Help! Resort Wedding Vs. Off Site

[Elishah]

Hi everyone! My fiancé and I are planning on having our wedding May 27, 2016. We decided on Paradisus Punta Cana, however I have a lot of doubt. Within the last month we've taken 2 trips to the DR and this last time we took a trip outside of the resort and really took a good look at how overpriced things are at the resorts (common sense right). At PPC we opted for the Gazebo, and when we started to look at the outdoor receptions we were sadly disappointed with the options we were given:

 

the pool area where that guest will still be able to access during the reception 

the beach located right next to the lobby, close to the beach chairs that they could not move but instead cover with palm trees.

 

So we came up with an alternative, have the reception in front of the gazebo, in the area that is cleared for pictures. This area will be large enough for our reception (around 50 ppl) however they'll have to set up the reception at the same time as the ceremony so the decorations will be in our pictures while the ceremony is happening. I thought I was ok with this, however I think the point of getting married on the beach is to have the ocean in the pictures--not the decorations. I also have a problem with the outside vendor fee's ($1000) and the outside visitor fee ($120) for guest who will not be staying at the resort with us. Although the location and resort is beautiful, the doubts and cost are making me lose sleep. If we went with PPC we are looking at paying close to $17,000 (as of now) with very minimal decorations. 

 

We just came back from PC less then a week ago, and while we were there we visited a few restaurants: Jelly Fish & Huracan Cafe. Both are beautiful but the pictures that I saw from Huracan Cafe were stunning. Since being back I have been in contacted with Natalie from Huracan Cafe and the response I have gotten from her has been so refreshing, she's answered my emails very quickly (a nice change from what I've been dealing with). If we went with Huracan Cafe we would be able to customize our wedding much more and pay around $13,000. Everything sounds perfect right? The problem that I have with Huracan Cafe is that it's nestled in-between some other business as well as there being a souvenir market very close by. It also seems that another couple has reserved May 27th, so our only option is to wait to see if the couple does get married on that date, or we get married on June 3rd which may effect our guest count.  Right now I'm currently waiting on a few more quotes from Jellyfish and Kukua. 

 

We were about to order the invitations until this dilemma came up. I'm afraid I'm being too indecisive and that time is running out. I need a sound word here and some advice!

 

Brides/Brides To Be what have your experiences been? 

 

 

 

 

[TA Patty]

Hello and congratulations on your engagement!! My name is Patty and I am one of the Wright Travel/BDW TA's. I have been to all three locations, Huracan, Jellyfish and Kukua and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.   Just let me know at patty@wrighttravelagency.com. Thanks TA Patty 

[shevette925]

@@Elishah, Go with your gut! I went through literally the same thing. Woke up in the middle of the night with stress dreams because I was so worried about the hotel ceremony and not being able to personalize my wedding and the cost with all of the vendor fees, etc. So I woke up on morning emailed jellyfish and put down a deposit. And I at no time regret my decision. I can't speak for any of the other venues, but jellyfish was phenomenal and all of my guest told us the entire weekend that our wedding was the best ever. And I've heard similar reviews about the other venues. And the prices are comparable to resorts and I think you get more value for your money.

Hopes this helps!

[dreamweddings]

Hi everyone! My fiancé and I are planning on having our wedding May 27, 2016. We decided on Paradisus Punta Cana, however I have a lot of doubt. Within the last month we've taken 2 trips to the DR and this last time we took a trip outside of the resort and really took a good look at how overpriced things are at the resorts (common sense right). At PPC we opted for the Gazebo, and when we started to look at the outdoor receptions we were sadly disappointed with the options we were given:

 

the pool area where that guest will still be able to access during the reception 

the beach located right next to the lobby, close to the beach chairs that they could not move but instead cover with palm trees.

 

So we came up with an alternative, have the reception in front of the gazebo, in the area that is cleared for pictures. This area will be large enough for our reception (around 50 ppl) however they'll have to set up the reception at the same time as the ceremony so the decorations will be in our pictures while the ceremony is happening. I thought I was ok with this, however I think the point of getting married on the beach is to have the ocean in the pictures--not the decorations. I also have a problem with the outside vendor fee's ($1000) and the outside visitor fee ($120) for guest who will not be staying at the resort with us. Although the location and resort is beautiful, the doubts and cost are making me lose sleep. If we went with PPC we are looking at paying close to $17,000 (as of now) with very minimal decorations. 

 

We just came back from PC less then a week ago, and while we were there we visited a few restaurants: Jelly Fish & Huracan Cafe. Both are beautiful but the pictures that I saw from Huracan Cafe were stunning. Since being back I have been in contacted with Natalie from Huracan Cafe and the response I have gotten from her has been so refreshing, she's answered my emails very quickly (a nice change from what I've been dealing with). If we went with Huracan Cafe we would be able to customize our wedding much more and pay around $13,000. Everything sounds perfect right? The problem that I have with Huracan Cafe is that it's nestled in-between some other business as well as there being a souvenir market very close by. It also seems that another couple has reserved May 27th, so our only option is to wait to see if the couple does get married on that date, or we get married on June 3rd which may effect our guest count.  Right now I'm currently waiting on a few more quotes from Jellyfish and Kukua. 

 

We were about to order the invitations until this dilemma came up. I'm afraid I'm being too indecisive and that time is running out. I need a sound word here and some advice!

 

Brides/Brides To Be what have your experiences been? 

@@Elishah It makes sense to me to switch to a private location especially since everything will be more personalized for you. Also this brings down the costs for you.  its also very common that resort charge the outside vendor fee. Im pretty sure you will make a decision that fits your vision, not once should you feel indecisive its your important day.

 

Happy Planning!

[acw271011]

@Elishah  I can totally get where you're coming from. and I'm in agreement with Joyce from Dream Weddings. She was fabulous at helping us plan our vow renewal in October in Mexico just for the reasons you're talking about. We were a very small group and the resorts I looked at wouldn't accommodate a private reception setting. I thought I had a solution but it fell through so I opted to go totally off site for everything - our ceremony and a dinner afterwards. It was perfect! Don't get me wrong - the majority of the resorts are fabulous and do their best to work with whatever the bride's vision is but it doesn't always work. Going off site is a great alternative. If you're not happy with what they're offering you, then look elsewhere. What about another resort? Could that be an option? You're also right about the reviews of the venues you mentioned - they're all great. In fact if you do a search on this site you'll find a few forums to review. Jellyfish seems to be really popular. I've never been to the DR so can't help with any specific comments but TA Patty will be wonderful to get help from!

 

Good luck!

[Elishah]

You've all been so helpful! Yesterday after I wrote this post we realized we had been charged a 6 month deposit towards our wedding at Paradisus Punta Cana--talk about getting a mild heart attack! So most of today I've been trying to see if this money will be refunded as well as our room hold which was $2,500. Thankfully the room hold was deposited back to us, now we are waiting to see if the $3000 will be returned :/ 

 

I had a lengthy conversation with my fiancé this morning and he also doesn't like the feel of a generic resort wedding--don't get me wrong every wedding is unique but he feels as if there won't be a lot of freedom as much as if we went offsite. Something else that is super important to me is a personal touch which honestly was lacking from PPC. When we came back from our site visit I emailed the coordinator and asked her if she would be there when we got married, to which she informed me that she would love to but you never know what may happen. So I feel no connection whatsoever to these people as opposed to Huracan Cafe. In the short email exchanges I feel as if I know this person and is truly there to make me feel secure and provide the wedding of our dreams. 

 

It should be interesting to see what will happen in these next few days! Anyone else backed out of a resort wedding? 

[dreamweddings]

@@Elishah YAY! For making a decision that makes you and fiance feel comfortable. Share with us once all is confirmed!

 

Happy Planning

[Elishah]

@@dreamweddings it's not looking so good, the resort is holding us to the 6 month fee ($3,000) and I'm having a hard time trying to get them to return it

[dreamweddings]

@@dreamweddings it's not looking so good, the resort is holding us to the 6 month fee ($3,000) and I'm having a hard time trying to get them to return it

@@Elishah Oh no, wasnt anything stated in the contract regarding cancellation? 

[Elishah]

@@dreamweddings there was something stated in the contract, unfortunately something came up within the last few days and we both spaced it out and we actually don't even know if we will be able to get married then. My fiancé's dad has been having some health issues and we don't know if we should proceed with the planning. Of course there was no reminder or warning that the money would be taken out, the interesting thing is that when I reviewed the contract it said they would take 50% out of the cost of the wedding but the $3,000 doesn't even come close to covering half. I spoke to someone today and explained the situation and she said she would speak to management, so we'll see what happens :/