Bride2B1130

Hello everyone! Okay, I have a few more questions for those that have done the civil wedding. I was told that the following was translated from Spanish to English for a civil ceremony. Can anyone confirm this? We are gathered here today with the objective of uniting in a civil marriage Sheri and Edward who have decided to change their civil status from single, to the honourable status of being married. Marriage is an institution; it is an admirable status which has its origins in the solemn contract celebrated between one man and one woman, who of their own free will… wish to marry, with the object to love, honour and care for each other mutually. To celebrate this marriage, it is necessary that there is no opposition, if anyone here knows of any legal reason to prevent this event, must speak now or remain in silence forever. Edward do you take Sheri as your legitimate wife, do you promise to love her, honour her, care for her and protect her in the good times and the bad times, in richness and in poverty, in sickness and in health?. As a sign of this promise, please place the ring on Wedding finger of your bride Sheri do you take Edward as your legitimate husband, do you promise to love him, honour him, care for him and protect him in the good times and the bad times, in richness and in poverty, in sickness and in health? As a sign of this promise, please place the ring on the wedding Finger of your groom. I, Juan Julio Rijo, official of the civil State of Punta Cana, have heard from Edward & Sheri their wish to marry, and having heard no opposition to their marriage, having met with all the legal requirements needed by the Matrimonial Law in the Dominican Republic, on Tuesday Decemeber 9th 2008 and in front of the witnesses, I declare you, husband & Wife. If this is the case I would like to add a few words (not change whats in that official reading) to have that added personalized touch. Has anyone asked Carolina to say a few words prior to the civil reading and afterwards I would like to have a sand ceremony and then be pronounced husband and wife. Does anyone know if it's possible or have had Carolina done something like this for their wedding? The words I would add would be no more than 3 minutes and the sand ceremony takes 2 minutes. Anyone think this is possible? Thanks so much!

Hey kweigl25! I'm actually getting married there on 30 Nov and we just decided to change from the beach party to the private reception. We thought it would provide a nice vibe after the cocktail hour (we are still working out the details. I'm also wondering about the aisle runner and the exact length as well. Interested in seeing what people have to say with this b/c it would certainly help me out.

Hi Jenn 963, I did go through my emails and drag and dropped the information we had previously signed. It was a honest mistake and it was corrected. Something like that puts me in a whirlwind but it is all okay at the moment. So you're saying there is a garden gazebo and an ocean facing gazebo. Are the views the same?

Hi Jenn963! Is that the gazebo located in Grand Palladium Punta Cana? I hear there are two gazebos. Is that the case?

Has anyone had to deal with Carolina sending new services forms and then stating that these 'services' have recently changed? There is starting to be conflicting information and I know she is busy however, now isn't the time less than 4 months from the wedding. I only ask because we signed an agreement back in September 2012 using the Crystal Wedding Package and it stated that it was up to 20 guests. Now, they are saying that it is up to 8 guests and that won't work. Although I mentioned to her that there may be up to 40 guests (we estimated on the high side) we really thought there wouldn't be that many people showing up. My main issue is that she is amending an agreement when it was already agreed upon in September of 2012. Any other brides dealing with this? I know she sends a lot of custom generated emails but I quite frankly don't send custom information that is not based upon our agreed terms. I also know they want more money and we agreed we would pay that fee should our number rise about 20. But this is absolutely ridiculous. Thoughts? Comments? Everything was going rather smooth (as smooth as it could be) until...now

Hey Ladies! I wanted to share this with the brides on here. There is a deal with Living Social for a 3 night Grand Palladium Stay for $799. The only catch is that it is only around a select few airports which include: BWI, CLE, PHL, and PIT. Thought I would share this news with everyone. Now that the traveling part is out of the way..I finally got the documents needed to get married in the DR. I believe Carolina was on vacation for a bit so I am planning on asking her what I should do now that this is taken care of. Any ideas on what buildings on the Bavaro side are the best to stay (the most updated)?

Thanks for the advice on the steaming. I've decided NOT to have my dress steamed - it will be just fine the way it arrives!! I'm too nervous to have it handled and potentially ruined so that won't happen!

Absolutely Beautiful!!! These reviews have been so great and the pictures are extremely helpful. Were any of you nervous about giving your dress to be steamed by the staff. I'm going to be insanely nervous about having my wedding dress in the hands of someone else - not that I don't trust them, its just that its fair amount of money and I don't want anything ruined. And if something were to happen to it I would be FURIOUS. Tell me your thoughts on this? I will have to review this once more with the hubby so we can put together our questions. Thank you so much for your reviews and I can't wait to run downstairs and scream out all of this information. Congrats to you ladies!

Hi Jessica1005. Congrats again!!! How was the weather? Was it unbearable as far as heat goes? Please do tell us how everything went! Pros and Cons! Take your time to write...but tell us everything!!!

Your review was so helpful and the pictures are amazing! We are super excited that we can get started with the flow of the wedding now that we have the invitations out. Its great to hear that they give the guests itineraries about what will take place. I sent a note to Carolina to see what the difference is for the musical trio and paying for live music for 3 hours. I don't know if anyone else saw this but our package stated that a DJ is $300 for 3 hours but Live Music is 900 for 3 hours... I'm assuming the Live music for 3 hours is DJ Mania?? Or is that a faulty assumption?

You know Jenn, I had not even thought about those entertainers but I am now interested. It would certainly provide some extra excitement for us. So tell me - have any ladies getting married at GPPC in November (from the US) made their travel plans in the DR? I'm trying to find a great deal for the Royal Suites Turquesa but some of these numbers make me cringe and I'm debating if I should go through a travel agency? Any good companies? Plus -- we picked up our wedding invites and plan to address some later tonight!!!!! I can't WAIT to get these out!

Hey Everyone, So, at the moment we're looking and still figuring out which property we should stay at. We want the property to be all adults but are unsure which to book. Can anyone provide any thoughts/feedback on pros and cons with the Bavaro resort and spa along with the Royal Suites Turquesa? Thanks for any and all feedback!!

Hi Cabara! It definitely makes it easier chatting with folks who are having their weddings during the same time as mine. We're flying in on the 26th. It seems like hubby wants me to get away earlier so I can relax - apparently I'm too stressed! We're leaving on that following Tuesday so we'll be there before the majority of our party gets there. We're having the civil ceremony and are going to get married there so I'll be sure to ask for copies of this dang document. I just hope the judge will be here for this. One of the big things I'm getting more confused about is the fact that someone mentioned a DJ named DJ Mania? While we were doing the agreement form we listed that we wanted a musical trio for the ceremony and then live band/music for 3 hours. I'm trying to figure out A) whether this DJ is still around A list of DJs in the area that are good and C) if I need both of these.... Anyways, look forward to chatting and thinking aloud about wedding details!!!

Hello! Thanks for your reply it was very helpful. Thankfully, I was able to pay for it relatively quickly -- receiving it may be another issue. I just want to have everything in order as I want to go to that embassy twice - once to drop it off, once to pick it up. Hopefully this is a smooth process!!

Hi Cabara!! Looks like you're wedding is a day before mine!!! Looks like we'll share in wedding stress, walk down that aisle and push a few drinks back.!! For the folks that have booked, did you book with a travel agent? Did you find it being siginificantly less than doing it yourself? Once I find my dress, and mail these invitations, I can actually start having 100% focus on how the wedding will be planned/arranged/etc.

Hi All, At the moment I am getting all of my paperwork together to submit to the US DR Embassy. I will have the originals however they mentioned that they needed to have an original birth certificate apostilled prior to submitting all of my information. First of all, what is this? I mentioned that this is probably the original being notarized prior to sending it again but one of the officials said that it wasn't just notarized it was apostilled. So what's the difference? Can anyone help me out with this. I have everything else in order and when I drive to the embassy I want everything taken care of so I don't have to go back and forth. I never understood why this was so complicated all they want is money so take my money and lets move forward with this lol. Also, how long is the validity of this document once they send that information back to us? (I'm getting married in November FYI) Please please somebody help me out as this is super annoying. Thanks! -Bride2B1130

Hello!! I love coming here on my lunch break, it helps break up the day!!! Anyways,The DJ is $300 for 3 hours and must be paid in cash? Do you reserve that once you get there or can we reserve it prior to arrival (that I prefer). Was anyone that has visited GPPC able to get some pics of the colors that they use? Also, for those doing the legal ceremony, is the ceremony really only 10 minutes or did it last a little bit longer than that? Good News is the fiance and I finally booked our photographer (HDC)!! We really aren't excited about that resort money that we have to pay to get them on but its smaller than it would having it in D.C. Plus our invitations are on the press as we speak. As any bride knows getting the photographer settled is huge and the invitations on the press is a big check of the list (fistpump). I must be missing something but I hear of things about the BBQ and the Beach Party? I only received something that said the reception only includes a 3 course meal....I've got to be missing something. If I can get more info about the BBQ I can at least bring it to future hubby's attention and see if we would consider that. Anyone have any thoughts? OMG 8 months away and counting!!

Hi Iron Mona, I looked into getting Jamie and it seems like (as far as Jamie goes) you do have to pay for transportation to the DR. Because I didn't want the TTD session i believe I would've paid 2600 along with 3 nights for him to stay at the resort. According to this having all the brides pay amounts around this 2500-2800 cuts down on transportation and taxi fees etc. Brides are expected to pay for hotel stay. Hope this helps.

Hey JenmHeadrick! Is there any way you could send your photos to me as well. That would be super helpful! I told my fiance about it and he's anxiously awaiting as well. Also, one of our biggest things we're trying to figure out is if its worth it to book the private room or the semi private area?? Any thoughts future brides? This is legitimately -- killing us!

Hi Jenn 963 and eberry - sorry it's taken a little while to respond...this thing called 'work' is getting in the way of everything lol. We are booked for Nov 30 2013. We wanted to get married on our anniversary but they apparently don't do weddings on Sundays which is fine. So we will probably miss you all due to the fact that our wedding is in in latter November:(. Let's see as far as packages I believe we're going with the Crystal one. Right now we are about to start finalizing our guest list and we took it down by a lot since a nice little chunk of money will be going towards the photographer. Since you mentioned wedding times - ours is at 3PM but I've heard they operate on Carribean time so it may very well be at 4. A few things have me nervous 1) Hoping and praying it doesn't rain and 2) Whether the length of the civil ceremony is actually 10 minutes and 3) If the judge will have 'official' duties that day (we so want to be married in the Dominican Republic). At one point Carolina mentioned the civil ceremony to be 15 minutes but now she mentioned 10. My fiance feels that she just sends out formatted emails because she is so busy - do you all have that experience? If anyone visits the resort please do take pictures of the decorations that they have if you can! That would certainly help us out!!!

Hi, I am actually having my wedding at GP and noticed the crazy fee. Were you able to find a way out of this fee for the hotel. In the end I will bite the bullet because in the end paying $500 so I can enjoy my pictures for the next 30 years is something I can live with. Looks like I don't mind paying $22/year for 30 years to enjoy my photos lol. Please do update me when you hear from the WC at GPPC. Was this Carolina that mentioned this to you? Please let me know!

Oh My, this is something I had just run into as well. Everything was running smoothly now since we've hit the 10 month mark til our wedding!! having this would make it easier for my entire family considering some think they know the 'right' way of ordering a reception. Can someone help us out please!!!

HI Everyone!! A coworker sent me the weblink for this site and this has been a true LIFE SAVER. My fiance and I are getting married in November 2013 at the Grand Palladium Punta Cana. We are doing the legal (civil) marriage and will certainly plan to give the embassy PLENTY OF TIME for them to get our documents together. We have got our package reserved but have not booked a room at the resort and we need to figure out what is best for us. He prefers that 'any room will do' but that certainly is not my attitude! Hey, the brides need to be completely taken care of - and that includes the room. Anyways, we are interested in finding out more things that include: 1. Whether a semi-private dinner is better or to rent out the entire facility 2. Wedding Decorations and the variety GPPC provides 3. Any extra's that need to be provided for 4. Locations for reception 5. DJ or Musical Trio (is the extra money worth it) 6. PHOTOGRAPHER! We definitely need a awesome Photographer There is so much information on this site that me and my MOH will be tackling this together. We have time but there seems to never be enough time for this. There is always something that pops up. I look forward to hearing your tips and tricks as there are plenty of difficulties of planning a wedding abroad. Cheers