Rotha Penn

Hey Kelly do you know of any other airlines that do have a closet? not sure if we should upgrade our seats to get more space for our carry on bags and the dress.. Thanks for the infor.

We didn't upgrade, but the closet on our Delta flights were too small for my dress (ball gown) and we just put it overhead and everyone was very nice and didn't shove their things in there. Just ask the flight attendant when you get on - they were very helpful. I'm sure it helped that I boarded early because I'm a medallion member.

How are you finding the internet? It looks like you're having no problems connecting.  Just wondering because I'm considering using a wedding app that my guests would download to upload pics to their facebook pages.  Their facebook pics go onto a wedding page on the app for all guests to share.  If there isn't a good internet connection that they could access from their phones, I think that the app would be useless.

Wifi is spotty with the exception of the lobby. I also used the computers in the Royal Service lounge from time to time.

Hi Ladies, You had access to Aqua and Mizu at the reserve through royal service? When i visited in January I had access to Palazzo which is in the main building and Gabi Beach also in the main building. I am totally confused....i think it comes with the territory...ha ha....always confused!!! Anyway, I love the reserve but again i have no idea what my Fiance is going to decide...I am wondering if i can book a room at the reserve for the day instead of the bridal suite since that is not going to work for me....I hear it is too small...

Yep, I even had one of my group dinners at Aqua. I booked this through the Romance team. All of our dinners were booked by our butler. He just asked us what we wanted to eat that night and he took care of the reservation. We also ate at Palazzo a lot - one of our favorites. We tried every restaurant except Vento because my husband doesn't like Mediterranean food but my in-laws ate there and they enjoyed the food. We didn't get to try Mole because they were never open the entire time we were there. Apparently they close some of the restaurants some days, I never cared enough to figure out since the butler took care of the reservations. You can't go wrong wherever you stay because the resort is absolutely beautiful.

It isn't even raining or anything. No indication of a storm- but American Airlines won't fly their planes. Some of our guests are on Delta and their flights are a green light as of now. Strange. I mean- I am suppossed to work on Thursday and Friday and now I won't make it. And our dog is at a pet hotel and we will have to board her two more days : ( I kinda wanted to go home. Well..... I guess tomorrow I can write my detailed review lol if it rains like its projected and I am just stuck in the hotel I will have nothing else to do. Oy vey!!!! Cest la vie. Weather is not in my control.

Sorry you are stuck, but I am jealous you are still there It was so hard to leave because we were just getting in the groove. This is my first full week back at work and I'm already trying to figure out when our next vacation is. Out of curiosity, what were the 3 restaurants that you mention. As part of Royal Service, we were also given access to Aqua, Mizu (I think that's the name) and Gabi Beach. Were there others?

Originally Posted by angelnjewels 

 

Ladies,

 

I just wanted to thank you all for your posts and reviews. Yes they do create anxiety!!! What can i say...to hear that its not up to what we expect is freaking bananas...mostly to the gals whose weddings are coming up.

 

Overall we are in this...money is paid, reservations made, invitations done and that is that.

 

(Guess i am feeling less anxious, thanks to all of you).

 

Now back to more questions. 

 

Do the girls who have already gotten married recommend staying at the reserve or royal service?

 

I like the reserve but do not like that it is adults only... My fiance wants to stay in royal service closer to all of our friends and family but i dont know if that is the best idea....do you have an option to do both if you want?

 

Anxiety is part of any event planning process, especially for your own wedding!  Do I regret having my wedding at PPR - no. Would I have done things differently if people would have shared honest feedback about the communications problem and some of the other issues people are talking about in advance of my wedding - yes.  No matter what, you will have a beautiful wedding. At the end of the day, you get to marry your best friend and you will only have beautiful pictures to look at. The minor details will fall to the wayside and you will look upon your wedding with pure joy.  Trust me, I am a type "A", thus a major control freak and my wedding wasn't even close to what I envisioned - it could have been a comedy because it was that bad. Our groomsman ordered the wrong colored pants and didn't realize it until the day of the wedding...seriously?  I digress, point is that I laugh and smile now when I think about my wedding, hiccups and all.  Just remember to enjoy the day and have fun no matter what.

 

As for the Reserve vs Royal Service (RS). We loved the Royal Service. Yes, the rooms in the reserve are newer and thus more modern but since the RS is on the main resort, you are closer to everything. The RS has 2 pool areas that are only for RS guests and the beach is literally a few steps away.  This is nice because you have more access to beach and pool cabanas.  Also, you get drink service with RS for the pool and beach areas.  You have to wait for go carts at the Reserve to take you to the main resort to the beach. Most of the guests that we met that stayed at the Reserve told us they spent most of their time at the main resort.  Since you get a butler as part of the RS package, I feel they tend to pamper those on their wedding/honeymoon, so that was an added bonus.  Hope this helps!

Seriously, have fun everyone no matter what. Hopefully, we are only doing this once so savor it to the last second.

 

 

 

 

Wow Thanks Rotha! We are having our reception at Apollo and are thinking of adding the fire dancers if it fits into our budget. Right now we are trying to figure it all out. I decided to not go with the passport invites and do some linen starfish ones....which are 1.90 from zazzle.com We are trying to spend less and add more later on. The chill out chic seems to be the best right now....not sure!!! Thanks for you input. Please let us know of anymore tips. EV you are next CONGRATS Lady!!! 

Definitely cut corners where you can because it does add up pretty fast. We thought we would be saving money by doing a destination vs in town because we had a tiny group vs the 120+ we would have had in town, not so much. We actually spent more than our original budget because we wanted everyone to enjoy it since we knew it was about $1400/person (flying out of CVG is very expensive). For example, tango dancers were nice but definitely not needed. Like I said before, since we had a small group, we cut the DJ out and just used iPod with the basic sound package. We're a bunch of dancing fools so we didn't need a DJ to get us on the dance floor. The basic bouquet is pretty so no need to upgrade unless you want a bigger one for your pics. I regret upgrading since I'm pretty sure I held it for a total of 15 min max. Also, no need to do centerpieces for the cocktail reception tables. I don't even remember what they look like since everyone was excited about the food and drinks. Don't be afraid to ask for substitutions. We did for cocktail and dinner menu and no charge so long as they approve. We didn't do didn't dinner menu cards since it was buffet. We didn't upgrade cake and it was delicious, just bring your own cake topper. My biggest advice is to enjoy your day no matter what. At the end of the day, if it's a vendor that you didn't choose, there is a good chance they will disappoint you. I gave them plenty of feedback in hopes that it will help future brides so fingers crossed. And yes, best of luck EV! You've worked so hard for this, so enjoy your time off. Can't wait to see your pics because I know you are going to be a beautiful bride.

Opps, Sorry Rotha I see that you did write that some of your pic were jot at altos de chavon. How did you fit it all into your wedding day?

It was definitely a jam packed day but well worth it because I love photography. I had hair and makeup at 9 and finished around 11:45 or so. Went to my sister's room to get dressed and David got dressed in our room. We had 2 photographers that's why there are shots of both of us getting ready. We then met in the lobby for our first look pictures which took us to about 12:15. A few pictures and we were on our way. You are correct it is about 90 minutes away. We had an awesome driver (booked Cesar in advance with Yessica) and got us there by 1:30. My photographer took care of the paperwork in advance so it saved us time - there are fees to be paid and information for security purposes. We had 2 solid hours of shooting before we all wanted to pass out from the heat and hunger since none of us got a chance to eat beforehand (recovering from the day before on the boat ). Somehow Cesar got us back to the resort at 4:30 where we met with our respective bridal party. Technically they all should have been ready to go if not almost finished and we could have taken group pics in advance but not the case with this gang. Instead photographers snapped shots of everyone getting ready until our ceremony which started at 6:00. After the ceremony, everyone went to the beach for group photos. We then sent everyone that wasn't in the bridal party to the cocktail reception and continued to take more photos until about 7:30 where we joined everyone at Olympus Terrace (cocktail hour). Everyone was then escorted to Apollo Terrace for the reception at 8:00. David and I were held back so they could introduce us. For the reception, we immediately went into our first dance and then dinner (buffet style). We had tango dancers during the meal. Afterwards, parents dance, speeches, cake cutting, dancing/shots (the bar staff kept finding ways to get us taking shots - really professional and fun crew). We saved the fire show for the end since we had to relocate everyone back to Olympus Terrace. After the awesome show, we were fired up and since we were close to the beach, we decided to run into the ocean. If that wasn't enough we jumped into the pool on our way back Hotel security didn't care for it but after the debacle with the wedding, I didn't really care. We all went to change out of our wet clothes and met at the Red Lounge to party and dance the night away until they closed. It was so much fun! Sorry for the novel, but wanted to show that it is possible for the trek to Altos de Chavon should you desire.

Rotha, I have to say that your pictures are lovely. I just watched your slide show and it was amazing. It really had me tearing up... This is what it's all about. Wow!!! Amazing! How long was the fire show? Was it done on the beach or at the Apollo terrace? Congrats again! I was blown away!!!

Thank you! Not sure on how long because it felt longer than 7 minutes. It was seriously awesome and I'm not easily impressed. We had it on the Olympus Terrace where we originally were going to have our reception but they moved the reception to Apollo Terrace because they were afraid it was going to rain, but it didn't. Olympus Terrace does not have a roof whereas Apollo does.

Originally Posted by angelnjewels 

 

Thanks for the Info Rotha!! I appreciate your honesty...I know we all do...

 

How did you get the ocean front room in royal service? Thats what my fiance and i want but are not sure if the Romance office will upgrade us to that.

 

Just wondering...

 

We paid for the upgrade. We started off with the Royal Service Garden Suite (which was the same price our TA quoted for the Luxury Suite) and then upgraded for the honeymoon phase to the Royal Service Oceanfront because we wanted the honeymoon time to feel more special.

Hi Ladies!

 

Below is the link to a preview of our wedding photos. As stressed and upset as I was about the wedding, this slideshow put everything back into perspective. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did and it gets you excited for your upcoming wedding. http://nordicaphotography.com/slideshow/rothaanddavid/

 

These should give you an idea of what a garden wedding looks like. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is from Altos de Chavon:

 

 

 

Beach shots:

 

 

 

 

And the fire show - yes, they ask you go stand in between them at the end (scary but awesome).

 

 

It was so hard to leave! Although we had a rocky start, they definitely made it up to us. They surprised us with a truly romantic evening. Dinner at Passions (by far our best meal at the resort - if you're the foodie type) with wine selection by sommelier with each course and there were a ton. When we got back to our room, everything was covered in rose petals and they had a bottle of champagne chilling with chocolate covered strawberries and a rose filled bubble bath. We knew they were going to do something special for us, but it definitely exceeded our expectations. This shows me the resort does care, you just need to make sure you over communicate everything for them to get it. Not sure if I mentioned it but Royal Service is worth it, especially if you are staying during your honeymoon. We barely used the exclusive areas when our guests were there and noticed a big difference after they left and started using the Royal Service areas. No pics from my photographer yet Apparently 2-3 weeks for sneak pics and 6 for the finished product. That's what I get for using a perfectionist

Sorry, I didn't mean to be Debbie Downer. You are all going to be lovely brides with beautiful weddings. I just wanted to set everyone's expectations so you can communicate that with the Romance team. I had a good debrief with them yesterday and I understand what the mishaps were a result of. Just over communicate and don't sweat the small things and you will have an amazing day. I'm a PR manager and events are part of my job so my expectation levels are off the chart. Now that everyone is gone, we are having a blast on our honeymoon. We upgraded to an oceanfront room in Royal Service and it is spectacular. The private pool and beach areas have become our sanctuary. Francisco at the beach will get you the beds and Gloria the bartender was awesome. If anyone is planning to use a car service for trips outside the resort, book through Romance. Yessica got us a great deal $150 for 4 hours and he took us wherever we wanted. His name was Cesar and he was amazing. He carried my shoes and bottles of water throughout Altos de Chavon in the sweltering heat. Best of luck and let me know if I can answer any other questions.

Ev & Angel - Hang in there ladies! I almost broke down as well because of family and friends. Honestly, if I had to do it all over again, we would have gone to Bora Bora and gotten married with just the two of us (the way I wanted) but fiancé wanted family part of it - he is regretting this decision since we learned how selfish everyone really is. Here is my review of the resort: While everyone said the wedding was lovely, it did not meet my expectations since there were lots of miscommunication. It just seemed that everything we did via the resort has been difficult and very slow. The only thing I have thoroughly enjoyed was the catamaran I booked myself. I think this could have been corrected if my MOH (sister) stepped up or our family was less needy so I had time to stay on top of the wedding coordinators. I highly recommend a full wedding rehearsal with them and literally run through everything like a dress rehearsal. I spent too much time chasing people down and babysitting that I didn't even get to focus on the event. I don't know if people checked out their brain because they were on vacation or what because I kept getting frustrated that no one knew what was going on or where to be although I had a detailed itinerary as part of their welcome kit....argh At the end of the day, I enjoyed my wedding because I ignored everything and everyone and just tried to focus on the fact I was marrying my best friend. As a result, we had so much fun. We even ran into the ocean with our clothes on and jumped into the pool afterwards - can't wait to see the pictures. I do get heated up when I think about all the details that got screwed up because of the resort and my family but I'm trying to ignore it and enjoy our honeymoon. Heads up if anyone is a foodie like me...the food is a bit on the salty side and a bit average. Please note that I'm a pretty picky eater because I've been fortunate to eat at some amazing places. Makeup - slow but great job. I brought my own makeup but you don't have too. I had a trial run at home so I had specific colors I wanted to use. Primer is a must in this weather. Hair - disasterous, it didn't even make it from the salon at the Reserve to my room at Palma Real. Tip: only tell them up or down because the more intricate, the less likely they will do it right. Let them do what they know how and bring extra hold hairspray for anti-humidity because the stuff they were using was definitely not strong enough. Please block about 3 hours for hair and makeup. If your dress needs to be steamed - make sure to do this ASAP. They almost didn't get this done in time although I was told I only needed to do the day before. Don't stress on shoes like I did. I think I wore my heels for an hour at most. I only wore them during the ceremony and our first dance. I was barefoot for pictures on the beach and wore flats for portraits at Altos de Chavon since we were running around. Cake - we didn't upgrade and it was amazing. We just bought a cake topper and it was perfect. This was our 2nd cake since we had a big one at out AHR. DJ - if you want to save money, get the basic sound system and use your iPod and have your best man or MOH be MC. They will have techs at the table to help turn the music on and off, you just have to prompt them. We did this and we had a blast just as much as our AHR where we had a DJ. After the reception, we went to Red Lounge and danced our butts off until 3 AM (?) Candles - save your money. They don't know how to use them correctly even though it is all over the resort (so frustrating). Splurge - if you can, you should definitely go with the fire show. It was insane and will really wow everyone. Group dinners - book through onsite wedding coordinator. Send request before you get here and follow up when you arrive. We were able to get 18 people at Bana for Welcome Dinner then 15 at Aqua post wedding. Not all the restaurants are open, which is annoying so they can't tell you more than a week's notice. No pics to post yet but here is a sneak pic of the Altos de Chavon shoot:

Holler if you guys have other questions. Wifi is horrible here so my responses may be delayed. Best of luck everyone!!

So we just had the most amazing experience with Catamaran Teresa. If you can swing it, I highly encourage this excursion with your wedding party. Fernando and his crew were absolutely amazing and definitely made this one of the memorable trips all our friends and family ever had. PM me if you want Fernando's contact information. I promise, it was totally worth it seeing all the smiles and joy in everyone's eyes. The big day is tomorrow so time for my beauty sleep . I promise to post pictures as soon as I get them from my photographer. Trust me when I say that we all made the right decision to get married here, it is truly paradise.

Thanks Ev! Gorgeous profile pic! Make sure to take care of yourself during the madness. My fiancé is fighting some bug because of our chaotic schedule the past month and I'm feeling a bit run down too. Luckily we have a few days to get better before the big day.

Hi ladies- So I was transferred to my on-site wedding coordinator last week but it has not been what I expected. I was first put in contact with Massiel with seems to be the supervisor and she informed me that my planner would be Yesica (haven't heard anyone mention her)... But then when I get emails it comes from Maria. Also, they've been EXTREMELY delayed in getting back with responses. Everyone's positive expericences have me a little at ease but it's still very frustrating. Ps... We leave in 8 days and I've officially started to obsess about the weather... Of course I want great weather for the wedding but I also want great weather so that my guests can really enjoy themselves :-) Thanks for letting me vent ;-) Darlene

I know what you mean Darlene! I have sent Yessica a couple of emails to confirm dinner reservations, info on steaming my dress and a contact for a car service to take us to Altos de Chavon for our portraits and not a single response yet except that my meeting is with them on Friday morning at the resort. Thank goodness for all of the positive feedback, otherwise, there might be some ugly emails and possible yelling...LOL

I can't believe we are leaving Thursday for PPR! Our guests arrive Friday and our wedding is on Sunday...so surreal. We are treating our guests to a private catamaran on Saturday, so hopefully the weather will cooperate with all of our plans 😠If you are planning to take favors down there, make sure to give yourself plenty of time to pack...this 50 lb. limit per bag is really cramping my packing plan. I'll keep you guys posted. Thank you to all that have shared tips along the way, it really has helped me out!

To all the brides that just got back... I'm having my wedding in the garden and they keep telling me that it's going to be too windy for candles. Did you feel that was the case with your wedding? We were planning to light some candles as part of our ceremony and I'm starting to freak out and wondering if I need an alternative plan. Our ceremony is going to be 6pm. Thanks!

Thanks for sharing the feedback ladies! 2 weeks to go and I still have things finalize so knowing I'm in good hands at the resort will help me sleep at night

I know I love the photographers photos who shot her wedding and adore the style! How much is the packages of the photographers who shot her and robs? Are they also located in the dr?

Send me your email and I will forward you their packages. They are in Canada so you have to pay travel costs. However the lodging is cheaper than the $1000 outside vendor fee but the airfare will get you since it is expensive from Canada to the DR. This was by far the biggest portion of my budget but worth it since.

Has anyone used Katya Nova for their photographer?? If so please give me a review:) Has anyone used Rick Yorks assistant, Pastor MARK ?? If so please give me  a review;)

Katya is great, we almost went with her but ended up using the photographer that shot her wedding. It was just a matter of style vs quality. If our photographer wasn't available, we would have definitely gone with her. Check out her blog for her style.

Ladies, I just got back from the resort and it is absolutely gorgeous. The food and the service were great and all of our guests said they want to go back again. If you have any questions that I can answer, please let me know!

Hi Missy! Happy to hear everything turned out so wonderful for you! With less than a month underway, I'm starting to freak out a bit. How was the hair and makeup? Did you feel they did a great job? Also, you mentioned that you ventured off the resort a few times...did you have to book a taxi/car service in advance or did you guys rent a car? We are thinking about doing some photos outside the resort and just trying to figure this out. Would love to see pics from the resort if you have any to share. Thanks!

So how is everyone feeling about their hair and makeup? Are you guys confident the stylists at the spa will do a good job? I'm particularly worried about the makeup because it will be hot and we will likely be shooting all day and then our ceremony doesn't start till 5PM. 

Originally Posted by engaged1230 

 

 

Hi could you could you please send me any pictures that you have of the garden gazebo and olympus terrace? Those are my two locations! my email is [email protected] thank you !!

 

I just emailed them to you. Good luck!