Candi16

I had the same questions as Sherryro13 regarding the ceremony music....does Jacki or someone from the resort look after that or do we need to designate someone?

Hi Kellip17---I don't have enough posts yet to download your templates either. Would you be able to email to me too?! [email protected] Thank you!!!

Quote:Originally Posted by ChelseyB This was actually one of my few complaints about this resort. the resort is smaller and they just could not handle larger groups at dinner. and when i say larger groups, i mean 8 people or more. we often times would go into a restaurant with 8 or more and would end up sitting at 3 different tables right next to one another because they wouldn't even allow us to scoot the tables together. Another night we did just end up eating int eh buffet. It was fine and the food was decent, but not as good as the other restaurants. Also, they won't seat a large group all at once even if there are lots of tables, because they don't want to overload the kitchen. they want to stagger the seating.  My group did actually pay to have a private area and big table for 21 people one night. the cost was not horrible, but i understand not wanting to pay for dinner when its already included. This was the only option to have all 21 of us together.  Also one more key piece of advice. the restaurants get very full around 7 pm. if your group all went to the same restaurant at 5pm then you may be way more likely to all be in the same restaurant, but again they may stagger seating you so they aren't slammed with 40 people all at once. its hard to actually get a table immediately at one of the restaurants at 7, so just avoid that time.  good luck! Thanks ChelseyB, that info definitely helps with my expectations. I'm a bit bummed by this but if that's one of the few negatives you have about the resort I guess I can live with that!!

Does anyone have any comments/suggestions on eating at the restaurants with your "group"? I know they say it's a bonus not to worry about making reservations but that being said, I dont want to have to wait an hour for a table or even possibly be turned away. I would like to do either a Welcome Dinner or Rehearsal Dinner with my group of 40 guests but don't feel like I should have to pay more since this is already all inclusive resort. I just want to be able to be accommodated by the restaurant staff. I've been to DW as a guest before and the other resorts were able to do this just fine since they took reservations. I emailed Jacki the WC and her only suggestion was eat at the buffet. For anyone who already stayed here was finding a restaurant to accommodate you and your group (any size) difficult at dinner time?

Thanks ChlseyB...you make some very valid points that I didnt really think about. I guess we'll have to discuss it a little more before making a decision. Our wedding date is 5/17 so not much after your 5/4 date so hopefully if we go with El Patio the weather will cooperate! As I said, my only concern is the a/c. Did you have to bring your own decorations or was it ok to leave it be and maybe only use the flowers from the ceremony? I also saw from your pictures that you did programs. I've been contemplating those as well....was it worth the effort to make them? I love being crafty but didnt want to waste time and money if they weren't really used. I will definitely take note of the hairspray tip too...thank you!

I see there are a lot of brides who just returned from their DW; I'm not getting married until May 2014 but have so many questions with regard to the reception. I'm 100% sure I want the ceremony in the gazebo but still unsure of our reception. We are estimating about 40 people in attendance and our initial thought is to have it on the beach. I've read that it's not very private that any patron can walk by and see/watch but honestly if that's the only negative it's not much of an issue for us. My hang ups of having it in a restaurant or another indoor location is: we don't want to have to pay extra which I believe is the case for El Patio, we want it to be a/c if we're doing it inside, and laslty part of the excitement of a DW is to take full advantage of the scenery of the ocean as our backdrop which we can't have if we're stuck in a room. We don't plan on renting a DJ but instead bringing our ipod and using the resort's speakers/system to play it on. This is one of the reasons we're not worrying about the buffet; we can get up and dance and mingle while we're waiting for the next course...we're not having a traditional wedding so why would our reception be traditional is our thought! The only anxiety I'm having is hair/makeup. Did anyone use the Spa personnel and if so how was it??!!

My FH and I are approximating 25 people to our DW. We won't have a final count for a while since our wedding isn't until 2014 but that being said as much as we're into music we're choosing not to pay an arm and a leg for the DJ as well. Ipod and play list is the route we're taking and our WC is providing the sound system free of charge. Since DW are not traditional we are not having a traditional reception i.e. no annoucements, father/daughter, mother/son dance, gater/bouquet toss ect. The only dance we're having is our First Dance. Everyone's vision is different so definitely to each is own! @ Mufin 1785---what DJ app did you plan on using? I love the idea of the mixing and fading...

Quote:Originally Posted by kellip17 Here is what i used... Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Is it possible to email this to me as well? I am unable to dowload and view the attachment. Personal email is [email protected] you!!

Yay! So excited for Lindsay and Michelle...this is such a fun time for all of us!! Glad to hear that the previous bride's you've seen look fab! Like I said, I'm getting anxiety but all in all I think after a trial run it'll all be fine. Any idea how much in advance I should schedule the appointments? Obviously I have time but curious how many months or weeks you suggest? Yes, I've also read that we can change/substitute some of our options on the Gold package to suit our needs. My FI and I have bombarded poor Jacki with tons of questions about this kind of stuff and she's super responsive and pretty much OK with whatever. We're definitely keeping our cocktail hour but I've read that if you want a longer reception to forego it and add it to the end. Makes sense since there are all the bars your guests can chill at while you do your pictures. We're not spending the money on a DJ/dance floor since we'll have at most 25 guests and instead plan on just bringing our ipod with a playlist and using their speakers. We feel like a sit down intimate dinner with music will suffice and then afterwards just hang out at the bars. Part of the reason we choose DW was so we still had the wedding experience but don't find it completely necessary to have the full wedding reception that we would have it were at home if that makes sense. The one thing we do plan on spending a little more $ on is the photographs as well!! Thanks for the recommendation Lindsay, we'll definitley look into Gonzalo! We literally just started looking this week and are interested in http://www.mandjphoto.com/ and http://momentsthatmatterphotography.com. I've read that we can get a credit for the resort photographer if we use someone outside as well. That being said, I think it's a couple hundred dollars which is a fraction of what it actually costs but oh well...we really love pictures and cannot fathom skimping on those! Please keep me posted on everything else you ladies are thinking of doing, not doing, unsure about...I'm super excited to no longer feel like I'm doing this alone! :-)

Oh man, I am so happy I found this thread!!! My FI and are days away from booking our May 2014 DW at Dreams PA and I am curious about the resort staff's hair and makeup team. We're pretty sure we're going to book the Gold Pacakge (I'm sure the Silver would suffice but my FI is pretty insistent on the Gold!) which includes the hair/makeup service so I was hoping for any feedback on the pros, cons, other suggestions and definitely am hoping for pictures! I've had my hair and makeup done without trials when I've stood in friends' wedding and I've never had a problem until this past October which is why I'm now having anxiety! Is it best to do a trial and if so did they charge? How soon do I make an appointment for me and my girls? Is it not worth it and I figure out a plan B?? I plan on reading all of the posts on here looking for other helpful hints and tips so thank you to all who already posted such wonderful feedback to help us newbies!!

My FI and are days away from booking our May 2014 DW at Dreams PA and I am curious about the resort staff's hair and makeup team. The package we are going to book includes this service so I was hoping for any feedback on the pros, cons, other suggestions and definitely am hoping for pictures! I've had my hair and makeup done without trials when I've stood in friends' wedding and I've never had a problem until this past October which is why I'm now having anxiety! Is it best to do a trial and if so did they charge? How soon do I make an appointment for me and my girls? Is it not worth it and I figure out a plan B?? Part of the appeal of a DW is the reduced stress level so the last thing I want to worry about for the next year is if I'm going to look and feel beautiful the day of! Any input is greatly appreciated, thank you!

My FI and are days away from booking our May 2014 DW at Dreams PA and I am curious about the resort staff's hair and makeup team. The package we are going to book includes this service so I was hoping for any feedback on the pros, cons, other suggestions and definitely am hoping for pictures! I've had my hair and makeup done without trials when I've stood in friends' wedding and I've never had a problem until this past October which is why I'm now having anxiety! Is it best to do a trial and if so did they charge? How soon do I make an appointment for me and my girls? Is it not worth it and I figure out a plan B?? Part of the appeal of a DW is the reduced stress level so the last thing I want to worry about for the next year is if I'm going to look and feel beautiful the day of! Any input is greatly appreciated, thank you!

My FI and are days away from booking our May 2014 DW at Dreams PA and I am curious about the resort staff's hair and makeup team. The package we are going to book includes this service so I was hoping for any feedback on the pros, cons, other suggestions and definitely am hoping for pictures! I've had my hair and makeup done without trials when I've stood in friends' wedding and I've never had a problem until this past October which is why I'm now having anxiety! Is it best to do a trial and if so did they charge? How soon do I make an appointment for me and my girls? Is it not worth it and I figure out a plan B?? Part of the appeal of a DW is the reduced stress level so the last thing I want to worry about for the next year is if I'm going to look and feel beautiful the day of! Any input is greatly appreciated, thank you!

My FI and I are days away from reservng our May 2014 DW at Dreams Puerto Adventuras. Part of the package is my hair and makeup the day of but I'm already stressing about it. I've had both done without trials when I've stood up for friend's weddings and I've never had an issue until this past October so now it's giving me major anxiety already. Has anyone used this resort's team for your special day? If so, any feedback and definitely any pictures you have would be greatly appreciated! The great part of a DW is the reduced stress level so any input to either put my mind at ease or even suggestions in case they don't do a good job would be wonderful. Thank you in advance!