2015 Grand Palladium Punta Cana Brides

[Meandhim]

@@Jc14 I leave for the DR on Sunday Married on Wednesday My Mind is so busy right now I can't think of any tips except get your stuff done now...leave nothing for last min...lol....

 

I will have a full review when I get back!!!

[Beachgirl622]

@menadhim HAVE AN AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL WEDDING! Cant wait to hear all about it!

[shevette925]

Hey Ladies!!

 

I'm back! I have so much to say about our wedding and our experience, but overall everything was AMAZING!!!! Our family and friends had such an amazing time and we have no regrets. Everything was as close to perfect as it could possibly be. I will be posting a long review of everything but I want to put it in a word document so I dont lose it lol.  I will be posting that soon. @@Meandhim happy wedding week! I hope you enjoy your day!

[shevette925]

Ok ladies, this is going to be a long review but I hope that it will be helpful to everyone, since this board has been so helpful to me in the entire planning process.  Keep in mind, we stayed at the Grand Palladium Bavaro Section, but had our ceremony at Jellyfish.

 

1. Travel Agency – Luxe Destination Weddings 

·        I would say that overall we were very happy with Luxe. There were a few snafus along the way, which I think goes along with travel planning for a very large group (we had a total of 71 guests) but overall they did a great job.

·        They arranged all the group booking arrangements and airport transportation for us and most of our guests. They also provide flights but we didn’t really use them for this because our guest were coming from all over.

·        The thing that I really loved was they offer wedding planning services, so all of my communication with vendors, jellyfish, and Carolina were done through the wedding planner.  This was huge for me because I just didn’t have the time to communicate with all the vendors, so I loved this aspect of using Luxe. And my wedding planner was crucial in making sure that Jellyfish knew my vision and bringing it to life. So I would highly recommend Luxe for their wedding planning service

·        The cons- My guest sometimes complained of difficulty reaching our travel agent and we were promised certain concessions by the hotel because of the large group that we had, but they had weird stipulations attached. So my advice would be to make sure that (in general) when a resort offers concessions to your group, make sure you are aware of all the stipulations before you sign the agreement.

2.Grand Palladium –Bavaro

·        Firstly, the Grand Palladium is HUUUUGGGEEE! There are 4 sections (Punta Cana, Palace, Bavaro, and Royal). And each section is large enough to be its own standalone resort. We spent most of our time exploring the Bavaro section and the Punta Cana sections (they are directly adjacent). The Royal section is adults only and exclusive to club members, but the spa is located in the Royal section.

·        We stayed in the Bavaro section, Building 19, which is right by the beach and the room was excellent. We splurged and got a luxury suite since we honeymooned there and it was one of the best decisions we made. The room was huge and had two floors with a rooftop hot tub. So nice! We visited a few of our guest who stayed in the standard rooms and they were also very nice and spacious, so you really can’t go wrong

·        The biggest complaint about the Bavaro section is that it is very easy to get lost. The walkways are secluded and winding, which is very relaxing and romantic during the day, but at night it is easy to get lost. I think every one of our guest got lost on the premises for at least 20 minutes!  Most of us were able to laugh at ourselves but it can be very frustrating and the maps are pretty useless.

·        The food is overall pretty good. We mostly ate at the buffets but went to a few of the a la cartes. We went to the steakhouse and the Japanese restaurant. No reservations needed for the a la carte but know that the wait can be long if you don’t get there early. A few of our guest really liked the Brazilian and the Mexican restaurants.

·        Overall the resort is beautiful, the beach is wonderful. The staff is very nice, we made a ton of new friend with the staff because we were there for so long.  The only complaint is that some of the bars make their drinks a little weak (ask for mas fuerte) and there are very pushy vendors on the beach and on the premises, trying to sell you their crap.

·        Last tip I have is if you are honeymooning there, use the Grand Palladium honeymoon wishes as part of your gift registry! We received so many honeymoon gifts that we stayed 10 days and when we checked out, our bill was 28 dollars! We used our gifts to go on excursions, we had a romantic dinner on the beach as well as other things, and this really made the honeymoon special.

3.Carolina and the Wedding Team

·        So I had very limited interaction with Carolina, but they were all positive. She was in charge of delivering our welcome bags and she coordinated our welcome receptions and farewell brunch at the buffet restaurants. She also booked most of our excursions since the honey moon wishes credits go directly to her. She even personally supervised the setup of our romantic beach dinner. She is a very busy woman! And knows what she is doing, so you all are in good hands.

4.Photograher –Karina Jensen

·        I only have good things to say about Karina. She. Is. Amazing! And so lovely to work with. She is so calm and laid back and just brought that energy with her. I was worried because she typically works alone, so I was concerned that she wouldn’t be able to capture everything we wanted by herself, but she is a rockstar and I highly recommend her. She showed us a few pictures as she was taking them and I know we are going to have amazing pictures to cherish for the rest of our lives.

5.Pastor- Mark (Markus) Lykins

·        We used Pastor Lykins, he was great. So personable and heartfelt. A lot of our guest thought that we had known him from before because he teared up during our ceremony and a lot of our guest were touched by his ceremony.  My only regret is not having a family member or friend record the ceremony.

6.Ceremony- Jellyfish Restaurant.

·        Okay, so I know this is not the Jellyfish board, but I have to mention that the Jellyfish team is awesome. Everything from the food, the drinks, the flowers, the décor, was perfect! They took my vision and made it real. I would get married there again in a heartbeat. The only negative (which was very small) was our original DJ was sick for our wedding and sent in a replacement. She was very good, small mistakes with the playlist, but she accommodated all of our request, even downloading songs on the spot as we requested it. If anybody has specific questions about the Jellyfish, Im happy to answer them.

 

Okay I think those are the major things. I didn’t want to make this post too long. But know that you all have made a good decision. The resort is beautiful and I saw a lot of weddings on the beach while we were there. The wedding staff at the resort is very professional and they know what they are doing. Let me know if you guys have any questions, I will do my best to answer them. 

Edited November 24, 2015 by shevette925

[ann123]

Hi everyone!

 

So I'm getting married April 2016, but there doesn't seem to be a 2016 thread. There's so much good info here so I thought I'd finally stop lurking and finally start posting  

 

@Meandhim @shevette925 - CONGRATS on your wedding!! Both of your posts, along with many of the other brides here, have really helped me get a better understanding of what's involved with planning a wedding at the GP resort. I hope you both had/have a wonderful wedding  

 

If anyone has the time to answer a few questions, I'd greatly appreciate it

 

Ceremony - I'm doing a Catholic Ceremony. Did anyone here do one as well? I'm having a bit of a hard time getting the documents together and was hoping there was someone else in the same boat as me. 

 

Vendor Fee - Carolina said the fee is $500. I read somewhere else about booking a room for the local vendor for a night to get around the fee. Does anyone know if this has worked before? 

 

Open Bar - Does anyone know what kind of alcohol it includes? WC sent me an email saying that the private dinner comes with red/white wine, beer, soda and water. I'm just wondering if it'll be worth it to pay for the open bar. 

 

DJ - WC said the private reception is available from 630 to 1130 pm, but the DJ is only for 4 hours. So, do they come in mid reception to set up? 

 

Thanks!!

[MrandMrsBonitto2016]

@@Jc14 I leave for the DR on Sunday Married on Wednesday My Mind is so busy right now I can't think of any tips except get your stuff done now...leave nothing for last min...lol....

 

I will have a full review when I get back!!!

Happy Wedding Day!!!! I hope your day is everything you've dreamed of

[Jc14]

@@shevette925 Thanks for a great review! It was very helpful! Question: did it rain the whole time you were there? I'm checking the forecast for my wedding and it's all rain

 

@@Meandhim Congratulations!! I hope your wedding day was everything you wanted and more! Can't wait to hear all about it!

[shevette925]

@@ann123, We were originally going to do a catholic ceremony in the DR but decided against it ultimately for a few reasons including the massive amount of paperwork and the fact that all of the Catholic priests in the DR are spanish speaking only, so some one would have to translate the ceremony and we felt that would be awkward.  So we had a very small catholic legal ceremony at home one week before we left  for the DR and then our ceremony in the DR was symbolic. 

 

@@Jc14, the weather was perfect the whole time we were there. There were a few flash rain showers in the evening and midday, but they never lasted more than 15 minutes. We thought it was going to rain right before my ceremony and almost moved the ceremony in doors, but the weather held out and it was perfect. 

[ann123]

@@shevette925 - Thanks so much!! And your review is so helpful too!

 

Part of me is glad that a few documents aren't required if going through the Catholic church, but having to send a scanned copy of our passports via email is a bit worrisome. I'll have to think this through and see if doing a small ceremony at home is a better option. Thanks!

[Kamagra]

Palladium der Ort, um zu kaufen, ein feindlich schwachen Kamagra ist ein Arzneimittel, das unterstützt sichert und Schilde Männer mit den unsicheren Auswirkungen der erektilen Dysfunktion beim Saison von Nähe. Diese tabletes hat ihre neue Umgebung im Bereich der Lösung für die Behandlung männlicher Erektions Thema gebaut und hat zahlreiche mit Beibehaltung ihrer Mate und Liebesspiel Hinweis für die Ewigkeit unterstützt. Man sollte jedoch mit der Nähe von Kamagra Kaufen Pillen in der gesamten Schweiz geliefert werden, wie man weiß nie, wann sie die Notwendigkeit der Verwendung von es, um ihre Sehnsucht der Zuneigung mit der Erfüllung Implikation befriedigen fühlen.