Rebecca's LONG Official Wedding Review

Hi all. I’m back from my honeymoon and wanted to give the full review. Here goes…

DREAMS – (A)

I couldn’t have been happier with our location. We had the ceremony at the gazebo and the reception at the Oceana Pool Terrace. It was a really HOT day (and evening), unusual for November, so the pool came in really handy. There was a long shallow step right next to where the tables were set up. So, many of us ended up in the pool dancing on the step. It was really fun!

Mariana was great. She is really organized and kept her cool under pressure. However, there was a couple hiccups.

#1) I was disappointed with the ceremony chairs!! I paid $20 per chair, so I thought I’d get the nice fitted chair covers (like they use at the reception set up), I didn’t even think to confirm? Marc and I swung by the gazebo earlier in the day and saw the chairs set up and they were draped with this unfitted crinkled silk chair cover that fit loosely over the chair (resembling a silk hefty bag). I figured that they were just protecting the chairs until they got the cover on them. I never thought to inquire or check back later. Well after the ceremony was over, I noticed that THOSE WERE THE CHAIR COVERS for my wedding!! Those were the chairs I paid $20 each for. So, be sure to double check those details and see for yourself what you are getting. I should have been more specific instead of assuming. On a brighter note, they did look pretty blowing in the wind when everyone was sitting in them, so pictures will still be beautiful.

#2) I gave Mariana all of my stuff, (lanterns, tea lights and place cards) all in one big bag the day before the wedding. So, the day of the wedding (minutes before walking down the aisle) Mariana asked me if I had the place cards? I told her I gave them to her with the rest of the stuff and she said if you gave them to me, then I’ll find them. Luckily, I had provided her with a spreadsheet indicating what table everyone was sitting at, so, I had told Mariana that if she couldn’t find them, to have someone greet everyone personally and escort them to their table, using the list I gave her. Well sure enough, as we approached the reception, my friend Holly was holding the spreadsheet asking guest names and telling them their table number. It actually added a nice personal touch and if that was the only thing that was going to go wrong, I wasn’t going to complain. I look at it like there are a million details involved in planning a wedding, so things are bound to go wrong, you just have to hope that it is nothing major . PS, she ended up finding the place-cards afterwards (I knew I gave them to her! Ha! Ha!). BUT it all worked out, so I didn’t complain to her.

The cocktail hour was really great. They blocked off a part of the El Patio restaurant (right next to the gazebo) and I pre-selected a few hot and cold appetizers to be served. There was a bar set up right there and the trio continued to play while we took photos. I think it went rather smoothly. At 6:00 the Trio led our group to the reception location and played all the way to Oceana Terrace. The DJ took over from there. It flowed really nicely! At the end of the night we tipped Mariana $50 and another $100 for the servers to split with the bartender. She was wonderful to work with and soo sweet!

FOOD - Restaurant food – ( / Reception Food (A+)

As I mentioned before, the restaurants at Dreams are just so so. My advice is to order simple menu items. Don’t order the Cajun spiced blah blah blah with the mango sauce or the seafood sampler blah blah blah…etc. Order stuff like just the steak, or just the shrimp, etc. For lunch quesadillas, chips and guac, cheeseburger, chicken sandwich…stuff like that and it is pretty good. Also they did a good job on breakfast. I found room service to be tastier than the restaurant food. Portofino restaurant is the exception. It is very good, the best there.

For our reception, we opted for a lobster and filet buffet for an extra charge, which everyone ranted and raved about! There were some things missing from our buffet that I requested (breads & butter and tortillas). I simply mentioned it to Mariana and she took care of it. Also, the food was delayed and when Marc went to inquire as to why, they told us that the grill for the show cook wasn’t working. So they had to cook everything at the restaurant and bring it over. Again, no one noticed so I didn’t care. It was still very good and people were going back for seconds on the lobster! At that point, I just wanted to get the formalities over with (the dances, etc) so I could just drink and get the party started!

REHEARSAL DINNER – (A)We had our rehearsal dinner at Portofino inside Dreams. We were charge $18 per person because it was a private party. They set up 4 rounds of ten on the patio and opened up a half hour early for our group. The service and food was fantastic! Beforehand, they made me pick a special menu of one starter, 3 entrees, and one dessert. We chose the Caesar salad to start, entrée choices were meat lasagna, Chicken stuffed with spinach & cheese and a steak dish. Dessert was tiramisu. Many people commented that it was the best tiramisu they have ever had. They served their local wine which was fine. We were a little irritated because Mariana told us that they had printed special menus for our group and when it came time to order, the servers knew nothing about any menus. Then Mariana showed up with enough for half of our group so they passed out one menu per two people. It was weird and had I known, I would have made really cute ones and brought them with me. But again, it was a minor mishap that I quickly overlooked. I wasn’t going to let it ruin the evening.

TRIO GUTARISTS A+

We arranged the trio through Maye. We had the trio play from 4:00 to 6:00PM. The ceremony was from 4:30 to 5:00, so the idea was for them to be playing as people arrived and were seated, then all during the ceremony & cocktail hour. I didn’t get to hear much of them at all, but Marc said they were great and everyone loved them. It was perfect for the cocktail hour.

DJ (Ricardo …. arranged thru Maye) – (A+++++)

Our DJ was arranged by Maye and his name was Ricardo (don’t know his last name). We met with him and Maye together on Saturday morning ( I recommend meeting with your DJ prior to your wedding). He was articulate, very professional and brought our song list we provided along with his laptop containing all his music. We went over timelines again, he asked us which fast song we would like to play first to kick off the dancing (once the first dance was over), etc. We felt a lot better having this meeting. He emceed when necessary and played awesome music. We tipped him $50.

FIREDANCERS (A+)

The firedancers were also arranged through Maye. I thought it was going to be about 5 or 6 people performing, but it was only two women and there were a couple men playing the steel drums, etc. Still, it was an amazing show! They took everyone by surprise and were a big hit.

CAKE (A+)

Maye also arranged the cake. It was SOOOO good! This was the least important thing to me, so I didn’t expect much here. But MAN was it good. We had a marble cake with chocolate ganache filling and buttercream frosting. We paid $4 per slice, so $240 I think for 60 people.

PHOTOGRAPHY – JUAN CARLOS TAPIA ~ (A+)

Juan met with us on Friday to discuss all of the timelines, etc. He was late (I believe we were his appointment after Nicole), but he explained his tardiness and had a good excuse. Plus he felt really bad because he’s never late!! But he was prompt on the day of the wedding.

Though I haven’t actually seen the photos yet (I should get them this week), we got to see a few on his camera, and he definitely lived up to his reputation and my expectations. He was very serious and didn’t like a lot of horseplay. A little curt (personality-wise) but I think it is only because he was on a time line before the ceremony started, and after the wedding, we were losing the sun and had to hurry to catch sunset pictures. So I could understand his frustration having to wait for people that didn’t follow instructions and wait around for photos, etc. But he was worth every penny and I highly recommend him!! He was having a lot more fun once the reception started. I can’t wait to see the pictures!!!!! He left after the father/daughter dance and we tipped him $50.

VIDEOGRAPHER – SAM PERCHES (

I barely saw Sam (only because I had tunnel vision walking down the aisle). But Marc said he was on time and it wasn’t until we were walking back from our beach photos that I even noticed him. I hired him for one hour, so I was thinking I would have him from 4:30 to 5:30, but he stayed for one hour of film time. So I saw him filming part of the reception too. But I was a little disappointed in the video when I watched it. The lighting was not very good in some shots (fading in and out), but when he’d turn away from the sun, the light was much better. So we had many shots of what looked like silhouettes of people with a gorgeous blue ocean in the background. Also, I wish he had broken up the hour by stopping filming and picked back up later. I’m sure he would negotiate that if anyone is interested. Many shots were like 15 seconds long of a palm tree in the sunset.

What was strange was when he chose to end the video. My friends did a slideshow for us, narrating with a microphone. The video just ended right in the middle of her speech Granted, I chose to not have it edited and just converted the raw footage, but it was a really boring video. I really only wanted it for the ceremony, but in retrospect, I wish I hadn’t “cheaped out” here and at least kept him through the speeches and first dance. It was just 15 minutes of the ceremony and 45 minute of nothing. He was really nice and does okay for his price. I know he offers all sorts of packages (including editing, music, etc). So maybe I would have been happier taking that route.

OVERALL (A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++)

All in all, it was an amazing wedding and I wouldn’t have done anything differently (except maybe spent a little more on a colorful orchid bouquet). But all of my friends told me that it was by far the funnest wedding they’d ever attended and I agree. It was the funnest wedding I’ve ever attended too!

I think that covers everything. If you made it to the end, I commend you! I’d have gotten bored a long time ago  If there is anything I didn’t cover or if you have any questions, let me know!!

You’re next girls!!!! Enjoy every moment!

great review rebecca!!

i am so glad juan was strict with you...you would have been so disappointed if he didn't boss you around and kept everything running on time.

did you tell maye about the flowers? if not, you should...she should know.

also, you are so right about the food...portofino was soo yummy..i wanted to have my welcome dinner there but the group got too large. i wish i had $$ in my budget to do the lobster...it sounds sooo good.

isn't mariana the sweetest?!...i think dreams has a great WC with her...i am thinking of writing a letter to dreams management about here hard work.

also, great to hear dj ricardo is good...he is a member of the forum.

i think when you have 2 day of coords. (maye and mariana) it causes some confusion on who is the primary...i recommend all brides that are hiring a day of coord. but also using hotel coord. to make sure to instruct who is the one to make the shots, etc.

i am sorry sam's video was crappy...ours wasn't like that but we had him for hours...did he have another videographer with him? i really think you should email him about your disappointment.

now if only we could see some PICTURES!!!

Thanks Tammy. Maye delivered the flowers, so she must have seen them. I will e-mail her. She is good and I don't want to discourage her or anyone from using her. But I paid $100 for that bouquet. I could have paid $40 more and had a orchid bouquet.

Sam is so nice... I feel bad complaining to him. We only paid for an hour and he filmed an hour & a half. I shouls have specifically asked him to break up the hour. Bcz right when it cut off is when all the interesting stuff started happening.

Mariana is wonderful. She was great and very in control under pressure. You are right about the two coordinators...I honestly think that that is where the confusion came from.

i'm wondering...do you think sam got confused and only thought he was supposed to be there for an hour? because he was at our event for 4 hours and we got a video that was about an hour...but we got the raw footage that was like 4 hours. also, he had another guy with him...

I don't think so. I specifically asked to hire him for an hour and paid $250. His price was $350 per hour, but since I had already found someone else, I guess he wanted the business, so he offered to charge me $250 to hire him instead.

When were were e-mailing, he was trying to upsell me to 2hours saying he would break up the two hours to get some of the reception. I don't remember what I said. I might have said that's okay, I just really want the ceremony. Which is all I wanted at the time. But now I wish he had got the dances and speeches, etc. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Thanks for the detailed review - I love hearing how everything went - it makes you better prepaired for obsticals that might come our way on our wedding day.

It sounds like you had a great time - can't wait to see Juan's magic! ENJOY being a MRS.

Welcome back Rebecca, great review. I have a question I was quoted 165.00 for my bouquet through Maye for C. Orchids and roses. Does that seem high?