table organized to get everyone their room keys ASAP and gave us a non-alcoholic drink and cool wet towels to refresh.  We asked for a list with everyone’s room numbers, which they provided us.

ROOMS

• We saw that one of our friends didn’t get the Deluxe Room they had paid for, so we had them change rooms.  Otherwise, there we slight confusions with the bed arrangements in the rooms.  Some people who had wanted two beds (my brother and his son) got a king size bed, and other people who wanted a king got two beds.  This was all sorted out and fixed the next morning, but if you argue enough you can do it that night.
• The parents didn’t originally get a room upgrade (which was in our package IF available). My dad followed up and got one, but the groom’s parents didn’t mind their room.
• Our room was… AMAZING.  We got the upgrade included in the package, and we had a four poster bed with canopy, the Jacuzzi tub in the room, a balcony looking over one of the pools, and ocean view from the windows.  It was also right next to the gazebo where we got married, and near the beach where we did our beach bash – PERFECT!  No but seriously… Unreal.

 

WEDDING PREP

• Our meeting with Kenia was on Monday at 10:30 am. We took a golf cart to get there as it can be a decent walk from the Punta Cana lobby. 
• At the meeting we reviewed all the details from our package that we had chosen, as well as a few additional things, like choosing the cake flavor, head table, etc.  I didn’t do one, but if you arrange a seating plan they’ll make it work for you.
• SURPRISE!!!  At the meeting we found out that the judge had actually bumped our wedding up from 4 pm to 3 pm. AHH!  But Kenia called the spa and got all of our appointments changed, and typed up a new itinerary that she personally delivered to all of the guests in their rooms. YOU ARE IN GOOD HANDS, I promise!
• After the meeting we went back to the room and I put out all the decorations and everything I had brought, along with the instructions for how I wanted it on the bed. Kenia picked it up along with my dress to be steamed when she delivered the itineraries.
• At 3 pm I had a trial appointment at the spa for my hair and makeup.  I’m really glad I did, because while they were phenomenal, they did struggle with the language.  The best thing is to have pictures of what you want, and I’d suggest bringing your own lipstick.  They work with hair a little differently, so I was nervous at first, but everyone’s hair turned out beautifully.

 

THE WEDDING

• Was perfect.  It was hot for the guests in the seating area, but on the gazebo it was breezy and felt really nice.  They translated it into English and French, so our ceremony was a little longer than usual (about 20 minutes instead of 15).  Coming back down the aisle my heel got stuck in the stairs, so I just kicked it off and put it back on after.
• We were greeted with the sparkling toast right away, so try to have a plan for where to get your guests to come to.  We didn’t, and were engulfed with everyone wishing us congratulations right away, so I’d have a backup plan.
• Since the ceremony was so short, we had our sisters do a reading (one in French and one in English) during the toasts.  Kenia brought the mic over, so it was perfect.
• We then did pictures with the families, bridal party, and just us.  As each group finished their pictures they went to the lobby bar for cocktails.

DINNER

• Was probably the best meal we had the whole time.  We did the private dinner on the beach (on the deck near the snack bar), which was beyond amazing.  We were just with our group so it was intimate and fun.  We didn’t pay for music, but printed “I Spy” games, and all around you heard laughter and people having a good time.  The bonus of it being an older hotel is the mature trees that are everywhere on the deck.  There are lantern lights that hang from it and it was beautiful.
• The food… I know I already said it, but was SOOOOO good.  They really had too much of everything, some people even went back and had up to 7 half-lobsters. Everything was delicious.
• We did two flavours for the cake – the top layer was chocolate and the bottom vanilla (I let my hubby have free range with the cake).  We had a piece of the chocolate cake for our piece, and while I don’t usually like cake… everything you heard was right. It was SOOO good.  My sister-in-law even had 2 pieces – one of each flavour!
• For decorations, the tables were all covered with white table cloths. Since we had our own flowers, they replaced the ones in the package with a small centerpiece for each table.  The two flowers pieces on each side of the gazebo were brought over on either side of the cake table, and the bridesmaids put their bouquets on the cake table during dinner. Our table had additional chair covers, as well as the glass bowl with seashells and a floating candle.

BEACH BASH

• Also a great choice.  We had ours right in the sand, but a wedding the next night did it where we had our dinner, so I guess it depends on how many people you have.
• The decorations include lanterns with candles on the ground, lounge chairs, and round globe lanterns (I think I’m describing that well).
• Additional snacks were brought out, but most people were so full from dinner that they didn’t eat much more.
• We had our own music, but there was a guy there to navigate it. At the end we had him play some of his music.
• It ended right on time at 11.  All of the events at the hotel end at this time (except for the casino and the disco), so I think there’s a by-law about noise after 11.  Honestly a lot of people were tired from the sun and dancing in the sand at this point anyways, so most people went to bed or to shower.  A few people from our group went to the lobby bar for more drinks, then to the sports bar for late night snacks.

ADDITIONAL THINGS ABOUT THE TRIP

• Having a very minor understanding of Spanish is immensely helpful.  My friend’s husband lost his wedding band on the beach while playing volleyball, but he when we communicated what we were looking for it didn’t take long for tons of people to help find it.  It took a few hours and paying someone with a metal detector, but he found it!  Lesson to be learned – leave your rings locked in your room if you can.
• The buffet at the Punta Cana hotel is generally good, but isn’t always what they say is the themed night.  Some of our group went there on the last night (which turned out to be “banquet themed”) and said it was better than any of the restaurants.
• The Japanese restaurant was probably the best one.  The food was awesome and the show was very entertaining.  The Mexican restaurant was OK food wise, but the service was sub-par.  The steak house was good (my dad’s favourite), and I heard good things about the Italian.  My cousins who are vegetarians said the Asian inspired restaurant (Bamboo) had the best choices for them, and I think we loved Tapeo (the tapas) the best.  While this one was sea food heavy, they had a few choices that were to die for (ex. bacon wrapped bananas… it sounds weird… but good enough to order seconds).
• The mangoes... oh the mangoes. Our guests were obsessed with the deliciousness of the mangoes.
• Unless you order your own bottle at additional costs, the house wine isn't fantastic.  The beer on the other hand... some of the best beer I've ever had.
• We did get mosquito bites, so definitely bring bug spray, and maybe even after-bite.
• I should mention, most people had slight stomach issues at one point of the trip or another, so I would suggest bringing Imodium or something of the sort.  Nothing too serious, and like I said, the food was amazing overall, but definitely something to keep in mind.
• Lastly, while we only made it one day of the trip, the buffet on the beach (closer to the bavaro section) was STUNNING, and by far my favourite place we had lunch.  The chandeliers were made of seashells, and it was all open and right near the beach… you could SEE the water from your table if you go to the edge of the restaurant. What more could you ask for?

ONE LAST THING

• As part of our package, we had a wine and cheese one night on the beach.  It was at the altar where they usually do the wedding if you do it on the beach. The wine was a GOOD bottle, and the cheese and fresh fruits were to die for.  It was very romantic, and a good excuse to spend time away from our guests.

[Kerrierf]

- The cake

- Welcome plate of fruit in the room

- Bridesmaid's hair

- Beach wine and cheese

- Welcome in the room

- View from the window

- Welcome in the room

- Welcome in the room

- Wine and cheese

- Myself and the tables (I don't mind posting a picture of me, even though it's not a good one... but I didn't have any others without the other guests).

 

If you have any other questions I'm more than happy to answer anything I can

 

[Meandhim]

@@Kerrierf

Congrats!!!!!! You looked fantastic! What a great review! Sometimes I think I'm putting too much time in thinking about things that aren't going to matter! I'm so glad you had a great experience and your wedding was perfect! I'm sure I'll have questions for you later be sure to post some more pictures and stick around on the BDW wedding site for awhile so we can all pick your brain

 

 

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[shevette925]

@@Kerrierf

 

Congratulations again! So glad your day was so wonderful and you look beautiful! Thanks for the review and all of the great pictures