seaprincess

At the reception….

On the beach…..

The ceremony….

The guys before the ceremony….

Before the ceremony with the girls….

Hi girls! We were married at the Grand Palladium Bavaro in Punta Cana on January 28, 2009. We used PhotoSouvenir and had Fran as our fantastic photographer. Enjoy! Getting Ready….

we had 55 friends and family with us for the first week, and 9 family members with us the second week. We had originally planned on changing resorts the 2nd week, but it wasn't in th budget so we stayed...I wish it had been a honeymoon for just the two of us instead....oh well, good excuse to have my husband take me on a second honeymoon in the first year!

Erica - Your bravery is honorable considering I'm sure he is saying things to you that are making you reconsider your decision. As a child with a father who has and continues to battle addiction, and of a mother who made the tough choice for the better of her children, you are doing the right thing. Of course the future is uncertain, and you I'm sure you still love Larry, your kids cannot ever, ever be put back in that situation - which I'm sure you know.... They cannot suffer for his mistakes and errors in judgement. Just remember how your strong you are and that although Larry is remorseful, he has a lot of growing and healing to do before he can be trusted to take responsibilty for your children... I wish you lots of love and strength and BDW prayers!

Ours was "Wonderful tonight" b/c my DH is a total music guy and he always sang this song to meso when got engage he said he wanted it be our song....worked for me and was perfect for our dance

So for those brides who can't stomach spending $150 plus, on a veil that you will wear for 15 minutes...I feel you! I looked at manitilla veils in store, I looked at them on-line and I just couldn't imagine spending the cash and/or not seeing it in person before deciding it was for me....which brings me to deciding to make it for myself. Step by step guide: 1) Find a fabric store that offers a variety of lace 2) Purchase tulle in the length of your choice and buy enough lace to surround the paremeter. For me the tulle = $4 (for waist-length) and the lace had beading and cost $50 for 2 meters. 3) Cut the tulle into an oval 4) Hand sew the lace around the edge of the tulle - if you don't know how to sew, ask your mom or your aunt... 5) Sew a comb (purchased at Micheals) at one end of the oval, or use bobby pins to affix it to your hair the day off 6) DONE Here are some pics of mine:

Here were mine... I got them at a random store near my house called "go Gals"... I love them, but they were not terribly comfortable

First off I just want to say that YouTube video was absolutely hilarious to the point where tears started forming in the corner of my eyes... Second, here we go... 1) Windsor Pilates - loved it, used it, and actually saw results until VHS became obsolete and my VCR died..... 2) Hair zapper thing - it came with sticky pads, a tweezer portion and a control center that used an AC adapter to plug into the wall....I'm sad to say no hair ever fell off as a result of the product but thank god for the 30 day money back guarantee 3) Shamwow - DH got it from his mom for x-mas after obsessively watching the commercials for months - he has yet to use it... I used it once on a the carpet after I over watered a plant....it worked like a shammey...wow! 4) Pedi-paws- Ok I don't actually own it but my MIL does and she says it takes some getting used to but does work - only thing is the smell of the nails getting grinded down is revolting - you've been warned! 5) Slap chop thing - Thanks mom for a wonderful shower gift that doesn't even chop a green pepper without crushing it into mush... I think thats it....I'm soo interested in the P80X thing but I've never seen an infomercial, just tons of people at work talking about it....I have to keep my eyes open!

We only started planning our AHR last week and we are having it on April 11th!! About 100 people at a hall in a local Sailing club...so its on the water which I love! We are having a cocktail style reception beginning at 7:30 and hiring a DJ. We are playing our slideshow and video and having cupcakes for the guests. Not too formal, not too casual - very us!

Did you work with Carolina? She said no there weren't any options for tropical flowers ! Yours look great exactly what I was looking to upgrade too....And that's funny about the meal choices....so weird!

We put Bailey in 'time out' too by telling him to 'go lie on the stairs' when he does something bad and we catch him. He now knows that when he has to lie on the stairs he has done something bad and his behaviour has really improved. He also knows that he isn't allowed off the stairs until we say its okay (usually about 5 minutes). He looks sooo cute pouting with his head on his paws lying on the landing at the top of the stairs all depressed....it gets me everytime - but we stay strong he is so much better. Our experience is that consistency is the key. And I feel you on the husband not loving the kennel either - it took Bailey destroying the couch before Jamie decided that we needed to be really consistent with Bailey and put him in the kennel... He's always had dogs that were good as gold being left alone all day roaming, but Bailey just can't be trusted.

In Canada it costs about $360 US to get your docs translated and legalized at the Dominican Embassy or consolate in order to have a legal ceremony in the DR. You have to get your birth certificate and passport and single status declaration done. If you have been married before add in the divorce/death certificate. I just got my marriage certificate in the mail yesterday (in Spanish) and was wondering if I needed to get it translated....Thanks BachataBride!

Quote: Originally Posted by deefalvey Lindsay - your guestbook pages...when did you pass those out? I am trying to figure out when to do it. Do I put them in the OOT bags and give people a couple days to fill them out? Or do I have them at the ceremony and have people fill them out at the reception? What did you do? Thanks! We passed the make-shift guestbook out at the reception and left it on a table while we were eating. My on BM was assigned to guestbook duty and made sure it kept moving throughout the reception. I'll be working on the actual scrapbook guestbook this weekend so I'll post the finished product here too!

Hi ladies! I have finished my review with pics - here is the link! http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...034#post708240

Hi ladies! I have finished my review with pics - here is the link! http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...034#post708240

My monkey's (1.5 year old boxer) name is Bailey too!. We have crate trained him ultimately because he was destroying our house when left alone even for a short period of time. When we're home, he's fine and plays with his toys. The only thing he does naughty when we're home is eat tissue out of the garbage in the washrooms. And sometimes when we're sleeping he'll sneek his nose into the laundry and chew a pair of panties (he sleeps with us). This is getting better but he was going through a phase where he was eating (including swallowing) a pair of my panties every couple of days. He would either throw them up or pass them and we'd find them in the backyard when we were cleaning up! We tried leaving him out and he's eaten our phone, our remote, tore our leather couch (thank god it was old), our shoes, my slippers - honestly it was ridiculous! Now we crate him and when we are ready to leave we tell him 'its time to go to your house' and he runs up and sits in there waiting for us to close it. When he was getting used to it he hated it and would houdini his way out of it when we were gone by pushing it open. We have gotten in the habit of arranging doggy playdates a few times a week with our friends/family and he has gotten so much better. We just aren't able to walk him enough to wear him out and the only way to drain him is to arrange for another dog to come over and they will wrestle for hours. Doggie daycare may be a good option or having a dogwalker come in once a day to take him for an extra long walk? Good luck! I sympathize with you for sure! You just want them to be happy and healthy, but destructive beahviour is difficult to handle.

Cost breakdown Travel: $1665/per person for the 1st week plus $780/person for the second week (CAD) Wedding package: $1195 US Extra flowers: $59 US Day pass for photog: $59 US Musical Trio: $75 US Final thoughts: The Grand Palladium Bavaro has provided us with wonderful memories from start to finish. It really is a fantastic resort and I would be inclined to stay at Grand Palladiums all over the world knowing that their commitment to their guests really is evident. I will be recommending this resort to people for years to come, however for brides who are looking to have more control over the details of their wedding, this may not be the ideal choice. I have been laid back from the beginning and probably would have been happy with almost anything because I didn’t have any expectations. Our wedding was perfect for us, but it doesn’t mean it was perfect. Although they do a lot of weddings, we chose it as a good option for our guests which lots to do and see, and not as much for the wedding options it offered. If anyone has any questions about this resort just let me know cause I know there isn’t a ton of info on this site on this particular hotel.

Musical Trio- A+ They were an excellent add on for sure. Our guests appreciated the authentic feel and it was something to be remembered. They followed me down the aisle and they played after the ceremony as well. The only thing is I was under the impression that if I didn’t have the trio I would be walking down the aisle in silence. When we got to the resort, I ended up seeing a wedding were speakers were set up and the bride was walking down the aisle to music she had brought. If I had known I would have considered that as well. I am not disappointed in the least by going with the trio, I just wish I had known. Flowers – C I was disappointed with the flower choices we had when we sat down w/ the WC. When I asked if I could pay to have tropical flowers, the only option I received were lilies. The other flower options were roses and daisies. Luckily, I brought a realtouch bouquet and DH’s bout just for this reason so I was able to carry my orchids and plumeria bouquet with pride. I chose white roses for the girls and the GMs bouts. I had to pay for 1 bouquets and 2 bouts b/c one of each was included in the price of the package. I asked them to split the brides bouquet in two to make two BM bouquets. I still wish I could have had tropical options when there are beautiful tropical flowers everywhere. Photographer: PhotoSouvenir– A++++ The best decision I ever made was to hire PhotoSouvenir!!! It was absolutely fantastic working with Fran. I will be posting a separate review just for them because I can’t say enough! Reception- A- We all met in the lobby after pictures and were picked up my the train to go to the restaurant for dinner. We choose La Uva, which is one of the a la carts on the beach. We choose to have the dinner out on the covered terrace. The breeze off the ocean was perfect, although it made it impossible to keep the candles lit. We brought some décor and they decorated for me using their own discretion – so my advice is bring pictures of how you would like it to look otherwise you won’t get what you expect. It still looked beautiful and it was better than I had imagined. The WC asked if I had a request for room layout, table shape, and seating plan which I did not. I told them do whatever works and as it turns out, it was the perfect layout for our group. We had one long head table facing 4 tables of 8 people. All our parents/grandmothers were able to sit together and the rest of the group sat themselves. The one issue with the reception was that we were not offered the use of a mic or podium. This ended up causing the shy best man to cut his speech short after 2 weeks of work b/c he felt no one could hear him. For future brides it would be worth discussing this w/ the WC and potentially paying for the private reception in order to have a more traditional ‘dance’ portion of the evening. The younger guests all headed to the disco to dance which worked out fine for us, but a private reception might have been an option if we could have had the dance portion in the restaurant for just our guests (but b/c we are having an AHR I wasn’t concerned with the dancing since we will get our dance on it April anyways). Location Options - A We were offered La Uva or the International restaurant. We choose La Uva b/c we had the option of an app, a main and a dessert off any of the restaurants menus. At the international, we would only be able to choose the food off the international restaurant. The other determining factor was that at La Uva we had the choice of having dinner on the terrace, the international was only serving indoors. So it was an easy choice to choose La Uva for the menu variety and the terrace. Plus no other hotel guests were on the terrace, so we ended up with a private reception without paying for it. Reception Food- A+ Mmmm, excellent! We choose garlic shrimp as the appetizer from the Spanish restaurant, beef medallions for the main from the International and cheesecake for the dessert (Spanish). We chose the menu when we arrived and it was fantastic! They even put together a printed menu for the tables, which was a pleasant surprise! Everyone raved about the food and I enjoyed every bite! Cake- B+ The cake was really not a big deal to either of us – just another detail I didn’t really care either way about. Our package came with a cake and we opted to go with the standard cake without upgrading figuring most people wouldn’t eat it. As it turns out, the cake was served immediately after dessert and no one touched it. We did a cake cutting on the beach also, despite outlining to the coordinator in advance that we did not want the cake on the beach – it proved to be a good photo op. We did another one that was a bit messier after dinner. The cake was actually delicious - we chose strawberry shortcake – and also had the option of vanilla, chocolate or both. We chose white icing with blue detailing – which was by no mean a professional looking cake but pretty much what I expected. They also provided a little cake topper which was a cute memento.

Doctor So believe it or not I can review the experience with the doctor too. I ended up with cellulitis (infection under the skin) due to a bikini wax I got the day we left and the infection started to travel through my lymph system and I knew I needed antibiotics before it got to my blood soooo I had to go and see the MD on the resort. As a Canadian with covered health care, I was astonished by the amount it cost me ($400US) for two 10 minute visits plus the prescription. The office was clean and basic, and I the MD was a woman which was a relief when she began to clean the infection site (which was right under my bikini bottoms). This whole thing happened two days before the wedding, but thanks to the gigantic and heavy duty antibiotics it was gone by the morning of the wedding. The funny part was the MD tried to sell me jewelry at the end of the appointment when I was paying for the services….I had to try to keep it together while my MOH’s mouth dropped open b/c we couldn’t believe she was really trying to sell us her hand made goods at the end of my appointment! It was an experience and I’m glad it as done and over with before the wedding. Wedding Coordinator- A+ Carolina is the wedding coordinator at the Bavoro section of the resort. She is a one woman show always taking off on her scooter to set up a dinner or translate a ceremony. She was easy to deal with when we were still in Canada and arranged a meeting the day after we arrived to nail down the details. She took did a great job and definitely earns her salary! Wedding package The wedding package cost about $1200 US and included the ceremony location (beach or gazebo), judge, the cake, the brides bouquet, the grooms bout, the dinner, champagne toast at the end of the ceremony and the décor that is standard for the ceremony including chair covers and sashes in three colours as well as the wedding arch. Upgrades to the package included a private dinner reception for an extra $1000, musical trio for $75 and upgraded flowers. We added the musical trio and extra flowers for the wedding party. Ceremony- A++ My bridal party, mom and I was picked up for the ceremony by oversized golf cart even though my room was only a minute from the beach. The ceremony took place on the beach which is the reason we choose a destination wedding. It was wonderful to be saying my vows with sand between my toes….perfect. The judge performed the ceremony in Spanish and it was translated by the WC. I walked down a coconut lined aisle and met my FI at the end under a palm leaf and flower arch. There was a mike and all our guests were able to listen to our vows perfectly. They provide a security guard to keep people from gathering behind the ceremony location. The only issue I found a little off putting was that the ceremony takes place right next to the volleyball court, so the pics of me walking down the aisle have the volleyball net in the background. The good thing is that I never noticed at the time because I was too focused. The ceremony was perfect and followed by our sand ceremony and the signing of the registrar. I regret not being more specific with the WC about the sand ceremony set up b/c it wasn’t ready to go when we went to pour our sand. My DH had to fill his vase with sand (which was wet b/c it rained most of the day) and my sand was still in the package. We got it set up quickly and my brother did the reading. The ceremony was followed by the cake cutting and the champagne toast for the bridal party. The guests were all offered white wine to join us in the toast.

Spa - A I took advantage of the spa on three occasions. Once to fix a nail I broke the day before the wedding, and the second time my girlfriends and BMs all went and enjoyed the hot tubs and private pools the day after the wedding, and the third time my DH and I went and had a couples massage on our honeymoon. The spa is really beautiful with the entrance being a little bridge that leads you over water and a waterfall wall on either side. It is mostly glass and marble and feels relaxing the second you step it. Although it is indoors, it feels like your outside b/c the roof is so high and partially made of glass. The gym is also attached to the spa and looked updated, although I didn’t use it at any point. The use of the hot tubs etc was included in the price of our stay, and the massages were reasonable at about $60/each for a 50 minute massage. The nail repair on the other hand was ridiculously priced at $13 to fix one nail and $75 for a full set of acrylics. I was shocked, but I guess if people are willing to pay….All in all, the spa was a pleasant feature that I hadn’t anticipating using and was actually very nice. Room – A+ Fantastic! We were upgraded to the Romance Suite which included a king sized bed with a canopy, a outdoor Mayan shower with a hammock, and a whirlpool bath for two in the huge bathroom. We were spoiled and had it for the entire two week stay. Fresh towels were dropped off twice a day; the mini-bar (which was included) was stocked everyday with pop and beer. The room was very clean and there were absolutely no complains. Plus on our wedding night they placed a banner across the door that said ‘Just married†and placed a bottle of champagne in the room which was a nice touch. Beach- A+ Perfect! White sand, turquoise water and there were no shells or coral on the beach or in the water at all. I spent everyday in the ocean including the wedding day and it was definitely all I expected. Food- A There was tons of variety with 6 a la cartes, 3 buffets, a 24hr sports bar and 1 beach snack bar. The food was good, with themed nights from around the world at the buffet. Some of the a la cartes were better than others with the best being the Italian and the International. They didn’t seem to be limiting access to the a la cartes and we ate at one almost every night. I didn’t have any problems with the food and our guests seemed fine too – at least no one complained to me about it! Imperial Club - B This is an upgrade that we were provided for free which allowed us to reserve at the a la cartes for dinner rather than lining up to wait, provided free internet access, a bottle of rum and a fruit basket in the room, robes, slippers and beach towels in the room, and a few other minor perks. It was a nice addition, but I don’t think I would pay for this upgrade if I were going back on my own.