cancunbride2be

I used Claudia and I LOVED her and her work. A sample of pics is posted in my Dreams Cancun Review.

Quote: Originally Posted by dmarie17 For those of you who have been to dreams, I need you! Instead of having a welcome party (and paying $10 pp), I'm just going to do 'welcome cocktails' and have our guests all meet at a bar and drink together. I want to put the info in my newsletter that I'm sending out but without being at the resort, I'm not sure what bar would be best. We have about 40 people coming so it would need to be a pretty spacious place. Any ideas? Hi - We did a "meet and greet" at the lobby bar and it worked out perfectly because its a large space that also has a patio. We had 50 people and everyone was able to get drinks quickly and sit comfortably. That would be my pick for the best bar to meet a large group in.

Quote: Originally Posted by dancingdolphin For those who have visited Dreams Cancun, what size cups did they serve? I've heard from some that they are getting stadium cups customized because the cups the resort uses are dixie cup size (or just about), and found a large cup very helpful. However, others have said their resorts had large cups and guests didn't use them. Do you think stadium cups would be useful for the guests? Hello- The cups are very large for mixed drinks and beer is served in bottles. I dont think an extra cup would be useful at Dreams. Plus your guests end up having to carry a cup around with them everywhere they go, so it might just be left in the room.

Hey ladies - At our reception we provided dinner for Claudia R, her assistant and the videographer (the same choices my guests had). We also offered the DJ a meal, but he declined. Just so you all know, Dreams does offer a reduced price meal for your vendors and they will set up a small table at the reception site that is tucked away in a corner or something. You just have to tell Claudia (wc) that you want a table for vendors. We had our reception in the spa area and they put a table into the back corner for Claudia and her team. That way they could eat comfortably, not eat with our guests, but still get some good pictures (I saw Claudia take some from the table during dinner).

Quote: Originally Posted by flygirl So i was thinking of maybe making my own cheapo table runners just to add a little color to the reception tables. Does anyone know what size their rounds are? Are they a 10 top or 8 top? They actually have both. I had 4 10 tops and 1 8 top at my wedding (we were 50 people total, but my husband and I sat at a sweetheart table...which is a half round).

Quote: Originally Posted by Princess402 I really love this review and your pictures are so great! Can I ask one question about the weather? How did you find the air and ocean temp at that time of year? I would love to have a late April wedding, and obviously the water and weather would be quite warm by then (and I love the heat!), but I'm reading all this scary stuff about sea lice in April and May so now I am thinking maybe early December for a date instead... I imagine that this would be similar in climate to January when you were there. THANKS! The weather is gorgeous at the end of January. I've been to Cancun 3 times now during that same time (last week of Jan) and its always between 85-90 degrees and the ocean is perfect for swimming. We were all in the ocean constantly! This is also prime season for cancun, so the prices tend to be a bit higher during that time, just as an FYI. I've also been in mid-December (for our site visit) and it is definitely cooler than it is at the end of January. Dont get me wrong...its still beautiful weather and my husband and I still laid out by the pool. But it wasn't like the "summer" weather like it is in January. I am a HUGE baby about cold water and I would not go in the ocean on our trip in Dec, but my husband went in and was fine. Just keep in mind that I am really really sensitive to cold, so I'm probably not the best person to give you feedback on that. I wont step foot in the jersey shore ocean unless its August..and sometimes its even too cold then!

Old - My mom's veil from her wedding New- Dress, shoes, neclace from Steve Borrowed - Hair clips and earrings Blue - cute blue ruffle undies

I totally agree with Paula!! It is way to windy the majority of the time to have petals on the aisle. I would save the money and use it some where else. I had a lot of problems with my veil as well and if it wasn't my moms, I wouldn't have worn one! I took it out as soon as the ceremony was done because I couldn't take it any longer!! I actually LOVED the red aisle because it was gorgeous in all the pics and the walkway is a bit curvy, so it might be difficult to use your own runner. And I have to say that I wouldn't reccommend the squirt bottles either. I know that I wouldn't use mine because I wouldn't want to carry it around. No one had any problems with sand in their drinks when we were there and it is nice to be able to just give the empty, sticky, and sandy bottom glass to the waiter/bartender. We did the koozies and everyone loved those and used them all 3 days. It kept drinks cold, and their hands dry from the glass sweat and because ours were neoprene, people just folded them up and stuck them in their pocket/beachbag.

Quote: Originally Posted by dmarie17 Well that kinds stinks... So I can't give them a choice of chicken or beef huh? Do you know if any of the other more expensive packages will let me have options? I'd normally just go with chicken (who doesn't like chicken, right?) but i have a few vegetarian guests. Help, what do I do? I had the same problem because I do not eat beef and I'm allergic to shellfish, but my hubby really wanted to surf and turf. So she let us have 2 entrees for our guests to choose from (Rum butter jerk Chicken...which was AMAZING and the surf and turf). We did not get a soup though, only appetizer and salad. But...it seems like Claudia has gotten a lot more strict this year than she ever was, so I can't promise she will let this slide. I had an outside photographer for my wedding and Claudia never had a problem with me bringing her in. I really didn't change my package at all, beside the entree choice, and like Jilly said, it really went perfectly with their set package. I wouldn't stress about changing a bunch of little things because it just makes everything more confusing. If she makes you choose one entree...then I would definitely choose a chicken...the rum butter jerk chicken was really really great! I loved it! Oh..and as far as the cake goes...stick with the dessert they offer. No one really ate our cake either.

Quote: Originally Posted by PDXlove That's great she didn't charge you for setting up your decorations and it sounds reasonable to tip the bellperson's for handing out the OOT bags, thanks! And another one, you said that most of your guests got upgraded because of your TA's maneuvering---my TA told me that the hotel will upgrade randomly when they overbook the least expensive rooms-- do you know otherwise-- was your TA able to negotiate upgrades for your guests? Were you and your HUSBAND updgraded and did your TA make that happen? Thanks again! Yes, I've heard that the hotel will upgrade if they overbook the lower level rooms. All I know is that every guest that booked through my TA was upgraded to dolphin or ocean view and those few that booked on their own were in regular deluxe rooms (which are still really nice). That leads me to belive that the request from my TA had something to do with it. Of course, they wouldn't upgrade them if they didn't have the rooms...but I think the upgrades might have gone to my guests over someone random because of my TA. But...honestly what do I know about what goes on behind that desk . My hubby and I were not upgraded to a more expensive room (we booked for a jr. jacuzzi suite and that's what we stayed in), but we did have an ocean/gazebo view. I dont know if all the suites have that view or not...so I'm not sure if that would be considered an "upgrade". Your TA might be able to help you with that question.

Hi!! Thanks alot and I am glad that my review helps you! No Claudia did not charge me for setting up my decorations, even though she said in her emails that we would be charged. Yes, there was a charge for the delivery of the OOT bags. They charge $4 per bag, but our TA negotiated with one of the managers, so we paid $2 per bag. I dont think that Claudia can reduce that price because its actually the bellboys tip for dropping off the bags (or so we were told). Good luck with everything and HAVE FUN!!!

We had three total. One song that the boys and my bridesmaids walked in to (Ariosa by Bach on guitar), one song I walked in to (Storybook Love, The Princess Bride Soundtrack) and the recessional (Somewhere Over the Rainbow, 50 first dates Soundtrack...I can't remember how to spell the guys name but its on the forum a million times). We didn't have any music during the actual ceremony. Any of you other recent brides out there DYING to get back to Mexico?? Its only been a month since I've been back from the honeymoon and I am already itching to get back. I'm soo spoiled!!

Thanks! Everyone did enjoy the entire trip. It was definitely worth every little bit of planning I did. Quote: Originally Posted by cmw Gorgeous pictures!!! Looks like everyone had a great time!! How many people did you have? We had 50 people How did you know how much time you had for the ceremony music? I didn't really...I just picked "Ariosa" by Bach for my girls and that was def. long enough for all 6 of my bridesmaids. Then I walked down to "storybook love" from the Princess Bride soundtrack. Claudia took care of all the timing. I think that someone timed it on here somewhere and it was something like 1 min and 20 seconds to walk. I wouldn't worry to much about the timing...one full song should be plenty of time. I am dying right now trying to figure it out. I also have 6 bridesmaids and just can't figure out how to get the timing down.!! HELP!!

BUSTLE, BUSTLE, BUSTLE!!!!! I didn't bustle mine until after the ceremony but I couldn't of dealt with my train all night without it bustled. I had the exact same length train as you do and it really makes it so much easier to move!!

For some reason I can't get the muli-quote feature to work...so I'm just going to do a list of answers for everyone else....here we go: dc22173 - I purchased the starfish for $13.99 from Simply Flowers - Products - Bouquet Jewels mandm - My koozies are from Promotional Products, Promotional Items, Imprinted Promotional Products, Custom Promotional Products, Personalized Items They were great and really fast and flexible. Not to mention the cheapest I could find! Jodey - We hired the dj for 4 hours and he did play through dinner. We ended up extending our time an extra hour (5hrs total) because we were having so much fun and nobody was ready to stop dancing at 10. I think it was really nice to have the background dinner music...I think it would have been too quiet without it. I didn't organize a play list for dinner, but I did give him a few artists that we would like to hear to give him an idea of the type of music to play (Jack Johnson, Sade, Dave Matthews, etc). rockbride - The large hurricane with sand shells and votives were included with set up - at my request. I brought the small votives on the sides, the mat the hurricane was on and the starfish on the table. I dont know if they use them as a standard set up when you dont order centerpeices because I asked for them specifically. I sent a pic of them and asked to have them on my tables and have them included in the package. JoannaR - It is not superwindy in the spa area. We had a nice, welcomed breeze but it wasn't blowing stuff off the table or anything. The area is sort of tucked in between buildings, so that blocks a lot of the wind. For our day, it was super windy out by the gazebo and terrace though. Since we got married in January, it actually cools down quite a bit at night (like 60s) so it wasn't too hot for any of us outside. Sometimes it even gets a little chilly, which is why I got pashimas for all the ladies. I have no idea what its like in June because I've never been to Mexico in the summer, so I can't really say whether it will be too hot for your guests outside at night. Maybe you can post a new thread and ask everyone...I'm sure there is lots of June brides out there wondering the same thing. Kryztan - No the Jr. jacuzzi suite is not the same as the honeymoon suite. I believe the honeymoon suite is larger than the jr. jacuzzi and is on the first floor of the resort. Our suite was up on the 6th floor, in the tower. Ok..I think thats all of them for now. Feel free to ask away ladies! I lived and died for the reviews before my wedding, so I totally understand. The former dreams brides on this forum before me really helped with all my planning, so I am more than happy to help all of you!!