shevette925

@@Elishah, Go with your gut! I went through literally the same thing. Woke up in the middle of the night with stress dreams because I was so worried about the hotel ceremony and not being able to personalize my wedding and the cost with all of the vendor fees, etc. So I woke up on morning emailed jellyfish and put down a deposit. And I at no time regret my decision. I can't speak for any of the other venues, but jellyfish was phenomenal and all of my guest told us the entire weekend that our wedding was the best ever. And I've heard similar reviews about the other venues. And the prices are comparable to resorts and I think you get more value for your money. Hopes this helps!

@@ann123, We were originally going to do a catholic ceremony in the DR but decided against it ultimately for a few reasons including the massive amount of paperwork and the fact that all of the Catholic priests in the DR are spanish speaking only, so some one would have to translate the ceremony and we felt that would be awkward. So we had a very small catholic legal ceremony at home one week before we left for the DR and then our ceremony in the DR was symbolic. @@Jc14, the weather was perfect the whole time we were there. There were a few flash rain showers in the evening and midday, but they never lasted more than 15 minutes. We thought it was going to rain right before my ceremony and almost moved the ceremony in doors, but the weather held out and it was perfect.

Ok ladies, this is going to be a long review but I hope that it will be helpful to everyone, since this board has been so helpful to me in the entire planning process. Keep in mind, we stayed at the Grand Palladium Bavaro Section, but had our ceremony at Jellyfish. 1. Travel Agency – Luxe Destination Weddings · I would say that overall we were very happy with Luxe. There were a few snafus along the way, which I think goes along with travel planning for a very large group (we had a total of 71 guests) but overall they did a great job. · They arranged all the group booking arrangements and airport transportation for us and most of our guests. They also provide flights but we didn’t really use them for this because our guest were coming from all over. · The thing that I really loved was they offer wedding planning services, so all of my communication with vendors, jellyfish, and Carolina were done through the wedding planner. This was huge for me because I just didn’t have the time to communicate with all the vendors, so I loved this aspect of using Luxe. And my wedding planner was crucial in making sure that Jellyfish knew my vision and bringing it to life. So I would highly recommend Luxe for their wedding planning service · The cons- My guest sometimes complained of difficulty reaching our travel agent and we were promised certain concessions by the hotel because of the large group that we had, but they had weird stipulations attached. So my advice would be to make sure that (in general) when a resort offers concessions to your group, make sure you are aware of all the stipulations before you sign the agreement. 2.Grand Palladium –Bavaro · Firstly, the Grand Palladium is HUUUUGGGEEE! There are 4 sections (Punta Cana, Palace, Bavaro, and Royal). And each section is large enough to be its own standalone resort. We spent most of our time exploring the Bavaro section and the Punta Cana sections (they are directly adjacent). The Royal section is adults only and exclusive to club members, but the spa is located in the Royal section. · We stayed in the Bavaro section, Building 19, which is right by the beach and the room was excellent. We splurged and got a luxury suite since we honeymooned there and it was one of the best decisions we made. The room was huge and had two floors with a rooftop hot tub. So nice! We visited a few of our guest who stayed in the standard rooms and they were also very nice and spacious, so you really can’t go wrong · The biggest complaint about the Bavaro section is that it is very easy to get lost. The walkways are secluded and winding, which is very relaxing and romantic during the day, but at night it is easy to get lost. I think every one of our guest got lost on the premises for at least 20 minutes! Most of us were able to laugh at ourselves but it can be very frustrating and the maps are pretty useless. · The food is overall pretty good. We mostly ate at the buffets but went to a few of the a la cartes. We went to the steakhouse and the Japanese restaurant. No reservations needed for the a la carte but know that the wait can be long if you don’t get there early. A few of our guest really liked the Brazilian and the Mexican restaurants. · Overall the resort is beautiful, the beach is wonderful. The staff is very nice, we made a ton of new friend with the staff because we were there for so long. The only complaint is that some of the bars make their drinks a little weak (ask for mas fuerte) and there are very pushy vendors on the beach and on the premises, trying to sell you their crap. · Last tip I have is if you are honeymooning there, use the Grand Palladium honeymoon wishes as part of your gift registry! We received so many honeymoon gifts that we stayed 10 days and when we checked out, our bill was 28 dollars! We used our gifts to go on excursions, we had a romantic dinner on the beach as well as other things, and this really made the honeymoon special. 3.Carolina and the Wedding Team · So I had very limited interaction with Carolina, but they were all positive. She was in charge of delivering our welcome bags and she coordinated our welcome receptions and farewell brunch at the buffet restaurants. She also booked most of our excursions since the honey moon wishes credits go directly to her. She even personally supervised the setup of our romantic beach dinner. She is a very busy woman! And knows what she is doing, so you all are in good hands. 4.Photograher –Karina Jensen · I only have good things to say about Karina. She. Is. Amazing! And so lovely to work with. She is so calm and laid back and just brought that energy with her. I was worried because she typically works alone, so I was concerned that she wouldn’t be able to capture everything we wanted by herself, but she is a rockstar and I highly recommend her. She showed us a few pictures as she was taking them and I know we are going to have amazing pictures to cherish for the rest of our lives. 5.Pastor- Mark (Markus) Lykins · We used Pastor Lykins, he was great. So personable and heartfelt. A lot of our guest thought that we had known him from before because he teared up during our ceremony and a lot of our guest were touched by his ceremony. My only regret is not having a family member or friend record the ceremony. 6.Ceremony- Jellyfish Restaurant. · Okay, so I know this is not the Jellyfish board, but I have to mention that the Jellyfish team is awesome. Everything from the food, the drinks, the flowers, the décor, was perfect! They took my vision and made it real. I would get married there again in a heartbeat. The only negative (which was very small) was our original DJ was sick for our wedding and sent in a replacement. She was very good, small mistakes with the playlist, but she accommodated all of our request, even downloading songs on the spot as we requested it. If anybody has specific questions about the Jellyfish, Im happy to answer them. Okay I think those are the major things. I didn’t want to make this post too long. But know that you all have made a good decision. The resort is beautiful and I saw a lot of weddings on the beach while we were there. The wedding staff at the resort is very professional and they know what they are doing. Let me know if you guys have any questions, I will do my best to answer them.

Hey Ladies!! I'm back! I have so much to say about our wedding and our experience, but overall everything was AMAZING!!!! Our family and friends had such an amazing time and we have no regrets. Everything was as close to perfect as it could possibly be. I will be posting a long review of everything but I want to put it in a word document so I dont lose it lol. I will be posting that soon. @@Meandhim happy wedding week! I hope you enjoy your day!

@@dreia85, I'm also interested in that list. Can I PM you my email address? We are having a welcome reception at the buffet restaurant, they are just sectioning off an area for us, so that may be an option if you guys have a larger group. Planning is going well, almost there only 74 days away! The biggest thing that I am trying to work on now is shipping alcohol to the Jelly fish for our favors. Fedex will ship alcohol internationally but only from a licensed seller to a licensed distributor. So I just need to find a vendor to ship it from this end. But Ive given myself a deadline and then I' mjust gonna scrap the idea. How is planning going for you guys. @@Meandhim, we're getting really close, eeek!

@@calgarybride2015, Thanks for that advice. Yep no names, lol. I've even tried to analyze the postal electronic stamps to decipher what states the envelopes were processed in to narrow it down. It's actually quite sad lol. I was trying to be as formal as possible and send everyone an invitation, even those who have already booked a room so that they can have keep sake, so I can't decipher if its an RSVP Ive already known about or a new one, since some of guest may decide not to book with our TA. I'm afraid I may have made the whole process harder on myself. I just sent my TA an email asking her to send a quick friendly reminder to people to put their names on the RSVP card, so hopefully she will be able to do that. I just don't understand it, who wouldn't write their name? It boggles my mind

@@abeautyandthebusiness, We are staying at the Grand Palladium and having the ceremony at Jellyyfish

Is anyone else having this problem?? I recently put all of my invitations in the mail and started to get excited as our RSVPs are being mailed back. But so far I've received two RSVP cards with NO NAMES!!!!! I don't get it because the card says NAMES in bold with a long line underneath. It so frustrating. I'm not sure what else to do about this except hold them and wait until the RSVP deadline and call the people who we haven't heard from to find out if it is there RSVP. Does any one have any other advice? I also vaguely remember someone suggesting that I put numbers on the back of each RSVP and make a master list of who is being sent which card, that way if they forget to put their name, you know who its from. I wish I had remembered this advice when I was making my invitations. But maybe it will help someone else here.

Hey, @@abeautyandthebusiness, yes they definitely run on island time, especially if your wedding is in 2017. I'm getting married there in November and its still difficult to get a quick response. The best thing to do is be patient. They have weddings essentially every day during the high season, which is now. But they are quicker to respond than the resorts, in my opinion. Also if you have a burning questions, just be persistent, you may have to send a follow up email if you don't hear back. Also you may find it helpful to use the time now to focus on other aspects of the wedding, clothing, invitations, save the dates, etc. You have a ton of time so try not to get to frustrated about their slow response.

Hey ladies! The board has been a bit quiet lately, I figured everyone was full force into planning like myself. Knocked a lot of things off of my to do list in the past few weeks and trouble shooting a few things. First I found out that the store where I purchased my gown had went into bankruptcy and after a panicked 48hrs was able to get my dress (not the dress I paid for but the floor sample, that's a longer story). But I have a beautiful gown none the less and awaiting my first alterations appointment. Then my mom flew into town, and we spent 6 days doing all things wedding. Made all of the invitations, made my toss bouquet, found my dress for the legal ceremony (renting from rent the runway) and found my shoes. Not to mention the many trips to Micheal's and paper source, so the last few weeks have been a blur to say the least. I hope everyone is doing okay with all the planning and not getting too stressed out. @@Jc14, the drop fee for the welcome bags is standard. I was told 3 dollars per bag, but I agree 2 dollars per bag quickly adds up. I'm still debating if I want to do a welcome bag or just a quick welcome letter with the weekend itinerary for all the same reasons that @@Kerrierf mentioned. If I decide to do bags we will hand them out to our guest on the 1st night's dinner. We are going to meet everyone in buffet restaurant and have the hotel section off an area for us so that are guests no where to meet. The one thing that I am still really trying to figure out is how to get the mini wine bottles for our favors. I've seen a 4pack of miniature bottles of barefoot wine sell for 3 dollars at my local liquor store, so I find it hard to convince myself to spend 400+ dollars on the liquor sold through Dominican favors. I'm hoping I can order what I want and have it delivered to the resort or directly to the Jellyfish. We'll see How is everyone doing with planning? Updates needed!

I found this website with lots of cute options, similar to what @@nadiakat17 and @@DR2015 mentioned. I think we are going to do the hand washing ceremony. It looks simple, beautiful and meaningful. Thanks for the ideas ladies

Hey ladies, I know a lot of people do the sand ceremony and the unity candle ceremony to symbolize "two becoming one". However, neither of these special ceremonies have really spoken to me and I don't see myself saving a bottle of sand or a candle. Has anyone heard of any other unification ceremonies that they liked?

@@Jc14, I'm actually having my ceremony and reception at the Jellyfish. The vendors fee was one of the reasons why I moved mine off site. Jellyfish doesn't have a fee for vendors. In terms of Carolina's response, I would take it as a loophole. So if your photographer is your "guest" i.e on the guestlist, you pay for their meal at the reception (which you would do anyways), and they stay at the hotel as a guest, then there is no fee. I am pretty certain about that because my wedding planner suggested it as a way to work around the vendors fee.

Yeah I'll probably have my brothers read a passage so they can be involved. I always think to myself what am I gonna do with the sand afterwards?? lol, but I know a lot of people like to have it as a keepsake. I don't think you can use a day pass. It sucks because I think just about a year ago the vendors fee was around 100 dollars, but you know they try to get as much money out of you as they can. Definitely double check with Carolina on the day pass, it won't hurt to ask. But I wouldn't get your hopes up on that one. Honestly, it would probably cost less to pay for one night for your photographer, just a thought.

@@Jc14, No problem! We will be doing the more traditional ceremony. I'm not a huge fan of sand ceremonies, so we will be skipping that. I'm trying to think of something else to do in place of it. Any ideas? Also, I'm pretty sure that you cannot mix and match the decor from two wedding packages. Something about, they have to stay true to the Karen Bussen designs. So if you wanted to mix and match you have to use the Simple Stunning signature package, this is the only way to get around it unfortunately. The vendor fee is 500 USD. Unfortunately the only way to get around this is if your photographer is staying at the resort. You could price it out to see if its less expensive to put your photographer up for a night.