DawnBuckley

Sperger, Since you are also booking through Julie, have you arranged anything yet with Carolina? I haven't dealt with her at all, but now that we have at least 30 confirmed, things will change for the reception, etc. Now I have some planning to do! Also, did you purchase one of the wedding packages yet? They include the officiant, etc. But I guess its all extra for specific restaurants or if you want it more private.

caribbean lover, Can you please email me the menus as well. We did not choose which restaurant yet. I would love to have the patio. That would be awesome. Please send the menus to [email protected] Thanks a million!

Caribbeanlover, I have the same TA as Chicken. We were given shorter deadlines. For our group, the cost was about $1350 out of Ottawa and $1290 out of Montreal. She was able to secure the rate for one month. Our group has until the end of August. Although some people have told me they are going but just not booking now. We shall see about that one!

Martine, Yes, Julie is my planner too and mentioned there was someone else booking the plane! That's too funny. So we will be there together! Travelling and at the same hotel and marrying on the same beach. That's awesome! I checked out the boat ride. It looks gorgeous... then I remembered that a relative of mine doesnt like to be out on the water! Oh well. You are having a wood arch built there or do you have to ship stuff? I will be using turquoise/tiffany blue too, so as I mentioned, if I need to bring the chair sashes, etc, you are welcome to use them first as your wedding is before mine. I just need them back for Monday and I think caribbeanlover wants them too. We can work it all out as we get everything organized. We can all meet down there and plan it! This is so exciting!

Chicken.. welcome! So you are marrying at the Grand Palladium too! I will be there for your wedding.. I am getting married there on the 12th! Are you flying there on the 7th with Sunwing? I was also excited to see you are in Casselman. I am in Bourget just a few exits away! What are your colors for your bridesmaids, etc? Have you decided on the gazebo or the beach? What is the Barcaza wedding boat? Was that something different that you booked separate of the hotel? Is the actual ceremony on the boat?

shankd, which hotel are you getting married at? Good for you having your dress already. I am one of those "I will be so much slimmer when April rolls around", so I am delaying as long as possible! And of course I just fell in love with Cymbeline dresses because they are soooo feminine... and probably cost an arm and a leg. Apparently there is one store in Toronto that sells them. I will have to call before I make the trip and find out what the average price is and if they have them in stock. I spoke to a lady at a bridal store a few weeks ago and she said that to be safe, I should be trying on dresses in October, so I still have a few weeks of weight loss to go! We want to get married on the beach so I am not sure if my FI wants to be in just a nice pair of sandy beige pants and white shirt, or what the plan is yet. I guess I can't say anything until I have my BMs and Maid of Honor taken care of too!

Hi Lisa... count me in! I am also a former WW member. I just rejoined online with my sister and I am doing okay but would like to try something different. Can you email me the diet at this addy... [email protected] That would be great. Then we can all share our success together! I am also starting to go for long walks again which really helps lose weight. I have a pedometer so I know that when I commit to at least 10,000 steps a day, it gets me motivated when I reach it. Look forward to hearing from you! Thanks, Dawn

CaribbeanLover... I am back home. Never did make it to Fairview! I ended up spending time with my friend in St. Lazare. It was nice to catch up. She is coming to the wedding as my Bridesmaid. My sister is Maid of Honor and my FI's daughter is another bridesmaid. The OOT bags I plan to do will definitely contain beach towel and personal care essentials. I think I will can the flip flop idea. Too hard to coordinate sizes. I saw a really cute face cloth idea... its wrapped like a striped candy! I just have to remember where I saw it because I didn't notice the price. My sister had said that a friend of hers went to the Dominican awhile ago and the hotel she was at had no facecloth so this would be a good thing (although I would imagine the Grand Palladium has them). Anyhow I will find my paper and let you know. As both you and Sperger will be there for my wedding which will be first, I will gladly pass along anything I do use for decor if you gals want it. I don't plan on bringing to much down, but you never know. I may decide to in the end. Also I saw pictures of the tuquoise sashes on the chairs (I think it was in a wedding video taken at the GP), that my wedding coordinator/travel agent sent me. I will double check with her. If Carolina at the hotel does not have this colour, I will get them and leave them for both of you if either one of you chooses to use turquoise for your decor. Actually I am looking for more of a tiffany blue or oasis colour (This is what I would love for the bridesmaids but havent been looking for their dresses yet). I will keep you posted! How is everything going with everyone's plans? I sent my invites but only gave guests until end of August to reply. This is rush but its really due to the fact that my travel agent has secured a group rate which is only good until the end of August. So it would be cheaper for those who definately know they are going, to book and confirm early. They just need to pay $250 deposit up front to reserve their seats. What day are you girls flying down on? I am flying on April 7th. Talk to you later!

Just received 2 no shows for the wedding... oh well.. I knew that would be the case with some people anyhow. I think I mentioned that we are also having a June Celebration here in Ottawa next year so I think a lot of friends will be coming to that. I am going to look around Michaels next week some time for OOT bags... I am leaning towards those straw type totes. They look tropical. Then I can do hangtags and a message inside too. You are right... the Dollar store will be a good place for a lot of items. I might add some type of turquoise fabric flower to the OOT bag so I should look at the $ store for that too. Its so much fun to look into all of this stuff. This is certainly keeping me busy. I have to go change now because my honey and I are going to Montreal tonight (Hudson actually)He has a course and I am staying at a friends place. Talk to you when I get back! Maybe I can mosey around some stores (Fairview) and get some ideas. Will keep you posted!

Caribbean Bride... I am originally from Montreal! I grew up in Chateauguay and then lived and worked (at Avon Canada) on the West Island. Whereabouts are you? I moved to Ottawa in November. It certainly does seem like a small world! Maybe I will have leftover decor for those whose wedding follows me! I am doing turquoise and white (or perhaps oasis (more tiffany color), but we do not have the BM dresses yet so who knows what we will discover! I noticed on another section of this site that the Grand Palladium wedding coordinator prints a menu if you eat at La Uva. That would be fabulous. I am not going to go crazy carrying all kinds of decor, but I think I will bring something turquoise, black and white for the tables. Pretty white fabric flowers maybe.. (I am all about the packaging and the decor... thats my thing!) Anyhow, I am definately doing OOT bags with a mix of aloe, sunblock, tums (you never know) etc. I was also thinking of the Old Navy flip flops but it might be kinda hard to get all the sizes. I will probably have about 20 guests (hopefully more.. I am off to the mailbox now to see if I have any more replies!) Talk to you later ladies!!! Dawn

This is so exciting! What do you have done so far for your wedding? Are you sending decor items down there ahead of time? I know that they have chair sashes so I will be using those in turquoise. But I am not sure if the wedding favors have to go seperately or we can bring items like the favours and OOT bags with us. What are you doing? Are you doing OOT bags? How about favours? Also, because we are not positive how many guests we will have, I didn't know if I should make place settings for the tables. So far, we are about 20 (mostly relatives). How many are you expecting and are you decorating or leaving it to the wedding coordinator there?

Sperger and Carribean Lover, I am getting married on April 12th at the Grand Palladium Punta Cana Resort and Spa. Is this part of the Royal Turquesa? If so... we are one wedding after the other!

Sorry I just read that its all taken!

What size is your day-after dress... it's adorable!

Hi Ladies! I am an April 2010 bride as well! Our wedding date is April 12th.. at the Grand Palladium in Punta Cana. We decided to have the wedding there and, because we know that several friends will not be able to attend, we are also having a reception in June (probably here at our home). We will most likely rent a tent and have a huge party in the backyard (we have an acre of land). Because we had to get the message out there quickly (according to our travel agent), I made my own invitations (with the help of my sister and niece... and fiance who helped cut our names out for the front!) and gave all the actual reservation information in the invite. Then on the RSVP, I had them choose the Dominican ceremony or the June Celebration. I mailed the invites last week and have 3 replies already. Also know of quite a few guests who are definitely going to Dominican but have not sent their RSVP back. I think we will only book the tent for the party in March or April and then send a little party reminder. If any of you need ideas for invites, or would like help with invites, let me know. We have received only fantastic comments... the colors were turquoise, black and white. Are any of you ladies doing OOT bags? Dawn

Hi everyone... I am a newbie! My boyfriend and I have been engaged since March 2008 and are planning to wed in Punta Cana in April 2010. It has taken time for planning because I moved from Montreal and he lived in Ottawa. We bought a house in Ottawa, I left my job of 24 years as a writer in Montreal for Avon and now I have started my own freelance business. NOW we are ready to make our plans! My Mom recently passed away and my Dad passed away years ago so we thought it would be fun to plan a destination wedding and marry on the beach of Punta Cana. Yesterday, we went to a wedding planner and decided on Grand Palladium. Now I am making the decision to either go with turquoise/oasis blue for the bridal party or watermelon. I noticed that the flowers for the Grand Palladium decor are usually fuchsia so I think the watermelon dresses will really pop. Any opinions on this?