Chinanow

Hey future brides this forum was really instrumental in helping me ease the anxiety for my wedding so I felt it was only fair for me to post my review!! My wedding date was July 11th 2013. We arrived July 9th to check out everything and give us a chance to familiarize ourselves to the resort. Like others have said, the resort is much further out than all of the other resorts. It’s a nice ride and the entrance after seeing other resorts, the entrance was pretty grand. Upon arrival we were greeted with a cool towel and a drink (just like in the movies). We checked in and our baggage was immediately taken by the baggage guys….(I think it helped that we were in the exclusive club). We had a hotel rep walk us to the exclusive clubhouse, during our walk we were able to check out a wedding in progress. Our room was very nice..building 1, which was all the way by the beach. We had guest in building 6 which was between the beach and the main building and guests in building 3 which was next to the spa (they hated that building because it was far from the beach and had a leak @ 2 a.m. while asleep). The wedding…. Remember the weather in July is HOT and tropical…no 3 piece suits…no dark colors!!! I said that because there was a wedding before us that was at 4 p.m. and those poor groomsmen were soo hot!! The wedding was beautiful. We had the gold package which meant we got professional onsite photographers for the wedding and a video of the ceremony. Remember 3 selections of songs for the ceremony (I didn’t know that)…1 for the bridal party, 1 for the bride, 1 for after the ceremony and walking back down the aisle. We used fake flowers for our ceremony purchase for $5 a pack on ebay!! The WC did our ceremony…I couldn’t remember a thing we said. I got dressed in the wedding pavilion because they didn’t have a room for me. I didn’t want to get dressed in my room because it was so far from the actually wedding area. After the ceremony, there is wine…and pics…this is where you can cut costs…if you don’t want a reception, don’t do it…especially if you have an early ceremony. Give guests a chance to freshen up…the food at the reception is plenty…and they can grab some snacks at the buffet if they are really hungry…But really reception food and the dinner was a lot of food. I love the 3 piece band. The WC decorates the reception area while we were taking pictures after the wedding. So if you do cut out the after ceremony drinks make sure to give the WC time to decorate the reception area. We had our reception at the portfornio terrace which was upstairs. It was odd because the entrance to the Italian restaurant was there as well, so you will get people peeking into your wedding. The view was magnificent. The food was awesome, we had steak and shrimp and the cake was crooked (ours was) and they said our ceramic cake topper was too heavy for the cake. No one got food poisoning in our group from the wedding, but there was a huge 60 party wedding the day after where a bunch of people got sick. I think a lot had to do with the fact that our party was so small they didn’t have to prepare the food that much in advance. Overall it was a wonderful experience and I’m glad I had a destination wedding.

@Amazed...what did u pick for dinner? Did u choose another photographer or did u stick to the dreams photographer? How were the flowers? Did u buy extra flowers? How did Ur hair hold up? How was the humidity? Sorry for the questions!!

Caitlin did u have round tables or one long banquet table? I only have about 15 people and thought the long banquet table may be more intimate...

Which wedding package did u choose?? Please take lots of pics!! Congrats....it will b a blast!!

Hey Brides!!! Did anyone choose the Ultimate Wedding Package....It says online that with the ultimate wedding Package you get A: One natural floral centerpiece for reception table and B: One natural floral table centerpiece and additional decor....does anyone know what the "additional Decor" is?

Hey Former Brides.... On the Ultimate wedding package it states they give a floral centerpiece for the reception table and one for the One natural floral table centerpiece and additional decor for the other tables...can anyone elaborate?? thanks! (me and wedding planning/decorating)!!

Yazzy do you have pictures of the reception? Which dinner did you choose? What kind of Hor D'oeuvres did you choose?

Hey sister brides....I have appx. 15 people coming so I was thinking about doing a long table instead of several round tables...has anyone been to a wedding that has done that? What kind of decoration do you think will travel well?

Yazzy...your wedding was beautiful!! Thank you for adding the Carribbean Emotion video....it really gave me a good visual of the terrace...I have such a tiny wedding party so I'm super excited. I am worried about the salon now...because I really wanted my hair pressed out by the ladies...but that just at home will take 3 hours...so that means I would have to be there by 1 for a 6pm wedding. Do you have pics of your wedding..and was the terrace properly lit in the evening or do you suggest I bring more lights? GG

Sisterbrides, maybe I'm just freaking myself out...but I just read the last couple of reviews on Trip Advisors about the resort and its been BBBAAADD!!! Really horrible reviews....has anyone been there before...anyone talked to their TA about where there rooms are...one of the biggest complaints was where the rooms were..which building was new and which were old and drippy and musty.... HEELLPP!!

I'm so happy for you..I'm super excited to see pics and reviews...I was worried about the food..and did you get a seperate room the night before for you and your husband? Did they have someone to help you with the dress? What about the make up and hair? Sorry for the questions...

hey Deemore, My wedding is July 11th of next year. I sent out my save the dates cards and emails 3 weeks ago...the TA said that with about $100 a month they should have their rooms paid in time to pull out and get a 100% refund if they needed to.

Dreams Punta Cana...if possible..