Kris2012

I've got the major decisions done like our photographer, videographer, cake, bouquet, etc...but yes, a lot of stuff is left til when we get there which is kind of stressful. I think I'm going to do welcome bags but haven't done too much for them yet. I think after Christmas it's going to just fly by and we'll be down there before we know it!

Hi Katiem2012,

I just wanted to hello because we're both from Ottawa, getting married in April at the Grand Palladium Punta Cana. My date is the 18th, happy planning!
 

Originally Posted by Katiem2012 

We did the same thing, though we are flying out of Canada too. FI and I put our deposits down end of June (though we were able to in May for most locations) for our wedding in April 2012. Our guests had to submit their deposits by October for an early booking bonus.... We wanted to make sure our guests had tons of time to plan... we even sent our Save the Dates out in April 2011 lol.
 

 

What did you use to glue on the plate?

Originally Posted by MJKH 

Here it is, my album purchased from the etsy seller below.  They have lots of options for fabrics, ribbon, etc. and were really good to work with.  Remember that the engraved plate was my own addition...pricey but I love it even more with it (see my previous comments concerning the label the comes with the book by the seller).  This is the silver duponi silk with the fuschia/hot pink ribbon.  So, now I have the camera, film, album, sharpies...and I'm ready to go!

 

 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheHandmadeBoutique?ref=pr_shop_more

Thank you very much for sharing!

Good to know! Hopefully by next April their A/C will be working lol!
 

Originally Posted by roxy1122 

Hi kris2012,

 

I got married at the GP in July and got my hair done there along with my mom, mother-in-law and 2 bridesmaids. First tip I can give you is to check and see how many stylists they have now and whether or not the A/C is working. Unfortunately I had the awful luck that the A/C was not working on the morning/early afternoon of my appointment!! AND there is only ONE stylist. yes, just one. I would e-mail Carolina now or closer to your wedding to see what the situation is with stylists because if it wasn't for me getting to the salon at 12 noon for my 5pm wedding ceremony, who know whether I would have had the chance to get my hair done!

 

I have medium length curly hair that was blown dry and styled and just imagine going through that when it is already 90+ degrees inside! NOT one of the best moments for me at the Palladium, I wish Carolina could have given me a heads up in that regard!

 

Oh and yes it is pricey, I paid about $125-50 for my hair to be washed, dried and styled. The rest of the wedding party also were charged 100+.

 

If you have any other questions about anything, shoot me an email!!

 

Roxana

 

Hi ladies,

This is for the brides/bridesmaids who got their hair and/or makeup done. I'm definitely getting my hair done but I think I can do my own makeup. I'm wondering what recent brides thought of their hair/makeup. The spa prices have gone up quite a bit and I was wondering if it would be worth it to say, have my grandmothers hair or makeup done as a gift, etc.. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Originally Posted by LP123 

 

Hi Roxy, thank you for the information.  Our guests were able to move to our hotel for part of their stay right before and after the wedding so they are not cutoff from the rest of the group.  LP.

Did that cost extra $ for them to move to your hotel?

I'm in Ottawa and CT has bubba mugs on for 50% off I think that people have been talking about. Also, Michaels has a good flyer going with a lot at 50% off plus a coupon for 50% off any reg. priced item, you can also get the coupons online:)

My FI is wearing a grey (the actual colour is called taupe but looks grey) linen blend suit from Le Chateau. It looks so nice with my magenta bridesmaid dresses. He's also wearing a purple/magenta paisley tie and white shirt. It looks soooo nice! When we bought it, it was on sale plus we got extra $50 off for spending at least $100.

http://www.lechateau.com/style/browse/shopByLooksDetail.jsp?productId=prod230413&categoryId=cat150048

Here's the bridesmaid dresses, also from Le Chateau.

I think grey is a very nice alternative to the usual tan suit.

Thanks for your input cell44...I think we're going to go with DJ Mannia since we've found savings elsewhere such as changing our wedding to a symbolic one.

Hi beachbum21, I just wanted to share that we're getting married on the same day:) I'm going to Punta Cana though.
 

Originally Posted by beachbum21 

Lol! Thanks!

I thought about the sewing kits but didn't think they would get used so I'll have one, and maybe I'll put them in the BM & Parent bags but I really don't think everyone will use them. They are super cute though! I love the ones Tori got

Are you in Toronto? We have a BBW outlet here so everything in there is super cheap!! it's awesome!

 

I love these bags, I saw them at my Dollarama and they're quite nice. It's frustrating because I don't know how many people are comming yet so I can't start my OOT bags! I wonder if they'll have something similar next year before April...might be too early.
 

Originally Posted by MJKH 

I meant to add this here too...the actual OOT bags (from Dollarama):

 

 

The larger ones (below) will be used for our parents, wedding party attendants, and my girlfriends...

 

 

Hi ladies,

I was wondering for those of you who had the beach party, did you use the resort DJ or has anyone used DJ Mannia? Two photographers that I have spoken to (Phil Steingard and Jamie Dimity - our photographer) have recommended this company. The more I think about it, the more I'm inclined to use DJ Mannia but they quoted me $850 if I book by the end of August, a bit pricey but it might be worth it. Any info would be helpful if you've used either one.

Thanks!

We are so excited to have booked Pastor Rick York. We were all set on having a civil wedding until two photographers (Phil Steingard and Jamie Dimity - our photographer) both recommended him rather than doing a civil ceremony. We're getting married on April 18, 2012 and were quoted $350, you pay him the day of. He sent us a template of his ceremony and it brought me to tears...I'm seriously going to have to read it a million times so that I'm desensitized to it. You can add or change things to make it personal....but it already sounds personal...way better than having a Spanish ceremony translated to English. You also have more options to a time you want rather than being giving one by the resort. Hope this helps.

[email protected]

We have booked Pastor York, the template he gave us brought me to tears. I was all set to have a civil ceremony until my photographer mentioned him...but I've also only heard amazing reviews on him here. So that changed my mind 100% so now we're having a symbolic wedding just to have Pastor York. There's no comparison to the service you'll get, it's so much more personal and like cdc150 said, you can make changes and add or take away things. I'm so excited to have him perform our ceremony!

Hello ladies,

We have booked Jamie Dimitry who works with Phil and Michael Steingard. All three are amazing at what they do. I have personally talked to both Phil and Jamie, and they are so knowledgeable, not just about photography, but about destination weddings in general because they do so many of them. They truly care about you and your big day and make the whole experience personal.

http://www.jamiedimitry.com/

His most recent stuff is on Facebook:   http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/jamiedimitry

I want to know this too! My FI is the only one wearing a jacket but my mom thinks flip flops and a suit will look terrible....I think it doesn't look as bad as it sounds.
 

Originally Posted by jlarruda 

Matt, whats your advice about shoes? my fiance (along with myself) is all about sandals with their suites (3 piece khaki "linen look" suite) but I've already had someone make a comment how the suite would be too fancy for the sandals/flip flops and to go with boat shoes.

Phil's website is http://www.steingardstudios.com/#home/
 

Originally Posted by spaterson 

Do you have the contact information for Phil? Sounds great!

Grand Palladium Bavaro, April 18th, 2012.

Thank you! It seems expensive but I really like his work and pictures are sooo important to me. Thank you for helping out:) He still hasn't emailed back yet...I think I will try again in a couple of days, I just don't want to seem too pushy but I'm anxious to hear from him.
 

Originally Posted by megsosborn 

Kris2012,

I believe that his price changes depending on how many other weddings he can book during the week that you want him but expect something around $2,600.00.  He is absolutely the best down there.  Phil just actually sent me around 100 images last Friday because he knew that we were having our first (we're having 3) and smallest at home reception this past Saturday and he wanted to make sure that we had images for our guests to see.  I didn't have to ask him to do this he called me on his own   We will be receiving all our digital images in about 10 days and I can't wait to see them!!!  Any other questions, I'd be happy to help!

Hi megsosborn, can you tell me anything about prices and packages for Phil? My fiance went to a wedding in April, they used Phil, and my Fi loved him too! I emailed Phil two nights ago but no reply yet, I'm just anxious to see packages!
 

Originally Posted by megsosborn 

I just got married last week at the Jellyfish Restaurant, stayed at the Paradisus Punta Cana and used Phil Steingard/Jamie Dimitry for my photographers and Diego Cores of Bright Light for my videographer.  If anyone is interested I posted all about my wedding experience in the Jellyfish thread.  Using Phil as my photographer was the BEST decision that I made.  I think it's pretty well know down there that Phil is the photographer to get...

Thanks chell44, that's not bad at all...I've read that some resorts charge up to $300!

Hi ladies,

I'm getting married on April 18th, 2012. I'm wondering what kind of photo package G.P. Punta Cana offers and who's taking the photos.

Also, to the brides who have been photographed by a separate company, what was the visitor's fee to have them come to the resort?

Thanks ladies...

Hi Dawn,

We have the same wedding travel agent, Julie. Small world:)

I'm currently planning my wedding for next April. I just got an email from her saying the judges aren't working the week after Easter weekend (we were planning on leaving Good Friday, coming back on the 13th) Just frustrating because now I have to look at other possibilities like changing the dates of our trip or doing the symbolic wedding which I don't want to do...just my luck!
 

Originally Posted by DawnBuckley 

Hi Brides to be!  When I was married at the Palladium last year, I was considering bringing table runners but had enough stuff to bring with me. It turned out perfect anyhow because Carolina had done all the tables with white tablecloths. My colours were turquoise and white so there was a lovely table centerpiece on the head table (which sat 10 of us). The centerpiece had turquoise ribbons rnning throughout so it was very lovely. I brought the ribbons but I think Carolina would have used her own on it had I not. We were 40 people in all. They set up our main head table across one section of the restaurant and in front of us in rows were 5 tables of 6 guests. I had bought clear plastic square "plates" which looked glass. I had Caroline put sand in the bottom of each and I brought ivory candles with me wth dried turqouise and ivory iris heads. They looked beautiful. Each table had two of those and I had also brought favours which were packaged in ivory boxes with the tuquoise ribbons attached. Unfortunately I cannot upload photos on this site for some reason so if anyone wants photos or advice or help with anything, please add me as a friend on Facebook (Dawn Buckley from Ottawa Canada). Glad to help out. Very exciting time for your girls... enjoy it!