soloparatijc

@NettyD: I didn't really compare him to Tropical Pictures because I really didn't like the idea of only getting 150 photos for 2.5k plus the quality was way better in my opinion but you can contact them through their blog at www.kristyandvic.com/blog and they can quote you on what you want

@lovelyGemini: I don't have all the photos from the photographer yet so this is just a photo a guest took on her phone so you can get an idea of the centerpieces

@LovelyGemini: Everyone was telling me the same thing (to get an updo) but I really didn't want to. I orginally wanted to get a waterfall braid but that didn't work with my headpiece so the hairdresser did something similar. Also, I put on clip-in extensions for the extra 4 inches in length so that the curls would look better, the curls fell by the end on the night but I still loved the way my hair came out and since it was somewhat away from my face, it didn't bother me at all. Also, you can take anything that you would like with you but just think of the weight and how much space its going to take up in your suitcase. I used up two large suitcases and at least 4 carry on's for all my stuff that I took, not to mention that I had to carry my super heavy dress throughout the entire airport while waiting close to an hour and a half in Punta Cana Airport to get through customs. I would suggest giving the DJ a playlist, I did this and the music was amazing all night (with the exception of the fact we improvised wanting the wedding party to dance a song together and the DJ put a really old Fulanito song that was super long that I didn't really like.)

@Miss Jali: I purchased the boxes for the Jordan almonds at Michael's, I wanted clear boxes so that I could incorporate more of my accent color (yellow). I actually bought the Jordan almonds online at Staples.com (I bought a 5 pound bag for $30), they have them in all different types of solid colors, I was surprised that everywhere I went to in person had a mix of pastel colors and nothing in just one color unless you dye it with food coloring, which I wasn't going to risk doing. @SoonMrsD: Glad I could help! @NettyD: It took about a month because I had my grandmother drive to San Juan in PR for my birth certificate apostille and I also had my now husbands' (love the way that sounds!) mother drive to Manhattan to get the apostilles to save time as I did everything only two months before the wedding.

No trouble at customs btw...missed that part

Thank you MissJali...of course I don't mind! 1. ElizabethPerryCollections.com it's handmade do she takes 4-6 weeks to ship so I recommend ordering like 3 months before the wedding so that you don't freak out lol 2. Just the Ocean Front...you can still pay for club premium but it's not included in the upgrade. 3. I only did welcome bags for the bridal party and I included a personalized bathrobe and barefoot sandals and little travel kits and liquor for the guys. 4. I brought fans and bubbles for the ceremony and a personalized wedding card box box from perfectweddingbox.com and for favors/placecards I took leather luggage tags, I also brought personalized boxes with Jordan almonds inside among other things like starfish and yellow stones for the tables, oh and I also did my guest book on shutterfly using my engagement photos. 5. Yes my cousin literally decided to go two days before the wedding lol. Glad I could be of help!

Hello Ladies!! I got back from our wedding like 2 weeks ago now but I'm moving at the same time so I haven't had time to write a review until now. We got to the resort on July 25th and we were upgraded from the Junior Suite Deluxe to the Ocean Front Junior Suite Deluxe which was beautiful! I could just stare at the view all day. As soon as we got there we made reservations for the first couple of days but they informed me that the reservations are by room so we couldn't make reservations with the guests that hadn't arrived at the resort. I had two guests that couldn't book rooms because the resort was overbooked and they decided to attend the wedding last minute so I greeted them at the lobby to see what could be done for them, which I was so worried for nothing because I just added them to another family members room with an extra pass which was only $77 per night/per person. I would have to say that the only thing that really ticked me off about the resort is the fact that even though we were spending thousands of dollars at this resort, guests who are staying at the Barcelo Bavaro Palace Deluxe cannot order food or drinks in the Adults only side, this simply did not make sense to me as I had guests staying in both sides and even though the Adults only side is cheaper to stay in, they were able to eat in our side and order drinks without any problems. I met with Susana the day before the wedding and she went over all the details of our wedding with us, she really simplified the process for us at this point. She had 3 weddings on the same day as ours so she only popped in and out on our wedding day and had Hildebranda coordinate the day for us. Since I did the legal ceremony I did not have the actual time of the wedding until the week before which ended up being at 5pm, I booked the spa for the bridesmaids the day we got there and they ended up calling a hairdresser in on her day off to accommodate my wedding party which I really appreciated. We had our rehearsal dinner for 19 people at the Kyoto and the food and show was great! My spa appointment was booked for 1pm and I was still in the Spa at 4:30pm, I was freaking out the entire time as Susana warned me if I was not there by 5pm the judge would have to leave as there is only one judge in the entire Punta Cana area legalizing weddings. I ended up arriving to the room right on time to meet up with the bridesmaids who were waiting on me. The wedding location we chose was right in front of our Ocean Front Suite (Bldg 1) which was so convenient as I was able to catch a glimpse of the beautiful wedding location and all the guests gathering and also this is the area of the hotel on the beach where there are the least amount of guests . Hildebranda had me walk out of La Brisa restaurant which ended up working out very convenient. I really wanted to have the tiffany chairs but didn't want to spend the $12 a chair, honestly all the decorations were so beautiful that the tiffany chairs were the last thing I thought about. I had a seashell curtain attached to the huppa for $175 and it gave the ceremony a really nice touch. I walked down the aisle and there was not a dry eye on my 48 person guests. The trio played as I walked down the aisle. The ceremony lasted for about 20 minutes, we also included our own vows that we each wrote during our trip. We had a one hour photography session with our photographers that we brought with us as guests from Miami and we paid for their flights and hotel accommodations as we loved their work on our engagement shoot. Our reception was from 7-10pm, we had the Full MC with DJ and honestly this was worth the $1300 we paid as they were amazing and kept the flow of the night very organized and we didnt have to worry about a thing. The cold fires also gave the first dance an unforgettable touch. The centerpieces that we chose were the large vases with the orchids inside for $50 and they were simple and elegant, gave the room a very elegant feel. The cake was amazing (vanilla with pineapple filling) and so was the food (curry marinated chicken breast and tomato salad, pesto marinated broiled chicken, and chocolate fondant) everybody loved the food ! We kept the party going at Disco Bavaro but went to our room first to change to find Champagne and fruit and rose petals in the jacuzzi. We had room service bring us breakfast in the morning and had our couples massage a couple of days later (this was one of the highlights to our trip). We had dinner at the French Restaurant one night which ended up being $20 a person but the food was simply amazing! All in all the trip was unforgettable, to have so many people you love so close for a couple of days in paradise is worth every penny. We got everything we wanted and more!! For the bride who was asking about the paperwork needed for the legal wedding (Lalala i think)...it's a little complicated but I just wanted to walk down the aisle and have everything not just feel real, but actually get married for real in front of everyone we love. Anyway, the first thing you need to do is check the process for an apostille for the state you were born ( I was born in PR and my husband was born in NY, my process was easier than his) and send the fee for the apostille along with your original birth certificate (NY requires a letter of exemplification to be ordered with a long form birth certificate which then needs to be sent to the county clerk for certification before they will apostille the birth certificate). Then they require a single status affidavit (WeDo Dominican Republic has a format that can be copied/pasted) to be notarized and apostilled by the department of state that you reside in. This paperwork along with copies of your passports and checks for the fees are then sent to WeDo Dominican Republic (they are located in Texas) and they legalize and translate all the documents for you. You then take the originals with you and the wedding coordinator will give them to the judge there. My photographer added me to his blog, the link is below so you can view the photos of this very special day thank you all for being so helpful throughout this journey, I hope this review helps you as much as you all helped me. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have. http://kristyandvic.com/blog/2013/08/12/maribel-jeffrey-destination-wedding-punta-cana-dominican-republic/

Hello ladies! So my wedding is now around the corner in only 12 days!! I'm so stressed out hoping that everything turns out okay. I decided to do a non-denominational legal ceremony on the beach because I didn't want to walk down the aisle and already be married, I was just worried it wouldn't feel the same, but guess what? I still don't have a time for the wedding! I can't create a timeline with my photographer or anyone else for that matter as the judge hasn't confirmed the time. I don't know what to do! I will be sure to write a review and let you ladies know how everything ends up turning out. Wish me luck!

Trivera5521: Thank you for the info love...this is so frustrating though I don't even know how to budget for this wedding...it seems impossible! I just sent her a super long email & am trying to play nice so lets see how she responds. She does tend to take 1-2 weeks to answer to me too so I had stopped writing her. It's not fair that she tells us one thing and doesn't even take the time to send an email and let us know if something changes. They should honor the price that they show online at least. :/ Disazaja: Thank you so much! I just emailed her asking her but you know how that is! I saw your pictures and I really liked how you decorated everything especially the table with the cake. I wanted to do the massage before the wedding too but my fiance said we should do it after. I also wanted to honeymoon at the Hard Rock in Punta Cana but I dont know how much of a hassle it will be for us. It sounds like it wasn't worth it for you either. Did they honor the price of $6 per tiffany chair they gave you or did you have any surprises in price? Also, did they supply menu cards for the reception?

Hi girls! Ok so my wedding is finally coming up on July 27, 2013 and I couldn't be more excited! As I'm finishing up the selections for extras I noticed that their online quotes for extras are super inaccurate to what they are quoting us through email...for example: online the bridesmaid bouquets are still $30 and the international basic DJ for the reception is still $488! I was thinking of going with a live tipico band for the reception as my fiance is also dominican & i think it would be cool to include part of the heritage but they only cover two 45 minute sessions all these price changes are driving me crazy as I see from the previous posts you ladies can relate. I'm really glad I found this blog and am able to connect with everyone and find out so much info that I wouldn't have been able to find on my own! Susana told me that I could choose my own cake design but when I showed her what I wanted she says only white is included :/ can anyone confirm this is true because I've seen photos with colored ornaments or flowers. I'm also debating whether to do the couples massage included in the tangerine sunset package before or after the wedding...anyone have any suggestions to when it worked for you best?

Hello ladies! I, like you, will also be getting married at Barcelo Bavaro Palace Deluxe. I am very happy with my decision to get married here I would love to hear any tips you ladies have for me. I decided to go with the tangerine sunset package, I am now realizing the package does not include as much as I thought I am emailing back and forth with Susana but she has not been able to confirm a judge/minister. It has now taken two weeks to confirm this and I'm starting to worry because I haven't been able to send out the save the dates yet. Did anyone else have this issue? I am shooting for July 27, 2013, hopefully I will get a confirmation soon. Honestly the photos help so much as I am beginning to notice how much detail is involved. Please keep posting! I felt I was alone in figuring all of this out and I am now so relieved to find this blog!

Hello ladies! I, like you, will also be getting married at Barcelo Bavaro Palace Deluxe. I am very happy with my decision to get married here I would love to hear any tips you ladies have for me. I decided to go with the tangerine sunset package, I am now realizing the package does not include as much as I thought I am emailing back and forth with Susana but she has not been able to confirm a judge/minister. It has now taken two weeks to confirm this and I'm starting to worry because I haven't been able to send out the save the dates yet. Did anyone else have this issue? I am shooting for July 27, 2013, hopefully I will get a confirmation soon. Honestly the photos help so much as I am beginning to notice how much detail is involved. Please keep posting! I felt I was alone in figuring all of this out and I am now so relieved to find this blog!

Hello ladies! I, like you, will also be getting married at Barcelo Bavaro Palace Deluxe. I am very happy with my decision to get married here I would love to hear any tips you ladies have for me. I decided to go with the tangerine sunset package, I am now realizing the package does not include as much as I thought I am emailing back and forth with Susana but she has not been able to confirm a judge/minister. It has now taken two weeks to confirm this and I'm starting to worry because I haven't been able to send out the save the dates yet. Did anyone else have this issue? I am shooting for July 27, 2013, hopefully I will get a confirmation soon. Honestly the photos help so much as I am beginning to notice how much detail is involved. Please keep posting! I felt I was alone in figuring all of this out and I am now so relieved to find this blog!