lizzyjayne

ok ?I think you were talking about our wedding as its the only wedding photo profile pic lately lol if you go back to page 120 my review is there and loads of pics  It was an amazing place and yanna was brilliant Â

No Bianca, don't be buying anything more lol Yes getting your dress steamed is part of the free package. I got our two crystal champagne glasses today (also free from Dreams with the free package) and they're beautiful.

Yanna gets the wedding dress and grooms suit collected the day before the wedding. I was a bit concerned letting anyone touch my dress, which was creased after carrying it in a suit carrier all the way. But it was steamed perfectly and left back in our room for us.

I got married 4 weeks ago there and I NEVER received a quotation like that at any point, not even when i was out there paying the bill.

Pink Petals I met Yanna on the Friday and decided on everything, my wedding was on Tuesday and I was asked to go to reception on the Monday the day before the wedding to pay. In the end all I had to pay for was the judge $300 as I was having a legal service and some extra petals I had wanted for the aisle 2 baskets which was $30 and a day pass for the photographer $60. I paid for this using my Visa Debit card, I had let my bank know I was going to the Dominican Republic on the specified dates so they knew to authorise it. For anyone who is using HDC I remember Amy saying Arnaud wanted paid by Paypal, but that paypal refused her payment as she was in another country. I contacted paypal before I left home, they advised me to write down the transaction ID number when making a payment. then send an email to paypal giving them the transaction code and explain that you are in Dominican Republic and that they should authorise the payment. All very confusing. As it turned out I had asked Arnaud to send me a paypal request for the remaining payment as I could not remember the exact amount I owed him. He told me there was no hurry and to just pay when I got home. A few days after arriving home Arnaud sent me a request and I paid it from home no problem.

Thanks KPEG :-)

Sorry Nadia, i forgot to answer your question about the chairs at my wedding. Yes they were the free ones, I brought the sashes and real touch flowers with me to decorate them. I was really happy with them. Irisheyes, thank you it was a fantastic day but so hard to believe 10 months of worrying, planning and research was over so quickly!! My flowers were from The floral touch uk http://www.thefloraltouchuk.com/ the girl Joanne is lovely and she took photos of them for my approval before posting them to me, I paid £165.97 for my bouquet, 2 bridesmaids bouquets 3 buttonholes for the men and the 2 hair clips for the girls. They are real touch flowers made of lycra, and they were so real looking. I got a fresh flowers centerpiece for the table instead of the bouquet and buttonhole that is included in the free package, and although the florist did their best to match the flowers to mine but they were nowhere near as nice and they wilted in no time in the heat. As for the beach being windy, you will not have that problem, the only thing to worry about is heat and humidity. As us Irish aren't used to the humidity, we found it to be very sticky and uncomfortable eating outside, so we changed ours to the air conditioned french restaurant. I was delighted with the way they decorated it and the service at no extra cost. Bianca and Dana There is a bar just at the SSG so it wouldn't be a great inconvenience to get up and get drinks from the bar

Thanks everyone Dana I only changed my mind and picked the French restaurant the day before my wedding, as they don't take reservations they can fit you in whenever suits you, I was really grateful to be in air conditioning for the meal

Hi Just wanted to let you all know, we got maried at Dreams La Romana on 6 July 2010, we used HDC and were thrilled. Arnaud answered my emails before the wedding very quickly, and the photographer on the day Francisco was fantastic, he was early (believe me a rarity in Dominican Republic) and very nice, i showed him some photos I had printed that I liked to give him an idea of what I wanted. Arnaud met us a few days later and we picked out our favourites to be printed, which was difficult out of 403 photos. And we received our disc and slideshow before we were due to go home which was fantastic. I would definately recommend them. I'll put a few pics for you to see.

Hi hermosahoops we were a small group too (12) and I had wanted our meal in the gazebo as it would have been decorated for the wedding already and I thought just turning on the LED lights in the lanterns would be beautiful. However having your meal on the pier, in the gazebo, or beach the only option is silver or gold menu. We did not like either menu and my hubby refused to pay money for food we had already paid for in the cost of the holiday. We had originally wanted the SSG for our reception but after being there we decided on semi private in the French restaurant, which I loved!! The other option is, there is a room between the French and Italian restauant which is closed off but you can see it through windows. I had enquired about there for our meal. You can order off either menu and it is free to use but you do pay for the wine and there is a minimum charge of USD 75$. They would not squeeze 12 of us in, as it is meant for 10 people but they might squeeze 11 in. As for the heels someone asked about. I went with heels, I adore my stillettos and there was no way I was not wearing them. It was easy enough for me to walk down the gravel path and bridge in them however the gravel wrecked them. My step daughter who is not used to heels however got her heel stuck in the gaps on the bridge, and ended up walking the rest of the way with her heel out of her shoe.

Thanks Dana, They provided the speakers and mic for the service free, I had brought a cd with all my music and a list of what track number to play when. If I had wanted any more I had to pay for it. Because there were so few of us we had our speechs in the restaurant and I didn't want a first dance so we didn't bother. Thanks Nadia, I remember Amy getting upgraded and believe me we tried but Amy had 40 plus people with her, I only had 12. I think that made a difference. They were happy to lend me the suite to get ready as long as I checked out before the wedding, which I did, but then Tony paid for the upgrade for the rest of the time. It was definately worth it.

Thanks Nancy i'm glad you found it useful, I know I spent 10 months on this forum agonising over every option and trying to imagine what it would be like. Also Yanna and Tiara are so busy that they can't answer you straight away which is soooo frustrating for us, but when you are there you understand how much they have to do, and on the days there are weddings they are with the wedding party the whole day, which is brilliant. The suite really did make a difference, it was fantastic for our photos, i put a pic of men in our old room to let you all see the difference. i fell in love with the suite the minute I saw it and my now husband felt so sorry for me that it rained all day that he got me the suite for our second week, which was amazing (apart from the cockroaches- a 2 inch cockroach ran accross my pillow one night as I was going to sleep, I'm sure the neighbours thought I was being murdered by the screams and howls of me lol needless to say it took me a while going to sleep again) Sorry back to your question. The buttonholes, girls hairpieces, our three bouquets and the flowers on the back of the chairs are real touch flowers, they are made of lycra and I swear they look better than the real thing. I got them made in england and brought them with me as hand luggage. I was afraid of my flowers arriving in the Dominican just before the wedding and me not liking them as there is not a lot you can do about it then. The girl who made them listened to all my ideas and sent me pictures as she was making them and then when I was happy posted them to me. I felt much happier knowing I was going to be happy with my flowers. I gave the flowers for the chairs to Yanna when we met on the Friday and she could not believe they were not real. As I went for the free package I asked for a table centrepiece instead of the brides bouquet and groom buttonhole which is included in the free package. this was no problem, and I gave them a picture of my flowers so they could make one similar. It arrived and was nice, but nowhere near as nice as my flowers. Also it had started wilting in the heat within an hour or so. So again, delighted I brought them with me. And now I have my bouquet sitting on our hall table beside one of our photos. If anyone has any more questions feel free to ask. Pink petals, I looked for round tables at the SSG to try and see what size they are but they are all rectangular, they must keep the round tables in storage for the weddings. Sorry I couldn't be more help Lesley

Our wedding was to be at 5 but Yanna did not come and get me until 530 but as it had only stopped raining at 330 they were late setting up the gazebo so that was understandable. Yanna led us down and the gazebo was beautiful, she had everything exactly as I wanted it. The dj played most of our songs (he didn't see Tony coming as they were still setting up, I was quite disappointed as I had whitesnake here I go again for him to walk in to for a laugh) and everything went perfectly. Though bit of advice, I had the air conditioning on as high as I could get it so the room we got ready in was like a fridge, the minute I walked outside the heat and humidity hit me (maybe also because I'm from Northern Ireland and therefore not used to heat lol) and I melted!!!! By the time I got to the gazebo ( a very short walk from block 5) my make up was off, my hair had dropped (even with all that hairspray) and I had rivers of sweat running down my back and legs. By the photos on the beach my hair is soaking and more like rats tails than curls!! We had the legal service which although cost us £1000 and lots of stress in paperwork, it was totally worth it, I wanted this to be the moment I became Mrs Bird and not just ceremonial, although I do understand peoples reasons for having the legalities done at home. I had originally wanted the meal outside at the SSG, but after a few days people in our group were struggling to eat outside in the heat (part of which was due to the virus), also I enjoyed the food and atmosphere so much in the French restaurant that we decided to have the meal in there instead. It was fantastic, they had it set up beautifully with our cake on a table beside us. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole day but it goes too quick!! The only problem is my marriage certificate hadn't arrived by the time we were leaving and we've been home two weeks and it still isn't here!! I need to get it translated and legalised before I can change my name on anything, which is frustrating. But other than that it was fab!!! Ask anything you need to know and I'll try and post some pics for you xo

Hi guys sooo sorry it has took me so long to come back and tell you ladies about our fabulous wedding. It used to drive me mad when people got married then didn't come back and tell us how it went!!!So here goes Travel We arrived into Punta Cana airport after a 10 hour flight, there were 12 of us in total, and we travelled to La Romana in an air conditioned bus which was part of our holiday package, we had the bus to ourselves which was great and although it was a long trip, (approx 1hr 45) we were all quite tired so were happy to look out the window and see the real Dominican. Check in, rooms and hotel We were greeted with champagne and cold towels, I had contacted the hotel previously and requested the renovated rooms, and for us to be together. We were all put in Block 7 on the ground floor. Humbero was great in explaining everything to us and arranging for our luggage to be brought round to us. My room had a VERY strong fusty damp smell, on checking everyone else's room they were all exactly the same, I went round to see Humbero and he changed the rooms to the second floor without a problem. The rooms on the second floor were much better. I have to say I was slightly disappointed in the rooms, although they were spotlessly clean they were definately not as luxurious as other hotels we had stayed in in Punta Cana. But after a few days we decided we would rather have slightly less luxurious rooms and better facilities and restaurants, after all how long are you in the room? The hotel grounds were extremely clean and the gardens are immaculate, the grounds staff are very friendly and work tirelessly to keep it perfect, especially rambo rambo who climbs the trees to get you coconuts, he's brilliant. There were an awful amount of mosquittos and even though we completely covered ourselves in extra strength spray we still got eaten alive. My friend took peritoneze tablets everyday from before we went and she didn't get bitten once, might be a coincidence but I'll be doing that in future. The hotel did everything they could to keep them at bay by spraying the beach and grounds every day and fumigating the rooms every week and at request. While we were there a large amount of our party had very severe diarrhea, I had been giving them all Immodium but it wasn't helping, a lot of people at the hotel were affected, after 6 days of it my daughter fainted three times by the pool, the security man by the pool helped me get her to the medical centre on site, the Dr was fantastic, but apparently this was a viral stomach infection that was going around everyone in the hotel, which is why Immodium wasn't helping, my daughter ended up on a drip and taking two sets of antibiotics, as did most of our party, some of which are convinced it was the glasses not being washed right or the ice. I was one of the few that didn't get it, and I took ice in my drinks so I don't think that is right, I think it was just a virus that someone brought with them, and the heat and sharing pools ect spread it around. I would advise anyone going to bring rehydration salts and be aware not to let it go on for so long. Restaurants This is where this hotel FAR exceeded any other All Inclusive we have stayed at. Breakfast The World Cafe breakfast is amazing the omelettes are really good. One thing about the World Cafe is there is no air conditioning as it is open plan, also birds have nested inside in the roof, so make sure you choose a table with no birds above or as we joked you get extra "protein" with your food. The Seaside Grill does a light continental breakfast which is nice and you have the choice of sitting outside or in the air conditioned section inside. Room service being free is a bonus and very good as long as you are not in a mad rush. Also the cafe is a fantastic idea I have never seen in an all inclusive, the coffee is really good and so is the little snacks and buns yum Lunchtime The World cafe is ok not great but you will always find something you can eat. The Barefoot Grill on the beach does burgers, hotdogs and wedges. The burgers are fantastic. The SSG was my favourite for lunch, the ceasar salad is gorgeous especially if you ask them to put chicken in it. The pizzeria opens by the pool in the afternoon, serving hotdogs and very tasty pizza. Dinner Again the world cafe is ok not great We did not try Oceana as I hate fish The French and Italian are fantastic, beautiful interior and amazing food, the petis pois soup is gorgeous. The portions are quite small but they are happy to let you try two starters or ask for extra potatoes, we found though because the food is so rich the portion sizes were enough. Men must wear long trousers and shoes as opposed to flip flops. They do inforce this. If you want to eat after 730 you will need to wait but they give you a pager so you can go and wait in the bar. The Mexican is nice but I did not want to go back as I preferred French and Italian. The Asian is good, we tried it a few times and were never disappointed. The Seaside Grill is very good, the corn soup starter is delicious as is their fillet of beef, they are happy to let you change the side orders and although pepper sauce is not on the menu they were happy to make us some and it was fantastic. We did not try the Jungle as it was on the beach and the mossies were just crazy. Drinks Oh my goodness the cocktails are good, I didn't think I would like them but I was addicted!! The alcohol is definately watered down, there is no way I could drink rum and vodka all day and still be sober. But then it maybe isn't a bad thing or people would be drunk round the pool and having accidents. The white wine and champagne is really good, also a first at an all inclusive for us. The beach bar and pool bar have a crazy amount of wasps, they are crawling over everything including the fruit garnishes so make sure you do not eat them. The bar staff were generally fantastic and appreciated a few dollars tip when getting us drinks, except at the lobby bar, they laughed if you gave them any less than $10, and they ran out of bottled bear and baileys if you were not tipping them enough, then blatently gave a bottle to others infront of you. Not impressed by that! Also the nightclub was very much geared towards themselves, the staff who were off duty were in there and the music was all to suit them. I had my hen night on the sunday night and was delighted that it was 70's 80's 90's night, but when we were there we had to beg the dj to play anything we had heard of, and then he played one Lady Gaga song and back to their music. Wedding I met with Yanna two days after arriving, she is lovely, I filled in the forms and gave her the lanterns, cake ribbon and topper and seat decorations I had brought with me, Yanna had all my emails printed off and I just confirmed that was the way I wanted it set up. I asked her if I could borrow a suite the day of the wedding to get ready in, as I thought the pictures would be nicer, and myself and the girls would have more room. This was not a problem. And that was that!! I went the day before the wedding to reception and paid for the judge and the photographers day pass.I had my hair and make up trial on the sunday, I had pictures of what I wanted and they did it almost the same as the pictures, I brought my own make up and brushes which she was happy to use and she did a very good job. We had glorious weather the whole time we were there, the morning of the wedding we woke up to torrential rain, thunder and lightening. I went down to see Yanna, who said we would wait until 3 before worrying and that if it did not stop I would be able to get married on the deck at the SSG which is under cover, I was really not happy with that. I went to get ready and left it to Tony to meet Yanna at 3, he was under strict instructions that we were not moving from the gazebo until the very last min. The two girls went to the spa to get their hair done, the youngests hair was terrible, all pulled back from her face and the bun at the back which was meant to be loose curls was awful, so I pulled it out and fixed it myself. When I went to the spa it was still raining, my hair had so much mousse and hairspray on it it was SOLID. I was a bit annoyed but nothing I could do, so I had another glass of champagne and let her get on with my make up. I was very happy with the make up. When I left the spa at 1530 it had stopped raining. Thank goodness. The photographer Francisco from HDC photo came to the room and was lovely, we discussed what I like and I showed him some pictures I liked to give him an idea. He was fantastic. Continued on next post

OMG Gem thats brilliant about your brother, I am really pleased for you, It must have been the week for it, my mum came to see me, she's still not going but it was good to see her and get a hug :0) Thanks girls for all the good wishes, 8 days to go!!!!! For any of the girls worrying about not getting replies from Tiara and Yanna, we know its because they are soooo busy, but just to reassure you that once your wedding gets close they answer you immediately and sometimes they both answer you lol Petals no prob I was exactly the same, if you think of anything else let me know :0)

Congrats Gem, its getting really close we leave in 11 days so we'll see you in 15 days?? Just noticed you get married 3 weeks today!!!!! Think I have everything sorted now, and have even started packing!!!! Have to say nerves are starting to kick in now :-) Pink Petals I promise I'll try to remember to measure the tables and nadia I'll let you know about the lights, anybody else needs pictures of anything or info let me know and I'll try to get them for you

Thanks fyniac and dolfin for the quick reply, thats me all sorted and ready to go, can someone please make the next two weeks go quicker!!!! Good luck and enjoy the planning to the newbies :0)

Irish eyes Yes all organised, really don't know what I'm going to do with all my spare time now!!!! We are having to fly to Gatwick too, so we're going over the night before as last year when we flew into Gatwick they flew us to the wrong terminal and we had to wait over an hour for a bus to bring us to the right terminal, so I couldn't risk missing the flight. I just rang one company told them the price I had been quoted and they made me a better offer so then I went back to the other, and did this quite a few times. Its a lot of hassel but considering it saved each of my guests so much money it was definately worth it, and as I said they sorted out a Major problem we had with paperwork. Fyniac thanks for the review I cant wait to see the photos, so sorry to hear about the weather, its the one thing we can't control, but I'm glad you still loved it. One question I have what package did you go for? I am having the free package and I have been worrying about how I will play the few bits of music I want for the service, I can't bring speakers as my luggage is over already. Did they provide speakers for you? Miss Taken welcome to the site Gem we're getting closer, hope you enjoyed AC xox

Hi Irisheyes good to have some one else from Ireland, I'm getting married there in just over three weeks and this forum has been fantastic. Who are you booking your wedding through? I booked mine through Caribbean Warehouse after haggling the prices between them and Caribbean Collection and managed to get our 2 weeks £500 cheaper than Thomas Cooks website, even though we are actually flying with Thomas Cook. I was having the same problem with trying to tie down a date (I've since realised the Wedding Corordinator deals with hundreds of weddings and therefore has to prioritise them in order of wedding date) but the travel agent was able to get the date and time confirmed for us, they have also helped out on other issues as well. I would highly recommend them. Enjoy your planning and welcome to the forum

Brilliant Dolfinluck, thanks for the quick reply, really hope it does fly lol

Ok 3 weeks until we leave and I'm trying to figure out money, how much we have left and how much we still have to pay for. I was wondering if some of you married women out there could help me. Do you have to pay for all the chairs, or is it only if you upgrade? Do they charge you for decorating the gazebo and tables? I'm going for the free wedding package, there are 12 of us in total and we are having our meal in the SSG (not private), I am bringing my flowers, sashes and lanterns with me. Other than the judge have I missed anything else that we will get charged for? Thanks so much for all your help over the last year, this forum and all the ladies on it has been fantastic. Sooooooo excited now :-)

LaRomanaBride - Feb 2010 - CONGRATULATIONS! Bridget - March 15, 2010 - CONGRATULATIONS! jlcoon - April 13 2010 - CONGRATULATIONS! Jenne - April 21, 2010 - CONGRATULATIONS! LaRomanaStacey - April 22, 2010 - CONGRATULATIONS! Odarcka -April 26, 2010 - CONGRATULATIONS! Amy - April 28, 2010 - CONGRATULATIONS! Maybride2010 - May 3, 2010 - CONGRATULATIONS! hjack - May 7, 2010 - CONGRATULATIONS (date twins)! brbr.bo - May 7, 2010 - CONGRATULATIONS (date twins)! Heather (dolphinluck) - CONGRATULATIONS KPEG - May 19 - CONGRATULATIONS fyniac - May 26, 2010 - CONGRATULATIONS VallieR - May 29, 2010 - CONGRATULATIONS Lesley - (LizzyJane) - July 6, 2010 GEM - July 9, 2010 Andrea (sunandsand) - July 14, 2010 Nadia - Sept 3, 2010 Pink_Petals -Sept 10, 2010 Nancy (NancM) - Nov. 16, 2010 LastMinuteCouple - Jan 12, 2011 JoNewhams - March 3, 2011 taylorbabe - January 7, 2011 Sher I added your date for you. 28 days until we go!!!! I can't believe its all came round so soon, I thought I was calm cool and collected until I read Kpeg's review, now I'm scared. My step daughters are phobic about spiders and bugs so it all sounds terrible. Think I'll have to bring some calms lol KPEG you look gorgeous in your photos and it absolutely doesn't look like you had been stressed or upset.

Oh my goodness I am sorry to hear you had such a bad time, I go in 28 days and panic is now setting in, did you complain about the ants?