Dolcenotte12

Hey Debbie, I never heard of that. Maybe its something they are implementing as of a certain date. My reception was supposed to be 4 hrs, but it did start a little late due to us taking so many pictures, but I think it was at least 3 1/2 and we did not get charged extra for it, only per person over 20 people. Michelle

Hey Boston, No problem. Do you know I just realized I had blue napkins because you told me I did, haha!! I looked at one of my pictures and noticed them! So needless to say I did not bring them lol. It looks really nice and not overdone. The chair bows I brought and they used them not only on chairs but for the torches and the centerpieces. If you are using that color in your color scheme, they should still have my chair bows, ask Mercy about that. Any other questions, feel free to ask =)

Boston Bride, If I'm not mistaken, I think Ana is not "performing" weddings so much anymore as much as she is working behind the scenes with them. She is the manager of weddings, group sales, and incentives. Mercy and Lisbeth are sweet girls and are very eager to please you, they even look like alike which is weird!!! LOL Be assured Ana is overseeing everything no matter who your wedding planner might be. They are an awesome team. Also, I'm pretty sure Amber had Mercy for her wedding. When she reads this, I am sure she will further explain her experience with Mercy. Hope I was able to help!! Michelle

We had a cigar roller for our wedding at Excellence. I think it was $100 then $3 or $4 per cigar. It was a hit with everyone. Our guests have been talking about it since the wedding. Even I smoked one and I never smoke anything!! LOL A few guys that are big on cigars said they were the best cigars they ever had and took a whole bunch with them. Our final price was $375 because so many people took extras to their room/home. I'm glad they enjoyed it so much!! Ask your wedding coordinator to arrange it for you. We had the cigar roller for about 2 hrs after dinner. Hope this helps. Michelle

I had an amazing experience much like Amber. I'm going to write a review now. If anyone has questions, please let me know. I am also including a snapfish link to view some of my professional photos by Photo Souvenir. My photographer was Severine..she was awesome!! I love my pictures and hope you guys do too! The link will be at the bottom of this review. I first went to Excellence July 2007. We loved it so much that we knew one day we would be married here. However there was one problem. I found out in May 2008 that I have a serious allergy to gluten - wheat, barley, rye, and oats. I was very worried about traveling anywhere let alone leaving my house to eat. I thought to myself, "How could I get married and spend a honeymoon in another country when no one knows how to take care of me here??" So I emailed management there and explained my situation hoping they would be able to accomodate me. Amazingly, they assured me that they would handle this and connected me with executive chef (who is a great friend to us now) who ordered me new pots and pans, and promised he would be there to go over the menus, etc. So we booked Excellence again in July 2008 to see if this would really work. Luckily, we were engaged in June 2008 which worked out perfectly to put Excellence to the test. Excellence aced that test beyond any measurable score. I can not express how amazing the service was by the concierge dept and Chef Berthold to make sure I did not get sick on my vacation. Every meal, the chef met with me to go over my choices and to prepare me something special if I so desired. At the beach and pool parties which is always buffet, he went over each and every buffet station to tell me what the dishes were made with. I felt like I had a personal chef. They treated us like royalty. So of course, we met with the wedding planner and group incentives manager, Ana to look over some wedding stuff because we knew this place was IT. Ana kept in touch with me very often throughout the year and answered any questions I had, no matter how dumb or repetitive they might have been! LOL She was amazing. I think communication is very important when it comes to planning a destination wedding. Because we had so much communication, I had very little stress when it came to the wedding planning. When I arrived at Excellence with 10 of my 40 guests, Ana came to greet me and immediately took my dress off my hands and met my family and friends. Roberto at the club was looking forward to our arrival and escorted each of my guests to their rooms. Any problem any of the guests had during their stay, (there were a couple minor ones here and there) Roberto and his team made sure to address it. We met with Ana a few days before the wedding and I gave her all the other stuff I brought with me and we confirmed everything. Then I made a little boo boo by confusing the date of the rehearsal dinner and I had already told my guests the wrong information. Ana felt bad about the mixup so we had an area sectioned off at the pool soiree the night of the rehearsal dinner and had our "real" rehearsal dinner the next night. She handed out all my welcome bags to my guests. She made beautiful menu cards and information cards for the wedding schedule. One the day of the wedding, the spa did an awesome job with my girls' hair and nails and my hair never looked so amazing. They did exactly what I wanted them to. Ana was in and out making sure everything was going well. I did my own makeup at the spa. Ana came to help me put my dress on and then she took my bridesmaids to the beach wedding site. Meanwhile, Lisbeth was assisting the guys and helping to set up the location. Our photographer arrived just as I was putting my dress on (like I requested) and I was nervous at first that I was not coming out nice in pictures, but she helped me to relax lol. I got whisked away with my mother in a horse and carriage. The wedding ceremony location was beautiful on the beach. I highly recommend this spot. Absolutely stunning. The sky and weather were perfect. There was a great breeze on the beach, not too much, just right. You will see in my pictures. I did not feel hot at all in my dress like I thought I would, but Steve felt a little uncomfortable in his white suit. The ceremony went very well and Domingo the sax player was unreal. I felt like I was in heaven. After the ceremony, we greeted people and then took a group shot on the beach and then stayed with family and wedding party for some pictures on the beach while everyone else went to the cocktail hour. I didnt really get to see it, but I heard it was great. It was at the veranda near the Lobster House overlooking the ocean, prime location. We changed it at the last minute from Agave patio to this. It was a good choice. Pictures did take some time and the cocktail hour lasted longer than expected. But we took some awesome pictures. The reception set up was beyond gorgeous. We had a beach reception. If I could, I would do it the same way all over again. The sun was setting. It was perfect. You will see in my pictures how the set up for the beach looks. They carved beautiful designs into the fruit displays and the orchid centerpieces I asked Ana for were stunning. We did our first dance and then we ate. Domingo the sax player played for one hour which was dinner time. He did such a beautiful job. Then we had a Dominican band which I highly recommend, it really got the guests moving.They even let us use their instruments and Ana brought out the limbo stick and we did the Conga, it was great and really complemented the beach atmosphere. Then we played our music that we put on cds. We stopped a few times for speeches from my mom, my father in llaw, and the best man.We had a cigar roller for 2 hrs and a fruit lady for 2 hrs. I highly recommend these as well. I even had a cigar and I never had one before but hey, it was my wedding! We did the mother -son song and then we did brother-sister song. Those went very well. Then we kept drinking (alot), boogied down in the sand and gave myself a sandy body and blonde highlights for the rest of the night! LOL We did the cake cutting (extremely drunk at this point) and smeared cake all over Steve's eyes. Let me mention that the Chef helped to prepare a gluten free wedding cake for me in addition to the regular cake so that I could eat cake (which I barely did anyway), but the cake was really cute and bigger than I expected and tasted delicious!! We did the garter which was also pretty funny because everyone was obliterated!!! All in all, the festivities lasted from about 4pm to about 11 pm and the weather remained consistently perfect! I thought people would have problems dancing in the sand, but no one did. Some people never got up but alot of people did dance. I dont think I sat down once after I ate dinner. People also enjoyed using the beach beds and swings to hang out on during the reception! The honeymoon night consisted of me calling Steve's brother to make sure I wouldnt drown in the pool ( we were going to jump in) but we never made it back out anyway lol. Instead I fell asleep fully clothed on the toilet bowl!!!!!! Grosssss!!! But fun......... A couple days after the wedding Ana brought all my stuff back to me in my duffel bag and everything was packed nicely. Everyone had an amazing time at the wedding, they said it was unlike anything they have ever been to. The photographer left us with amazing memories, a beyond spectacular slideshow, and an edited ceremony video that we showed to my grandparents ( who didnt make it) and they were smiling ear to ear. They said this wedding was beyond their wildest dreams! For our honeymoon, we had the lovebirds massage which was very nice, breakfast in bed, and candlelight dinner on the beach with some delicious food (catered to my needs). And we were treated like a king and queen for the entire 3 weeks were there. They really spoiled us there, so much so that we are returning for the 4th time next July for our 1 year anniversary!!! I highly recommend Excellence for your wedding and honeymoon. Ana, Lisbeth, and Mercy will do their best to assist you in anything you need, I guarantee it! Here are the pictures that showcase the amazing weddings done at Excellence: Snapfish: Share:Registration

nbulldog, It is not advisable to ship things to the DR. Many things do not arrive when they should. However, if you feel you really need to I think UPS and Fed Ex will get your stuff there, never use a regular postal service, it will not get thereeeee. I would still check with the wedding dept at Excellence because I'm sure it depends on how much you are sending, if they can hold it for you or not. I was going to mail some stuff and then decided against it based on what people that live there have told me. We had 2 free checked bags each and then had my brother check in a bag with wedding stuff for me. We worked it out after days of dwelling on how to fit stuff without going over the weight limit, what to do with breakables, etc, but in the end, we did it! Jamael, here is the info for the weddings at Excellence: Excellence Punta Cana Spa and Resort - Weddings & Honeymoons If you qualify for the free wedding package which is $850, you can subtract that amt if you pick a different package. Hope I was able to help!

For any brides worrying about Photosouvenir, stop worrying lol!! They are awesome!! Severine took the most amazing shots, created the most beautiful slideshow (brought me to tears), and gave me pretty much everything before I left. I know they are veryyyy busy and they are perfectionists so need to worry. When I get my bearings and get my pics organized I will learn how to post them. Photosouvenir does a great mix of candid and traditional photos. What I really loved about Severine is that she did not stop us during the ceremony and the reception for photos..she did everything candid and so many are awesome. I did not feel like I had a photographer on my back the whole night. I felt relaxed. To me, that is very important especially after you do your 1 1/2 hr photo shoot with the bridal party, family, and just the two of us, I liked that we did not have any more pressure. She also did a ridiculously amazing Trash the Dress session!!! I highly recommend Photosouvenir!

Yes, if anyone is interested, I left my bright blue chair bows with Ana. There was about 60 of them. I'm sure they saved most of them. It is a gorgeous color, not teal, not aqua, not dark blue, just bright blue lol. If I knew how to post a pic here I would but I am clueless. The carriage ride was interesting because my mom kept getting hit in the head with the palm leaves lol. we brought our sand ceremony vases, chair bows, welcome bags, and in memory vase with a couple of picture frames...everything else they provided. The welcome bags for 40 guests took up the most room and weighed a lot. I had beautiful orchids for my bouquet and my hair and my bridesmaids had hot pink gerbera daisies, beautiful!!

Actually my maid of honor got her makeup done and she looked great. She was happy with it. And she came out good in pictures.

I don't usually like anyone doing my makeup for that reason..seems to always be like that. It helps that I worked at Chanel for over 6 years too lol, so I did my makeup myself. Hair was something I was worried about and for very little reason. They did an amazing job on my hair. My hair has never looked that nice, I couldn't believe how great it looked and the style held all night even when I gave myself highlights when I threw myself down in the sand!!! My bridesmaids loved their hair too. Dominicans are great with hair, there are so many dominican hair salons in NYC for a reason!! LOL, I would not worry at all. Just bring pictures of styles you like and they will do it the way it would look best on you.

Amber, I just sent you an email tonight and then I checked on here and I'm so glad you had such a gorgeous wedding!! Looks familiar lol. You looked beautiful and you have awesome pictures. I'm glad you had such an awesome experience at Excellence!! I knew you would love it!! My wedding was amazing in every way as well!! I will write a review on here and tripadvisor very soon. I will try to post a link to pictures once I get those organized. If anyone has any questions, ask away. But as Amber said, you can't go wrong with an Excellence wedding!!!

Hello, it is not that much to get married legally in DR. It's $250 if you have never been married before. And then when you get your certificate, its $75 more to have it translated. I am going through a company called WEDO. Those are the prices from there. They have a great reputation and many brides in this community have used them. I hear other companies charge a lot more for the same thing. We are doing it legally even though we are getting married on Sunday and they do not perform legal ceremonies that day. So we are just signing the paperwork the night before on Saturday. If its possible to do that, I prefer it, so I don't feel like I've been married some time before the wedding. I was contemplating doing it when we returned home, but we wanted to know that we were married on our 3 week honeymoon lol. Besides, a lot of guests would probably be insulted if we waited till we got back. Hope I was able to help!

I am also getting married at Excellence this July. I've been there twice. Which one you decide depends on your preferences and amount of people attending. Do you mind/want to have sand on you or your dress? lol Do you prefer garden surroundings or the beach scene? The gazebo is close to the beach and I'm sure the photographer can get the beach into your ceremony pictures even if you use the gazebo. And lastly, the gazebo is not huge (it is beautiful though) and I can't see a large group (30+) witnessing a ceremony there, it would be a bit cramped. The beach is better suited for larger groups because there is unlimited space.

I am having a legal ceremony on a Sunday this July. I never heard about it not being legal on a Sunday. The judge is coming to us to make it legal and we are filing all the paperwork with WEDO.

Hey Blushing Bride, if Ana has not sent you any bouquet options, ask her to send you the pictures of the bouquets in an email. Keep in mind its very flexible. You can get any flowers you want depending on availability in DR. And you ask for the bouquet according to your taste; larger or smaller, more greenery, less greenery, etc. Also, some flowers do cost extra. And the bridesmaids flowers are not included unless they wear corsages which is not the way we do it as far as I know. As for the colors, you pick your colors or ask her opinion. She is good with style!! LOL, she does weddings everyday, she knows best!! Hope I was able to help!! I just picked my flowers after months of debate so I'm very familiar with this topic!!

Hey Amber, thanks for the info. I am actually just doing a welcome dinner too. It's like a two in one rehearsal/welcome since the last bunch of our guests are arriving Friday, we figured we would do it Saturday. Or is Friday better..what do you think? I know people want to get settled and some may arrive in the evening so I don't want to rush them. Its a good idea to do the beach party for your welcome dinner since you aren't having the reception on the beach. You will love the beach party, it's beautiful, that's why I picked that same scene for the reception. They are having the pool soiree (outdoor setup in the main plaza near the pool) the night I want to have the welcome dinner, but I did not pick that because the food will be too similar to my wedding menu on the beach!! Don't want to overkill the buffet idea!! LOL I've been talking with Ana and I think we are having vegetable centerpieces for the reception tables carved into hearts and wedding bells! I didn't want flower centerpieces. And fruit centerpieces attract bugs. Ana said this would be a first but she and the head chef like this idea. Interesting right? We'll see! LOL 3 months!!!!! I so wish we were there at the same time so we could have met up!! Oh well, we will share pictures! Michelle

I would definitely go with Photosouvenir (on the resort). They take fab pictures. I had a beach photo shoot done with them last year. Great prices, beautiful results. They are also in very high demand and we are lucky to have them on site with slots available for us. They are booked up for a very long time otherwise. Unless you have a photographer you are bringing from home, I would stick with them. Ask your wedding coordinator to forward your email to the photographers. That usually gets a response. Wow, I didn't realize how many WC's there were at Excellence!! I guess they are really busy!! Well Ana did tell me there is a wedding pretty much every day in July! I dont know how they handle it...but they do!! Amber, I'm doing the beach bbq buffet for the reception, but for my welcome/rehearsal dinner, I need to pick a menu. Did you have to pick one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert? Or did you have a selection of 2 or 3 choices? It's going to be at Toscana.

Hi Erin and congrats on your upcoming wedding! Excellence is an amazing place to get married (I've been there twice and seen many beautiful weddings, can't wait to be at my own!!) and from what people say Paradisus is just as beautiful!! Who is your wedding coordinator at Excellence? I work with Ana..I met her last July while I was there and have been talking to her through email ever since, sometimes several times a day/week and even on the phone once. They have been having problems with their internet/server recently so the last couple of months have been tough sometimes. What I would do is type all the questions and email them to her so she can address your issues. How many people are you having? If you aren't having many people and aren't doing a cocktail hr or big reception, there is less planning involved! But still, you should have all your questions addressed. I would tell them you are trying to decide between the 2 resorts and communication before the big day is a very important factor in that decision. That being said, the service at Excellence has been outstanding both times I've been there. There exists a level of service at Excellence that I doubt most places would offer. Good luck in your decision and let me know what happens!

We are having a saxophonist during the ceremony. He is amazing. I have had the chance to see him live twice. What are some good sax songs for walking down the aisle and for walking away together at the end? Any suggestions?

I will be sending out my invites soon. They are pretty informal but really cute. They have a picture of the beach at sunset that I took at Excellence last time I was there. I am very confused about RSVP's. I know the whole purpose of an invitation is to get a response, but I feel like I'm sending them more for sentimental value. We already have 40 people booked and we basically know who is still planning on booking and who isn't.We sent out STD's about one year before the wedding. Is it necessary to send out an RSVP with the invitation? I figure the remaining people we are unsure about will reach us or we will reach them at some point before the wedding. What are your thoughts on this?

I thought you could have a carry-on and one personal item. I thought that could be my personal item. I guess not. Then again, doesn't the personal item need to fit under the seat?

Hey Boston bride...congrats to you on your upcoming wedding! Do not mail anything to Dominican Republic. They do not get their mail for a long time if at all. I was warned by friends who have lived there and Ana, the wedding planner. For Blushing bride, if you use a company such as WEDO, I think you can send your stuff anytime and they handle it to make sure it is issued properly. I'm going to send mine to Isabel at Wedo next week. Hey you're from the Bronx. I'm from Bklyn, but moved to queens a few years ago! Congrats!! =)

Hey Boston bride...congrats to you on your upcoming wedding! Do not mail anything to Dominican Republic. They do not get their mail for a long time if at all. I was warned by friends who have lived there and Ana, the wedding planner. For Blushing bride, if you use a company such as WEDO, I think you can send your stuff anytime and they handle it to make sure it is issued properly. I'm going to send mine to Isabel at Wedo next week. Hey you're from the Bronx. I'm from Bklyn, but moved to queens a few years ago! Congrats!! =)

Hi I am getting married July 12, 2009 at Excellence Punta Cana. I have been a silent stalker on here for a while =) so I'm not so new lol. Danielle, did you have to send the copies of your passport and witnesses information to WEDO as well or is that just for the when you fill out the paperwork in DR?

Meant to tell you congratulations as well Theresa!! I would love to see some pictures!!