Our Review Melia Caribe, Punta Cana

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Review of our wedding at Melia Caribe Tropical Check in: The majority of our guests all arrived together (about 25 of us). When we arrived we found a sign that said private check in for guests of Darcy and David. We were checked in first around 2:00 p.m. and given juice. (There was not any alcohol in it, I asked).We were upgraded to a 1 bedroom master suite. (WOW). The room was gorgeous! Full size refrigerator stocked with soda, beer and a bottle of champagne. There was also a bottle of rum on the counter. There were 2 flat screen t.v.¡¦s and a Jacuzzi. We used Steve Curnow from Beachbumvacation.com as our travel agent. He was AMZING!! So helpful, a good mediator. We HIGHLY recommend him. The week before we left Heinicy (our wedding coordinator) was in frequent contact. Going over guest list, seating arrangements, etc. We received a note the first night stating to meet her the following morning at 10 a.m. The meeting lasted about 2 hours. She had a checklist and went over every detail you could imagine. I had brought my own starfish for place cards and decorating the chairs along with other decorations. We told her our vision and she made sure it looked exactly how we wanted. We also brought our own alcohol (paid the $8 per bottle corkage fee). The first night we were there we had so much fun but it was SO humid. We were all sweating profusely after being outside dancing for 5 minutes. Because of this we opted to have an indoor reception. Heinicy and someone who sets up wedding receptions drove us around on a golf cart during our meeting to check out different places we could have our reception. There was a smaller banquet hall (next to the fun pub) on the Tropical side that we chose. It turned out PERFECT! Heinicy returned everything that we brought with to our room in the suitcase we brought it in a few days later. Including, all the unused alcohol. Flowers: The bouquet was BEAUTIFUL! I ordered a hair flower orchid for $20 that fell apart before I could even get it in my hair. One of my bridesmaids had gone around the property picking flowers for all of their hair and I just used 2 of them. Turned out great. If you are in need of a hair flower I would just do that. I had been needlessly fretting about that for months in advance. Rehearsal: First we had an actual rehearsal at the beach gazebo. This was very helpful considering I had no clue how this stuff works. Heinicy was wonderful! We had our dinner at the American Grille but ordered from the French Restaurant (steak with mushroom sauce). It was really delicious. They were extremely accommodating considering my husband¡¦s mom invited her 2 friends to the dinner. So we kept changing the number of guests at the last minute. Ceremony: PERFECT! We had it at the beach gazebo at 4 p.m. This was the best day of the week! There was a cool breeze coming off the ocean. There were some onlookers in their speedos and bikini¡¦s very close but we just ignored them. Some friends got some funny pictures of them to laugh at (creepers they called them.) We had Pastor Rick York officiate. He was great, the vows were beautiful. Some people said that everyone was crying. After the ceremony we had a cocktail hour right there by the gazebo. Reception: We chose the indoor banquet hall. We had 45 guests and it felt like the perfect amount of space. It was air conditioned. Yay for that!We had chicken for everyone which wasn¡¦t great but definitely edible. The cake was delcicious. They decorated with shells and starfish that we had brought with. We enjoyed every minute of the reception, but it flew by. Before we knew it our time was up. Of course we were all having so much fun and didn¡¦t want to leave, BUT the fun pub (also air conditioned) was RIGHT next door. No one was in there so we moved the party over there. We danced until 1 a.m. then got hungry and a few of the leftover guests and us went to the Dominican restaurant for a late night snack. Food: I have to say I loved every restaurant. The market place buffet was delicious (many choices, go for the chicken soup) Yum. I had a sore throat from all the talking I think over the week so I was eating a lot of soup even though it was 90 degrees. We ate at the Gabi (royal service), Dominican, French and Mexican. All were very good. I really liked the Mexican, they had a nice buffet for appetizers. We spent a few days after the wedding meeting family and friends for dinners and more nights of fun! Mamajuana shots were delicious! Helped everyone get a little crazy! OOT bags: We gave each guest a beach bag and customized flip flops from partyflops.com. We also put in hand sanitizer, pepto bismol and advil. We say many guests walking around with their bags and wearing the flip flops. That made us happy ƒº Photographer: We brought our own from Miami. Found him on craigslist. He was AMAZING!! www.gkjournalist.com. IF you scroll under portfolios- destination wedding- Dominican you can see our pictures.We hardly posed for any pictures. Which meant we were actually able to ENJOY the whole wedding. We also did a trash the dress session the following day. Excursions: About 12 of our guest s and us went on the Caribbean Festival catamaran the day after the wedding from 2-6. It was a TON of fun! There wasn¡¦t much to see in regards to fish, but we held stingrays and swam with sharks. (they remove the stingers and teeth). The boat itself was one big party! Dave and I went on the ¡§boogies¡¨. They are like go carts that you drive through the town. It was fun but I wouldn¡¦t do that again. We were covered in mud the whole time from head to toe. When we were done there was no water to rinse off in until we got back to the hotel (about 40 minutes drive.) Overall: LOVE. LOVE, LOVE the Melia. ALL of the staff were fun loving!! We had a beautiful fairy tale experience. >

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