03/06/2026
A review form our fabulous clients Alix Macolino and Calogero!
Got married 1.23.26 at the Hard Rock Punta Cana & had 72 guests + 1 child. We had an INCREDIBLE time!! The weather was amazing, there is so much to do for everyone of all ages and even though the resort was sold out the weekend we were there, we didnt feel overly crowded.
total spent before room & flight: 12k
Travel Agents: Here and Away Travel When I say jess & Jayme were my actual saving grace, I mean it. We had an original room block with the resort, which failed to let me know they had sold out after signing our contract and we couldn't even book anything further, in which we had to COMPLETELY change our wedding date to the following week and redo everything. When I found jess & Jayme, they took over everything from there, set up a whole new contract, made sure we got a specific room type, handled all guests transportation and all - a snowstorm hit when 90% of our guests were supposed to leave the resort and helped them get an extended stay at a discounted rate and really made the process SO smooth from start to finish. if you dont have travel agents yet, I cannot recommend them more.
Our coordinator was AN ABSOLUTE GEM. She scheduled a meeting with us the day after we arrived and went over everything in detail to make sure we had everything we needed. The staff she gave us was the same for the welcome party and reception and they were SO attentive and made sure we were taken care of from start to finish. We forgot our table numbers at home and she dug out random ones for us and had all of our signs and everything presented perfectly how we had described.
We originally had a Caribbean sand suite booked and were upgraded to a Rock Royalty 1 bedroom family suite which was a HUGE surprise and amazing for us, since we have a 2 year old. It was perfect for getting ready and had so much space. We got champagne and breakfast sent to the room for getting ready, which was also perfect.
Welcome Party:
Location: Palms Garden. We truly loved this location, it was really close to our building (2b) and was so perfect for what we wanted. We rented bistro lights from celebrations & just the speakers from inspire and hooked our bluetooth up from one of our phones to play a playlist. The servers were passing out our speciality drinks and made sure all our guests were never empty handed.
Wedding Day:
Ceremony: Ipanema Beach - it was all the way at the end away from everything, so I didnt feel like people were staring at us and our onsite coordinator had them clean up all the seaweed and everything behind us beforehand so it looked beautiful. We had the complimentary package and didnt add any florals or anything, and I honestly wouldn't have known the difference if we did so save your money if you can.
We opted out of a cocktail hour, but had our champagne passed after the ceremony so guests had something to walk around with. There was a bar right next to our ceremony space, so most went there and sat at the tables around for a little while we took pictures.
Reception: Ipanema Garden - When I first saw the space, I was a little nervous because it just looked like a giant hill, but when it was all done up and everything was set it truly was such an amazing space for a reception. It was the perfect space for tables and people to still be up and about. There is a building right next to it so people were watching from balcony, which we found funny, but Im pretty sure this can happen at any of the locations.
We chose the bluegrass buffet - AMAZING. Everyone kept saying how great the food was.
DJ: We chose the 3 hour package from inspire and had a friend be our MC, we sent the DJ all of our songs - they sent us a form previously to fill out with all entrances, speeches, dances, etc so it made it pretty clear what the timeline of events was. We sent a Spotify playlist we had created and they added lights and their own mixing into it which had our guests dancing the entire time after dinner.
Caribbean celebrations: We got our bistro lights, a bar stand for our "take a shot, take a seat", light up letters & our sweetheart table - all were exactly like they looked in the photos. the sweetheart table was beautiful and came with its own seat, table, & decor. We opted out of a dance floor because the grass was a perfect open area and we didnt think it was a necessary spend.
Mercaflor: my bouquet & the centerpieces. I sent them a picture of my bouquet Inspo which they nailed every detail, just had a different shade of blue than I wanted, which in the end, really wasn't a big deal. We did palm leaves with 3 candles for centerpieces and it was perfect. Barely anyone sits at the table long enough to even notice, so dont think you need to do extravagant ones, the grounds themselves are so pretty, it barely goes noticed.
POSH: they did all my bridesmaids and moms and did a fabulous job! everyone said they loved their hair and makeup and everything held all night.
Styling trio: only me, the bride. My makeup was FLAWLESS. held all night long and I loved it. I wanted my hair down because I hate the way I photograph with my hair up, so they put in my extensions and hairlip and it did look amazing, but whatever product they used along with hairspray made the front pieces of my hair look so greasy and soaked by the time the reception started, I ended up putting it up - but it lasted through photos and all which is what I wanted! So I really couldn't complain because it was my own choice to have my hair down, I just wish I pinned a little more back. But overall, she copied the hair and makeup inspo I had sent her exactly how I wanted.
We brought our own bouquets - I ordered a box of them off amazon and put them together while we were down there and they honestly looked so good, wish I did it for my own lol. We did the same for the guys, they were lings.
Overall, we had an amazing time - the staff was amazing and super attentive. If you get Walquien (I think thats how he spells it) you are in good hands! Truly the best service we've ever had, my drink was never empty and I was only drinking champagne and don Julio, which he made sure to hide bottles of for me during the reception so it never was empty.
The little things can easily be looked past, the place is beautiful and it's so easy to not spend a crazy amount and still have a great time and have the best day of your life.
