Dreams La Romana

[jessicalynneh]

We are going to visit DLR in 3 weeks (July 14th!) for a long 3 day weekend to do our site see!! So excited!  Anyone going to be there while we're visiting?? Once we do (I'm SURE we'll love it!!) we'll be putting a deposit on our date, so I'll be joining the 2012 brides - November 10th, 2012!!

 

My travel agent is AMAZING by the way - she specializes in Destination Weddings - shes been doing it for ab 8 years - and is even a Dreams bride! (Tulum)  We didnt know until after we started talking! She doesnt charge a fee for anything, shes paid by the resorts, and she seriously is like a travel agent/wedding planner in one.  If anyone needs help with anything let me know and I'll be glad to give you her information!

[Miss Q]

I have not been very good at posting on this site. But I have been combing these pages for MONTHS and learned so many wonderful things from all of you. I don't know how I would be pulling this off without this wonderful site and all the ins and outs I have learned.

I can't believe I leave in less than two weeks.

So, yes I will be there while you are visiting the weekend of July 14th. Our wedding is on July 16th! So feel free to email me and maybe stop by and sneak a peak at the wedding, we are having it on the beach. s_quinley@yahoo.com

I can't wait to post some pictures when we return!

[Mrs. Williams]

SHORT REVIEW:

PLANE: B+

We flew American Airlines (American Eagle) to the Dominican Republic from Miami, FL.  The plane was REALLY little.  It fit 50 people on the plane.  My husband was too large to be comfortable - 6'3 280 (think defensive tackle).  Other than that, the ride there was great, no problem and we didn't have any issues with customs either way.  We did not know that there was a $10 fee to enter into the country once we landed.  We figured that all of that was covered in the cost of the flight.  My daughter met a friend who happened to be staying at the same hotel. 

 

TRANSFER: A

We flew into La Romana and the transfer was nice and quick.  It took us less than the 20 minutes they said it would take.  There wasn't much in the way of scenery but it was still a nice ride.  The driver drove fast but we didn't have the issue with the driver being reckless and barely missing passing motorists as some of our guests did.  We used VIP Tours as our travel agency for the transfers.

 

CHECK IN:  A+

We were in the preferred club area and we had a separate check-in area than everyone else.  There was a helper at the front desk to take our bags to the preferred club check in area and he also took our bags to the room.  While we were checking in they provided us with champagne and snacks (LOVELY!) and gave us the information on the WI-FI connection and vouchers for massages. 

 

ROOM: B

The Room was wonderful!  It looks just like it looks on the website.  We were upgraded to the garden view suite from the preferred club partial ocean view room that we paid for.  This gave us the extra living room space that came in handy while the bridesmaids were there and we were getting dressed and waiting for the rain.   The reason that I gave the room a B is because there was a HUGE frog in the room and we had an insect problem because we didn't realize that the first night the sliding glass in the living room area was not closed all the way and we ended up with that issue because the staff left the glass open from when they were cleaning the room.  Otherwise, it was great.  They also gave my husband a room the night before the wedding and the groomsmen used that room to get dressed in.

 

WEDDING COORDINATOR: JENNY A+

She worked so hard to make sure that I had the wedding of my dreams!  She went above and beyond what was required of her. She stayed after hours to finish having a conversation with me while.  She also had to stay late for my wedding because it rained for 2 hours and we started 2 hours late.  She did not once complain, I just saw her having a conversation with her daughter (I'm assuming explaining why mommy was working so late).

 

RAIN SITE: A+

I actually enjoyed the rain site and thought it was more beautiful than having the wedding in the gazebo and the reception on the deck.  We ended up in the breezeway of the Seaside Grill for the ceremony because it was covered.  You could still see the water from that vantage point and it was beautiful.  Our guests said that the sun was setting as we said I DO and it looked amazing.  The inside of the Seaside Grill for the reception gave us the elegant feel that we were going for and kept the regal look and theme of the entire wedding.  I posed some pictures in another post I did regarding the planning stage. 

 

When I have more time, I'll post pictures!

 

If there are any questions before I am able to do a more complete review, just ask and I'll do my best to answer them.

 

 

[FutureMrsMAK]

Can I get your Wedding Planners Information?

[bella2140]

Thanks so much for the info!  He does take a while.  Actually he was in the UK and told me it may take a bit longer as well.  I think we are doing the private tour...i hope!  That wasn't very clear to me.  He said when he returns home from the UK we will set up a contract.  Did you leave a deposit?  If so, was it through paypal??

[KCB2011]

jessicalynne and miss Q - I am getting married on July 19th and we arrive on the 16th so I will be there at the same time as you ladies!!

 

bella - once you get all the details sorted out (# of people, time of pick up etc) he will send you a paypal invoice.  I'm not sure if you can do a deposit (I'm sure they would be okay with that), I just paid in full because it was close enough to when we are leaving anyway.

[MrsEtienne2b]

Hey ladies..

 

we are here at Dreams La Romana and I just wanted to give you a quick update so that you can all relax and start to worry less about what it is like here!! I promise I will post a FULL review including photos as soon as we return to England. I will also post my password for HDC so that you can all log on and look at the photos done by Arnaud.

 

Firstly, the hotel is 100% perfect. Please do not worry about the quality or scenery. it is absolutely amazing here.

 

the journey itself was quite long, especially from the UK. It is almost 9 hours, plus 2 hours prior to check in&departure, followed by a 2 hour transport from Punta Cana to La Romana. I was worried that my guests would be upset at the length of time, but everyone was amazed by the coach trip in. We got to see the local areas and had a guided tour by Helen, who is the rep for Dreams and Iberostar. Even a 6 month pregnant guest and 5 kids were 100% fine with the traveling.

 

once we arrived, we were overwhelmed by the hotel and how beautiful it is. The staff have to be the most friendly people I have ever encountered in my life!! They all go out of their way to make you comfortable. I have to quickly mention a few of the entertainment team< Gabbi, Benji, and 'shampoo'. These are just a few of the people who you warm to and the thought of leaving them behind makes us sad!!

 

We were put in room 3114 which was directly outside the world buffet and could be a bit noisy. The rooms are good there, but we chose to upgrade to one of the suites which Jenny arranged at a major discount!!! we are in 5003 and guys, it is AMAZING!! Well worth the upgrade, especially seen-s as it is actually a honeymoon for us right!!

 

the food is really nice. Im not that fussy when it comes to food and there is a lot of choice. Our favorite so far for lunch has to be the seaside grill. I will go into more detail about food in my full review.

 

Now the bit you are all dying to hear about. THE WEDDING!!

 

our wedding was scheduled for 4 pm on Friday, the 1st. everything was going perfectly to plan, people were in their places, the gazebo looked AMAZING with my Martha Stewart Pom Poms and the chairs with the sashes etc. then as i set off to walk down the aisle, the heavens opened and we were hit by a storm!!! Jenny whisked us under cover, but after 20 minutes, decided to put us all in separate rooms. The gazebo by now was soaked!! we had no choice but to either rearrange the whole thing for another day, or move it indoors. we wanted to move to Saturday as we were all deflated, but this is the bad part. we would have had to pay for all the food and the bar service, cocktail hour and dj again!!!!!!!!!

 

as you can appreciate, this was not an option. there was too much money involved with 23 guests and we chose to move it to ballroom. I am soooo glad we did. it was perfect. the room was amazing and Jenny really pulled out all the stops to ensure it looked amazing. I will give you all the details as well as pictures when we return, but wanted you all to know that if things do not go to plan, they have it all covered.

 

I cant really log on much to here, but if any of you want to mail me at torisnails@aol.com I can pick up my emails and reply to you.

 

take care everyone and I will speak to you shortly

 

Mrs Etienne

[Beachbride2012]

Has anyone heard of this 15-day questionnaire? Yanna, the Wedding Coordinator, has concluded that we cannot make any plans regarding flowers, cake, etc until 15 days before our wedding?! You've got to be kidding me.

 

Ladies- how are you/have you gone about planning out your big day with Yanna? I feel as if I'm continually facing roadblock after roadblock when trying to confirm prices or details. Below is a copy of some of our emails. Let me know what you think!

 

"Hi Yanna,

Sorry for the back to back emails! I'd like to start setting some parameters around pricing for different elements of the wedding. Attached to this email is an excel spreadsheet with items I need estimates for. Also attached are examples of the table arrangements for the reception and the cake I had in mind. Please note that I'm comfortable with using Styrofoam for two out of three layers to cut down on cost. I'd also like to confirm what the "beach gazebo" is. I've attached a photo just to make sure we're talking about the same place.

Can you please send me pictures of the dance floor and videos of the Caribbean music trio offered on the wedding planning guide?  What is available in terms of fireworks for a reception? Please include a range of prices and examples.

Thank you for all your help!!

Best,
Mauria"

 

And...her response:

 

"As your wedding is next year, we recommend that you complete the final details questioner 15 days before arrive to the hotel, so you have time to make the best decision with food, flowers, decoration and so on....!

 

YG"

 

HELP!!!!!!!

 

[bride5656]

Hello ladies ))

 

Hope you are all doing well :Dx

MrsEtienne, CONGRATULATIONS sweetie!!!! )) We happy that your day went perfect even though it rained...as they say, it is a very good luck if it is raining on your wedding )x

 

@Mauria, hon I know what you are going through, I have been in your boat a few months ago!!!...I am one of the ppl that have to know at least estimate of how much everything I need will cost so I can relax and don't obsess about little details too early....So I felt just like you, when I received similar reply from Yanna, that apparently they can't confirm any prices at all until you at least get to 2012 (when our weddings are). So to put my mind to rest lol, I have asked her to give me estimated prices for 2011 and told her in writing that I am aware that prices might change...I got impression that because DLR are using a lot of outside suppliers for our weddings they don't want to tell us prices, because suppliers themselves might change their prices without much notice...

But anyway, I have received estimated prices based on 2011 from her and now I will just add ~10% to this amount in case prices will go up next year )) (however after speaking to my TA about this, she told me that prices rarely go up and if they do it is only very little - there is never a big leap! )

Hope this will help you and you will be able to receive all the answers you want Mauria from Yanna! :)x

 

xoxo

 

 

[bride5656]

Oh girlies btw, just though will share this with you, just got phone call from my wedding shop and they have confirmed that my first dress fitting will be 15th December!!! Yay!!! )) By looking how quickly time passed from November till now...December isn't that far away lol

....but i am guessing there will be only salads and water for me all through out Xmas!!!! One thing you really don't want to do is to put on weight after your dress fitting

 

Hope you all having a nice Monday so far

 

xoxo