Dreams Puerto Aventuras Brides - POST HERE!

I heard back from Mr Guzman, the GM and he confirmed my date and time and that I am the ONLY wedding so far on my day. So YAY FOR GOOD NEWS! I have no idea where my fear of a mix up came from, but now I will continue to plan away and enjoy my last 3 months before the wedding!

That's great Bianca! I hope that you enjoy the rest of your planning!!

Yay for Bianca!

It makes me want to inquire, but I think I will wait until closer to my date since it is likely to change. So fun to have your wedding be the only one!

Question:

Who is using the resort photographer and who is bringing or hiring outside the resort? I am really struggleing with this decision due to our budget, but worry I will be disapointed if I use the resort package??

I found a photographer that is already going to be down there for our date so I can save on travel costs. Has anyone heard of Story by Photo is the worlds leading Destination Wedding Photographer, husband and wife team bringing over 15yrs of experience.

I think I will probably end up using the resort photographer to save money, although I do wonder how much it will end up costing after all is said and done because I am sure my mom will want to order more photos than the package provides. We will probably get nickle and dimed to death.

I would like to see samples of the resort photographer's work though to help me decide. I will probably ask Jacy about that but I just haven't gotten that far in the planning process yet. (Although judging from how long it took her to get back to Bianca, I should probably start a little earlier than planned)

I think sharing travel costs for photographer is a great idea! I haven't heard anything about that specific photographer though.

I just emailed Jacy asking about hair, makeup, and photographer to see what she says. I'll post when I get a reply.

Budget:

I'm just in the planning stages but I'm starting to calculate costs:

Dreams Ultimate wedding package $2650

Golden Menu for extra 50 people $2750

5 nights in Honeymoon Marina view(for 2) $1320

Flights for 2 (estimate) $800

DJ 3 hours $570

Total $8090

Yikes we were hoping to keep it under 10K. How much are the OOT bags costing? How about the extra excursion for the guests?

I thought I read somewhere that the cd is NOT included in the 50 pictures for the Ultimate Package. Does anyone have anything in writing about this?

I was talking with my niece last night and she said Jacy had mailed her a list of what everything was going to cost and it was very close to what she had anticipated. There is a fee in there for the wedding coordinator, however, she was wondering what sort of a tip she should give to her, as well as the servers/bartenders and people who help set up with decorations, etc. Is there a set amount that most people give? We will be bringing lots of singles to give out during the week...

forgot to mention... there was a posting on the Dreams website from Amstar that a Coco Bongo has opened up in PDC in December. DPA has an excursion there that leaves around 10:30pm - drops you off at Coco Bongo (with VIP privileges) and open bar for $60/per person. It leaves at 3 a.m. to return to DPA.