Alberta Brides

[Dianita11]

Hi Everyone!!

My name is Diana and i am from Edmonton. I want to have my wedding in Dominican Republic in May 2011. I know it is a little bit to far away but i want to be ahead of the game. Are there any Brides having their wedding in DR in May 2010? I would like to know which hotel you guys picked and how much did you guys pay for your plane tickets? I just want to have an idea of how much it is From Alberta because Travel agencies do not have prices for 2011 yet.

 

Any help of information will be appreciated... I am a university student and my fiancé and i will be graduating next year so we will have a tight budget

 

Sincerely,

 

Diana

[foxytv]

I think its great that you are starting the process early. We got engaged in June 2006 ... but then my fiance left for Iraq and was gone 14 months. So, we weren't married until April 2008 ... and truly, having that much time to plan and save money and research was a blessing. The time will FLY by! Feel free to read my review (the link is in my siggy). We LOVED Paradisus Punta Cana and I highly recommend it.

[Nonnie]

Hey Diana

 

My Fiance and I are in Alberta. We are marrying at the Grand Palladium Bavaro this upcoming December.

 

As a big cost/hassle cutter I would recommend getting the legal paperwork stuff done in Edmonton. I was initially opposed to the idea, but it is saving us over a thousand dollars! I can recommend a Marriage commissioner to you, he not only fills out the paperwork with you and your witnesses, but he also gives you some little tips on how to put on the rings, sign the book etc during the actual ceremony to make for better photos and stuff.

 

Good luck and Congrats!

[Dianita11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nonnie Hey Diana My Fiance and I are in Alberta. We are marrying at the Grand Palladium Bavaro this upcoming December. As a big cost/hassle cutter I would recommend getting the legal paperwork stuff done in Edmonton. I was initially opposed to the idea, but it is saving us over a thousand dollars! I can recommend a Marriage commissioner to you, he not only fills out the paperwork with you and your witnesses, but he also gives you some little tips on how to put on the rings, sign the book etc during the actual ceremony to make for better photos and stuff. Good luck and Congrats!

Thanks for the infomation.. would you please send me the contact information of the Marriage commisiones.. i would really appreciate it.. you can email me at dianitaye@hotmail.com

Also for curiousity, which were your other hotel options?

[Nonnie]

Diana

 

I emailed you that info

 

I don't really recall which other hotels I looked at. I used Trip Advisor to see what were the highest rated ones and looked for a hotel that offered a wedding package I liked that was affordable. The nice this about Trip advisor is that the pictures of the resort posted by people are not edited at all like the ones on hotel websites. the downside is that you will find negative reviews for every resort and that can be disheartening.

 

So far I have found the Wedding coordinator (Carolina) at the Grand Palladium to be really helpful, although occasionally slow to respond. Even though I have nto actually booked the resort she has set aside my wedding day.

[lesandlynda]

Hi Diana - congrats + welcome to the forum. You'll have lots of time to plan and get all your ideas lined up, with your lead time. All the best and good luck....

[~ Dani ~]

I don't know if you are still looking for info or not, but I am in Calgary and getting married in Punta Cana in May.

 

We are getting married in Calgary before to save money. We are having the ceremony at Majestic Colonial on may 12, 2010. There are about 10 of us going for 2 weeks and the 20 coming for 1 week. The prices from Alberta were 1500, plus taxes, and connector flights. So just under 2k (that price includes flight, connector, taxes, and the rooms at a 5 star all inclusive) It was only an extra 500 per person to go for another week so a few of us decided to go that way.

 

We used weddingsbyoceans as our travel agent. Although, their business is in Ontario, they are excellent! The are very good with their follow up and always return my calls or emails the very same day.

 

PM me if you want more details and stuff....

 

Good luck!

[VBVB]

Hey! Congrats on your upcoming wedding!

 

We got engaged at the end of September of this year, and have decided to do late Feb/early March 2011.

 

I know it seems like it's far off, but I think time will FLY as you begin planning! We're also from Edmonton, too! Too funny!

 

We initially planned on doing a legal, civil ceremony at the Majestic Colonial in Punta Cana, but upon realizing how EXPENSIVE it is (getting documents notarized, translated, etc etc) and that we wouldn't get our marriage certificate until 5+ months after we returned, we have opted to do a civil ceremony here in Edmonton about a month before we're to depart for the Dominican.

 

That way, we will have time to file with vital statistics and get our actual marriage certificate before we go (on the day you're married by a wedding commissioner in Alberta, they give you a little certificate called a "Statement of Marriage".. i'm not sure if this will suffice to prove to the resort that you're already married--worth checking into)

 

We are getting married here in absolute and complete SECRET, as well. Only our two witnesses (who will likely be our best man/maid of honor) will know. That's it. We plan on celebrating our wedding anniversary as the day our ceremony in the Dominican takes place, and that's the day we were married, as far as our family/friends will know

 

Also, if you do plan on doing all the legal stuff here: when you're looking for a wedding commissioner, SHOP AROUND! There are many who charge upwards of $200-$300, whereas we have found someone who only charges $150 (Dan Normandeau).

 

 

We just sent out our engagement announcements with our Christmas Cards, and they just say "____ & ____ are engaged to be married! We plan on saying "I do" on the beach in sunny Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, with receptions in our hometowns when we return. While we have to wait a bit to book our exact date with the resort, we will be sure to let everyone know what our plans are as we make them. Please also feel free to visit our wedding website at www._________.blogspot.com"

 

We included a few shots from our engagement photo shoot on the announcement and had them printed at Staples. FYI: Birdie's Custom Cards on ETSY is AMAZING! She designed super nice engagement announcements for us for only $15 USD! I imagine she would also make super nice digital-layout photo invitations if you wanted, too!

 

Feel free to email me at:

vbenson@hotmail.com

 

If you need any vendor suggestions, etc! I also know someone who does FANTASTIC photos if you wanted an engagement shoot done here!!!!!

[kokonutte]

Hi! I'm Jasmin getting married at Paradisus Punta Cana on Feb 25, 2011!! I have just started the planning process and I am so excited!! I live in Calgary. I am also getting married secretly in Calgary before the ceremony to save money and hassle. Just looking at prices from expedia, Calgary to Punta Cana plus hotel stay for 7 days is going to cost about $1600. Don't know what price my travel agent will give to me but that was my basis to go on when deciding where to go. They already have February 2011 flight prices on there. I'm sure you could check them out quickly to give you an idea.

Congrats on your engagement!

[Amymarie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nonnie Hey Diana My Fiance and I are in Alberta. We are marrying at the Grand Palladium Bavaro this upcoming December. As a big cost/hassle cutter I would recommend getting the legal paperwork stuff done in Edmonton. I was initially opposed to the idea, but it is saving us over a thousand dollars! I can recommend a Marriage commissioner to you, he not only fills out the paperwork with you and your witnesses, but he also gives you some little tips on how to put on the rings, sign the book etc during the actual ceremony to make for better photos and stuff. Good luck and Congrats!

Hey,

I will also be doing this the "top secret way" and i am curious who you used as your marriage commissioner. If you want to Private message me that would be great.

Thanks,

Amy