KPEG

Congrats! from my experience and research, Cuba and DR are relatively cheap. All the best.

welcome! this forum is awesome for planning ideas!

I'm so jealous of you girls! I wanted a pink and orange wedding too (orignally I dreamed of a fall wedding), but with the ocean I thought it would look best with Tiffany blue! So that's the colour we're going with. Dolphinluck, I emailed Tiara today with a bunch of my questions. Hopefully she'll get back to me. I'll share any good info I get. Thanks for your info though! Btw, I think I'll just be arriving at the resort the night of your wedding! Amygirl1169, could you post pics that Tiara sent you? She didn't give me anything but the package info and form! Nicole8, I'm just using whatever photog is provided in my package. I haven't given it much more thought than that.

Quote: Originally Posted by amygirl1169 Don't you love the selective responses?! lol I had the same problem, but if you email her again, with the same questions, she should eventually reply. I believe you can pay for them to decorate or you can bring your own decorations. I'm doing the free package and then just upgrading for the things we want/need. So I'm not sure what's included in your package, but Tiara does have the 'extras' price list. *Send me your email if you would like me to forward it to you.* From my experience so far, EVERYTHING is an extra charge. I don't think you need to pay the $300 for the minister/jp. Either the WC or someone you designate from your party can be your officiant, so there shouldn't be any charge for that. I think I will bring a copy of our marriage certificate just in case they need to see if for any reason. I LOVE the selective responses! haha. I just hate having to repetitively send emails to her b/c I know she's busy, but I need answers too! lol. Is this price list you have the same as what's on the website? If you don't mind me asking, how far in advance are you getting married before going to the DR? Our wedding is in May and we were only thinking of legally getting married the week before we depart. I was hoping to bring some kind of proof for the free honeymoon "package" but I'm not sure what to bring. Our marriage would not be registered by then so we wouldn't have anything except a copy (maybe) of our wedding license?

Quote: Originally Posted by dolfinluck I'm pretty sure you have to pay for the chair sashes, it might be cheaper to buy your own and bring them down. that's what i'm planning on doing. plus you can also sell them later. I asked Tiara about the $300 if you are having a symbolic ceremony and no you do not have to pay it. Thanks! I asked Tiara in an earlier email if I could have the $300 applied to other things if I was having a symbolic ceremony and she said I still needed to pay for someone to do it! Maybe she's not understanding? Do you happen to know how much the sashes are at the resort? The ultimate pkg says chairs with white covers, I guess I do have to pay for sashes then eh? Ugh! lol.

I just got my response from the WC at Dreams LR. Thank goodness!! She didn't answer any other questions I had in my email though. Can anyone shed light? Decorations, for reception and ceremony. Do I bring my own decorations/centrepieces for tables? I booked the Ultimate Wedding Package. Are chair sashes included? I am going to be legally married before arriving in the DR, do we still have to pay the $300 for the minister/justice of peace? Since we're doing the symbolic/renewal of vows, anyone can perform the ceremony. What do we have to show as proof for the honeymoon package included in this Ultimate wedding package? Thanks!

Unfortunately, we don't have Archivers in Canada. I'll try Michaels to see if they have one. Thanks!! You know, I was in Minneapolis this past weekend and was in Archivers but was so overwhelmed and hadn't decided on an invitation style before today. Shoot!

There's a machine that corrugates the paper?? Gosh, I am not crafty at all! lol. What's this gadget called? And yes, the top sheet is vellum but I've read that you can only print on it using a lazer printer (which I don't have). Thanks for the suggestions!

Hi, Just wondering if anyone could help me out with my DIY invitation project. I love these invitations (http://www.tangodesign.com.au/member...Shell_blue.jpg), but can NOT afford them. So I thought I'd put my "crafty" side to work. I'm already finding myself at a stand still though because I can't seem to find the right materials! Any suggestions as to where to I buy or order the materials? Thanks!

Hi Girls, Just wondering if anyone had issues trying to reserve your date and put down the deposit. I have been trying to for over a week now and have gotten nowhere! I was so frustrated that I called long distance to the resort to find out what was going on since I provided my credit card (front and back copies) and DL already with the forms. I even called my bank the day I submitted the info to the resort to authorize the charge to go through. I was hung up on several times when I called the resort and finally emailed Tiara indicating this. 15 mins after this email, she called me to tell me that she emailed me the day before to let me know that they were having problems with my card and asked if I could submit a different one. (No way I'm submitted another card! And I absolutely did not receive an email from her the day before.) So after a 10 second phone conversation, she said they would try again. I called my bank to make sure the note was on my account and it was, they even told me that the charge, converted to CDN funds, was tried but denied. The bank indicated that the resort probably manually entered in the expiry date backwards or inverted some numbers. I have not heard from Tiara at all today and am very stressed! I have no confirmation of my date and now they have all my confidential info and are saying it's not going through! Advice on this situation? Or how to stay calm?? Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by dolfinluck I'm glad to hear Tiara has gotten back to you. What are some of the question you have as i might have the answer. I asked her a lot of quesitons in the beginning, a couple of months ago, but haven't spoken to her in a while since I'm since 9+ months away from the wedding. I see you're getting married May of 2010. Us too! A few questions I'm unsure of are: Am I supposed to be planning my dinner, music, flowers, cake, decor, photographer and hair & makeup? Do I send emails to the WC on all of these items? Do I have to contact the spa to make appointments now? Do I have to book a photographer for specific times when all of this is included in the wedding package? What about table decorations? Will they have everything available? Do I have to bring decorations? I just don't want to leave anything behind if I could have brought it to "pretty" things up and personalize it. Does Tiara confirm the wedding location? I've mentioned the gazebo in every email and there's no response to that specifically at all. I've also mentioned having an afternoon wedding and there's been no mention of it. What about colour schemes? Do I get to choose flower colours? Do I choose the decor colours? What about the flavours of the cake? Or the cake itself - do I show them a picture of what I want? What about the vows? Do I write them? I will be having just the symbolic ceremony. How do I incorporate the sand ceremony? Will they provide a table for this or for set up? So many questions still!! Sorry to bombard anyone that reads this and especially you, dolphinluck! Thanks though!!!

Thanks. I've been asking around and no one seems to even know what I'm talking about! They keep referring me to regular trip cancellation and medical insurance. I guess we'll have to have faith and hope that everything will be ok. Thanks again and good luck with everything!

btn1091, I was almost going to call! That was my next step! But now that the WC says she has the date and my paperwork, I guess I'm clear to book the trip eh?

Gossip Girl, Thank you for that piece of advice! I can't believe it came to that but it worked. I had my subject line in all CAPS and wrote that it was for a deposit and important. I heard back in basically 24 hours. I sent in my information that night and am now waiting to the confirmation in writing. (I'll watch for it on my CC statements.) I sent another email to follow up that she received my CC info and forms and she responded the very next morning saying that she did. So upon your advice, it took 2 days to get somewhere. Who knows how long I could have waited!! I hope that's not a sign of what's to come though! I've already had a few questions unanswered. Thanks again!

Quote: Originally Posted by EmenGeeRoxx With the Swine Flu epidemic I am looking at getting Wedding Insurance. I wouldn't want to lose all my deposits and all the other $ I put in. Anyone know of a Canadian Company that offers destination wedding insurance. I have only seen them cover Weddings in Canada. EmenGeeRoxx, did you ever find out about Wedding Insurance in Canada? I came across this as something to ask about when planning the DW but don't know anything about it in Canada. Let me know if you have any info on it. Thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by VallieR I received confirmation from Dreams La Romana. Our wedding date is May 29, 2010. Hi, how long did it take to get the confirmation? I am in the process of trying to secure my date. It took me a week to find out if the date was available and now that I finally got word that it's not, I'm trying to act quick! Any words of wisdom for me? Thanks! And congrats!

Good idea for a theme/holiday social. Maybe I will give it some more thought, though I am really not for it since we don't know a whole lot of people. That's what concerns me - the selling tickets part! We thought about the Mayan too but after all the H1N1 stuff, no one is really all that inclined to join. Too bad.

Congrats sjmacphe. Cuba was a second choice to me. I have never been either but hear it's wonderful. I have been to the DR a couple of times for me but always to the north side. This time I'm venturing south for the caribbean sea. keep us posted on your wedding planning progress! I'm finding it really helpful to hear from other Winnipegers planning a DW.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jenn&Kraig Hey KPEG!!! Well it is actually official, we are now engaged!! He proposed a week ago, after the bomber game!! Now this planning is official!! However I really wont be able to narrow my choice until the pricing comes out in January. We wanted to keep our pricing to under 2 grand for one week if possible. What Kraig actually suggested...and any of the winnipeg brides will understand this....we are going to have a wedding social, and whatever money is left over from our costs of putting on the social will go towards our family and closests friends costs to attend our destination wedding. So that should hopefully help them out!! We have contacted Melissa at Sell of Vacations on St. Annes, spoke with her once, and she seemed very knowledgeable (sp) ,and very accomodating and friendly, we plan to work with her once the rates come out in Jan 2010. So I would recommend speaking with her, but only her...lol the other girls there were not as friendly! lol!! You can mention we are the couple with the little pom puppy that visited her!! lol...keep me posted on what you guys decide!! That's so awesome! Congrats to both of you!! I was kind of like you, in that we were "planning" our wedding before we were engaged too! We were thinking of having a social but after thinking about it, it sounds like a lot of extra work and expenses that we were trying to avoid. Maybe it's because we'd be doing it all ourselves (trying to sell tickets to the few people we know, getting prizes and food together, etc). We are not planning on having a wedding party, just the two of us and our immediate families. But yes, having a social is ideal for a DW too! Afterall it's still fundraising for the wedding! All the best, congrats again and keep me posted!

Good tip. Maybe I'll try and find the WC's direct email address and mention deposit in it! Maybe I did things out of order? I just didn't want to be stuck at one resort if i found vacation packages cheaper at another one. I'm trying really hard to save money where I can, for me and my guests! Thanks again.

This is kind of me venting but also wondering if anyone has advice. I got a quote back from my TA for Dreams La Romana but neither one of us have heard back from the resort about availability for a wedding during the week I was quoted for. The quote is a great price but is only good for 2 weeks. I am slightly on edge because I feel like I'd be making a rush decision involving other people's hard earned money. I really want to secure the good deal for my guests but I also need to make sure the wedding date is available. I'm not even picky, as long as they have one day during our week stay available! I asked the TA to find out about the availability some time ago and I, myself, emailed the resort a week ago. Anyone have any advice for me please?

Gorgeous!! Love the pics. Wish they were bigger. Congrats on everything!

It's apparently right beside the Dreams beach. There is security but some say it's not very good security, others say the opposite.

Hi Ladies, Could you please send me all the photos and wedding info (and price lists for specifics like, gazebo decoration, dinners, music, etc) that you may have gotten from the resort or come across in your research? I am waiting on group rates for Dreams La Romana from the TA. I've contacted the WC using the email addy on the Dreams website but haven't heard back yet. Not sweating yet - it's only been a day! But I'd love to get something sooner than later. I guess I'm just too darn excited! Thanks!!

I have done a LOT of "google"-ing lately! I've googled Sunscape Casa Del Mar and Dreams La Romana. They are one and the same. Some reviews say they did not like being next to the public beach b/c it was crowded and loud and there were people trying to sell things to them. Others enjoyed it b/c it gave them a chance to talk to locals and get more culture. Apparently the locals go there on their days off to enjoy the beach like every other person would do. From what I've found so far, there's only one other resort near that area, but is also further down the beach. I'm not sure how I feel about being next to a public beach but the appeal of having more cultural exposure in a different country is always nice!