DestinationGirl

I would love to do my bachelorette party in Vegas, however I don't think its fair to expect that after my girls are already dishing out money to come to my wedding in the DR. Thoughts??

I heard that you have to get blood tests done in Mexico for you to get married legally there. Personally, I am getting married in Ontario and then going to do a symbolic ceremony in the DR. I will still celebrate teh DR date as my wedding date....all the other stuff if just logistics

I am doing a trash session as well. I need to find a inexpensive dress to trash, as I think I want to wear my wedding dress to our AHR.

I think its a great idea to look elsewhere for bridesmaid dresses. I think the bridal stores bring up the prices alot, and alot of dresses end up being too expensive for what they are. I like the idea of going to BCBG or some store like that and finding something really nice and something they can wear again!

I have heard that most people are tipping between $50-$100

Hi Heather, My FI and I booked at the Majestic Colonial. They are very organized (from what I hear) with the wedding planning. However, I would make a decision soon, because dates get booked up quickly and your date is not far away! Contact a WC at the Majestic for more information about your date availability. Good luck with the planning! This site is soooo useful!

Hey ladies, thanks for all your comments and additions! I am just building a list of all various and possible costs, not just for myself - but for future planners. The reason I put both sound system and DJ are because someone might be hiring a DJ (in which case they will most likely bring their own sound system) or soemone might just rent the sound system and play off their ipod. I just wanna get all the various options for things. I also thought of another expense - Travel Agent. I don't know if everyone is paying theirs - but I am, so gotta add it to the list. Updated list: - Travel -Ceremony Package - Bride’s bouquet - Groom’s boutonniere - Bridal Party bouquets/boutonnieres - Table arrangement for ceremony - Sound system for ceremony - Wedding cake - Private Reception - Fire Show - Reception Decorations - Ceremony Decorations - Photographer - Guest Pass for outside vendors - Officient - Hair - Makeup - Sand Ceremony Kit - OOT Bags - Wedding Dress - Groom’s Suit - Wedding Bands - Wedding outfit accessories - DJ - - Marriage license and certificate - Photograph prints/albums - Invitations - Wedding Party Gifts - Guest gifts - Tips - Printing & paper costs - Stamps - Cake topper - Dress Alterations - Flower boy/girl pillow/basket - Guestbook - Travel Agent fees

Hi Ladies, My FI and I made a budget when we started to plan our destination wedding (we are also doing an AHR). I'm trying to get us an organized and possible, while also aiming to stay within a decent budget. I have a running list of things, with costs that I already know, and other things with a question mark for those costs that I am not sure of yet. Also, I am writing down things that I may or may not want - this way I can make decisions as I go. Here is my list so far, please suggest anything that I may be forgetting or haven't thought of and this can be helpful to anyone who is at this point in the planning stages. Thanks!! -Travel -Ceremony Package - Bride’s bouquet - Groom’s boutonniere - Bridal Party bouquets/boutonnieres - Table arrangement for ceremony - Sound system for ceremony - Wedding cake - Private Reception - Fire Show - Reception Decorations - Ceremony Decorations - Photographer - Guest Pass for outside vendors - Officient ( - Hair - Makeup - Sand Ceremony Kit - OOT Bags - Wedding Dress - Groom’s Suit - Wedding Bands - Wedding outfit accessories - DJ - - Marriage license and certificate - Photograph prints/albums - Invitations - Wedding Party Gifts - Guest gifts - tips

Hey Congrats on the date! It is tough getting the date that you want, even with more then a year notice. I would definitely look at booking the dinner and reception as soon as you figure out what you want, because those get booked up quickly too. I wanted the Wetbar for my reception, but it was already taken, and now I am using the Parrot bar...but am now limited to the amount of guests (as Parrot bar is for about 40 guests). So plan wisely and quickly!

Im not sure about the boat. I decided to do the free semi-private dinner at the Steakhouse. I'm having a reception back home and I don't think its necessary to spend the extra $$ to pay for a dinner when we are at an all inclusive restaurant. However, I am doing a private reception, so that we can party it up with all of our guests and do the speeches, cake cutting, etc. in private.

Thanks! From those pics it does look pretty small. It looks gorgeous, but it looks small for a group of 50. I dont know if I should try and change our reception to the beach?! Im not sure what locations hold 50 people, but from my understand the Wetbar is bigger then the Parrots Bar and can hold more people. That is why I originally wanted to Wetbar, because I think we are going to have a pretty big group (although I dont know exact numbers yet). And when I told our WC that we may have a bigger group she made sure to say that the most they can accomodate at the Parrots Bar is 50...and im thinking thats gonna be tight...and I dont want it to be uncomfortable for people... Yiiiikes lol

So I finally heard back from my WC and the Wetbar is already taken for my date So we have booked the Parrots Bar. Im worried that it will be too small for our group. My WC said the most they can accomodate is 50. Im not sure of how many guests we will have yet, but there is a possibility that it will be over 50. Im just hoping that it will all work out at this point! We are going to rent it by the hour and have the alcohol included and all of that. We are also not hiring an outside DJ and will prepare a playlist for the event (our DJ friend will do a mix for us beforehand, so we can just play it there). As for the decoration package, I think we will go with #3. Any ladies that have had their reception at the Parrots Bar? Is it going to be too small to accomodate a group of 50? We need a big space for dancing, as our guests are mostly young and will want to party. Anyone have any input on this? It would be greatly appreciated!

So what are you thinking of doing? Which bar and package? What makes most sense?

Thanks for your suggestion Ms. Bubbles. I did like Jamies work a lot, and we also liked Photosouvenir. I think we may go with them. Anyone worked with Photosouvenir and has any comments or reviews??

Thanks PuntaBride. I tried to find photos online, but there are not many, and if I do find photos of a bar, I don'y know which one it is. If I find anything useful, I will post it here. Who is your WC and when are you getting married?

Hey Girls, Anyone who has been there or seen photos of these areas from a reception? I need to pick one and am not sure which one is better, which one is nicer, more spacious, etc.? Anyone will any input and or photos would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!!

Hey Girls! I just recently got engaged and was starting to research destinations weddings when I stubled upon this site. This is a great help, and thank you to all those that contribute. I quickly realized that I need to figure out where and when we want to get married. I have since then booked our wedding at the Majestic Colonial for May 6, 2013. Yeayyy! The other thing i realized I needed to do right away as well was to book the photographer. I same a lot of other brides photos and review and Photophil (Phil Steingard) came highly recommended and I also liked his style. Unfortunately, today I found out that is is already booked for our date. Can any of you ladies suggest other great Punta Cana photographers that I could look into? Thank you!

Hi Girls! I just recently got engaged and started looking at destinations weddings. I very quickly realized that I need to start booking immediately (since we want to get married May 2013) as it is a busy time and dates get filled up quickly. I managed to get the date that we wanted (May 6th 2013) at the Majestic Colonial, but I did not get the photographer we wanted. I read so many great reviews about Photophil (Phil Steingard) and saw the photos that he has done and immediately wanted to book him, however upon contacting his office, I was advised that he does not have my date available Can anyone recommend any Punta Cana photographers that do great work? Thank you!!