Loni's April 3/09 Dreams Cabo Wedding Review

My wedding was the best day of my life, and a big reason for that was the information I got from this website. I went from blindly planning a destination wedding to learning who the big players are in the Cabo area. Thank you so much ladies! (and gents). So here I am to pay it forward.

First things first- I know you all to well.

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As time goes on, more photos should be added, as everyone who attended the wedding is supposed to post their faves.

Okay, so when we were planning our wedding, we had a hard time choosing between the Riu Palace and Dreams. So, we decided on Dreams, spent a week there with our guests, and then when everyone went home, we spent 4 days at the Riu Palace as a mini-honeymoon. Sorry Riu girls! I am so completely relieved we got married at the Dreams! In fact after moving to the Riu, we both felt homesick for the Dreams! Service, people, size- we liked the Dreams more in every possible aspect. We were at the Riu at the tail end of spring-break, so that might be why it seemed a little out-of-control there. The only bonus is that you are closer to town, so you save a little more on the taxis. I didn’t realize how much we would be paying in taxi-fares! We spent probably close to $300-$400 just on fares!

We arrived the Sunday before our Friday wedding. In total, 40 of us travelled down and stayed at the Dreams. The resort was beautiful! As we are getting off the bus, staff is handing out cool towels and champagne. Nice touch! We were travelling with my step-son, so we had already booked a one-bedroom suite. I didn’t want to book a smaller room and hope for an upgrade. Our room was perfect. It overlooked the main part of the resort, the ocean and the pools. We were on the 6th floor. Our room was nicer than any of the other one-bedroom suites I saw. They had champagne chilling on the table when we arrived.

What I wouldn’t do again- arrive so early! I felt like I was running around, worrying about wedding stuff the whole time, and didn’t feel like I had enough time with our guests. We had a symbolic ceremony. Oh yeah- and stupid thing to worry about? Tan lines! Honestly, this stupid little thing had me constantly worrying about what to wear, how long I was in the sun, etc. Next time I would arrive one day, meet with all the vendors the next morning and get married the following day. Or if you are having a legal ceremony and have to be there earlier, don’t have your guests arrive until a day or two before the wedding so you have more time with them afterward.

Dreams overall: A+

Food was excellent, service was exceptional. There was always activities going on if you wanted to take part. The kids went in the Explorer’s club which they loved! My nephews were setting their alarm clocks so that they wouldn’t miss any of it. I think they start taking the kids at 9am and will keep them until 10 pm if you want. The parents get a pager so if the kid wants out at any time, they will page you.

We had Swedish couples massage at the spa. Very nice, but expensive. It was pretty breezy there most of the time which was fine, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so chilly at night. I only brought 3 sweaters and could have used more. I was glad our welcome dinner and reception were at the Oceana Terrace, you are fairly sheltered from the wind there. Our welcome dinner was supposed to be on the beach, but it was too windy which equals cold, so we moved it. We had the steak and lobster for the wedding and it was amazing! I’m from beef country, so I was a little worried about what Mexican steak would be like- could be one of the best steaks I’ve ever had! The meal was so good from start to finish, I though I was going to burst out of my dress!

Yesica, Dreams Wedding Coordinator: C+

Yesica is very nice in person. She is slow with the e-mails though, and I didn’t always feel like I got a straight answer. Even after meeting with her, she assured me that she would look after everything and I had nothing to worry about. This is partly my fault because I am so particular about things. I should have had a checklist of every little detail I wanted and went over it with her. Honestly, by this point I was sick and tired of the whole wedding schmoozle and figured I had sent her e-mails detailing everything I wanted so, I wasn’t going to beat a dead horse. Now, I’m not sure if I misunderstood her, but we decided we would have a cocktail hour, around the bar right next to the gazebo after the ceremony. Well, after the ceremony, that area was set up and reserved for the Subaru group. A lot of our group was either on the beach or right around the gazebo. My sister said one waiter came by with one tray of hor dourves once. So the cocktail hour gets an F, but I don’t think my guests even cared. I had also wanted Japanese lanterns, luminarie bags and churros at the end of the dance. None of these things happened either. However, I wasn’t charged, and like I said, nobody noticed or cared. At the end of the day, I was halfway through supper before I even noticed! Yesica was off part of the way through my supper, which surprised me. It didn’t matter, but I assumed she would be there from start to finish. The last thing is just that I felt a little out of my element. I really need to know exactly what’s going on all the time! On the wedding day, I was determined not to be stressed and handed everything over to Yesica. The downside of this is that I never knew where I was supposed to be or when. My photographer seemed to have a dialogue going with her, and I felt like he was the one orchestrating the day-of timing. At the end of the day, Yesica was very pleasant to work with and none of the issues I had were important enough to bring up. I had a fabulous wedding day, and I didn’t want to mar that by nit-picking at all the little things. I just suggest that you take a more pro-active approach if you really have to have something.

Suzanne Morale: A

Adrianna did both my hair and make-up and I think she did a great job. I had a trial done at their salon on Monday, and they came to Dreams the day of the wedding. At the last minute my sister decided she wanted her hair done too, and they accomadated her. They did tell her at first only if they had time, but they made time without compromising anyone else. The only reason they didn’t get an A+ was because I had to arrange my own transportation to and from the salon that was confusing, plus it cost me $25 each way. If they would pick the brides up and drop them off, they would have an A+ for sure.

Florenta Flowers: B

I LOVED my flowers! The only reason they didn’t get a better grade is because of communication. I wanted to know exactly how my flowers were going to look, and never saw any photos of what they were thinking. They would send me photos, but they were nothing like I had requested. I got very frustrated in the planning process with them. I never did see my flowers until my bouquet was delivered the afternoon of the wedding. Like, I said, I loved my bouquet, centrepieces, everything! Florenta is the florist that Dreams normally uses, so if details aren’t a major issue to you, let the hotel look after your flowers, it might have been cheaper, as I think your bouquet and boutinnears are included in some of the packages. Also, I wouldn’t spend money on the rose petals for the aisle again. Yesica spread them right when I was walking down, but really, at that point everyone is looking at the bride or groom anyway. It was also windy, so they just blow away.

Juan Carlos Tapia: A+

I don’t know if there is anything new that I can add here. Juan Carlos is very much an artist. He also kept me in the loop as far as where I was supposed to stand, when we were supposed to proceed to the ceremony, etc. I haven’t seen the photos yet, but I’m sure they will be fabulous.

DJ Mijares: A+

This guy was excellent! Again, I was a little unsure when I booked him. Reading other reviews, I thought he was the one wild card in the bunch. I was so wrong. He had the music cued properly at the ceremony, and at the dance he acted as emcee and kept everyone dancing too. He wasn’t shy about switching songs if people weren’t feeling it. Extremely polite, he made our reception. Aside from having the wedding at Dreams, going with Dj Mijares was the best decision I made.

Cake A+

Dreams made this cake, it was a tres leches with strawberries and white chocolate in between the layers. I brought ribbon down with me so that I knew it would be the right color. I loved the cake and it was tasty too! The staff had the top part delivered to our room afterwards, so I ate it for breakfast the next two days! I was a little concerned about letting Dreams do the cake, just because they don’t have much for pictures on the website. However, after reading other reviews, most brides said they would skip the cake altogether. I didn’t want to do that, but figured I should start to cut costs somewhere, so decided not to go with an outside cake vendor. Very happy with my decision!

FYI

*It sounds scary, but pay all your vendors prior to the wedding day if possible. Then you don’t have to worry about it the day of the wedding. All the vendors I worked with were extremely reliable. It seems a little scary to pay someone you don’t know in a foreign country before you ever receive services. Especially considering no one takes credit cards. I was expecting everyone to. Suzanne Morel does, but she requires payment 10 days prior to your trial- which through me for a loop. Everyone else takes cash or travellers cheques- (who knew? I didn’t think anyone used travellers cheques anymore!)

*Arrange for someone to have cash on them if you think you may want to tip. I would have liked to have given the serving staff, bartender and DJ a tip for doing such a wonderful job, but had no cash on me. My husband didn’t have his wallet either, and you don’t want to miss your own party to go to the room.

*Try not to overplan. I was so stressed about every little detail 2 months ago! Then when it came time to go over everything again, I was so sick of the process that I just figured whatever happens, happens.

*Dreams doesn’t automatically feed your vendors. I talked to Yesica prior to the wedding and asked that they all get the same meal we did. They set up a little table off to the side and the dj and photographer ate together. I offered lunch to Suzanne’s girls and they declined. I sort of got the impression that they weren’t allowed to eat there with the contract they have with Dreams- I’m not sure.

*I brought my own chair ties and sand cermony items, but I think the hotel can provide most anything you want. I didn't give them enough credit when I was planning my wedding.

Overall, I think we truly got married in paradise, and I can’t think of another resort doing a better job of making us feel special that week. Your wedding lasts only one day, but I have wonderful memories that will last my lifetime.

Thanks again everyone!

Wow! That's an amazing review! Thank you so much! Your pictures are absolutely stunning! I'm glad I read your review. I didn't realize that a lot of vendors don't take credit card! I'm afraid I might have the same issue that you had with Yesica. I am very nitpicky about details and knowing what is going on at all times, and I would want her to communicate that to me!

Loni - sounds like everything was fabulous! Thanks for the review and tips - and congratulations!!!

Loni, your wedding sounded so amazing. I can not say thank you enought for posting your review. It has a bunch of new details that I have not seen and all of it was so helpful. And Of course I LOVED the pics, cant wait to see what Juan shot.

Thanks again!

Great review Loni!

I couldn't login to view your pics though, it says invalid username or password

I'm glad you had such a great time! Your pics look wonderful- congrats Mrs.!

Awesome review! Thank you so much for taking the time to fill us in on all of the the details, it helps so much! Congrats!

Congratulations on your wedding and thank you for sharing your story! It soulds like you and everyone that attended had a great time at the event! You suggestion about the tan lines is something that i am now thinking twice about too - i will be there a week before the ceremony! LOL! Can't wait to see your pics by Juan!

Thank you for sharing and congratulations!!