Nonnie

Well, I am back in town. I already started my review, but I need to finish it. It's VERY long, because I have also reviewed the excursions we did and I get to add something about the local hospital... yeah.... It's quite nice actually. details to follow ladies, the hubby is off doing some photography on Sunday, so I am going to use that time to complete the review, upload pics on Flicker etc.

I just got back form my wedding there, Best experience ever!!!! You have made a great choice

It's so awsome here at the palladium hubby and I arranged with Airtransat to spend our 2nd week here instead of La Romana like we planned. only downside, I am spending my honyemoon with his 4 dutch friends until Sunday, then I get Mark to myself. Oh well, they are good guys. when they leave we are going to look into moving over to the royal suites. your weddings will all be awsome. I will write a review when i get home, meanwhile the pina colada is calling

Hola from Punta Cana!! everything is great, only complaint is that we did not have enugh ppl for La Uva and ar in Areciffe (sp?) which is nice, but we did not have much selection for menu. Had to pick one this for everyone for appetisers, main and dessert and all appetizers were seafood. blah. Oh well Resort photographers look like they will be great, will report much more wheen I get back Carolin a very good, but very busy.

I'm writing this in the lobby bar of the resort. Everything is so wonderful. My dad's folks, who were unable to come to the wedding are with him now He is getting better, had ECT therapy, can leave the unit etc. Maybe when I get home he will be able to be home. I know now that if he came to the DR like this he would have handled it very badly, mabe even wondered off never to be seen again. I am sad some days and I know I will cry the day before and day of the wedding, but it will still be wonderful. beter go have pina colada's to drink

I went to visit him again yesterday evening, he's drugged up, but better. He had a good sleep, which is what he needs. He has hardly slept at all in the past 3 weeks, and it's incredible how damaging that can be to an otherwise solid, logical mind. I also learned that's it's not anxiety about the wedding that brought this on, just some stuff at work and how (as usual) he took on far too much on himself. At least I don't have to feel guilty that I did this to him. my Fi suggested we take pictures of the ceremony site, restaurant and post dinner party place, email them to someone who is visiting my dad and let him give his suggestions for decorations and set up. He is a designer, so this will mean a lot to him. Friends are lending us a video-camera, so we will be recording the ceremony, in fact the whole day and parts of the week leading up to it. I'm seeing him again today after I et my mani, pedi and waxing. He wants to know what my hands will look like since I've never had a mani before. I'm bringing him some art supplies too.

I went to visit him, he was trying to convince us that since there are 2 nurses in our group he should be able to make it work, but it's just not possible. he needs the kind of care he can get at a hospital, an I would hate for something to happen in the DR and he has to go to a hospital there. I've been to a hospital in Costa Rica, and they are terrible.

We did an engagement party, so we were not planning on doing an AHR

I woke up this morning to find out that my mom had to take my dad to a walk in clinic, and then to emergency. Apparently he has had a mental breakdown, about the wedding, work etc. I never picked up on any of this before, and he never showed any signs. They admitted him, and now he won't be able to come to the wedding. We leave early Thursday morning. He feels awful and guilty, like he ruined my big day, but I know it's not his fault. I initially wanted to call it all off, but my mom and Grandma pointed out that he would feel even more guilty about that, and never forgive himself. Now the one person I really really wanted to be there can't be. I'm going to try and have someone videotape the ceremony, we were not going to do that but now it's a must. I'm also going to need to find someone else to read the sand ceremony reading, which I wrote with my dad in mind as the speaker. I'm also going to have to have the father daughter dance removed from the playlist, and I was honestly looking forward to that more then the first dance. I'm devastated, and I can't stop crying

The email I sent Caroina bounced back today. not sure what's going on.

Quote: Originally Posted by beachbum Has anyone had trouble emailing carolina lately? I tried to email her yesterday and her email bounced back to me. The email address I was using was [email protected] . I sent her an email a few days ago that never went through. I just re-sent it, Here's to hoping the problem was temperary

Having just had my brother get married, I can understand some of the weird emotions etc going on here. Until your Fi came into your life your brother was your sort of your #1 guy, he is protective of you (like any good brother) and does not want you to ever get hurt. now he feels replaced by your FI, enter the green eyes of jealousy. He may not be fully aware of it, but he views your FI as having taken someone important out of his life, I'm guessing you, like most brides, spend less time with your brother now then you did when you were single, or even n a less committed relationship. Of course, your brother's actions are not OK, I'm just trying to understand them and put them into perspective. If I were you I would opt to go our for coffee with him, explain how you feel, explain why he is wrong about what he said, explain how he is still a big part of your life (so big you changed your wedding plans so he could be there) but now you have another big part of your life. Say you think he should try to get to know your FI better, maybe try and convince them to do a boy-bonding night of sports and beer. You will have to urge them to break the ice. I strongly recommend a book called "Emotionally Engaged" I read it, it was great and now I have past it on to a newly engaged girl I know.

OMG! I leave in 5 days!

BTW, I have inquired about the cost of a sound system (no DJ, just system) Carolina says it will cost $200 for them to set it up. Feels pricey. Mind you the post-dinner party is cheap, $9 a head for a bar and they set it up for free. We've got Ipod speakers, but I'm not 100% confident they will be loud enough. I think we will take them with us and test them on the first day, then if they sound awful we'll shell out the $200. I guess that is what contingency money is for.

This thread is hilarious My FI works in construction, and when he gets home he leaves his work clothes dumped on the floor. I bought a clothes rack, but his clothes seem to multiply to now take up an entire corner of the room. He does the same thing with his regular clothes so I've started taking them, folding them and putting them on a special shelf in the closet. I'm pretty sure my obsession with keeping the place tidy and organized is his pet peeve He also always throws his socks in the wash balled up, so not only do they not wash/dry properly, but are a pain to fold. One day I'm going to take every sock in the wash that is like that and dump them on his pillow

I empathize, I've been having a lot of trouble with my TA too. I'm not just counting down to my wedding, I'm counting down to the point I won't have to deal with her any more. What company is your TA with? You might be able to talk to other people on the flight and switch seats. Just explain that you are on your way to your wedding and would like to sit next to your Fiance and if you could trade seats with them, I've done that before and people have been pretty good about it. Your dad situation is more tricky, people are less likely to give up the extra leg room seats, but you could try.

Quote: Originally Posted by Ottawa Bride Last question... we didn't leave a tip for Carolina and that was a HUGE oversight on our part. We left tips for the wait staff at the restaurant (Carolina told us who to give it to and that they would split it evenly... there were so many of them, we didn't know who to give it to)... we tipped each of the servers individually at the beach party because there were only 4 of them. We also left a tip for the band to split. Carolina left the party shortly after the band started and we completely forgot to leave someone in charge of tipping her... I'm going to contact our travel agent though (she says she goes to the Palladium often) and see if she would bring it to her on her next trip... we really feel terrible about it because she really did a fabulous job. If you don't mind my asking, How much did you tip? I really have no idea what would be appropriate

Tanya I'm so excited now about my December 8th wedding! I've been worried that things won't go well, but your review has given me so much reassurance! I wonder if I'll be lucky enough to have our group upgraded too? I have some questions: Was your cake the one that comes with the package, or did you pay extra? Did you have to pay anything for waiters before the ceremony? Apart from the band and the bar, did the post-reception beach party cost you anything? It seems like a big thing for them to do for no extra cash.

I am finally not as confused about Jalu Photography. -The company exists in several resorts as the resort's photographers -Jose Gonzalez (The guy whose english is not too good) runs the Grand Palladium section -There are several photographers working at the resort, and more then one wedding photographer. Peter Reilly is one of them and he has been answering my recent emails, but may not be my photographer. I'm getting the idea this place is bigger and busier then I thought, lol

Good News! Carolina emailed me back, the bride who was booked for the 8th cancelled, so I can have that date back She's got me down for 5pm like I wanted, but of course she won't confirm that, or La Uva Now my only problem is I can't seem to get ahold of Jalu photographer to confirm things with him. Grrr. The only way to contact him is through a fomr on their website, and I think it is broken. I've asked Carolina for his phone # and email

Well I just got a reply from Carolina to the email I sent yesterday to confirm everything. All is good but the ceremony date! I am sure I told her we wanted to do a symbolic ceremony on December 8 at 5pm, but the only record she has is for 2pm on the 9th and now she is all booked up already for the 8th... It's a good thing I did not get anything personalized, the only problem is it says December 8 on our invitations... Grrr... Now I need to pick between December 7th and 9th.

Hey guys, boy this thread is moving fast. I've been super busy doing an interior painting job making lots of $$ which is great, but it's murdering my hands. I hope they will recover in time for the wedding. I'm getting a mani and pedi here at home before I leave with by BFF. Only about a month to go! OMG, Mark is off to Ottowa with work until a week before we leave, and we still need to pick a first dance song!! I need to contact Jalu to confirm some stuff about prices and make sure it's ok that we don't book ahead. I was emailing with a guy who said it was ok, but I have a feeling that there have been major changes Up to 19 people total, not as many as I hoped. The price is down to half of what we paid now!! Maybe more people will book. Meanwhile my mom has written a letter of complaint to Air Transat and has our TA batting for us, so at the least we might all get a room upgrade.

Quote: Originally Posted by ManoCujo For starters - what are you ladies choosing to do with regards to photography? I was checking out the resort recommended "Jalu" and have not made up my mind. Thoughts? Has anyone selected Jalu? . I'm using Jalu, I wanted the freedom to wait on booking until we arrived. I'll let you know how things went when I get back.

well I am a little annoyed, the price dropped more then $500 for the resort my week with Air Transat, but since myself and my guests have already booked, we are stuck with the higher price. My mom even called and asked our TA. I need to resolve not to let it bother me, but next time I go on such a trip (resort) I am going to just book my vacation time and then wait to book the trip until a month ahead.

I've got chair sashes, that's pretty much it