Leia's Dreams Los Cabos Review

We had such a crazy, awsome week in Cabo…filled with so many memories. It was a dream come true for us, as cheesy as that might sound. So here’s my review.

Gotta start off w/ the Wright Travel Agency: Tammy dealt with our huge crazy, asian (and I say asian b/c we have a huge cultural/language barrier that she dealt with like a champ) family…on both sides mind you. I don’t know how she did it, but she did. And all of my relatives made it to Dreams! Thanks Tammy, I can’t thank you enough…

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t31338

Flights: John and I flew Alaska direct both ways. It was a great flight, no complaints. We had a total of 7 check-ins (2 luggages and 5 big boxes). The weight restriction is 50 lbs, btw, for Alaska. We were ready to pay $350 for all of it, but the guy who checked us in was kind enough to only charge us $150! Needless to say, our Cabo trip was off to a good start. He even let us board first so that we could put our wedding attire in the first class closet. All of our guests flew a variety of arlines (US airways, American, Mexicana…). Those who live in Northern cali paid ~ $500 give or take $50, for their plane tickets; which was quite a bit more than what John and I paid last year…the economy really hurt us. Also, flights were being changed quite a bit too. Some people’s itinerary changed 4-5 times! But in the end, we all made it safely w/out a hitch.

Customs/Immigration: Alaska de-planes in terminal 3 at SJD. It’s a smaller terminal than the main one. Unfortunatley for us, 5 flights arrived at the same time…we were the second to the last to arrive. So needless to say, the line was out the door to get thru customs. We were hot and sweaty waiting for 1.5 hours to get to customs. Luckily, there were flat screen TVs to look at showing commercials about Cabo. Low and behold, there was a commercial for EMA Cabo…and Tammy’s beautiful wedding pic came up. John nudged me, and I thought it was a good luck sign Ironically I see her right after I get engaged, and then again right before I get married!

All of our luggages and boxes make it. We tip a guy to help us with them and he takes us to the x-ray machine. My advice to future brides: pack your stuff in luggages. I think we looked suspicious since we had so many cardboard boxes…even though I worte “WEDDING†all over them. They had to search 2 of them. As they were, my heart dropped, scared they were going to confiscate all my crap. They asked for receipts (btw, my receipts looked so fake). We kept on saying that we were getting married at Dreams and that all the stuff was for our guests. Luckily after some conversations in Spanish, they let us go. And we were on our way to the hotel.

Before I forget, John’s sister and my cousin each had a box to check-in. They were arriving the next day in Cabo. For all you brides bringing in any real-touch flowers, beware. One of the boxes that had bags of real-touch orchids was held back by Alsaka in San Francisco. Luckily, the box arrived at Dreams a few days before the wedding. Thank you Mario and David (concierge at Dreams) for calling them everyday to check on the box!

Epic: We found epic right away, holding a “Vacations For Less†sign. We had our own van which was nice since we had so much crap with us. The epic representative gave us a card w/ the manager’s name, Ed, and number and said that we would be getting a call from him that evening. Some background…John and I were really concerned about his 92 yo grandmother and 85 yo other grandmother and grandfather. We had emailed Tammy and Epic about providing them with assistance. Ed was so gracious to call us that evening to assure us that everything would be taken cared of. All of our guests didn’t have a problem finding EPIC outside of the terminal. Some had to wait longer than others for other guests, but it wasn’t a big deal. Due to the taxi and shuttle situation, EPIC tried to sell some of our guests transfers back to the airport for their ride home. Some took it, some didn’t.

Dreams Los Cabos: This resort is the best! I loved the food there, even Himitsu (which I was initially hesitant about). The sushi was good! The service is great all over the hotel. Everyone says “it’s a pleasure!” We arrived on 10/19 – 10/27. And we already want to go back. Before we even stepped out of the van, we and all of our guests, got a nice smelling cool towel and a glass of champagne when we checked in. Check in was easy. We had a honeymoon suite on the 6th floor overlooking the main pool area. It was perfect b/c we could see all the action.

Before we left I made a list of when all of our guests arrival dates and times. We would bring down our OOT bags to the front desk person, usually Veronica, and check on everyone’s reservation. A lot of my guests made so many changes to their dates, roommates that I was scared there was going to be a mix up. But nope…everything was clear. No one had a problem checking in (thanks Tammy ). Dreams also made special accommodations for our 2 sets of grandparents who needed handicapped rooms and John’s parents who needed to be right beside them. All 3 rooms were side by side right beside the redevous bar…perfect location for them. Plus, John’s parents room was HUGE (it had an A & B beside the room #). All upgraded for free! Needless to say they were impressed w/ their accommodations.

Everyone loved Dreams. At first when we posted the prices, we got a lot of complaints that it was “expensive”. But by the end of the week, no one could say a bad thing about the resort. They were blown away by the “all-inclusive” program.

There were minor things that needed to be fixed in several rooms. But they were fixed right away.

Some people had a bout of diarrhea…but it would only last for 1 day if that. I personally think it was b/c people were over-eating and drinking a lot. John and I never once got sick…and we ate everywhere and everything!

John got a massage (thanks Tammy) along with a few others, and said it was great. We also bought 2 couples, who were celebrating their anniversary there, private dinners on the beach. They loved the service and the food. I think it was a 6 course meal!

The resort itself wasn’t too crowded that week, so we were able to get lounge chairs w/out a problem and seated at all the restaurants w/out a wait.

Dreams WC, Yesica Garcia: Yesica has a really sweet, easy going personality. She takes awhile to get back to you thru email. Weddings happen almost everyday at Dreams, so she is very busy. She wasn’t my main wedding coordinator, so I didn’t rely on her too much. We pre-scheduled a meeting with her and Maye a few days before our wedding and she did not show up…there was a wedding that day. For my wedding rehearsal, which was supposed to be at the Gazebo at 6pm, she failed to tell me that there was going to be a wedding there. Plus, she was late to the rehearsal and they sat a couple in the middle of the Gazebo for dinner in El Patio. I told her about it, but she told me to still have it around them eating. My mom was pissed, lucky for her I’m an easy-going person. So I just held the wedding rehearsal near by, so that we wouldn’t disturb anyone. I think she tends to over book herself. She is very nice, but if you have a big group like us, I would suggest having another one. However, she did pull off the Welcome dinner fantastically. So I’m not sure, if she wasn’t on top of her game b/c she relied on Maye to be the main coordinator…I guess I’ll never know.

Officiant, John Fagan: I didn’t really like this guy. First of all he never introduced himself to me. He was telling John that we should have another candle to light the unity candle. But we had lighters for it…but he wouldn’t listen to him. He made John’s best man run to get me to ask me where the freakin candles was…which freaked me out, b/c I didn’t know what the heck he was talking about. And lastly, he told John he needed to make this fast b/c he had another wedding to go to on the beach!

Pub Crawl: I booked our bus transfer thru Maye. It cost $560 to hold all 50 of us. David Maldonado (Dreams entertainment team) organized it. Miguel (from the entertainment team) came along too. We paid $5 pp. We went to Cabo Wabo, the Zoo, and ended at Squid Roe. This was so much fun b/c we partied w/ all of our cousins and friends. It didn’t matter what song was playing or what kind of crowd was there…b/c we all were together. This was such a fun night…everyone bonded and got drunk. Amazingly, we all made it on the bus together and were back at Dreams by 2:30. Room service was busy that night b/c everyone ordered. The poor guy had 60 cheesburgers on his cart! It took awhile for everyone to get their food…but you can’t blame them. Oh yea, and I saw a few doctors i work with at the Zoo! They were here for a "conference". Anyways, we ended up taking shots, and they got on the bus with the rest of our group.

Welcome Dinner/Casino Night: This was one of my favorite nights. In the planning process, it was supposed to be at Oceana Terrace. But then we exceeded the max capacity of that area. Yesica then move it to the beach and booked a wedding at Oceana. Anyways, to make a long story short, I couldn’t have it on sand b/c of the older people. Tammy was my muscle and she secured Portofino for us. This turned out to be sooooo much better after all. Everyone was seated inside the restaurant. The Mexican Buffet tables were out on the cement terrace. The placed a bridge over the water so that people could walk to the grassy area for the casino tables. The casino consisted of poker, black jack and roulette. The food was amazing, the drinks were flowing, and the games were getting a little competitive. Can you blame them…first place was a $100 gift certificate to the spa (we bought), 2nd was a bottle of tequila…which they provided. Everyone had so much fun. Even the entertainment team had a blast…Carla kept on telling me this the rest of our stay. An unexpected surprise, courtesy of David Maldonado, of a 10 person Mariachi Band played for us. They were on their way to Mexican Night at El Patio when David asked them to swing by our party to play. They sounded so good…so professional. It was a night to remember! Oh yea, and I loved my dress...

Suzanne Morel: This woman is awesome to work with. Throughout the planning process she was quick to answer any email, any question/doubt I had. She is definitely a business woman who knows her beauty stuff. She is a perfectionist. Ex. I had a French manicure and pedicure. She saw my nails and felt like the shape wasn’t good enough…she had her manicurist do it all over again!

Hair/Make-up Trail: To all the asian beauties…this woman can do our make-up! Don’t fear, you are in good hands. Diana was the one to do my hair and make-up and she worked her magic. I never like how my make-up turns out when I get it done at MAC, but she didn’t let me leave until I was completely satisfied with my look. I was there from 11am-2pm. I never felt rushed at all, and they themselves wanted me to look perfect. Plus, it was suzanne’s idea to give me a side chignon for the ceremony and then have my hair taken down for the reception. Everyone loved my hair and make-up, even my mom who is the most critical person of me.

Spa Party (mani/pedi & 45 min. massage): Elsa, suzanne’s assistant, was the person who wa there that day. She team of 2 masseuses, and 3 manicurists came at 9 am to set up in my room. We had 2 massages that happened in my bedroom and 3 mani/pedis going on in the family room. All 4 BMs, my mom, and 1 of our godmothers loved it! They couldn’t believe the set up; neither could I. They turned the honeymoon suite into a first class spa. We had so much fun and were very relaxed when it ended at 2 pm.

Wedding Day hair/make-up: Suzanne and her team arrived at Dreams at 9:30am. They set up and started right away. All of my BMs are asian w/ a lot of thick, straight hair, that is very hard to curl. For 1 of them, it took 2 hours to prep/curl it! First thing she did was she discussed w/ each of my BMs what they wanted to look like, to develop a plan. She had a ton of pics and all my BMs really liked how they looked…I thought they were all gorgeous. Some of suzanne’s girls left, but she stayed along w/ 2 girls. They stayed with me up until I left to go downstairs. She touched all of us up. She even put some foundation on my mom and helped my mom with her hair. And to top it all off, she helped one of my bridesmaids sew her dress! This woman is amazing, so professional and talented. I highly recommend her!!!

Trio: They were hired thru Maye. I hired them for 2 hours and paid $520. Maye told me they were going to wear khaki pants and a light blue or crème collared shirt. They wore black pants and a Hawaiian shirt. They didn’t play the wedding music I specifically told Maye I wanted. Actually I barely heard them as I walked down the aisle. I don’t know what they played during cocktail hour…needless to say…I wasn’t too happy with them.

Fun & Motivation: I rented the gold Tiffany chairs and lounge furniture. My contact person was Alejandra Vazquez ([email protected]). I loved the chairs and the lounge furniture. It really added to the ambiance. I highly recommend F&M.

Lunas de Fuego: A must! Everyone loved them…totally a wow factor. I paid $550 for 15 min. show. Everyone’s mouths were open. They were amazing!

Juan Carlos Tapia: He was a blast to work with! I don’t have my photos, but I’m sure they’re going to be beautiful. We booked Juan for 2 days, but he ended up shooting us for 3. On Friday he took us to Todos Santos, a small historic town where Hotel California is. We took pics inside the hotel and around town. I think those pics are going to be amazing despite the fact that I felt really ackward doing some “romantic” poses/shots. Then on Sat., he shot our wedding. He gave us a lot of direction, which I totally appreciate. I kinda felt bad b/c I know he’s an artist but we were stuck taking formal group photos for awhile. I wanted to get more artistic couple shots, but I know the family pics took a long time. Altough, they’re worth it b/c we were able to take them with his grandparents. Then, the next day he took us to San Jose to take more town shots. I really can’t wait till I see them…but I guess I’ll have to be patient.

Sam Perches: I can’t wait till I see the video either. The wedding ceremony was such a blur to me b/c I was so hot and nervous. Sam said he got a lot of good footage, so I’m really excited. Of course I post the video once I get it. A funny side story: Sam showed up in my room. I hardly noticed he was there. My mom wasn’t quite ready yet so I was kinda yelling/giving her attitude in the bathroom. My MOH was standing beside me and looked at me weirdly and mumbled, “leia, don’t yell at your mom.” Her eyes made me turn around. There was Sam, video taping me…oye ve…I hope that didn’t make the final cut…

DJ Ricardo: Awsome guy to work with. He’s really organized and had all our songs in his computer. He also MCd our wedding and did a really good job. I highly recommend him.

Everyone loved my flowers. No one could believe that they weren't real! My mom kept my bouquet b/c it has the picture charms of her parents and John's mom is keeping his boutineer, b/c it has a picture charm of her dad. I highly recomend them!

I think that's it. If you have any questions just PM. I highly recomend Dreams Los Cabos for a wedding!!! It was the best experience we've ever had in our lives...thus far

hey leia,

fantastic review...

you know another client just had a problem with john fagan and i could be wrong but a vendor that i work with alot doesnt get along with him either...i guess i won't be referring him anytome soon.

you look great and your friends/family look like they are having a BLAST!