SarahMc

I agree - get what you like! James is getting a tungsten with platinum and I'm going with a platinum band and maybe some diamonds. He wants a manly ring with no diamonds and I want a girly one, so there's no matching with us!

Here's some pics: This is the view from the beach wedding site: El Patio and the gazebo Reception set-up at El Patio (think they might call this Cascade Terrace if I remember right) Oceana Terrace at night Oceana Terrace view Oceana reception site

Epic was the airport transfers and that was through Tammy (host) then the shuttle we took into down was through Apple Vacations, but we arranged it through the bell boys at Dreams. I think Epic has a representative at Dreams though too. Luckily I already have Juan booked as my photographer! I think I'll do the cake through Dreams, but I am going to look for a guitarist. I've seen lots of good things about David Flores on the forum, and Mariana recommended him too. Our room was five floors up above Oceana. You couldn't hear the highway from inside the room, only on the patio.

No I didn't get to meet her. I'm sure if Mariana's training her she'll be great though! All the staff at Dreams was so helpful and accomodating, I don't think you can go wrong with anyone you work with there.

The highway sounds sort of like the Ocean, until a big truck goes by ). You really can't hear it from other parts of the resort though, so I don't want to freak people out. I definitely think we'll go with the Dreams cake - none of us are really big cake people anyway, so as long as it looks pretty...

I just got back from a very short (2 night) site visit at Dreams and LOVED it! If you can do a site visit, I definitely recommend it! It really helps you make decisions and calms the nerves a little. I have totally flip-flopped what I wanted to do after being there and seeing it in person. I went with my mom (James didn’t want to do such a short trip for wedding stuff). So here’s my recap. I haven’t been able to post much on this site, just gather great info from everyone else, so hope this helps someone. We got there Monday night (our plane was delayed three hours for a warning light) and our transfer company Epic was there waiting for us with our names on a sign. I’ve been to Mexico before, but never Cabo. The airport there is a total maze of timeshare people and you really do have to just ignore them and get outside. The transfer company did have a salesman in the car because they knew we were there for a site visit, but he was fairly nice and not to pushy. When we got to Dreams, the greeted us with champagne. They had us booked in a honeymoon suite, but quickly changed us to a room with two beds. The staff was really friendly and very helpful. We did tip everyone while we there (except at Portifino – will discuss later). The hotel was very clean and well kept. The rooms are large and very comfortable (I had no issues with the beds and they even have alternate pillows if you want one). We met Mariana the next morning and she is fabulous! She had a bunch of paperwork for us to look at and took us on a tour of all the locations we could have the ceremony and the reception. The gazebo is pretty close to El Patio Restaurant which opens at 5pm so we’ve decided to have our ceremony on the beach right past the gazebo. There’s some pretty rocks in the water (Mariana said they always show.) Probably the most private place for a reception is at the Oceana Terrace pool area. When we got there a wedding reception was going on, and there wasn’t anyone else in the area. You can hear noise from the Oceana restaurant there (and the highway), but if you have music, you won’t hear it as much. Also, you don’t need much in the way of decorations. The palms right be where the tables are have lights strung around them all the time and the there’s nice lighting on the other plants and palms across the pool. We ate at the Seaside Grill twice (dinner and breakfast) and both were great – the wait staff here was really good as well. We had breakfast at El Patio and it was good as well. We also ate at Portofino once and were not too impressed, but I think that had more to do with the staff. We got our appetizer, then it took forever to get our meal. When we got it, mine was okay (tortellini), but my mom’s pork dish was rock hard. We took the shuttle through the hotel and Apple Vacations into Cabo San Lucas. It’s $12 roundtrip and the last one coming back to the hotel is at 9:30pm. They drop off/pick up at a very nice plaza and were very timely. They didn’t charge us for our trip either (must be a perk of being a bride to be!). So the stuff you probably really want to know (I’m sure some of it’s been said before): Legal marriages: They can do your blood work at the hotel. It’s $150 and a lab comes to do it. Mariana said she just found out in October from a bride that got married there that there is something you have to do when you get back to the states to make it legal. She has a website to go to. I’ll post it once I get it from her. Mariana can also translate the Spanish ceremony. Charges for people not staying at Dreams: There is a charge of $85 for adults and $40 for kids, but this is not on top of the Dreams setup fee. You only pay the one fee for non-Dreams residents to attend. Set-up fees: If you have a set-up for your ceremony and reception at $44 per person, you do get the cocktail hour for free with appetizers. Chair ties are $1-2 each (depends on her current vendor prices), hurricanes are $20 each and votives are $2.50 each. Mariana can also help arrange photographer, music, etc…. Cake: The cake that comes with the free package at Dreams is only for ten, but you can add to it for $6 per person. Flowers: Mariana said the bouquet that comes with the package is generally just a mix and that all flowers are imported usually. You can ask for all one color. Corsages/boutonnieres (however you spell it) are usually a rose, but you could have daisies. Of course, she can change this for you, but not sure what the cost would be. She'll e-mail pics if you want her too. Food: Mariana provided a great menu (I think it’s been posted before), but the one thing I learned that was helpful is they can double plate the main dish. So you could have a beef and a fish or a beef and a chicken. She didn’t say there was an extra charge for this. It comes with dessert too – she said a lot of people do dessert and a cake! Outside Vendors: I did notice on the info she gave me that it said photographers, musicians and other vendors were commissionable to Dreams. I plan on asking for clarification, because I thought it was okay to hire outside vendors. The only real negatives for me were the proximity to the highway as we could hear it from our room at the Southeast end of the hotel and the beach is a federal beach, so there were some vendors. They did leave us alone when we said no thanks though. However, they can pull down to the beach and park right next to Dreams. Dreams does have a rope up along the beach that I believe they are not supposed to cross. Overall the hotel is beautiful and I’m so excited! It’s very clean and well kept. Mariana is FABULOUS (did I say that yet)! I’m not having an outside coordinator because our wedding is so small (18-25 people), but after meeting her I’m totally confident she can handle everything I want to do. I’m sure that there’s more stuff I forgot to say, so if you have a burning question, let me know and I’ll see if I can answer it. I’ll try and post some pics too (I am not the best photographer). Sorry for the long post too, but I was only gone for three days and came back to 2330 unread posts so I had to get you guys back with a long one! Sarah M

Ditto on Glenda's comments regarding Tammy (the host). It's been helpful for us to have a TA cuz I can check in with her quickly to see who's following through and who needs more prompting to book, without contacting everyone. I'd watch out for the travel sites, I know several people who have had issues with bookings on travel sites, and for something as important as your wedding, you want everything to work out. (Especially avoid Orbitz - James had a flight booked and paid for and then at the last minute found out he didn't have a flight and had to pay big bucks to get to his sister's wedding in Canada.)

Luckily my parents are going to bring an extra suitcase for me to put stuff in like that. But other brides on the forum have talked about either sending it down ahead of time if you have a wedding coordinator who can hold it for you or buying stuff when you get there.

I voted for the mesh, but it might not be formal enough for you. It just looks like a perfect beach dress. The babydoll and halter are really pretty too!

Very funny!

I stayed at the El Dorado Royale a few years ago, just for a vacation. I didn't see any weddings, but if you have questions in general about the resort, I'd be happy to give feedback if I can. Sarah

So before I opened this thread I was thinking Jackie too - she's always so helpful and welcoming to everyone!

I voted for number 2 - although I love #1 as well, I think #2 is more elegant.

We didn't want to register either - we both have pretty much everthing we need - but my mom made me. We just started a small one at Macy's and might to do some stuff at Crate & Barrel. I like Target too, but like people have mentioned, their stock changes so often. Every time I've gone to get someone's registry there, most of their stuff is no longer available. I love the idea of a charity, thanks for sharing.

I couldn't open it either. It looked like it was going but then said invalid file....

Ditto on the that sucks! I loved the hanging lanterns Rebecca had.

I'm partial to the El Dorado Royale since I've stayed there before and loved it. If you aren't planning on kids, that's a great place. I also have a friend who's stayed at one of the Palace resorts (don't remember which one) and they really liked it. Sarah M

I saw these too on this site Save The Date Photo Magnets, Save The Date Wedding Magnets, Photo Magnets, Wedding Magnets, Wedding Photo Magnets, Wedding Photo Favors, Photo Birth Announcements, Photo Birth Announcement Magnets, Birth Announcement Photo Magnets, Refrigerator Photo. Go to the wedding link then you'll see them. It looks like you provide four photos and they put them together, but I didn't look much further into it. I think I saw them somewhere else too - I was doing google searches for "save the date magnets."

Musicians...I knew I was missing something! Thanks Tammy! I think my brother is going to be the video guy.

I'm going to Dreams at the end of January for a site visit so will try to take pics of all the places for receptions and post them. I know it seems like a long time from now - 2 months - but time's flying by! So, those of you who have been there before or done your site visit already, who should I meet with? Mariana said she'd be there, and I already have Juan booked for the wedding, so don't know if I actually need to meet with him in person. What about cake people? I've heard Sweet Dreams a lot on the forum...is there someone else I should contact as well? Oh, and flowers too...is there something I'm missing? I don't have a coordinator besides Marianna, but I figured with all of you I didn't need one ) Sarah M

Sarah M with a June 28, 2007 wedding at Dreams. I'm excited there's so many other Dreams brides to share info with!

I haven't decided where to have the reception yet, we'll probably have 30 people. I'm going at the end of January for a site visit, so will probably decide then. Have either of you decided where you're going to have your reception? Sarah M

Thanks Christa and Tammy, I just went and looked at. I'll have to print out the lists for James and I truly hope he was joking about Korn!

Welcome Erica! This is a great site...I don't know what I would have done without all the great experience and advice from all the brides and brides to be here!

We're going to go the Ipod/bring speakers route because after I said how much a DJ was and what they would do, James said no way. We're probably not going to dance or have the traditional dances anyway. James has no rythym so it just depends on how much he has to drink...He's in charge of the music, but I would love it if people posted their song lists - it would give him a starting point since he was threatening to put Korn on the list earlier this week... Sarah M