Bianca and Matthew were married in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, a place near to their hearts and just what they had in mind! Bianca shared their wedding story with us and how it came to be on the beach that day.
“Matt and I always knew we wanted a destination wedding, but narrowing down the destination was the hard part! Originally, we were set on Switzerland (I’m originally from Basel, Switzerland and have always envisioned a Swiss wedding), however it didn’t end up fitting the image we had for our big day. We actually ended up with Punta Cana completely by accident! One day while searching for destination weddings and wedding blogs, I found this beautiful, beach front, off-resort wedding held at the Jellyfish Restaurant. At the time, I had no idea where it was, if they did weddings often, etc. I just knew I absolutely loved the feel of this venue; and I emailed it to Matt immediately saying, “I think this is it… I don’t know where it is, but this is it!”
The DR does hold a special place in my heart. My family and I have been traveling to the island for years and we have a vacation house in another city on the island. I love the Dominican culture and they are some of the friendliest, most welcoming people I have ever encountered.
…Luckily, we had a trip to Punta Cana planned for a few months later, and while there were able to visit the restaurant and meet with their staff and the rest was history.”
“My colors for the day were all neutrals (whites, creams, beige, and browns) with the accent color being green to bring just a pop of brightness and color to the mix. My coordinator/decorator brought together all the natural and rustic elements and combined it with tons of fresh white flowers with green accents to pull the vision together.”
“We incorporated aspects of both Christianity and Judaism in our ceremony (readings and the breaking of the glass). We also included some foreign languages into our vows (German, Hebrew, and Spanish) to tie together our cultures as well as that of the DR.
We also had a friend officiate the ceremony for us, which brought a very personal and unique feel to it (more in another section below).”
“The 2 biggest challenges we experienced while planning were 1) the language barrier, both Matt and I speak and understand some Spanish but when it comes to planning a wedding and having specific ideas and desires, it definitely wasn’t easy and we had to rely on pictures… A LOT. 2) Island time is a real thing… and for a fast pace east coast couple, island time is very tough to adjust to.”
“Since all planning was done by e-mail, and a few skype dates, we often had to wait a while to hear back. Also, we booked our date 1.5 years in advance but then we did the majority of the planning and decision making in the final 3 months… which seems crazy in comparison to our friends getting married here and planning for a year in advance. It definitely required calming yoga classes and wine nights with bridesmaids during the stressful or freak out times when I felt that there was no way I would be able to get it all done in 3 months!”
“Our vision or theme was “Earthy, Beach Chic” – yes, it is a real thing, haha! I envisioned a ton of natural elements, like driftwood, palm leaves, sand, shells, starfish, and tropical plants, and mixed it with rustic things, like burlap, lace, and ribbon.”
“Rather than having 1 large floral arrangement per table, she used several smaller vases and bottles filled with small arrangements or even single blooms and mixed that together with elements like starfish, shells, wood, etc. to create large and elaborate table decorations. I thought that was the most incredible part of all the decor; it made it special and unique and felt so much like “us”.
“Our actual wedding day was from about 4:00pm until 3:00am! And our guests danced and enjoyed themselves through the whole night. For us, the food, bar, and entertainment was most important because we wanted everyone to have a great time after travelling all that way for our wedding. We offered a menu with several meal choices, appetizers, hors devours, and a full bar and signature cocktails. We also had 3 wedding cakes of different flavors and a midnight fruit buffet for those still going strong on the dance floor.”
“The entertainment included an electric violinist during cocktail hour, a DJ during the party and also the fire show in the middle of the reception. The amazing thing was watching all of our guests, young and old, having an absolute blast on the dance floor and on the beach just dancing up a storm all night long. Even now, a year later, our friends and family still tell Matt and me what an amazing time they had and how much they enjoyed our wedding… most of friends want a redo every year!”
Congratulations to the newlyweds!
Destination Wedding Photographer: Karina Jensen
Wedding Vendors: Location: The Jellyfish Restaurant, Coordinator/Decorator: Mayte Mari ** Please note that she does not work at The Jellyfish anymore; she is now available at The Huracan Cafe (another gorgeous beach restaurant used for weddings in Punta Cana) **, Videographer: Florian Koetter of Video Punta Cana (VPC), Hair & Make-Up: Krystie Ann
