Hannah

I would like to check with those of you who are more experienced with this so I wanted to know if I have started the process correctly of booking the date we would like in 2011. We have decided on the Iberostar Bavaro and I emailed the Wedding Coordinator to ask what happens next and we have been put on the waiting list for January 2011. We were told the date wouldn't be confirmed until next March when the judge confirms his availablity. Was everyone else in the same boat? I am a little concerned because she also told us January is really busy.

I don't know if this will be helpful or not but we used trip advisor to look up the hotels we were interested in. In fact, we had initially chosen the Grand Bavaro until we realised it was Adults only so we have chosen the Iberostar Bavaro instead. On here you can read the reviews and look at pics from visitors rather than the ones given by the hotel. It will also give you the top hotels in Punta Cana and IGB is quite high on the list, top 5 or 10 I think. Have a look at the Iberostar website too.

I am a pole dancing fitness instructor and as a side thing I do parties. Whilst I don't advocate necessarily teaching something unless you are experienced there are a lot of companies who give you the basics of pole dancing and away you go. You can make a lot of money per hour. It is becoming a huge thing now and is very good for you, particularly if you want to lose weight in the process or tone up. Another thing to look at is the adult parties where you sell underwear, sex toys etc. Or if you are a little more sedate, candles or tupperware. I guess you have to be happy to give up weekends and Friday nights.

Thanks guys!! I will look into the photographers. My Fiance (still giggle at that) is quite into his photography so whoever we choose will be grilled! Isa - the prices we have been looking at are all in UK pounds because nearly all of the party are coming from the UK. Also we haven't yet looked into any kind of group rate so I don't think the info will be of any use. You can get an idea though by looking at some of the travel agent websites for the approx dates you wanted. I would suggest doing what we did and do a trawl of the different websites and dates to see what you can find. One month or week will be more expensive than another. I guess it all depends on your budget. Hope that helps Hannah

We have done a LOT of looking in the last couple of weeks and finally decided on Iberostar Bavaro for our wedding and then we are going to pop off to somewhere else for our honeymoon. I am so so excited (I like everything organised yesterday particularly if I am excited). The date will be January 2011, we need to confirm this. The next thing will be finding a photographer so any suggestions are always welcome. In fact any suggestions are always welcome. Yay!!! Hannah

Love love love the barefoot sandals. I had already decided I wanted to go barefoot because despite being petite I am not good in heels for too long. This has just confirmed it for me.

Thanks Ladies. When I say cheaper, I didn't mean it in a rude manner I promise . All I want is a beautiful beach so I can say I do and have it relatively affordable for as many of our friends and family to be there are possible. Debs, I think that is an issue in the UK, the Dominican hasn't had best reviews from the UK for a while. Maybe due to resorts, I don't know.

So we are looking at a slightly less expensive island to get married and a lot of people have mentioned the Domincan. Coming from England, the Dominican was not seen as a good place to go but that seems the complete opposite here in Canada. Everyone seems to love it. I guess I am asking is, should the Domincan be a contender for a lovely but more affordable wedding island?

This is going to be the wedding pressie for Husband to be as he is really into his photography. I think it will be totally fabulous, just make sure you pick a photographer you are comfortable with. Let us know how you get on.

I am uberexcited and like everything organised yesterday but have since discovered the wedding can't be organised until the travel brochures are out for Jan 2011. This obviously makes sense but irritates me nonetheless. We have huge problems with this as my Dad is in a job where he has to apply for his holiday leave 18 months in advance (September 2009 for Jan 2011). We have had a variety of advice: 1. we can book in the next couple of months with the travel agents going directly to the wholesalers but be aware that the schedules are very likely to change 2. Wait because one agent believes a lot of agents or hotels may disappear anyway because of the dodgy financial climate 3. not worry and book only three months before because one agent informed me that was all the time I needed. We are inviting about 40 guests who are all mostly from the UK and they need to have a date. The other issue is his Mum who has said she may not be able to afford St. Lucia so we are looking at a slightly more affordable island then heading somewhere kick butt beautiful by ourselves afterwards. Has anyone else booked lightyears in advance? Am I worrying unnecessarily?

Thank you everyone. That is very welcoming.

Hi Everyone, I am recently engaged and we have given up on the idea of planning a wedding in the UK where we are from whilst living in Canada so destination wedding here we come! Date and place is yet to be confirmed but we are looking at St. Lucia around the beginning of 2011. I will probably be asking lots of questions as I was never the girl who planned her wedding from age 5. However, I maybe now wish I was. Look forward to meeting you all. Hannah