So I just returned from my wonderful, fabulous wedding and I just wanted to pop in to write a recap. My husband and I were married in beautiful , DR. We actually arrived at the resort a few days earlier than our guests, which I strongly suggest to all of you who are planning destination weddings. It gave us a few days to relax and to finalize things so that when our friends and family arrived, we could just focus on having a good time. The resort was absolutely amazing and if any of you are going to the DR, I highly suggest staying at Zoetry. We were upgraded to a caribe suite with a private pool, which was a nice suprise.
Most of our guests arrived on Thanksgiving, so we arranged a private welcome dinner. The wedding coordinator and chef arranged everything, including the menu because I was too busy relaxing, lol. The food, drinks, music, organization, and set up were flawless and I realized that I could stop stressing about the wedding and just enjoy it.
On Friday, the rest of our guests arrived and we spent most of the day on the beach just catching up. That evening the resort had a beach BBQ which everyone wanted to attend. So the coordinator set up tables especially for us and we we passed out our gift bags ( organic body butters, soaps, bath oils, lip balms and spa slippers) DH and I hired a photographer to take pictures of our guests and us at the bbq and we are going to send each guest pictures of themselves having a good time with our thank you cards.
On Saturday, I was overwhelmed with wedding day jitters! I had my spa appointment, but I couldn't relax! So my girls and I took a two hour walk on the beach which really helped me get it together. My bridesmaids were the best! While I was getting ready, all of the vendors kept knocking at my door with last minute stupid questions! My girls handled everything and kept a strict watch on the door. My suite was like Fort Knox, lol.
Of course, my hair didn't turn out right so I just wore it down and fluffy (I'm natural) whcih really felt right. My dress had a minor malfunction, but my aunt quickly fixed it. Which brings me to the drama.....
The pastor was late to my wedding...as in over an hour! The photographer was freaking out because the sun was going to set soon and we had an outdoor ceremony. Fortunately my uncle is an ordained minister and was able to save the day! It was actually more moving to be married by uncle anyway and it really made the wedding special. DH wrote a poem entitled "I will" for his vows and I cried because it was so beauful. I love this man!
After the ceremony, the pastor showed up...dressed like he was headed to a bar instead a wedding! He apologized for missing the ceremony, but kept hanging around. My bridesmaids were furious and the groomsmen had to stop them from telling him off! But I was oblivious to all of that and I'm actually glad that he didnt show up. It saved me money and I had a better ceremony.
While DH and I took pics, the guests had champagne and groom's cake. Then we headed off to the reception. I was amazed at how pretty everything was. The staff treated my guests like celebrities. We started partying during the cocktail hour and the party just never stopped. The food was awesome and the chef sent out additional things for the guests to try. We literally danced all night long!
Overall, it was an amazing wedding and I'm so glad that DH and I planned and executed our vision of our day and not what others wanted us to do. The small stuff truly doesn't matter at all. Have the wedding you want and enjoy yourself. That's my advice.