lande8

Hey Kaylin! I sent an email to Mayte earlier this week with my inspiration pics, etc. It sounds like we're on the same schedule! Haven't heard back yet, but I know she's busy. Question for you, and others...do you know if we have to choose the menu beforehand, or can we decide at the meeting/tasting? Can't believe we're less than 2 months away!

Haha...okay, fine...I'm banning myself now

Congrats Mimi and thanks for all the information so far!! Don't know what I'd do without you! It's good to know that we can charge as much as we need to on our AmEx. Did you feel comfortable leaving all of your cash in the safe? We are staying at the ME also and have heard mixed reviews about the resort in general. I'm 100% confident with Jellyfish and Mayte, but am getting worried about some of the recent trip advisor reviews of the Majestic. I'm looking forward to reading your review!

Congrats to you both! Can't wait to see pics and hear all about your weddings. Our wedding is in 101 days...woo!

We are using Karina Jenson for photography and HDC Photo for videography. Karina's website is http://photobykarina.com/. Her portfolio is amazing and her prices are very reasonable. She's based in La Romana (I think) so there are some nominal travel fees. Have an awesome trip and happy planning!!

Congrats Lisa!! And thanks for all this info, it's super helpful. I can't wait to see your video -- we are also using HDC for video (and Karina Jenson for photos).

Hey Britney! Great job on your website! I'm getting married in Feb at the Jellyfish, but we're staying at the ME. You got great prices! I'm working with Patty from Wright Travel Agency and our prices are a bit higher. When did you sign your contract?

Hi and welcome! I'm also getting married on Feb. 8, 2013!! We are staying at Majestic Elegance but our wedding will be at the Jellyfish. I've been engaged for a year and started planning about 6 months ago...but I think I could have started planning much later. This website is really amazing and will answer all your questions. I also highly recommend using a travel agent -- mine's been super helpful in answering many of my questions and steering me in the right direction. Good luck and happy planning!

I just asked my travel agent the same question (and I'm also using Krystie Ann -- yay!), and she told me this: I believe they charge a higher rate for a day pass for a vendor to come on the property but I'll check with the WC. I don't know how they know who is a vendor versus a guest, other than the vendor bringing in supplies. I'll let you know as soon as I hear back.

I just booked my hair/makeup with a Canadian makeup artist who will be in PC for the winter. Her name is Krystie Ann, you can find her on FB (search Krystie An Hair & Makeup Artist). Her portfolio is awesome, her prices are reasonable, and she's been really responsive and easy to work with so far. I'm so excited to have found someone in Punta Cana.

Congrats! I'm a Feb 2013 bride too! These next 8 months are going to fly by...

I LOVE your set up and colors -- also very similar to ours. You look beautiful! Congratulations!! I'm happy to hear that the food at the Majestic Elegance is good, too...I was worried.

Thanks for your review, Alex! You look gorgeous!!! And I love your colors and all the decorations.

Mayte is the wedding planner at the Jellyfish, and she apparently has an apartment full of amazing decorations. She creates anything you want -- and it seriously doesn't even compare to what you'd get at the resort. I'm so happy with our decision to get married at Jellyfish!

@cnd29, us too! We were all ready to book our wedding at the resort, then I read her blog (and this thread) and chose Jellyfish. I feel like it's the best decision we've made! Mayte's creativity and decorations are exactly what I was looking for...and after seeing pictures of weddings at resorts versus JF, I'm soooo happy we're not getting married at the resort! We booked HDC photo for our wedding already. I wish we could afford her, too. But I'm hoping to convince my FI to do a TTD session with her and Rob.

LOVE LOVE LOVE all your pictures! Thanks so much for the info.

We deposited $500 into her account on Feb. 29, and she sent me some sort of confirmation (although the language barrier makes it difficult to see what that confirmation actually says...). What day did you make your deposit?

Just catching up and realized I missed this one... We live in San Francisco, and our guests will be coming from both coasts (my FI is from DC). We haven't completely ruled out using a travel agent (seriously, I can't make a decision to save my life) but we are going to see what prices are like in 2-3 months, then decide. As of now, we're planning to fly down on 2/2 and leave on 2/9 (day after the wedding, not ideal, but my FI has to be back at work the following Monday). So we'll be traveling the same days, fun! Can't wait to meet you and your big group and party all week! (I hope I still fit into my dress after a week of all-I-can-eat/drink.) I'm actually getting married on my birthday, so we'll party extra hard that night lol.

FYI, for anyone in the US who has a Bank of America account, I was able to write a check to Jellyfish and the bank deposited it directly into their account, thus avoiding the US$25 wire transfer fee.

MM/DD/YY AquaCait ~ 5/9/12 Venus909 - 6/29/2012 LonaJ~ 10.19.12 lala32 ~ 12/14/12 CFK2013 - 2/7/13 Lande8 (Leslie) - 2/8/13 AshTooner~ 02/20/13 cinnagirl ~ 5/28/13

I love your website! I wish I had seen it before creating mine... I could have just "borrowed" from you! haha. This forum is so awesome, it's so nice having direct contact with actual Jellyfish/DR brides. I've never been to Punta Cana...I will be there for the first time for our wedding. I felt like I was going in blind until I found this site. It's the best!

So fun!! I think we're going to have 25-30 guests. We will definitely have to share planning tips. Where do you live? It would be nice to compare pricing, etc., for the hotel and flights.

Lala32, I'm happy to hear that someone else is giving their guests the freedom to book their own travel! We are getting married at Jellyfish on 2/8/13, and we are staying at the Majestic Elegance. We were using a TA originally -- she was going to do all the hotel arrangements, but after doing searches online we found we could get a much better deal booking flight/hotel together. I had also contacted the ME separately to get a quote for room blocks, but I would have needed to be the point person (that is, guests would basically have to book through me, and I'd submit names -- which makes sense if I'm a TA, but I'm not , and we would have had to pay a 20% deposit right now -- for a wedding 10 months away. I'm still a little nervous that rooms won't be available for guests who procrastinate, but the best part about a destination wedding is that all our guests are people we talk to on a regular basis, and so it'll be easy enough to contact them with gentle reminders. Our date is confirmed, we sent our STDs, and my next (fun) to-do is dress shopping! Also, we created our wedding website with a comprehensive set of FAQs, if anyone is interested in checking it out...feedback is definitely welcome! www.weddingwire.com/leslieandeli

Hey inloveinkorea -- yay for March 2013 weddings! What date are you thinking of? We have tentatively reserved March 1 with Mayte, but no deposit or anything yet.

Thanks for the feedback! I think we'll just use the Jellyfish DJ. DJ Mannia had offered to give us 2012 pricing for our 2013 wedding if we booked now...but 14 months still seems so far away!