chantalemarcel

Hi, We were told by the resort that we were not aloud to bring another photographer and we were only aloud to use Photocaribe. However I have found a different option as nothing states family and friends cannot take photos, and this has worked out for us as one of our friends has opened his own photography studio and it just happens that he is coming with us to the Dominican with our group. With less then 4 months to go we are so excited and having our friend here really helps as we can work with him prior to leaving to the resort so we get exactly as we want. Now up to 40 guests and still climbing should be amazing. Thanks to all of you whom responded. Much appreciated. Chantale

I am not in Ottawa but in Sudbury and was just at Michael's yesterday and in the isle over from the wedding stuff (there are planters, vases ect there) there were bags of seashells and the top shelf they were all small starfish (looked real kind of reddish beige color and beige). You could always visit the michaels website and if it is on there call the store and they will get it in from all other stores if they don't have it. Hope this helps.

Thanks again for all your time and patience. Had many things to get sorted last week (booking deadline & flowers, favors ect ect) so this weeks focus will be on the photographer. I will let you know with whom I go with. WIll post pictures once I return also. Â

Ive tried to email Michael S. But have not gotten a response back. Sometimes I hate emailing as there isn't a guarantee that things do not go in your junk mail. I will try again for sure.

Thanks all for the wonderful replies I will be sure to check all of them out. I have tried to contact the resort as well as photographer again to no avail. I heard I cannot bring a photographer off site, but if they cannot get back to me I will do as I please do to this un accountability and lack of customer service. Who is to say this is not one of my wedding guests wink wink

Added ours to the list, Can't wait for Feb 10th Chantale August 2010 Jeanette & Julio - undecided Punta Cana, (PPC or PPR) Aug 2010 Linda & Robin: August 3, 2010 - Paradisus Punta Cana Lisa & Todd: August 6, 2010 - Excellence Punta Cana Jess & Eamon: August 7, 2010- Melia Caribe Tropical Denise & Julio: August 7, 2010- Punta Cana- Melia Caribe Tropical Michelle & Eli: August 11, 2010- Excellence Punta Cana Ashley and Eric: August 31, 2010- Paradisus Palma Real September 2010 Nadia & Serge: September3, 2010- Dreams La Romana Jennifer & Elvin: September 4, 2010- Dream Palm Beach Bianca & Cosmin: September 10, 2010 - Dreams La Romana Diana & Eddy: September 3, 2010- Majestic Colonial Nikki & Jason: September 16, 2010- Grand Palladium Punta Cana October 2010 Glenny & Anthony - October 9th, 2010 - Gran Bahia Principe Punta Cana Kim & Anibal - October 9th, 2010 Riu Palace Punta Cana Tee & CJ - October 10, 2010 - nh-Royal Beach Punta Cana Autumn & Dominic - Oct 16th, 2010 - Dreams Punta Cana Michele & Andrew - Oct 19th, 2010 - Majestic Colonial Luciel & Emil - Oct 23th, 2010 - Catalonia Royal Bavaro Sarah & Erik - October 23rd, 2010 - Melia Caribe Tropical Angi & Tony - October 24th, 2010 - Paradisus Punta Cana Monica & Brandon - Oct 29, 2010 - Excellence Resort Punta Cana Ulonda & John - October 29, 2010 - Moon Palace Casino, Golf & Spa Resort November 2010 John & Rikki - November 8, 2010 - Dreams La Romana Terra & Chris - November 10, 2010 - Majestic Elegance Punta Cana Dana & Mike - November 16, 2010 - Grand Palladium Bavaro Tiffani & Merlin- November 21, 2010 Paradisus Palma Real Taniya& Kendell- November 1, 2010 Dreams Palm Beach Michele & Jon - November 22, 2010 Majestic Elegance Carol and Matt - November 19, 2010 - Dreams Punta Cana December 2010 Eliana (username) and Miguel - December 1, 2010 - Dreams Punta Cana Atrott (Username) - December 6, 2010 Excellence Punta Cana Coley88 (Username) - December 11, 2010 - Paradisus Punta Cana Nicole & Keith - Dec. 11th 2010 - Majestic Elegance January 2011 Marian & Manav - January 8, 2011 - Melia Caribe Tropical Katie & Tim - January 10, 2011 - Majestic Colonial Katey & Brian: January 11th 2011 Melia Caribe Tropical Punta Cana Ashlee & Daniel - January 12, 2011 - Paradisus Punta Cana Lisa & Dave - January 13, 2011 - Majestic Colonial - Punta Cana Laura & Dustin - January 14, 2011 - Melia Caribe Tropical - Punta Cana jerzeegirl (username) - Jan 17, 2011 - Majestic ?? Shawana & Scott - January 24, 2011 - Gran Bahia Principe -Punta Cana Pam & Cem - January 27, 2011 - Majestic Colonial - Punta Cana Kasia & Rob - January 29, 2011 - Majestic Colonial - Punta Cana BeachBrideSoon - January 31, 2011 - Majestic Colonial - Punta Cana Shannon and Chris - January 2011 - Punta Cana, undecided - Iberostar, Excellence or Dreams February 2011 Renée & Paul - February 3, 2011 - Majestic Colonial, Punta Cana Chantale & Marcel - February 10, 2011 - Bavaro Princess Suites & Casino Nathalie & Maurice - February 18, 2011 - Catalonia Royal Bavaro Diana & Manny - Feb 19 2011 - Gran Bahía Príncipe Bávaro. Sherri & Ryan - February 21, 2011 - Dreams Punta Cana Jenn & Kraig - February 25, 2011 - Majestic Elegance Amanda & Jason - February 26, 2011 - Riu Palace Punta Cana March 2011 Chris & Wendy, March 5, 2011, Majestic Elegance, Punta Cana Sonya & Serge - March 14, 2011 - Ocean Sands, Punta Cana Khalia & Questle - March 14, 2011 - Excellence Punta Cana April 2011 Isabel & Francis April 5, 2011 - Grand Palladium Palace Andi & Jed - April 8, 2011 - Iberostar Bavaro Pierre & Shannon - April 12, 2011 - Grand Palladium Bavaro, Punta Cana Cindy & Chole April 14, 2011- Dream Punta Cana Ashley & Johnathon April 15, 2011- Barcelo Punta Cana Ryan & Chantelle April 21, 2011 - Majestic Colonial, Punta Cana Paul & Lindsay - April 28, 2011 - Grand Palladium Bavaro Colin & Kayla - April 28, 2011 - Gran Bahia Principe -Punta Cana Tracy & Keith-APril 29, 2011- Grand Palladium Punta Cana Natalie & Kyle - April 30, 2011- Grand Palladium Palace Jamie & Mark- April 30, 2011- Majestic Elegance Punta Cana May 2011 Sandy & Aaron - May 4, 2011 - Dreams Palm Beach Vanessa & Noel - May 6, 2011 - Paradisus Palma Real Naeemah-Anne & Claudy -May 6th 2011 -Paradisus Punta Cana Eugene & Jennifer - May 7, 2011- Dreams La Romana Jodi & Darryl - May 11, 2011 - Dreams Palm Beach Michaela & Stew - May 21, 2011 - Gran Bahia Punta Cana Theresa & Johan - May 22, 2011 - Paradisus Palma Real Ryan & Stephanie - May 30, 2011 - Majestic Colonial June 2011 Flore and Marek-June 11, 2011-Paradisus Palma Real Shannon & John- June 16, 2011- Iberostar Bavaro Qubi & Rukiya - June 18, 2011 - Dreams Palm Beach, Punta Cana Jim & Laura - June 21, 2011 - Dreams Punta Cana, Punta Cana Eric & Anna - June 25, 2011 - Paradisus Palma Real, Punta Cana July 2011 Ashley1316- July 8, 2011- Bahia or Majestic July 2011/ 2012 Yvonne and Andrew- last week of july 2011/ 2012 (money dependant), dreams la romana October 2011 Quiyana & Damien - October 15, 2011 - Riu Palace, Punta Cana December 2011 Robyn & Ky - December 2, 2011 - Majestic Colonial

Areito did include drinks until midnight for guest. There are many locals which adds to the atmosphere. They play a lot of latin music and there are many dancers. I'm pretty sure if I dig in my past pics I can find pics of this bar. When you leave Bavaro princess resort, this club is about a 5-10 minute walk on the right. A little past the golf course. We found this place by accident while walking around during the day. It looks like a cave from the outside (design of the club of course) and the bar is very dark, a lot of red lights and I would rate it ok for a week night. If you want to go to a nightclub that appeals to all, it is packed, has diversity of music from latin, mainstream downstairs and house music upstairs then your best bet would be Disco Mangu which is located about a 3 minute cab ride from Bavaro Princess. We have been there about 6 times already. It is located at the Grand Flamenco Resort next door. If you stay at the Grand Flamenco it's free to get it. Cover is about 20$ to get in, make sure you pay the higher price listed on board as it gives you admission to the whole place, we had people pay the 12$ price and they could not go upstairs. It was hard to find out why a bouncer was blocking the stairwell until we could translate that we did not have the proper bracelet and luckily were able to upgrade. Taking a cab there first is your best bet, once the bar is done, grab all your friends and walk towards the beach and head left on the beach and it will bring you to Bavaro within 10 min, (and it's a good work out too LOL) Above all this is the place everyone frequents, it is updated, has amazing people, staff, music, entertainment and your bound to have a good time. It usually gets busy around midnight, especially upstairs, you think wow this is dead and within 5 to 10 min the place is so packed with people dancing everywhere that you can't move as freely. Ive been to PUnta Cana a bunch of times, for weddings, leisure and now I am going to get married there this February as I absolutely love it there. I have done many excursions from snorkeling, speed boat, manati park(dolphins) dune buggie, horseback riding as well as going to Lancelot, Disco Mangu, Pacha, Aireto and should you have any questions feel free to ask and Ill be happy to help you out the best I could. I remember researching for hours and hours when I first was going here and remember how helpful others advice was and how it helped make my trip all that much better :

Hi all, I am one of those lucky brides to be married at Bavaro this February. I had the opportunity to visit this resort already and actually attended a friends wedding there, hense why I chose it as my destination. Most of my wedding party has visited this resort as well, upon my suggestion when returning, and they all absolutely loved it. Any resort you visit, or decide to get married at will always have negative and positive reviews, it all depends on peoples expectations and how much they have travelled. I've been to mutltiple resorts in the dominican, even paid 2800$ as I was maid of honor at a wedding at riu palace, and I say it was not worth it. If your looking for a fun atmosphere with lots to do, where people are friendly either it be an employee or traveller like yourself, the food was great, the weddings there (sometimes they have 4 a day) were absolutely beautiful. I apologize in advance if this review is long. To start off Francelia is great, there are sometimes communication barriers, however she tries her best and my friends were married there in 2006 and she is still the one that was their WC. They got married at the Gazebo, and yes you are higher then your guests, however it is more closed off from everyone else and if it's too windy that day it provides better as it is more closed off. They then had the beach party (which now requires 40 people at 65$ each) The buffet was excellent, choice for everyone, the cake was included, the dj although not that great, was open to all our request and mostly played the bride and grooms music, it was beautifully decorated and right by the beach. Ill be sure to include some pics soon. People must remember that most of the time, it's not the things or your surroundings that make the reception, its the people whom you have there. All of the guests were fun, and we shared some great laughs. The resort has been renovated over the summer, and I had friends that recently visited and they said they would leave to the beach, return to their rooms to find a flat screen tv had been installed, quick as that, no delay in your activities. We never had any problems with people stealing, mind you we locked our things in the safe, and we treated the employees with respect and got back the same in return. We could be walking down a trail and an employee would climb a tree to give us fresh coconut...(at riu palace they charged you 10$ US for this treatment) The buffet by the beach was excellent and the pasta bar at the main buffet was also great. If you know what it is to travel, you can avoid getting sick, don't drink the water, if you cant peel it leave it, and don't eat dairy products that have been sitting out in the sun for hours...it's only common sense. We don't have the immunities that the locals have. What I love about this place is that you feel safe at all times, even when leaving the resort. You may get bugged a little to buy this or that, but that is the whole point of going of the resort to shop and get some deals. The only bad point about this resort when I visited was the disco in the casino, some locals were there and they kept spitting all over the rugs inside, and it totally grossed me out, the place felt dingy and dark. The casino is not much to write home about when you have casino's here like Rama or Niagara, but we had a couple of friends make some money at roulette. If you are into going off the resort to get a little dancing in, there is a disco called Disco Mangu located at the Grand Flamenco next door. I've been there about 4 times and totally love it. Downstairs there is mainstream, and upstairs there house music with some really great dj's, acts, fire dancers, rollerbladers...just to name a few. We absolutely love this place, it is always packed with travellers that stay at all the Bavaro resorts. Remember when you get to the door to pay the higher admittance so that you can get in upstairs and downstairs, sometimes there are communication barriers with the employees. We took a 5$ cab ride there, but it took us 10 minutes to walk the beach back to our resort after. The photographer is photoshop caribe. Although they did a great job on my friends wedding and on our beach pictures throughout the week, employees keep changing. I was talking to Junior Cruz for awhile and he was totally nice, now Ive emailed over 8 times and still have not received an email back, so Ill be sure to email Francelia in regards, as they require a 25% deposit. If I don't get a hold of them soon, I may hire an external photographer and have him stay at the resort with us. They can't do much about your guests taking pics. Ill post some pictures as I said and if you have any questions feel free to ask. I appreciate any reviews if you have been here recently for a wedding or if you are planning on getting married at this resort. Things always change and any input is great as others great ideas. When are all of you getting married at this resort....who knows maybe we will be there all at the same time We will be there Feb 6-13 2011, Getting married Feb 10 at 4 pm (however legalizing it here first and doing a renewal of vows instead so we don't have to wait for anything) We are having the beach party reception! Please see attachment below, I had a little trouble attaching photos because of size restrictions.

Hi all, Just would like to know if you know of anyone that does really great photo's at this resort. I was given photocaribe by my WC however I have emailed them, with only one reply asking for deposit, and since then have never heard anything back. I am starting to get real nervous as the big day is approaching, we want to book someone now and I wont settle for half decent photos as its the most important to me. Any suggestions would help

Wow, that is really sad, my condolences go out to you and your family. I cannot say I can relate, but my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Thanks for the reply. I did look into it of course with my travel agent as I was worried I could not bring it, and I absolutely love the set I picked out. He assured me as long as it was in my checked luggage I would be ok

Welcome to the site, I just recently joined myself and I am positive you'll find all that your looking for! Enjoy the planning

Wow it's nice to see so many Canucks on here. Not sure if this has been answered as I've been on for over an hour and still have not gotten through the whole thread. Someone was looking to buy Emergen C...I found this at Independent grocer in the health food isle. They were normally 19.99 for a box of 30 and it was on sale for $16.00, they also have the individual packages for .65 cents. These are a great heat aid as on almost every trip Ive been on someone has had heat stroke, or a hangover lol. As for travel size motrin, advil, or tylenol, I could of easily ordered from minimus.biz, but decided to ask smaller corner stores in my area where they purchased from. So ask around at yours and they will let you know as they aren't a big independent store and don't like to pay full price either. I got my motrin on sale a 10 pack for $1.54 at National Grocers. Costco was great for gum $5.94 for 12 packs of Excel gum, Got miss vickies chips, nature valley granola bars, blue diamond almonds, nutrigrain bars, motts fruit sensations, ritz individual snacks and so much more for 50 guest and paid under $100. Went to Dollarama and got Hand Sanitizer and Sudoko for 1$ Im also an avon rep, so that helped and I got small pink luggage tags for the ladies which have a sewing kit inside, aloe vera gel, men's toiletry bags, chapsticks, waterproof mascara's ect for the guest bags and filled up my bridesmaid bags with travel size, body wash, lotion, perfume samples, anti frizz for hair, jewelry, the list just goes on, I even got these cute foldable recyclable bags in brown, white and aqua with flowers, and instead of beach bags we did grey toiletry bags for the boys, as its more manly (on sale in outlet avon...not sure if you can get that online. I really didn't spend all that much as you always look out for $1 section and campaigns are always good for a month back even if they have passed. I started collecting end of May. If your in the northern ontario vincinity just pm me and I can help you out in terms of what is still available and what are good deals. We will be ordering our mugs from discountmugs, but are waiting on final head count Aug 27th. We are also going to order these beach themed mini photo albums ($133 for 50) on ebay and they are so cute. We will use these as the favors at our beach party reception. Happy shopping everyone! This part is soooo fun!

We recently traveled to stay at the Riu Palace in Punta Cana as I was MOH in a wedding. My friends dress was severely wrinkled, no steamers in sight and of course no one thought of this lol, Like it has been mentioned before, the shower put on HOT for about half an hour with the dress hanging in there did the trick. We then left it in MIL room with air conditioner on high for the night. These are good questions, and no matter what even if I have to roll my dress in a ball to put on my lap, it so is not leaving my side

Ok this may be a silly question, but has anyone ever heard of someone or had the experience of being stopped at customs due to a cake cutting set. We purchased a beach themed one to match our wedding cake topper, but the last thing I want is to be held up at customs, with charges due to transporting knives of some sort lol. Like I said, silly question, but I am curious to know.