Tropical destination wedding in Punta Cana // Ashley & Radek

Ashley & Radek met through work in 2004.  They didn’t start seeing each other until 2008 as it was very casual.  They just naturally fell into a good step and their relationship blossomed from there. Ashley got pregnant with their son in 2013 and had him in 2014.  That was what really jump started our journey to where we are now.

Tell us about your wedding planning journey. How did you decide on tying the knot, especially in Punta Cana?

A: “We kind of did things backwards.  We got together, got the house, and had the kids.  After being together as long as we have we knew we were committed to each other, our family and our future together.  It was important to take the next step and that was to get married.  The proposal came in November 2019.  We started discussing timelines, then COVID hit.  We put everything on pause and took the planning fairly slowly.  We were looking around at places mostly at home. We started tossing ideas back and forth about where we wanted to get married.  After a lot of discussion and after 2 years of lockdowns in Ontario, we decided that we wanted to do something for ourselves and our kids.  It was really special to be able to do this with the kids.  We wanted to enjoy a getaway.  We wanted to keep it fun and intimate – we knew that not everyone we invited would be able to join but were confident that those nearest and dearest to us would make it.  We wanted to enjoy a full week with our family and friends”

Let’s talk about the wedding venue: Dreams Royal Beach

After much debate, Dreams Royal Beach won them over because of its smaller and more intimate size, perfect for what they were looking for. It is an all inclusive family friendly resort and whenever they would see travelers pictures of their gardens they were in love with how lush and beautiful everything looked.

Also they fell in love with the photo’s of the Seaside Grill for the reception location. Everything about the complex screamed “tropical getaway”  It was neither too simple nor too fancy.  It felt like a tropical “wedding” location and resort should feel like.

Talking about the wedding theme, did you choose one in particular?

A: “We didn’t really have a theme, more so just wanted to keep the tropical vibe.  The dresses, bridal gown and groomsmen outfits were all chosen keeping the more casual setting and the various colors of the ocean in Bavaro in mind.  We chose a beach ceremony with a private reception in the Seaside Grill. The flowers chosen were bright and tropical to reflect the beautiful country in which we decided to get married.  I feel like everything we chose we tried to keep a good balance of simplicity with dressing things up in the right places.  We wanted to keep it fun, light and enjoyable for everyone and still have it feel a little “fancy”