venus909

I think it depends on the options you want.  For me, the cost is about the same if I had it at the resort or at the Jellyfish...  I think the Jellyfish comes out just a bit cheaper... However, the personalization and the privacy we get at the Jellyfish plus the extra options is worth sooo much more. 

So I think it really depends on the feel you want your wedding to have.  I think for most brides though, the Jellyfish does come out to be a better price and value.
 

Originally Posted by Kel123073 

Just wondering reception costs vs. reception at PPR..... We are working on our guest list and wondering which is the better economical choice....

VERY PRETTY!  I love your bouquet!  I'm requesting a cascading orchid bouquet.  Mayte gave me a quote, but since you said that Orchids are hard to come by in DR I'm a little worried.  Hopefully they can make it the way the picture is.  Also, did the flowers for your cake come from the same florist?
 

Originally Posted by Kirsten 

Okay! I think I just figured out how to post a few pics lol...

 

Ceremony setup

 

Rose petal cones (they hung from each chair - see pic above; our guests showered us with petals during the recessional!)

 

Lounge area for cocktail hour (just beside wedding ceremony location on beach)

 

Reception seating chart (drink umbrella name tags in a cute sandbox)

 

Reception decorations/setup

 

Centrepiece on reception tables

 

Place settings (notice the attention to detail with the menus and napkin ties! You won't get this at a resort!)

 

Cake (three-tier vanilla cake with layers of fresh mango purée...delicious)

 

The Jellyfish (view from the beach)

 

My flowers (this was the thank you card we made for guests after the wedding; my boquet and husband's boutonniere came from the florist that Mayte works with; I got exactly what I requested...and orchids are super difficult to get the D.R.!)

 

As you can see Mayte is a real pro. She actually told me last week she's averaging two weddings a day! She's that busy and she still gets every detail right...an absolute pleasure to work with

 

Let me know if you have any other questions!
 

Nvrmd... I just read through the pages and saw you already answered these questions.

I must say everything you did for your wedding was GOREGOUS!
 

Originally Posted by venus909 

I love your bracelet and the towels and bikini bags... do you mind sharing where you found them?

I love your bracelet and the towels and bikini bags... do you mind sharing where you found them?

I have to add... I LOVE LOVE LOVE that you had cardboard Buster present in honor of your brother and that he had his own bout!  I even teared up reading the story about Cardboard Buster.

The pics of "him" and the groomsman is great!

WOW!!!  Everything is amazing!  I first saw your OOT Bag thread and thought that was amazing, but I'm blown away by everything that you have put together for your Wedding. 

Congratulations!  I'm sure your wedding was beautiful and you made a GORGEOUS bride.  your dress looks amazing on you in the pic you posted and your bpics sneak peeks were GREAT!

I know it's been mentioned before, and I'm not sure it it was on this thread or a different one, but has anyone had success flying with Sparklers in their luggage?  not carry-on, but checked baggage?  I would really like to have a sparklers at my reception, but I don't know if I should spend the money to only have them taken away at customs.

Anyone know if this would be an issue?

On the quote I received taxes were 16%

Don't be nervous... I think my quote was high because I selected higher end options and didn't realize how fast things add up.  Hopefully in the next 2 weeks I will be able to request a more realistic quote as soon as I know how many people will actually be attending
 

Originally Posted by Lala32 

Yea, I know it differs depending on what you choose ....  Just trying to get a handle on a ballpark. 

 

But if yours is higher than expected, Venus, I'm a little nervous!!   I think I read somewhere that the tax was pretty high, like 16%?

Kristen... your wedding day sounds like it was AMAZING!  By any chance can would you be able to share pictures of your bouquet, cake, seating chart/escort lables?  They sounds so pretty I'd love to see what they looked like.   

Also, how awesome that you are going back for your 1 year!  have fun  
 

Originally Posted by Kirsten 

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!

 

That sku is for the Pink and Orange tote with the flower on it from Old Navy.
 

Originally Posted by shan0487 

What color is that the SKU for?

 

The quote actually depends on a lot of different factors (which options you chose, # of people, and extras) so it can vary alot from one person to the other... 

I do know that taxes and gratuity is not included in the menu prices...

I received two quotes for different amounts of people (one for 50 people and one for 70) and for different options and both are higher than what I was estimating to pay, I'm waiting for my final RSVP count to start finalizing things to get a more "real" quote.
 

Originally Posted by Lala32 

Hey ladies!  I'm still waiting on the quote from Mayte but of anyone who has gotten one or even better, has had their wedding already, would you be willing to share the estimate/costs? 

 

My FMIL is requesting more family attend, which is EXACTLY what I didn't want to happen. (*blow my brains out*) 

 

I already have about 30 people plus 3-4 kids but I don't have a leg to stand on to even argue with not knowing the costs.....

 

I'm curious, is tax and gratituity in addition to the menu prices or do those seem like it's included in the cost?

thanks for the help!
 

Bride81 - Thank you so much for your compliments   the background I did in photoshop using layers.  I was able to layer the font on top of the .jpg's.  I got the palm tree from a google search.  It was actually black, but I added a blue color overlay to it.  As for the ribbon, I just wrapped it around the sleeve and secured it with a glue dot (the kind used for scrapbooking)  I lined it up so that the ends would land right under where I wanted to put the monogram square.  That way the ends of the ribbon weren't visible.
 

Finleya - Thank you!  The sleeve was also from her template

Meagan816 - I bought the paper at Archivers (a chain scrapbooking store).  BUT after I spent a little too much on this paper I realized that I could have bought very similar and just as pretty paper for way cheaper from www.paperandmore.com it is WAY cheaper...you do need to by in bulk though, but I feel it's still cheaper.  Hope that helps

Thanks Kelly!  We had just a bit over 100 to send out...and even though it was a big task we feel if was worth it...our guests were so surprised and impressed by the invites.  If you do try I'm sure you will get the same response

Words of advice...start early and maybe figure out the difference between delivering and postage.  We sent our out in January before the postage rates went up a bit but the gas prices were increasing so I think we may have spent a bit more delivering them as opposed to just mailing them all.  I wish I would have done more accurate research.

Either way, it was definitley worth the time and expense
 

Originally Posted by Kel123073 

these are absolutely stunning! My FI wants to do this now but we have over a 100.  We would have to deliver most of them all over NJ! lol  not sure if we are going to try.....

Thanks for sharing!!

Kelly

Welcome!  I can't wait to hear the planning stages of all the small details   I'm getting married the week after you and am starting to figure out all the details too...  I have too many ideas and just need to narrow them down.
 

Originally Posted by aswarts85 

I too want to say hello to all of my fellow Jellyfish brides, and I too just finished reading thru all 92 pages of this thread... practically took me all day, but so worth it!! I've been on this site a little bit, but haven't really dove into it until now. The information is a LIFE SAVER so thank you to everyone who helps answer all the questions floating around! My date is actually only 2 1/2 months away,JUNE 22nd 2012, so you could say I'm a bit of a procrastinator! LOL But now I'm deep into planning! I've got all the BIG things squared away, now just down the the little details:)

 

MM/DD/YY

AquaCait ~ 5/9/12

aswarts85~ 6/22/12
cnd29 ~ 6/24/2012
Venus909 - 6/29/2012
Laurenann-7/4/12
LonaJ~ 10.19.12
Mimiq 21/11/12
lala32 ~ 12/14/12

ellie0717 ~ 01/14/13
darcybride ~ 1/26/13
CFK2013 - 2/7/13
Lande8 (Leslie) - 2/8/13
AshTooner~ 02/20/13
inloveinkorea- 03/08/13
cinnagirl ~ 5/28/13
astef ~ 4/23/12
Tashena - 4/27/13

I just wanted to let you know that I did find them!  I ended up going to 3 different Old Navy's. 1 in chicago (the one on North Ave and Kingsbury) and 2 in McHenry since I had to go out there with my bridesmaids to try their dresses.

But when I called they told me they had some at the Harlem and Irving and State st.

If you want, here is the sku number: 775385161  You can call the store and see if they have them.  When I called they held them for me
 

Originally Posted by bride81 

If you find one in Chicago that carries these, please let me know!

 

BEAUTIFUL!!!! 
 

Originally Posted by Jber713 

Thought I'd join the club by posting my ring... I LOVE LOVE LOVE my ring!!! My FI took a couple hints and did an amazing job!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OMG COCO!!!!  This is such an amazing Planning thread.  You truly have outdone yourself...

Everything is gorgeous.... your dress is fabulous and you sure do rock it!

I can't wait to read your review thread and see your pictures....  Your day is approaching FAST!

Will do
 

Originally Posted by bride81 

If you find one in Chicago that carries these, please let me know!

 

DITTO!!!  I can't wait to see more....
 

Originally Posted by tkuzma 

Wow, from this preview alone I can tell your wedding must have been absolute incredible!  Congratulations!!!

Awesome!  Thank you... I will definitely start looking
 

Originally Posted by MissBubbles205 

Maybe 2 weeks ago... They are a new item and I'm sure they will have them all summer.. (I hope! In case I need more)  You should def look at your local Old Navy stores!.. Someone on here found a coupon that week and got their bags for like 70 cents.. You may want to check out their site for specials before you head there. )
 

 

What type of glaze did you use for the antique look?  I love the way your frames came out and I'm interested in something similiar since I'm doing a vintage glam theme.  Was the spray paint white or silver?

I love those bags from Old Navy!  My colors are the same as yours and those bags fit perfectly.  How long ago did you buy them?  I may need to go stalk all the Old Navy stores around me...lol

I hope you don't mind that I re-arranged it into date order

MM/DD/YY

AquaCait ~ 5/9/12

Venus909 - 6/29/2012

LonaJ~ 10.19.12

lala32 ~ 12/14/12

CFK2013 - 2/7/13

AshTooner~ 02/20/13

cinnagirl ~ 5/28/13

I think that is a BEAUTIFUL dress!

From what I heard, when you trash the dress you don't really actually trash it.  I don't know how that dress/material would react to water, but that would be the only thing.

I plan on doing a TTD session with my actual dress as well... although there may be a chance that something will happen to it, I think it's a slim chance... besides, I don't plan on wearing it again... and I have two daughters, but I don't really anticipate them ever wanting to wear it.  So I will enjoy it as much as I can on my wedding day and TTD session   after that it will probably be in a box for pretty much ever....

Hi Ladies... Two things.....

If you are ordering flowers from Mayte's florist, are you waiting till you get to the Jellyfish to get them?  I know we are planning on taking pictures at the resort before going to the Jellyfish, and I don't know if I would want to take those pics without my flowers....  Just curious what everyone else is doing or did.

Also, I noticed that the majority of brides have are staying at ME...  I debated between ME and Melia for my resort and ended up going with Melia... now I'm worried that I made the wrong choice...Based on some of the not so great reviews on Trip advisor, and the lack of hearing from/about brides picking Melia I'm starting to get nervous...  Does anyone have any experience with Melia?