Dreams Punta Cana Brides

[Raq87]

Wedding Review!
Hi Brides,

We just got back from our Dreams Wedding on Sunday and I can honestly say it was truly a dream!
We went with 35 guests+ 1 baby (5 months).  Here is my review..

Arrival- We arrived on a Saturday. On arrival, we were greeted with tropical drinks. Once we told them we were upgraded to preferred club they took our luggage and ushered us away to the club. Once we were in the club, check-in was smooth sailing for us. I wish I could say the same for all my guests. Some of my guests didn’t get checked in and into their rooms for 2 hours. They weren’t able to find some of them in the system even though they had been booked for 8+ months. Others room keys didn’t work so they had to keep coming back to the front desk several times. Being a massive resort with no elevators in the buildings you can see how they were annoyed after travelling for 15+ hours.. However most of our guests were upgraded to the honeymoon suite which was nice. Also, anyone in a 3 person room only initially had one bed in their room.  After calling the desk several times and waiting forever they eventually got their rooms fixed. Unfortunately some of my guests told me that with that horrible check-in experience, if it wasn’t for my wedding they would have left and gone to a different resort.

 

The resort- The resort itself was gorgeous. The staff were super friendly and helpful. One thing to be aware of is that in the DR, electricity is considered a luxury and the resort runs off its own private generator. Because of that, the power goes out once or twice a day, but not for more than a minute at a time. Also, the morning after arrival there was no hot water for showers. Not sure what that was about but needless to say my guests weren’t too impressed with that. Overall the service was excellent, and everyone was just happy to be together in tropical paradise.  The beach is beautiful, but make sure you stay to the left of the beach in the sectioned off area or you will probably get hurt! 2 of my guests scrapped themselves pretty badly going in the water right in front of the resort.

Anyone wondering about the $200 resort credit, I completely forgot about this until the end of the week and when I inquired  I was told that you had to go to the concierge desk and ask for it. We used it to get $80 off at the spa for a couple massage. The spa was very nice! We went to the wellness center and did the water circuit aswell. I also got my hair done there for my wedding which I was nervous about but they did a great job. My hair stayed in place all day!

 

The entertainment- The shows every night were great! And they have activities all day that you can participate in if you want to. You get entertainment $$ for participating, which you can use in their auctions twice a week.

 

The food- The food was all really good! Our favourite was the Himitsu. They have a Japanese side and a Chinese side.  The drinks were all delicious aswell.. but if you order a frozen drink make sure to tell them you want booze in it because they won’t put it in unless you ask!

Excursions- We did the Saona Island tour with our group which was amazing!! Everyone had a blast. I highly recommend it!! We also did the Dune Buggies which was tons of fun.  

 

The Wedding- Our wedding was on the Wednesday, but we didn’t meet Yessica until Tuesday afternoon. She wanted to meet on Monday but by the time I checked my email, we had already booked an excursion. When we met her we went over all the details of our wedding. We went with the wedding in paradise package and just added on the extras. We got the gazebo décor which is 5 large floral arrangements, which we also used as table centerpieces. We went with the basic DJ, which honestly I would recommend saving the $500 and going with your own ipod playlist, or getting the $850 DJ package. I heard such great things about DJ mania, but I guess that’s only if you go with the more expensive package. We opted out of the cocktail hour and went with the platinum dinner package and ordered the lobster and steak. The food was good but I expected better.. the steaks were overcooked and the side dishes were not the same ones advertised. We got cake for 20 people, and it was more than enough for our group. We ended up needing an extra hour at our reception because our pictures ran an hour late.  Afterwards our photographer told us that Yessica told him to take as long as he needed, which only left us 2 hours for our reception. I was a bit annoyed because this cost us an additional $500, but hopefully our pictures will be worth it. The total cost of our wedding package was $4000. We tipped Yessica $60, and our photographer $100.

 

Overall for the value of the resort.. I would say well worth it! However, Apple Vacations advertised this as a 6 star resort and I would say more of a 4.5 star. We will definitely be going back in a couple years! Sorry if this was too long but didn’t want to miss anything! Happy planning to all you brides and one piece of advice is not to worry about anything because it will all turn out! I’m a chronic worrier and I can definitely say I didn’t need to worry about anything

 

 

 

 

 

 

[favorsmr]

Thanks for your review.  Your pictures are very nice, and you look beautiful!

 

Originally Posted by Raq87 

Wedding Review!
Hi Brides,

We just got back from our Dreams Wedding on Sunday and I can honestly say it was truly a dream!
We went with 35 guests+ 1 baby (5 months).  Here is my review..

Arrival- We arrived on a Saturday. On arrival, we were greeted with tropical drinks. Once we told them we were upgraded to preferred club they took our luggage and ushered us away to the club. Once we were in the club, check-in was smooth sailing for us. I wish I could say the same for all my guests. Some of my guests didn’t get checked in and into their rooms for 2 hours. They weren’t able to find some of them in the system even though they had been booked for 8+ months. Others room keys didn’t work so they had to keep coming back to the front desk several times. Being a massive resort with no elevators in the buildings you can see how they were annoyed after travelling for 15+ hours.. However most of our guests were upgraded to the honeymoon suite which was nice. Also, anyone in a 3 person room only initially had one bed in their room.  After calling the desk several times and waiting forever they eventually got their rooms fixed. Unfortunately some of my guests told me that with that horrible check-in experience, if it wasn’t for my wedding they would have left and gone to a different resort.

 

The resort- The resort itself was gorgeous. The staff were super friendly and helpful. One thing to be aware of is that in the DR, electricity is considered a luxury and the resort runs off its own private generator. Because of that, the power goes out once or twice a day, but not for more than a minute at a time. Also, the morning after arrival there was no hot water for showers. Not sure what that was about but needless to say my guests weren’t too impressed with that. Overall the service was excellent, and everyone was just happy to be together in tropical paradise.  The beach is beautiful, but make sure you stay to the left of the beach in the sectioned off area or you will probably get hurt! 2 of my guests scrapped themselves pretty badly going in the water right in front of the resort.

Anyone wondering about the $200 resort credit, I completely forgot about this until the end of the week and when I inquired  I was told that you had to go to the concierge desk and ask for it. We used it to get $80 off at the spa for a couple massage. The spa was very nice! We went to the wellness center and did the water circuit aswell. I also got my hair done there for my wedding which I was nervous about but they did a great job. My hair stayed in place all day!

 

The entertainment- The shows every night were great! And they have activities all day that you can participate in if you want to. You get entertainment $$ for participating, which you can use in their auctions twice a week.

 

The food- The food was all really good! Our favourite was the Himitsu. They have a Japanese side and a Chinese side.  The drinks were all delicious aswell.. but if you order a frozen drink make sure to tell them you want booze in it because they won’t put it in unless you ask!

Excursions- We did the Saona Island tour with our group which was amazing!! Everyone had a blast. I highly recommend it!! We also did the Dune Buggies which was tons of fun.  

 

The Wedding- Our wedding was on the Wednesday, but we didn’t meet Yessica until Tuesday afternoon. She wanted to meet on Monday but by the time I checked my email, we had already booked an excursion. When we met her we went over all the details of our wedding. We went with the wedding in paradise package and just added on the extras. We got the gazebo décor which is 5 large floral arrangements, which we also used as table centerpieces. We went with the basic DJ, which honestly I would recommend saving the $500 and going with your own ipod playlist, or getting the $850 DJ package. I heard such great things about DJ mania, but I guess that’s only if you go with the more expensive package. We opted out of the cocktail hour and went with the platinum dinner package and ordered the lobster and steak. The food was good but I expected better.. the steaks were overcooked and the side dishes were not the same ones advertised. We got cake for 20 people, and it was more than enough for our group. We ended up needing an extra hour at our reception because our pictures ran an hour late.  Afterwards our photographer told us that Yessica told him to take as long as he needed, which only left us 2 hours for our reception. I was a bit annoyed because this cost us an additional $500, but hopefully our pictures will be worth it. The total cost of our wedding package was $4000. We tipped Yessica $60, and our photographer $100.

 

Overall for the value of the resort.. I would say well worth it! However, Apple Vacations advertised this as a 6 star resort and I would say more of a 4.5 star. We will definitely be going back in a couple years! Sorry if this was too long but didn’t want to miss anything! Happy planning to all you brides and one piece of advice is not to worry about anything because it will all turn out! I’m a chronic worrier and I can definitely say I didn’t need to worry about anything

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Janine2918]

Thanks for the review. I loved your dress. Where did you have your reception?

[angieinthesun11]

We just got back from our amazing trip to Dreams Punta Cana and the most perfect wedding!

 

I have to say, maybe I just don't sweat the small stuff, but I can honestly say that we had the most amazing trip and the most incredible wedding! I really don't have any thing negative to say. It was a dream come true!

 

The Resort - was beautiful. We really lucked out and had the best weather all week long. It only rained one day and that was on our last day, so we were lucky. The resort was big enough where if you wanted some alone time you could find a nice quiet spot but it was also easy to find your friends and family. We had 34 guests total and we were always able to get a chair on the beach and hang out together. It was nice that they had servers on the beach so you didn't always have to get up and go to the bar. The water was also beautiful. They have a great spot sectioned off to swim. There were no rocks there and was very sandy. 

 

The staff there were AMAZING! Our housekeeper was fabulous. All of the wait staff were a lot of fun and always ver accommodating. I don't think that I have ever been to a resort with more friendly staff. Out whole group kept commenting on the amazing service. 

 

The Food - was really good. The World Cafe was great for your buffet lunches and breakfast. Their pizza is reallllly good! We would grab a bite after the disco and ordered it in the room while my bridesmaids and I got ready for the wedding. The a la carte restaurants were really good. My favourite was the Portofino. Really yummy Italian. In any case, you will not be disappointed with the food. 

 

The Rooms- We had upgraded to the Honeymoon Suite which was perfect for me and my girls to get ready in. We had the jacuzzi tub on the balcony which the one time we tried to fill it, the water pressure was low and it took too long. We didn't really care as we wanted to spend our time on the beach and outdoors anyways. Because we had upgraded to the honeymoon suite we were able to receive a massage for two and two facials or body scrubs. Which was really wonderful. Our guests had no trouble with their room either. Our family had requested adjoining rooms and at first did not receive them but were quickly arranged to have the adjoining rooms. Nothing can be perfect but with a little patience, things will be arranged. 

 

The Spa- totally worth it. I had three massages while I was there. Totally worth it. They know what they are doing. The actual spa is very beautiful. Check it out early in the week and book (mind you I was able to book last minute with no problems). They have specials throughout the week. A lot of our friends took advantage of the 2 for 1 massages offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays which ended up being a 50 minute massage for $60 - pretty great deal. I had my hair done for the wedding and brought in a photo of what I wanted and she nailed it! My hair looked exactly how I wanted and it stayed in place all day!

 

Photography - we had 50 photos included in our package with the resort photographer. The pics were actually very nice. Don't forget that you have to go to the photo desk and pick out your photos for printing if you have this in your package (we had the ultimate wedding package). That was the only thing our coordinator forgot to mention. I was literally about to leave and my step-mother said that they were looking for me to choose the photos. Luckily I was able to choose in time. Keep in mind that they need to develop them and it takes a day. Just a word to the wise. 

 

We ended up going with Caribbean Emotions with Michael Weiller and his brother Pascal. If you have not booked your photographer yes, BOOK WITH THEM! They were absolutely AMAZING! We went with the photographer and videographer package that was $1100 (totally worth it). Our pics were amazing and they were so perfect to work with! The hour and a half video was also perfect!!! We added the reception for $200 and the trash the dress session for $300. Totally worth it. We got some amazing photos from the reception and they captured all of our dances and speeches in the video that was so great to have. The best part - we got to come home with all of our photos! These guys work so hard. All our photos were edited and burned on to disk. We have all the rights to them too. We took home over 1500 photos. And they are all beautiful!! I am telling you - you will not be disappointed with their work!!

 

Trash the Dress - DO IT! I had the most amazing time at my wedding and reception. My dress was dirty at the bottom from walking around all night in it. I didn't care cause I knew we would be trashing it the next day. So glad I did. I would rather keep the photo memories than my dress. I am still going to get my dress dry-cleaned but in any case, I was fine with it. The pics are amazing and the video is cool too! Here is the link to our TTD video - 

 

The Wedding - was a dream. Gara was our wedding coordinator and she was amazing! We met on the day after we arrived. I had brought all of my own centrepieces, table place cards, chair sashes, table runners, candles and loot bags. I had listed how I wanted everything set up and she did it exactly ho I wanted - perfectly! It was so beautiful. We had the Portofino terrace and it looked like a dream. Our ceremony was on the beach and was so beautiful. I honestly would not have changed a thing. The cake was lovely too. I brought some of our own decorations for the cake and attached it to a picture of how I wanted it to look and it was great! We didn't add extra to the cake as there was more than enough! And it was delicious!! We had the ultimate wedding package which included Gold Menu for 20 people so we added the extra and were able to add two kids meals. We had the beef medallions and shrimp, lobster bisque and salad. It was really good! They were also able to accommodate allergies with no problem. 

 

We brought all of our own music on an iPod and it worked out perfectly. It really made it more personal to what we wanted. We were able to have the Portofino until 10 and then we all headed to the disco where we danced all night. It was such a great party!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is all I can think of for now... if any of you have any questions, please feel free to email me at angelinaswann@gmail.com

 

[angieinthesun11]

 

 

 

Here is the pic from our Trash the Dress session.

 

[dreamsbride2012]

Angieinthesun, I am so glad to hear that your wedding was a dream come true:)

 

We also chose the ultimate package that include the 50 free photos, but we also booked carribean emotions.  The resort photographer still took the 50 photos included in the package even though you had an outside photographer? How did it work out having the two photographers?

 

Thank you again for your great review!!!

[angieinthesun11]

We had no trouble with having two photographers onsite however sometimes it may have looked a bit busy as they were all trying to get the same shot. I thought that I would see a camera man in most of my pictures but that was not the case. Most of the shots were duplicate between the resort photographers and Caribbean Emotions. I felt that the 50 photos from the resort were just a bonus as they print them. You will not be disappointed with Caribbean Emotions. I highly recommend the Trash the Dress session - it was so worth it!! Hope it is a dream for you!

[dreamsbride2012]

Thanks angieinthesun11!  Your pics are amazing:)

 

I just received an email from my wedding coordinator stating that I would have to pay for a day pass for anyone(vendors) outside the resort.  Did you have to pay for the day pass for your photographer and videographer? 

 

[angieinthesun11]

Yes, we paid for both the photographer and videographer. It was $79 each.

[Raq87]

 

 

Originally Posted by Janine2918 

 

Thanks for the review. I loved your dress. Where did you have your reception?

 

Hi Janine, We were supposed to have our reception on the Himitsu Terrace but it rained so we had it indoors. Not sure what the room was called but it was a private room for just us and our guests so it was nice!