Kukua wedding Punta Cana, Vickie and Andre

“Our wedding day was simply amazing and magical.” Vickie told us.

The theme was romantic elegance with roses and hydrangeas as the floral decor. The color palate was lavender, light blue, ivory, and champagne. The inspiration for the color palate was from Vickie’s late grandmother who passed earlier this year in January at the age of 97. She was one-month shy of her 98th birthday. Her favorite color was pale lavender, and her favorite flowers were roses.

Kukua Punta Cana, as usual, did a fabulous job decorating the beach ceremony site with a floral infinity arch, gold Chiavari chairs, and lavender and ivory chair corsages. The Kukua wedding reception was decorated with lavender and ivory floral centerpieces with lots of candles, hanging floral centerpieces over each table, a floral swing for the wedding cake, the same floral infinity circle from the ceremony behind the sweetheart table, bistro lights, hanging perimeter lights, a floral welcome table, floral seating chart, a floral memory table, gold Chiavari chairs, gold beaded charger plates, lavender napkins, menu cards, and escort cards. The dance floor area was decorated with a huge LOVE sign with lights and bistro lights, and we had shooting sparklers (cold-fire) during the first dance, there were white lounge chairs with floral centerpieces on the cocktail tables as well.

Vickie added some unique elements, instead of table numbers they had table words for example Table of Love, Table of Commitment, etc. They also did personalized luggage tags as favors and a personalized round wooden board as the guest book. “We had our baby pictures on the welcome table as well”.

They had flowers EVERYWHERE and for everything (can’t you tell that Vickie loves flowers lol). Lavender roses in a few shades, ivory roses, ivory and blue hydrangeas, baby breathes, and lots of greenery. Flowers were used for all of decor, bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, etc. Flowers played an integral role in their wedding because it reminded Vickie of her grandmother. “We felt her presence there with all of her favorite flowers”.

The bride and the groom also decided to do an African American tradition of Jumping the Broom at the end of the ceremony.

They had a Caribbean Carnival (Crazy Hour) by HOTS Productions, incorporated into their reception and also a 360-photobooth. The whole wedding was our favorite lol, Vickie and Andre told us, but if we have to choose one thing, that would definitely be the Crazy Hour as our top favorite entertainment.

Vickie styled both the ladies and gentlemen for their Kukua wedding: “I knew I wanted the girls in champagne-colored dresses, and I knew I wanted a mermaid silhouette as well so that was easy. But the guys on the other hand created a challenge. I knew I wanted them to be in linen suits since that is the best fabric for hot weather but wasn’t sure on the color. I knew Andre would be in tan linen suit to stand out. Initially, I was thinking navy blue linen suits for the guys, but Men’s Warehouse didn’t have navy in the slim-fit style, only classic-fit and nobody wears that anymore lol. So, they had a light blue linen suit in the store, and I was like OK, I like that, so we rolled with it, and it all turned out absolutely perfect.

For my bridal gown, I knew I wanted something light and airy, no big ruffles or poof lol. I wanted a mermaid silhouette with a nice long sheer train. And my max budget was $3k. I went to 8 different bridal shops and tried on at least 50 different gowns before I found “the one”. I found it at Betsy Robinson Bridal in Pikesville, MD. The designer is Essence of Australia and it happen to be on sale because the bridal salon was having a trunk sale for that designer. So, I came in under budget for the dress price BUT the alterations took me to my max budget, my dress had to fit me like a glove, the goal was to need zero undergarments lol and the goal was accomplished.”

Vickie and Andre met on Facebook in a group; it was mainly for singles ready to mingle. Andre made a post in the group suggesting going “Drunk Ice Skating” and Vickie commented saying “that sounds like fun, let’s do it”.

“So, Andre hopped into my inbox and asking if I were single and suggested us to hang out. We exchanged numbers and talked every day for a while. We both had hectic work schedules so trying to plan dates was a bit challenging, but we did it. Our first date was to a restaurant called Ra which is a sushi spot. This was an interesting first date because I never ate sushi before and certainly never ate with chop sticks. But on our first date, he introduced me to both, and I loved it. We talked, laughed, ate, drank and just enjoyed each other’s company. Andre was a perfect gentleman. After that, we had several other dates and finally became an official couple in July 2018. We’ve been inseparable ever since.”, they told us.

“Andre proposed on Christmas Day 2020 during our family morning brunch. He gathered us all in the living room to say the prayer before we ate and as he began to pray, he got down on one knee and proposed. And of course, I said yes! Our family cheered us on and then we ate lol. “

Reading the wedding vows was the most special moment for Andre and for Vickie, was her oldest son crying uncontrollably walking her down the aisle. Absolutely adorable!

Words of advice from Vickie and Andre for the future couples planning their destination wedding in Punta Cana:

“START PLANNING EARLY, the sooner the better. When you start early, you get first dibs on a date, venue, and vendors. Once you lock those in, everything else is pretty much smooth sailing.“

Vendors List:

– Venue: Kukua Beach Club and Restaurant

– Travel Agent: Wanderlust and Us Travel Co.

– Photography: Photo Cine Art

– Videography: Photo Cine Art Videography

– Ceremony Officiant: Alejandro Angulo

– Hair and Makeup Artist: Pippa Valette

– Florist: Kukua Punta Cana

– Cake: Cake Studio Bavaro

– Bride Dress: Essense of Australia is the designer, and the bridal salon was Betsy Robinson

– Shoes: Barefoot sandals by Nelipot

– Bridesmaids Dresses: Bella Bridesmaids