Iberostar Hotels & Resorts

Considered to be less stressful and easier to plan than a traditional wedding, Destination Weddings still have a certain amount of planning and stress involved.  Here is a step by step guide to booking the All Inclusive Destination Wedding to help make the process a little easier. We recommend you start planning eight months to one year prior.  

Find a Destination Wedding Travel Specialist  

 Find an experienced agent before going on a search for the perfect resort.  A good agent will be able to recommend the right kind of destination and hotel to work within your budget and travel requirements.   You could spend days online and going through brochures searching for the right hotel only to find out they don’t offer weddings or are adults only when you have children attending. A Destination Wedding Travel Specialist will also be able to assist you with information on entry requirements and legal documentation requirements for getting married in the country of your choice.  

Find the Destination Wedding of your dreams   

Use MyWeddingAway.com to search  for wedding packages offered at hundreds of hotels and find the right fit for you. You may wish to  correspond with the wedding coordinator at your property of choice or have your Destination Wedding Travel Specialist do this for you. The “Contact Us” button at the top of each property page gives you a direct link to the hotels wedding coordinator.  

Some of our favorite properties in one of the most  beautiful destinations and  that offer amazing wedding options, are the:  

 Iberostar Grand Hotel Bavaro Punta Cana  

Majestic Elegance Hotel Punta Cana   

Majestic Colonial Punta Cana   

  At this point you will want to ask your Destination Wedding Travel Specialist to get pricing on the resorts you are interested in. Once you’ve found the perfect  destination wedding location it is time to send out “save the date” cards or emails to your wedding guests with a request to let you know if they may attend.  

 Booking   

Once you have found the resort that’s fits all your needs: budget, location, flying time,  adults only, child friendly,  documentation requirements, and available wedding date then you are ready to book.   

Here are a  few booking options that we recommend.  

1.  Secure a group quote

Put down a deposit for your whole group to secure your booking and guarantee availability and the quoted price.  

      2. Secure a partial group quote  

Put down a deposit for the minimum number of guests required to book as a group. In some cases this number is as low as 10 paying adults. This option is good when you want to secure a core group of people that you know will attend for sure (such as close family and wedding party). It’s also beneficial when others are not sure if they can attend and may be added later.   

Why book as a group?  

• Hold air seats and hotel rooms up to one year in advance ( giving your guests lots of time to save)
• If you book early you and your guests usually can take advantage of early booking bonuses
•  You may qualify to have one person travel FOC ( example 1 in 15 passengers travels FOC) you can use this for a service person to accompany you such as a photographer or divide the amount by all your guests to bring their costs down a little. (this is only available for group bookings)
• When something goes wrong, you are protected as a group. For example when an airline goes out of business, problems due to weather (snow storms, hurricanes etc.)
• Additional savings for guests from other provinces (add on airfares)
•  The hotel recognizes that you are booking as a group, therefore blocks rooms in the same area, wedding set up for your wedding ceremony,  reception and pre and post wedding events.
• Certain airlines offer the Bride and Groom business class upgrades FOC when booked as a group
• Free seat selection
• Some airlines offer Private check in for Groups

FAQ’s and Tips  

• What if I don’t get the enough guests to cover the cost of the deposit I put down? Sometimes you can reduce the number of guests by a certain percentage.
• I know that I can get the minimum number of guests to secure the group rate but what if others join? Some companies let you hold more seats with a lower deposit amount. For example one such offer lets you book 10 rooms and hold an additional 10 rooms at no cost to you. ( to a certain date)
• Ask for a written agreement between you and the Travel Agent you want to know the finer details in the group contract that the agent signs when booking with a wholesaler.
• You may not be able to confirm the actual wedding date before you book, but only that there is availability to have your wedding during your stay.
• Travel Insurance is a must and you should recommend it to all your guests, some countries like CUBA require you to have out of country medical insurance as an entry requirement.
• Most companies will let you add guests to your group as long as it is available up to a certain date at the quoted group rate. (excluding any changes to taxes)
• Make sure you are aware of deposit deadlines and final payment dates
• When your guests book, the deposit you paid for them can be transferred to your balance
• Group quotes expire, make sure you know when, as rates can change unless you secure with a deposit

Booking your Destination Wedding   

Once your booking is made you can start planning your wedding with the help of your Destination Wedding Travel Specialist. They can request a date for your wedding keeping in mind any minimum stay requirements. Most resorts offer many different types of wedding packages from free to extravagant and include documentation and legal fees.  Often couples get legally married prior to departure and celebrate with a ceremony and reception in destination. This is recommended when the paper work can become expensive and complicated.  

Captured Soul Photography

Extras   

The wedding package you choose may have all you need to have a beautiful sea sidebeach wedding but you would like to customize your package to include some special extras. Most resorts offer a wide range of extras; some of our favorites include; tiki torches for your evening beach reception, fireworks, butterfly releases, baby turtle releases in places like Coast Rica, full dance floor and DJ set up on the beach to dance the night away under the stars. Entertain your guests with a live fire show or live bands.  

Wedding Websites area great way to share your information with guests and keep them up to date. They also offer a cute way to share your story, how you met, your engagement, your wedding party, pre & post events, and details about the big day. MyWeddingAway.com offers free wedding websites; you choose from a number of templates and colors and can upload your own photos. These sites can be a little bit of work but are well worth it in the end.  

Invitations should go out for a destination wedding in time for guests to take advantage of any early booking bonuses.  There are lots of styles out there  to choose from, invitations that look like boarding passes or a travel brochures like the ones created by Aprils’ Designs. Send them out once you have secured a group rate and include a RSVP, your Travel Agents business card along with any special booking instructions.  

The Destination Wedding Dress  Just about anything goes, from traditional gowns to exotic saris. Just make sure you can get your dress into a suit case or garment bag and check your airline for luggage restrictions.  Some airlines let you bring gowns in garment bags on board where they can either fit into a small closet or in lay flat in the overhead compartment.   

Gift Bags for your guests are a popular option to replace traditional favours. Include items like flip flops, sun block, T-Shirts, a game for guests to get to know each other, map of the area, offered tours and local information, invitations to pre-planned events or tours.  How to get it all there? Split the bags and contents between your wedding party to transport to destination.  

Ideas  

• Afternoon at the spa for the ladies
• Game of golf for the guys
• Volunteer for the day with a local or international charity
• Cruise on catamaran or boat check out The Wedding Boat la Baracaza in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
• Prepare a scavenger hunt to familiarize your guests with the resort
• Arrange for transportation for a night on the town
•  Ask someone to take lots of photos and video clips though-out the trip and when you get home create a CD compilation and mail to your guests as a thank you and keep sake.
• Bring your own photographer and ask for a Trash the dress session
• Bring paper bags and candles, fill with sand and use to create a pathway on the beach or centre pieces on the tables or just to add to the ambiance
• Ask the hotel if they offer live wedding webcasts to share with those at home who could not make it.

What ever you decide to do, relax, enjoy and go with the flow. You simply cannot control every aspect of your trip and some things you may not even know about until you arrive in your destinaion. Remember this is a unique oportunity to spend time with your closest family and friends while sharing your special day.  

Enjoy!