Congratulations Amanda and welcome to the forum! Absolutely use a travel agent. You will get the best rates & personalized for you and your guests. We can definitely give you resort suggestions & answer any questions you have, but your best bet for pricing will be to contact a Canadian TA. Canadian rates are different than the US market and are typically packaged with the air plus using a Canadian TA you and your guests can pay in CAD.   Karisma resorts are known for their "gourmet inclusive" food options.  Sensatori Punta Cana is a beautiful resort that opened a few years ago. They offers a sky terrace for weddings & reception. They are next to Nickelodeon Punta Cana and share many of the same restaurants. There is an awesome waterpark for kids that is available for a nominal fee.   In Punta Cana Now Onyx is a popular option & we have stayed there twice. The food is good and adults have the added bonus of being able to go to Breathless Punta Cana which is an adults only resort next door.  Now Onyx is in the process of adding a sky terrace for weddings with reception area attached.  Royalton Resorts are another great option. Royalton Bavaro in Punta Cana has a terrace overlooking the ocean and Royalton Riviera Cancun has an open air chapel overlooking the ocean. They are great family friendly resorts.  Resort info is attached for all of these options & we have stayed at or toured all of them as well. Please take a look and let me know what questions we can answer. Thanks! Patty     Sensatori PC fact sheet.pdf Royalton Bavaro resort map.pdf Royalton Bavaro fact sheet.pdf Royalton Riviera Cancun factsheet 8.2018.pdf Royalton Riviera Cancun brochure 8.2018.pdf Royalton Riviera Cancun - Location Images 2017.pdf Royalton Riviera Cancun resort map.pdf Now Onyx Resort Map (2).pdf Now Onyx Brochure (1).pdf Now Onyx fact sheet (1).pdf

The most recent post I found for Azul Fives brides is here -- although it hasn't been updated much:    You can also find a Cancun-Riviera Maya FB group hosted by this forum here, that will have various info you might find helpful! https://www.facebook.com/groups/CancunRMBrides/ Since you are considering Azul Fives for your wedding, I also encourage you to check out this promotion because it could save you a good amount of money on your wedding -- the only requirement is that you use Wright Travel, which is the official travel agency of the BDW forum! But their services are free, so it's a total bonus and will be a huge help as you plan your wedding celebration Hope that helps!!!  

Can’t seem to find the forum for Azul Fives with the last year? If someone could post the link that would be great!  I am just starting to loosely plan my wedding and this resort is on my top list. Thanks!

Hi there I’ve been engaged for a few months now and we beginning to talk about our wedding. We are 33 and 34 years old, We think we want it to be in Mexico or DR. We expect about 50 guests including children. We don’t want to get married or have our reception on the beach. My Fiancé is a chef so we also would like good food! We would also like to keep the cost under $1800 per guest flying from Nova Scotia, Canada.  Any suggestions as to how or where to start the planning process? Should we use a travel agent?  Any experienced brides that can suggest a resort ? Thank you! amanda   

Hi! I'm from the US (but I've been to the UK 6x- my finance says i'm not allowed to move there! lol) Many resort lines don't offer something like the dress rehearsal, which I think is crazy! It's such a smart idea!  Having been to Mexico so much, I find it so much more comfortable- Yes there are dangers but I don't find it any worse than Philly or NY. It is a country that gets SO MUCH money from the service industry- it literally benefits no one to mess with tourists. Your tip money at the bar is feeding someones family. Not that the DR is any different in that it relies on tourist $, but the vibe is just totally different.  In the DR, they were really very serious about us not leaving the resorts (we did- I don't believe in staying on resorts lol). Once off, we realized why. Now, full disclosure, we went right after the 2010 earthquake, so this was a) some time ago and b) right after a natural disaster. Once we left we just felt immediately uncomfortable. (We even saw a man approaching a goat with  a large gun and the Taxi driver seemed nervous and sped away- poor goat!) I find in Mexico everyone is SO respectful- in the DR I had guys make lewd comments (both from those off the resort, and more disturbingly from workers at the resort), grabbing at me, just generally super disrespectful and not at all comforting. My dad had to kick the room service guy out of our room bc he refused to leave when we asked!  This could have been completely isolated to the staff at our specific resort, but it definitely happened off resort as well. A la Anthony Bourdain, I have always considered myself a traveller, not a tourist, so I have zero interest in staying on a resort the entire time (really I'm not in love with resorts period lol), so for me, if I can't go off resort safely, what business do I have being there at all? Also they  made be throw out my coffee before I got on the plane- the coffee I got at the food court at the gate. I'm holding that grudge LOL. A long story short- it's not on my list of returns. I can honestly say that I'm not sure I would accept an invitation to a wedding in the DR- I think I'd rather save that money and go to Mexico! (or the UK, or Iceland, or just Europe in general lol)  I don't regret going, but I'd sooner go to Mexico if I'm looking for a beach!  That's just me- millions of people go there and have a great time! I guess it really comes down to what type of traveller you are (are you okay with being on a resort and just leaving for excursions)!