Real Wedding: Jamie & Jared at Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana

Wedding Date: December 5, 2024 ~ Resort: Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana ~ Photographer: Marasco Photography ~ Videographer: Unveiled ~ Bridal Salon: Rhylan Lang Bridal Omaha ~ Beauty: Posh ~ Tux Shop: Jerry Ryan's

What led you to choose a destination wedding?

Ever since I was little girl, my mom always talked about how she wanted me to get married on the beach. Now decades later, as someone who works in the wedding industry, I know just how stressful planning a wedding can be. I knew when it came time to planning my own wedding I wanted to make it stress free as possible. 

How did you select the resort? What were the deciding factors? 

Abby at Romance Travel helped us SOOO MUCH in this process. She asked us so many questions to help figure out what was important to us. “Are you beach or pool people? If you had to pick, would you rather have a newer modern resort or crazy beautiful view? Does it need to be close to an airport? Family friendly or adults only?” The list goes on and on! She came up with a list of resorts she thought we would be interested in and then helped us narrow it down from there.

Did you invite guests in a unique way, like a themed save the date or announcement party? 

We had the coolest invites that we ordered from @herethereweddings. They looked like passport books! We got so many compliments from our guests and said that they showed all their friends and were going to keep them because they were so fun and unique. 
 
Describe what it was like working with the wedding coordinator at the resort? What went well? Any challenges? 

I worked with Paola and she was so sweet. Everything was done over email which at times wasn’t my favorite, butit was nice to be able to look back and find what I was looking for in writing. Response times were slow in the beginning but picked up as we got closer to our wedding date. 

Describe the booking process for your guests. Did they find that to be easy to navigate? 

All of our guests loved being able to book with the travel agent! For me personally I loved not having be the one in charge of everyone’s reservations. Heather sent me an updated list every week with who had booked their rooms and that was always a fun email to see come through. 

What were some of your biggest fears or things you worried about as your wedding date drew near? How did you get through this? 

As a typical bride I stressed about all the little details; which as much as people tell you to relax it’s sooo hard. But now looking back, everything went so smoothly. We couldn’t have had a better team of ladies helping assist us.
 
Were your guests wowed by the resort and the all-inclusive concept? What was their reaction upon arrival? 

We still having people telling us how much fun they had. So many of our guests said hands down it was the best all inclusive they’ve ever been too. The food was fabulous, the staff and service was top notch, and we were able to move between the family friendly resort and adults only resort so smoothly it just felt like one huge resort. 

How easy/difficult was it to travel with your wedding attire? Did you carry-it on, where did you store it? Did you get a lot of comments at the airport? 

We brought the dress and suit in a carry on suitcase. We opted to not carry a garment bag and just folded everything nicely. Once we got to the resort, our wedding coordinator took it all to get steamed and pressed for us!

Tell us about your wedding – did you have a traditional wedding with a cocktail hour, dinner reception and dance? What was different about a destination wedding compared to a wedding at home? 

Tuesday night we did a rehearsal dinner with our immediate families at one of the restaurants that our wedding coordinator was able to set up for us! Wednesday we did a cocktail party at the martini bar to welcome and thank all of our guests for coming to celebrate us. Thursday was wedding day. Our ceremony was at 4:00, cocktail hour was at 5:00, and reception was from 6-9. We did everything on the beach and had the best time. Our guests loved being able to take their shoes off and dance in the sand. Saturday we did a group catamaran  and it was honestly one of the highlights of our trip. People are still talking about it.  

What was the best part of having a destination wedding? 

I don’t know that any trip will ever compare to our wedding. We were literally on vacation with 70 of our closest family and friends. It was just one big party with people to always go eat or do activities with. So much fun!

What is your most favorite memory of your wedding experience? 

Our group catamaran trip after the wedding will probably be one of my lifelong favorite memories. We were able to relax and just have a great time with all of our guests. 

Would you recommend Romance Travel Group to other couples who are considering a destination wedding? 

1000%! The ladies at Romance Travel Group are top notch and made the planning experience enjoyable and took care of everything!

Congratulations, Jamie and Jared! Wishing you a lifetime of love!

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