2015 Grand Palladium Punta Cana Brides

[Jc14]

@@dreia85 Thanks for sending! but yea, not so interesting, huh? re the spa, I feel like they should be good, since they probably do this often - that is my hope at least! I also feel better since a trial is provided. 

 

@@Beachgirl622 No, they are not charging for the welcome buffet - that I know of! I've hear DJ Mannia is good. I've booked them for my beach bash. I've decided that i want to choose all my music though, so I'm going to sending them a list of all the songs I want, and I'm going to bring the songs on a USB. i'll bring music on my ipad for the ceremony. 

 

Question for all: what time is your ceremony at? and what does the rest of your timeline look like? Mine is at 3:30pm and dinner is at 6:30pm, which means there will be approx. 2.5 hours of free time. how is everyone playing that out?

[Beachgirl622]

@@Jc14 my ceremony is at 5, then private reception at either el arrefice or el bohio from 6-11. We are having the ceremony of the beach so immediately following the ceremony, we will do a group shot on the beach then champagne toast. The guests will be taken to the reception site while we take pictures. We were able to extend the time of the DJ to 5 hours instead of 4 hours for an additional 200 dollars. You could direct everyone to go to the Hemingway bar during the downtime (it is air conditioned and serves more name brand liquor store).

 

For anyone doing the private reception, Carolina sent me my choices of menu if you are interested.

 

Right now, I've started ordering items for the welcome bags, I'm trying to decide if I want to bring them down with me or ship them.

 

3 month countdown!!

[MandyMc]

So I am just about 30 days out now! Im getting so excited.

I am doing a symbolic ceremony but we had planned on having our friend who is ordanied performed our ceremony. However, he just backed out at the last minute so now I guess I am just going to have Carolina do it. Has anyone heard if they do a good job when they perform the symbolic ceremonies? And does anyone have a copy of any of the ceremony scripts? I'm trying not to freak out but my nerves are definitely getting to me! 

[Meandhim]

I'm doing a symbolic and Carolina is going to do it... I can send you stuff she sent me ... PM me your email

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jc14]

@@Beachgirl622 Hi! Did Carolina confirm that your dinner would start at 6pm? I was told that the earliest we could start was 6:30pm as they would need time to set up from lunch service. 

 

@@Kerrierf I'm not sure if you are still checking these boards, but thought I would try anyway. I hope you are enjoying married life! I have a couple questions: 1. where is the wedding gazebo located? Punta Cana or Palace section? 2. what section did you stay in? 3. which buffet restaurant did you like the best? we would like to have a rehearsal dinner in one of them. 4. was it difficult for you and your guests to get seated in the a la carte restaurants? i don't know why it's first come, first served! do they have a buzzer system of do you just have to wait in a long line? 

 

I hope everyone's planning is going well. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Kerrierf]

Hi all, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

I can't believe it's already October - all the 2015 weddings are almost done!

 

@@Jc14 I'd be happy to answer your questions!

 

1) The garden gazebo is in the Punta Cana section.  It's really close to the beach, so when you're standing on it you can still see the water and get the breeze.

 

2) We stayed in the Punta Cana section - we could actually see the gazebo from our room!

 

3) We mostly went to the buffet in the PC section because it was close.  There's one right on the water with seashell chandeliers that's quite beautiful (I forget the name of it). While there's no formal rehearsal planned we just did our own then went to the buffet in the PC section (easiest place to meet up).

 

4) It depends which restaurant and the size of the group.  They only start taking reservations as of 5:30, and people line up as of 4:45 to get a spot at the time they want.  Some of them will still do drop in (I believe we did this for the Tapas one), but we were only 6 that went to that one.  The japanese one has the longest lines, but that's mostly for the show. If you do a drop in, they can give you a buzzer (which is what we did for the mexican one).

For the record, I STILL find myself dreaming about the bacon wrapped bananas at the tapas restaurant. SO SO SO good.

[Jc14]

@@Kerrierf thanks so much can for your quick response! Would you believe I have more questions? Lol

 

1. We are staying in the Punta Cana section too. What building were you in? I've heard 2000 or 3000 is good?

 

2. Are you referring to las Torres? I'm thinking we will just do the Behique in the PC section since its close.

 

3. Did Carolina or your wc come to your rehearsal?

 

4. I hope we don't have to wait too long for the a la cartes. I'm hoping the resort won't be too busy when we go in December.

 

5. We are thinking of doing. Our cocktail hour at the Punta Cana lobby bar. We are also doing welcome cockrails the night we arrive but I can't decide where to do them: pc lobby bar or Hemingway? Would it be weird to have two cocktail parties at the same bar? Is Hemingway any good?

 

Thanks!!

[Kerrierf]

@@Jc14 no problem! I'm so happy to help. I think I had questions up until we left, but I think that's just the way it goes with destination weddings - thank goodness for this forum!!!

 

1. We were in 3000 (3131 actually, right at the end). Several of our guests were in the 2000 building though. Both are next to the beach, but 3000 is next to the pool too.

 

2. I wish I could remember, but I don't know the name of the buffet. Looking at the website now, I *think* it's this one: http://www.palladiumhotelgroup.com/en/punta-cana/grand-palladium-punta-cana-resort-spa/restaurants/arrecife-restaurant/

 

I'm pretty sure this is the one where we had ours, and was our general go-to because it was in our section: http://www.palladiumhotelgroup.com/en/punta-cana/grand-palladium-punta-cana-resort-spa/restaurants/behique-restaurant/ 

 

3. No, they didn't come (they're usually with the weddings on the day, and there was a wedding pretty much every day while we were there).  My cousins were our photographers though (they have their own studio) and since they work so many weddings they helped us work it all out.

 

ACTUALLY, that's my one kinda regret from the wedding. I run events for my profession, so I kinda felt like I was working a job on my wedding day. If you can delegate someone to be your time keeper, I would definitely suggest that!

 

4. The line is only long(ish) for the reservations. But seriously. The bacon wrapped bananas. I'm drooling a little just thinking of them (someone get a picture of them for me, PLEASE!).

 

5. The lobby bar is great. Great location, live entertainment (although... we took over the lobby on our last night, we had 70+ people watching the Habs playoff game on a laptop, the entertainment crew gave up on trying to sing until after the game. It was AMAZING).  The pool bar closes a bit earlier.  For us, our plane was delayed on the way down, so while we were going to do cocktails before dinner the first night, it didn't work out, and after dinner everyone went their own way.  I'd suggest if you have a change of plans, announce it on the bus on the way to the hotel before you all get your room keys and everything.  The hotel will also provide you with a list of all your guests, their rooms, and their extensions in case you need to reach them (super handy).  In our case there were a few rooms switches too, but that was all worked out by day 2.

 

6. The sports bar wasn't the most exciting one - sadly they didn't have the Montreal games.  It was indoors though, which was good for those with mosquito bites.

[Meandhim]

@dreia85@Kerrierf@Jc14@Beachgirl622

 

Hey Everyone!! This thread has been pretty quiet lately...Guess we are all pretty busy...I know I am!!!

 

So Question....Are you bringing a Present for the WC? or just Tipping?

 

@MandyMc@shevette925.....Just a few Days left for you girls!!! I know you are all busy right now but please come back and share your experience with hotel and the wedding! Good Luck and I hope your Week and special day are fantastic!

[Jc14]

Hi everyone! Wow it's a busy time for us all!

 

@@Meandhim 6 days to go!! Are you already in the DR? any last minute things you thought of or tips you can offer? can't wait to hear all about your wedding! also i think we are tipping the WC.

 

@@MandyMc @@shevette925 Congratulations on getting married and becoming a Mrs! please do share your experiences with us when you have a moment!