beachbum2010

We had a time of 6:30 assigned for our wedding. I was also worried about sunset time. I did some research and found out that I would basically be getting married at sunset....no good for me - no time for photos or anything. The WC told me that she could do the ceremony earlier in the day ad we could sign the paperwork later with the judge. As it happened, we had the ceremony at 3pm - and she told me as she met me for the ceremony that the judge was in fact at the resort and we signed the paperwork right away...it was a nice surprise!! I would ask the WC about this option, or if it is possible to accommodate this.

I made sure if was fully charged before just in case - I have a charger for mine. I am not sure if just by being plugged into the stereo system, that it would keep a charge. I had no issue using the outlets in the DR - they are not different, but brought a outlet converter just in case.

Just to let all upcoming brides know, Deyanira is pregnant and her due date is the end of February, beginning of March 2011. She was my WC last November and told me her due date!!

I did this instead of getting a DJ. It was perfect. I spend a long time making my own playlist for the reception and separate playlists for the wedding party etc. It worked awesome and the WC and MC did it all for me. It was a huge savings as opposed to getting a DJ and allowed us to splurge on some other things. I was told that our music could be heard half way down the resort....

I did a bonfire the night before the wedding with all of our guests instead of the traditional rehersal dinner. It was awesome - we got it for two hours at night, it was on the beach and we had a full bar service. It was a great, relaxing evening!!

I can't recall which buffet menu we chose - we had chicken cordon blue and salmon, there was also a flank steak on the menu and we requested that it be substituted for the beef tenderloin which they did at no additional cost. From what I heard - the chicken and beef tenderloin was very good. I had the salmon which was good...but couldn't fit anymore food into my stomach, so I didn't try the other meat.

I got my hair done at the Salon and they did a great job with my hair and bridesmaids as well as my nieces that went to get their hair done. Bring some photos of something that you want and they will be able to mimic is fairly well. Actually, I got a hair trial done before leaving and had a ton of pictures and my hair turned out better than when the trial was done. My sister did my make-up as she is really good at it. We decided to do our own. I wasn't sure what I was going to look like if I got it done at the salon and we all wanted to stay somewhat natural looking since we were getting married at the beach - it worked out well for us and I got awesome pics of us getting ready.

Check out the Dreams Punta Cana thread - you will find it very helpful. I got married at Dreams Punta Cana almost a month ago. There are basically two locations for weddings - the beach or the gazebo. FI and I knew right away we wanted a beach wedding, so we requested the beach right away - it is an extra cost to get married at the beach ($300) - but for me, was worth it. There are a number of terraces at Dreams Punta Cana - each that can accomodate different amount of people, so you have to have a ballpark number on how many people you are expecting to attend. My WC send me photos and gave me a recommendation based on my numbers and I took her suggestion and booked the terrace she told me to...I was not disappointed. I don't think that you can avoid multiple weddings on a certain date..that may be hard since you are not aware of what the other WC's are up to and not sure how many brides may be asking for that date. Locations are booked on a first come first serve basis. I suggest trying to sort that out sooner as opposed to later, so you have the spot you want. There are 3 WC's at the resort and can have up to 3 weddings a day - each bride has her own WC. I did not at all find it competitive and was so wrapped up in my own, that I barely noticed anyone else getting married on the date that I did. Once your date is confirmed you can start getting your locations organized and reserved, I did this via email with the WC. I had all the music that I needed for the reception on my IPod and made my own play list for the reception - and I rented the stereo system - which is perfect and loud enough. The WC played music that she had for the ceremony - I walked down the beach to 'somewhere over the rainbow" I loved it. WC also had music to play for the reception that she offered to play, which I totally forgot about and it was perfect. Check out the thread Dreams Punta Cana Brides - you will find tons of info there. I would not have changed anything about my wedding. I loved the resort and all of my guests loved the resort and we had 43 people. Happy planning!!!

I think the disco opens shortly after the evening show or around the same time the show starts and I am not certain, but for some reason I thought it closed at 2am...I could be completely wrong.

I just got married last month at Dreams Punta Cana - I LOVED IT. I have absolutely no complaints. We had a group of 43 people and they all loved the resort and our wedding went off perfectly without any glitches. The reception was also perfect and they did everything I wanted. Dreams Punta Cana was amazing and I would go back again and again.

You can bring your own music for the ceremony and they will play it from your IPod - my WC told me an IPod can be hooked up to their system. I was going to use the Carribean Trio for the ceremony, but changed my mind when I noticed that they hooked up a stereo system. I can't remember what the WC played for the BM walking down the beach, but she played Somewhere over the rainbow for me - which I loved, and then after the ceremony, she played some slow love songs - I didn't even know she was going to do that - I loved it. We got married on the beach and it was awesome. I noticed that a lot of people don't choose that option. The main reason for me for a DW was to get married on the beach. It was not overly windy and enough of a breeze that my dress which was mainly chiffon was blowing in the wind....which was exactly the reason I picked the dress that I did. It was perfect!!!

They do have a number of colours to choose from, but it is $3 a chair. I used them, because I just had no extra room to be able to pack that many in my suitcase. I did bring with me table runners in a matching colour instead of using a solid coloured table cloth.

I just got married at Dreams Punta Cana about 3 weeks ago....it was perfect. Here is what I can tell you about your questions. I had 43 people attend our wedding, so we are somewhat close in numbers. Reception location - I booked this with my WC (wedding coordinator) months before our wedding to ensure we has enough space for dinner and reception/dancing etc. I would recommend the Himitsu terrace. I loved it, it was spacious and I found it private enough for us. The terrace has a nice breeze and washrooms are close by. I would not have wanted anything smaller for our group. Band - I did not do this as I would not know what kind of band. The only band I am aware of, is the Caribean Trio - and I was only considering using them for the Dinner/Cocktail hour - but changed my mind and went with something on an IPOD for our music and it was perfect and more cost efficient. I made my own playlist on my IPod for the first dance songs as well as the receptions songs and made sure I had over 3.5 hours worth. I wanted music that people would know and would get up and dance to. Cholera - I don't think you should be too worried, at each restaurant that you go into at DPC, including the buffet - there is staff that is squirting your hand with sanitizer. There is also a product - Dukoral - that you may want to look into. It helps with the issues that can arise with travelling into other countries. I have used it before with no problems and it says that it helps with Cholera as well. I have also heard that the Dominican is taking efforts to ensure that Cholera is not an issue. Also, Punta Cana is a significant distance from Haiti. Group Size - I had 43 people and they may it look very easy. I loved the resort, and my guests loved the resort and I did not receive any complaints. The food was decent and in some cases excellent, the resort is beautiful, and clean. The drinks are great and service is fantastic as well. I loved every minute. You should check out the forum called Dreams Punta Cana brides you will find tons of info there for you. I would keep in contact with your wedding coordinator and ask her about the reception locations and tell her about the things that you would like, she will be able to help you. My experience with my WC is fantastic, she replied fairly quickly and did an awesome job for our wedding, I would not have changed a thing. Happy Planning Carol

You will require the marriage certificate from the DR before you or your husband can change their name. Further, most places - atleast where I am from - Ontario, Canada - will require the marriage certificate to also be translated back into english. I got married a few weeks ago in the DR and when you sign the legal paperwork you sign using your maiden name - not the name you plan on changing it to. So you would sign using your maiden name and your husband would sign using his name. Even though people often start assuming their spouse's name immediately after marriage, it is not really official until you show proof to government agencies that you are married and therefore changing your name.

We met with the wedding coordinator a few days before our wedding to make final arrangements and give her the things that I had brought with me for the reception tables. FI and I had made our selection for the dinner menu prior to leaving for the DR (at her request) and sent her our dinner selections via email and she reviewed it with us when we got there. I had my reception location booked long before I got there. We had 43 people and I needed to make sure the reception location was large enough, so I made sure of this early on and she booked the Himitsu Terrace for me. It was a perfect size and I would not have wanted anything smaller. They only have three options for cakes - choc, vanilla and I think almond. We chose vanilla and it was the best cake I have ever had. I sent them a pick of something that I liked, and they tried to mimic - they did a good job. It was a three tiered cake (to feed 43 people), with white icing and some designs on it - it was simple, but nice. I was not overly picky about the cake and was very happy with what I got. WC also booked my hair appts prior to my arrival with the salon and I only had to confirm them when I arrived. I think you should identify this to your WC and ensure that you and FI have discussed all of the things that you want and that you are able to meet with the WC to review your arrangements or at the very least email her everything that you are wanting to arrange. I brought my own photographer with me...she is my sister and a professional photographer, so I did not have to worry about that and would not know much about this. I chose the flowers when I got there - WC had sent me some email of previous bouquets and I had an idea of what I wanted to use. My BM dresses were a dark navy blue and I used orange, yellow, pink gerber daisies for flowers - they looked beautiful with the dress colour!!! In all the meeting that I had with the WC lasted no more than an hour and we had discussed and reviewed basically everything that I had ever emailed her. She had some suggestions for music during the ceremony that I liked and used that. She showed us the wedding location - beach for us all the way - it was perfect and the reception location. Overall my meeting with the WC lasted about 35-40 minutes and that was basically the last I saw of her until the day of the wedding day. My experience with the WC (mine was Deyanira) is wonderful. She had everything organized. I did not have the chance to check out the reception set up prior to the wedding - so I was a bit nervous, but it was perfect. The first time I saw it was during our cocktail hour after the wedding. She did an amazing job - as well as the staff helping her. My wedding was not even a month ago yet, so I am still waiting for my pro pics - I will post some when I get them so people can see the resort and what they did for us. Hope this helps Carol

Yes, we needed to pay a departure tax and we left the Dominican on Nov 21/10 - not sure if this is something that goes on all year. You will likely be notified of it upon your arrival. I would just make sure you save atleast $20 US per person so that you are covered.

Congratulations to all of the November 2010 Brides!!! I got back a few weeks ago....and wishing I was still there!!!

Got back from my 'Dreams' Wedding at Dreams Punta Cana a few weeks ago!!! LOVED every minute of it!!! It went by so quickly!!!

Not a problem, any questions feel free to ask!! Happy planning!! Enjoy it goes by very quickly!!!

Yes.