DreamsBride2011

Amurka, I emailed you my quote that I finally god from Jenny after almonst a month worth of reminders. I am doing a free package so you might find it useful. Mine is not that elaborate, either, because I am bringing down all the decorations as well as the real touch flowers for everyone in my wedding party, so I have no charges of any of that.

Interesting, because I also have a cocktail hour on the pier following my ceremony that was discussed again and again and again so I have no idea how they figure they can do my ceremony, my cocktail hour and then your reception all within one hour???? I might move my ceremony up to 5 PM but still how is that enough time to do my cocktail hour afterwards? We have 19 guests so I am not sure how they would do the tables, I asked them for 1 long table for all guests. Thanks for the offer to share your linens but unless you also have napkins to spare, it would be a mute point because it won't match. As far as the reservation, could you possibly forward the information along to me? Could you please also share your estimate if you don't mind? I still don't have mind. Thank you! Originally Posted by anudrm 5:30 at the Pier, wow - that is cutting it short, my reception is at the pier at 6:30, LOL. Let's see how they pull this off. Do you know your table arrangement? I only have 15 guest, outside of us two, and are doing the U shape that's in the pictures. If you are also doing rectangular and want ivory, I have no problem sharing with you. I got an estimate from Jenny a few days ago actually. I had to change somethings on it, that will cut the cost slightly but yes I have received one. Did you want to see mine? Well that's such a rip off!! My guest are actually paying $196 a night / double occupancy, so $98 per person per night. Yet, our reservations are Thursday- Sunday, if that is good for you, I will go ahead and forward it to you. Not a problem. I actually had two but I already cancelled the other one.

To respond to your other questions. My ceremony is tentatively at 5:30 PM on the 12th on the pier (as I mentioned, religious ceremony is on the 11th, just the ceremony, nothing else). The majority of my guests will be attending both ceremony, except 4 people. I am wearing two different dresses, both ivory, but one more "evening gown" style for the 11th and the other one by Pronovias on the 12th (I posted a pic way back on this forum). My photographer is HDC, they have very reasonable price and I really liked their work and the reviews given to them on this forum. I am not using a resort photographer. As far as linense, I would have preferred ivory as well, but because of the upcharge I will be just sticking with white. My color is magenta and my theme is orchids so it will go just fine with white linens, I would think. I went a little orchid-crazy with all the decor, when I post the planning thread you will see, lol. Speaking of the hotel being booked up, because I desperately need one extra room I called Jenny directly to inquire if they have anything saved as a backup and they do have the room but they want $450 a night for a regular room!!!!! That's just crazy considering everyone who booked in my party is paying $177 a night. Have you gotten your estimated charges yet? I have been following up for the past 3 weeks, emailed Yanna 4 times (she was supposed to be doing my wedding), no response, called them, no response, finally emailed Jenny and she tells me she took over for my wedding. I yet have to see my invoice and I have less than two weeks left, it is so frustrating.

OMG Selina I LOVE YOU!!!!! I totally need this one extra room because as I mentioned one of my guests (a married couple) FORGOT to book a room. Could I please take the reservation over from you? I would really appreciate it!!! Can you email me at [email protected] with the details? Thank you so much!

@Anudrm, my reception is at 7 PM, wedding is tentatively at 5:30 PM, I want to time it with the sunset. The reasons I am having a reception on a separate day are: 1) The hotel wasn't able to do my reception on the 11th - apparently they have 3 or 4 other weddings that day; 2) My church doesn't encourage lavish celebrations on Fridays yet they would perform a religious marriage ceremony on Friday but not on Saturday (not sure why the rules but I have to follow them); 3) Saturday was a more convenient day for everyone to come down. I am having a religious ceremony for close family and friends on the 11th and then a full-blown ceremony / cocktail hour / reception ordeal on the 12th. @Amurka - Yes, everything is planned, thanks for asking. At the moment I am just dealing with stupid last minute issues, such as some people apparently forgot to make their hotel reservation (???!!!) or forgot to book an airport transfer or whatever else they forgot to do. I have so much stuff I am bringing over, it's ridiculous. Seems like the only things I will be using that are provided by the hotel are chairs, linens and china, everything else is my own. Luckily, there are 8 of us traveling together so hopefully I will be able to distribute my decorations among the group. I will post my planning thread with all the pictures after the wedding.

LIST OF WEDDINGS IN DREAMS LA ROMANA anudrm (Selina) 12 November 2011 DreamsBride2011 (Katie) November 11th, 2011 (reception November 12th, 2011) Amurka 6th March 2012 brendee2005 May 5th, 2012 Jessicalynneh November 10th, 2012

I had to wait for mine for about 2 weeks. After 3 days, I got impatient, but they took their time getting back to me. Typically, if you requested date is far out, they take longer to get back to you but they will, eventually. Katie www.our-paradise-wedding.com

No problem. The only thing I would suggest is that the fireworks are probably not worth it. I was thinking about doing them as well but then when I saw what you get for $600, it's just meager 1.5 minutes. A total waste of money. As with the 7-day booking, I believe you only need one room to qualify for the free package but it has to be a certain category - they talk about it on Dreams La Romana hotel web site.

Hi Kaos2013, There are no restrictions for having children in the preferred section. If you wanted children to stay in the room with you, you should go for a suite that has a living area with sleepers. Alternatively, you could get adjoining rooms. With such as small party size as yours I would think you should definitely go for a free package since the other packages are good for 10 or 20 guests. You can only qualify for a free packages if you book 5 or more rooms for 3 or more nights each so you need to take that into account. The good news is that if you party size is less than 12, they may be able to accommodate you in any of the a la carte restaurants at a separate table, but you wouldn't not be dining privately. Also, they have a private dining room which they call "wine cellar" located in between Portofino and Le Bordeaux and it can sit 12 people to a private dinner. If you wanted to order a special menu, talk to the wedding coordinator - they offer various menus for special occasions starting at $35PP and up to $65, which would include lobster etc. If you are looking for a cocktail hour plus private party menu, the lowest cost per person including hors d'ouvres at the cocktail hour, bar service, private dinner with special menu and serivce charge adds to roughly $70 per person. Hope this helps. Katie www.our-paradise-wedding.com Quote: Originally Posted by kaos2013 Hi ladies, I'm so happy for all past and upcoming brides who have chosen their destination wedding at dreams la romana. We have also decided to take the plunge but cannot book are desired dates until September when the new brochures are out for 2013 a long time off i know but gives us lots of time to plan. I wonder if anybody can answer some initial questions regarding rooms. Already parents to 2 children who will be 7 and 5 when we travel i have some concerns over sleeping arrangements of course this will be a family holiday/wedding i want my children with us (although some privacy may be needed on occasion ha!) are children allowed in the partial sea view rooms/preferred?? Another query is if we are allocated a king size bed where do the children sleep? do they have room in the lounge area for pullouts? I was thinking of booking the partial sea view room/preferred to qualify for the complimentary wedding due to numbers really and adding our specifics for cocktail hour and reception. Does anyone have any prices or ideas on if this works out better. As my FI is extravagant and want to have the best meal entertainment etc i thought this was an easier option due to our small numbers. Any advice would be greatfully appreciative. We are hoping to travel with family (although some are already say they cannot afford it ) we have decided to book our dream wedding and know that some close friends will be coming too so probably around 8 adults. I'm sorry if this sounds a little prompt especially for all upcoming brides but i like to be organised initially as i will be a stress head otherwise lol! Thanks in advance

MissCC, I am not sure of the minimum number of people required to reserve a restaurant, but I would think it is on the order of 20 to 30 (something I need to reconfirm with the wedding coordinator). With your party size, though, they won't be able to do a sit down dinner as they mandate that you have a buffet for a party larger than 60, though it might be negotiable because I know some brides had 70+ guests and they still had a sit-down dinner. I am not sure whether they can set up a buffet at any of the restaurants - this is something you can follow up on with the hotel directly. I know for sure their ballrooms are large enough to accommodate such a large party. I don't have any pictures of the ballrooms, but when I went there in June, I was very pleasantly surprised by the ballrooms' appearance - everthing is brand new, modern design, I totally loved it. Katie www.our-paradise-wedding.com

From what I understood, they did away with the $1,000 rental fee to close down a restaurant for a private event and now are charging a per person fee and you still get to have a private reception. I am not sure though if there is a minimum number of people required and whether you get a choice of a restaurant. I asked to have my reception at the French restaurant and Yanna told me I could have a private party and I would have to pay for each of my guests but woudn't have to pay a $1,000 fee. Katie www.our-paradise-wedding.com

Hi Andreanna, I recently went to the resort for site visit and checked out both gazebos. The smaller one would be nice if you want your ceremony on the sand. All the set-up would be on the sand and you would also have to walk on the sand. The gazebo is built out of rustic wooden pieces and you cannot really stand inside of it. It is away from everything and your ceremony will be very private. The bigger one has a walkway covered in crushed stone leading up to it and all the chairs would be set up on the lawn. This gazebo is closer to the rooms and you will also have more resort guests walking by. The gazebo itself is larger and much more sturdy. At the end of the day, it would be your preference. I am personally doing my ceremony on the pier because I do not want to walk on the sand and because my fiance doesn't like the gazebo idea. Hope this helps. Katie www.our-paradise-wedding.com

The bars close at different times. Those by the pool close by 7 PM or so. The lobby bar and the night club bar are open very late, probably 2 am if not later. The restaurants close by 11 PM. On your question whether it makes sense to stay in preferred club, we didn't see any point spending money on it. But I think it might more worth it during high season (October - April), because they section off a private area on the beach so you don't have to worry about getting a chair, which might be a problem when the hotel is super busy. Preferred club does have a pool, but I liked the larger non-preferred infinity pool better so we spent most of our time there, plus there is a swim-up bar at the non-preferred pool. Also, they do have more premium liquor selection at the preferred bar, but at the same time, you can get the same liquor at other bars if you ask for it. Finally, they give you free wifi for a week, but again, you can buy it for $50 extra for the whole week rather than having to pay $50 or more a day to be in preferred club. Some brides said they felt preferred club was worth it because of privacy they desired, but for me personally, it was not worth the added expense.

The transfer from Santo Domingo to DLR is about 1.5 hours long.

I went to that resort about 4 times and we have always flown into Santo Domingo. It's a lot cheaper from where we live in terms of airfare and it is a direct flight for us so we prefer that. The transfer didn't bother us. We also didn't have any issues with unsafe driving or leaving too early. We always book our transfers through Cheap Caribbean or some other vendors, it costs about $30 per person each way. Quote: Originally Posted by jessicalynneh Thats great news about the chairs, thank you!! I'm flying to Dreams LR this july to do a site-see with my fiance. Its only going to be a 3 night trip...any suggestions about airports? I'm just concerned with any safety of the hour & a half bus ride from Punta Cana to La Romana. The flights to La Romana seem more expensive. And I've never heard anything ab santo domingo airport. Any ideas on what works best?? Thank you!!