2013 Now Larimar Brides !!! Any out there ???

[Juli33s]

Originally Posted by CrystalRomero 

 

What are these paper lanterns?

 

[CrystalRomero]

so they are more a hanging thing? I need cheap centerpieces. I am not doing much for decorations bc im way over budget already! What was yalls budget so I can see if im being realistic.
 

[chrisdeluca]

 

 

 

@crystal- I used these for my centerpieces...I bought them online from shojidecor.com. They have all different colours and styles. All together we spend close to $6,000 for the wedding day for 53 guests (including our deposit). I definitely went over budget, we originally budgeted for around $4,500 but more guests ended up coming. All said and done I wouldn't of changed a thing.

[jennifer8913]

Originally Posted by CrystalRomero 

 

so they are more a hanging thing? I need cheap centerpieces. I am not doing much for decorations bc im way over budget already! What was yalls budget so I can see if im being realistic.

 

 

I got these from wrapwithus.com set of 3 for around $15, planning to do something like this, except instead of the candles would use the lanterns

 

 

here they are shown on the package lit up

[Johndev]

Originally Posted by Juli33s 
 

Hi Ladies!!

Just got back from my wedding at NOW Larimar which was on May 4th 2013.  I had the Divine package and paid extra for an additional 33 guests.  My wedding coordinator was Silvia and she was amazing!!! My wedding day was perfect! They alone had 61 weddings for the month of May...there is no need to worry they handle everything!!  I will answer any questions you may have but here are some tips and ideas I went with...

--I had my ceremony on the beach which was beautiful!! Yes it was a little windy but it's refreshing since the sun is so hot.  There are beach chairs near the set-up and yes there were some onlookers but it was 5pm so most of the beach was empty.  The weather was perfect at this time of the day which made for amazing pictures.  I did not pay extra for sashes--it became too expensive and everything looked great without it.  I did pay for 3 sashes for the cocktail tables and for 2 tiki torches with flowers which were 35$ a piece. 

--I rented the bridal room for 150$ for 4 hours since we had 10 people for hair and make up--it was well worth it!!  4 bottles of champagne and lots of fruit. I also brought my ipod and played music.  They did a great job with hair and make-up but I would recommend bringing a picture of what you want b/c of the language barrier.  I also recommend doing a reveal with your groom ahead of time and getting your pics out of the way so you can enjoy your cocktail hour with your guests!

--Reception--we had booked the ballroom but they changed us last minute to Mercure...the french restaurant.  Normally a 5000$ rental fee but since the last min change it was free and boy was I happy they did!  Mercure was exquisite!! So beautiful with the red and white decor....the set-up was amazing and if you are looking to rent Castaway's or Mercure I would highly recommend Mercure!! I made a donation instead of favors so that was less to travel with.  For centerpieces I rent vases from Silvia--10$ each and brought my own LED lights with clear stones and floating candles.  I also brought my own votives with tea lights for each table, it looked perfect. 

--I paid for their DJ services Package A.  The DJ was awesome--he played everything we requested.  I did not pay extra for the MC--save your money and have a family member do it!  We brought our own props to hand out and these were a big hit!! 

--I paid to have the reception extended and this was the best decision I made!! If you can do it --do it.  3 hours is not long enough and yes it's an all inclusive and you can go to the bar after but it's nice to be in a private area with your guests....well worth it!  All you pay for is 200$ for DJ and how ever many people you X 12$ pp for international bar. 

--My color was coral and I chose coral and hot pink roses and stargazers and the flowers were incredible.  I did splurge on bridesmaids bouquets for pictures and they turned out better than expected.

--For dinner we chose the steak and lobster...this was by far the BEST meal we had all week. Dinner was incredible, the best lobster I ever had..guests raved about the food!

The one thing I am upset about is that they screwed up 20 out of 26 rooms!  Most people booked suites or ocean view and they were placed in a tropical view in Secrets--when they paid for an Ocean view at NOW.  Secrets is just across the pool area but our guests were very upset and this was a huge inconvenience.  But other than that everything was more than I could have hoped for so don't stress, enjoy yourself, your wedding will be awesome

I would also recommend a Booze cruise Party boat--we rented through Malibu Party Boat

http://puntacanapartyboat.com/Punta-Cana-Malibu-Party-Boat.php

I booked on my own ahead of time.  We had the boat to ourselves with 40 of my guests.  It was so much fun!! We snorkled, danced, drank, had plenty mamajuana shots...and they took us to a shallow part in the ocean where got out of the boat and hung out in the ocean while partying with our guests.  This was a highlight of our trip!

Attached are also pics of my Welcome Bags... I bought them from the dollar store and made a little hangover helper kit for all of my guests--they loved them!  And we greeted our guests in the lobby to hand them out--the resort charges a fee to deliver them!

Anyway best of luck to all of you!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi..

   Wow nice pictures, It feels great to read your post, thanks. Happy Married life to you.
 

[jennifer8913]

Does anyone have info on bringing OTC meds for welcome bags through customs? Like did you bring OTC meds for welcome bags and have a problem getting through customs because it was more than for your personal use? Thanks for your help!

[dollipop]

Hi Ladies  

 

I am getting married at Now Larimar on August 30, 2013 and this thread has been soooo helpful in the planning process. I just had a food related question - if you have a longer reception does the package enable you to have food after dinner? Kind of like a midnight buffet?

[melodavis]

Hi Ladies,

 

I will be getting married in a week. I am new to this site and have read about many using other photographers other than the resort photographer. I am super nervous now about using WBA. I just contacted HDC and I can't believe the prices. They are much cheaper and you get more pictures!!! Is it too late for me to change photographers? Those that did use WBA how do you feel about your pictures? I am just super mad now...I can't believe the prices of WBA verses HDC and what all you can get in their packages!!! I should have done more research!!

 

Those that brought your own sashes, did you get charged a set up for to use your own? My WC told me that it would be an additional $1.00 for each sash. Will they charge me to transfer the sashes from the ceremony chairs to the reception chairs (a total of $2 per sash)?

[Kristen0000]

Hi Ladies!
 

I was married at Now Larimar on April 11th, 2013 and I must say, this resort is outstanding! I literally do not have one complaint about anything!

The resort itself is beautiful, lush and green, amazingly kept by the staff. Easy to navigate around and find things too. The pools were very clean and there

was always a chair to be had, we did not have to 'save' our chairs at all - there are plenty! Same with the beach, has tons of straw huts to sit under and there are a

million chairs to choose from - we never had trouble finding chairs for our group of 20! The water was great, sand was kept nice and clean, raked daily.

 

The food was amazing (Loved the French and Mexican restaurants)! Its really nice that you can go to an ala carte restaurant and not have to make a reservation.

The buffet always had something different for each meal - the dinners were themed as well.

 

Each night there was a different show put on by the entertainment staff, I've been to many resorts and they were by far the best! There was a circus night which blew me away with the kind of stuff they do, acrobatics etc - and the magic show was by far my favourite! I still don't know how they did half the stuff they did on stage!

 

Our wedding coordinator was Sylvia - she was the best! Was there from start to finish - making sure everything was to our liking!

 

Our ceremony was held at the fountain - which was private - they actually blocked off the enterances so no one could come in and watch.

I walked down the isle with the fountains going - I was nervous that I wasn't going to be able to hear my music with the water going but that was not even an issue. We had a mic for the ceremony so everyone could hear as well.

 

We had a private reception at the quite garden pool which again was 100% private. We had tables setup around the pool and tiki torches for extra mood lighting. The food was the best of the week and we had our own private bar and dj. After that reception was done, we all headed to the disco and danced the rest of the night!

 

Our room was all setup when we got back that night, roses petals everywhere, bath drawn, a note from our maid.

The flowers for my bouuette were amazing, so were all of my center pieces - like I said before, literally not one complaint.

 

For our photographer we hired Caribbean Emotions - Pascal - and he was AMAZING !!!! Our wedding was on the Thursday and he gave our photos to us on Friday morning!

His rates were outstanding for how many photos we got too. Very funny and professional.

 

Hair salon was great - my hair was beautiful!

 

Overall, the best experience ever. I would definitely recommend Now Larimar to anyone thinking about a destination wedding!

I hope all of you girls have the same experience that we did - if anyone has any questions, let me know!

Best to reach me through email - knakamura@hotmail.com

 

Happy Wedding Planning Girls

xo

[Kristen0000]

Hi Crystal,

 

I just had my wedding at Now Larimar in April - my budget was only $2000! I did the free wedding and added in the extras that I needed.

Youd be surprised at how much you can get in that budget. Everything is so beautiful to begin with, so I didn't get any

super fancy decorations - My centerpieces were beautiful and the decorations they provided were more then enough. I had all of my chairs covered with

white covers ... I had everything white actually because I thought it looked more classy, especially with minimal decorations. I had tiki torches during my private reception

which added to the feeling. When I thought about the cost it was to actually stay there for the week and the cost to have the wedding there - we spent all together around $6000 - we had a reception when we got home as well - so we didnt want to spend a whole lot down there. But honestly, less is more. Your surroundings are more then enough down there!