Our incredible wedding at the Jellyfish Restaurant!
My husband and I got married at the Jellyfish Restaurant last April (I know…it’s taken me forever to post this review, but here it is!). We had the most incredible time and are so thrilled that we decided to hold our wedding off of the resort.
Jellyfish staff
Mayte, the Jellyfish Restaurant’s wedding planner, was fantastic to work with! I sent her emails with photos and examples of exactly what I wanted for the wedding and she and her team more than delivered! She was a pleasure to work with and is definitely an expert at planning weddings, a real pro.
The rest of the Jellyfish staff also provided excellent service on our wedding day. The bar staff was super friendly and our servers over dinner were exceptional.
Venue and decorations
The restaurant is set on one of the most beautiful stretches of beach in Punta Cana. The water is a clear aqua and the sand almost white, so it was the perfect setting for a beach wedding. The Jellyfish itself is an impressive, two-story open air restaurant with a relaxed, beach lounge feel. We were a group of 40 for the wedding, so we had the main floor and bar to ourselves, with more than enough room for our tables, a dance floor, DJ booth and a sweet little lounge area.
I’d sent Mayte pictures of what I wanted the wedding ceremony and reception decorations, and flowers to look like. The results blew me away! She exceeded our expectations and the decorating was even better than I could have imagined. We held our wedding ceremony on the beach, just a few steps from the restaurant, overlooking the ocean. Cocktail hour was just beside the ceremony location; our guests enjoyed cocktails while relaxing in a lounge area on the beach (tons of outdoor seating, oversized pillows and benches were set up). The attention to detail was excellent and everything was completely tailored to our requests. A bench (stocked with towels for guests to whisk the sand from their sandals) was strategically placed at the restaurant steps off of the beach when we entered for dinner. Mayte made a custom reception seating chart out of drink umbrella labels on top of a little sandbox. Our table centrepieces were a gorgeous arrangement of fresh tropical fruit (pineapple, coconut and bananas, and sliced papaya, cantaloupe and limes) and flowers (birds of paradise, lilies, snapdragons and other exotic blooms) that surrounded a tall glass vase with a floating candle. My bouquet was a gorgeous mix of yellow, purple and white orchids, and my husband and the wedding party wore yellow orchid boutonnieres.
Food
Our meal was excellent, and by far the best that we had during our two-week stay in the D.R. The food at our resort was very good (we stayed at the Majestic Elegance and loved it), but our meal at the Jellyfish was wonderful! For appetizers, we enjoyed butterfly shrimp wrapped in bacon and the best Caprese salad we’ve ever had (tomatoes, bocconcini cheese, fresh basil and pesto sauce). For the main course, guests had a choice of brandy-drunken prawns, pork tenderloin with a lychee sauce, or melanzane pasta (eggplant, mozzarella cheese and tomatoes) with grilled potatoes and vegetables as sides. Our cake was brought in from a local bakery; we’d wanted a white cake and Mayte recommended adding layers of fresh mango purée (as they’re in season in April in the D.R.); it was delicious! Fresh yellow and purple orchids decorated the three tiers of the cake; simple yet gorgeous.
Drinks were plentiful and delicious. Guests were served a refreshing signature cocktail upon arrival at the Jellyfish just before the wedding ceremony, and enjoyed pina coladas, mojitos, and beer during cocktail hour. Service was excellent over dinner - our glasses never went empty!
Photographer
Photo Phil (Phil Steinguard) came highly recommend by so many brides who got married in Punta Cana, so we hired him for our wedding and were very impressed! Phil was awesome to work with and our photos turned out fantastic! Phil captured the best moments of the day – but our favourite pics are the ones of us all on the dance floor at the Jellyfish. So much fun! We highly recommend him to any other couples getting married.
Phil’s nephew, Michael Steinguard, did our trash the dress photo shoot a few days after the wedding and was also wonderful to work with. The photos turned out beautiful and we have so many amazing beach and jungle shots to look back on and relive our trip.
DJ
Mayte arranged for DJ Ery, one of the top DJs in Punta Cana, to handle the music at our wedding. He was awesome! We gave Mayte our list of music for the wedding ceremony and requested beach/lounge music during cocktail hour and dinner, and the latest hits for the dancing/party. Ery and his crew were awesome! The music was great; all of our guests danced the night away and Ery was able to play every request.
Transportation
Mayte also arranged all transportation for the evening. My husband, our wedding party and officiant, as well as my parents and I had separate cabs (really nice ones) to get to the Jellyfish. Our guests travelled to and from the Jellyfish on a private bus, and we all joined them for the trip home at the end of a wonderful evening.
My pics
I can't figure out how to post some of my pictures for you, so check out the Jellyfish's Facebook page for photos of different wedding setups...Mayte and her team can do anything you want, just send her some pics and they'll blow you away with the results!
Our experience at the Jellyfish was incredible. We absolutely loved every minute of our day. Mayte and the Jellyfish staff went above and beyond to make our big day so special and memorable. The setting was gorgeous (our paradise), and the food and service excellent, which made for an amazing experience. Our guests raved that it was the most fun they’d ever had at a wedding. We couldn’t have asked for anything more.
We’re heading back to Punta Cana this week to celebrate our first anniversary; we’ll be celebrating with dinner at the Jellyfish one evening. We can’t wait!