SunBride

Quote: Originally Posted by ddk5576 I can't wait until I have enough posts to check out these reviews!! You do not need points to open the reviews, the problem is that the forum switched servers and all the links have changed. To find the reviews, do an advanced search. But you'll have to search individually for each one. Eventually, I'd like to update all the links, but it will take a lot of work. If anyone wants to help me with this, it would be greatly appreciated. You do an advanced search (I posted instructions on the last page or the one before that) and then I just need to know the bride's name and the new link. Quote: Originally Posted by paradise wedding 09 HELP!!!! I am getting married in a week and am trying to make program fans. I was trying to open the link for the civil ceremony english wording and it is not working. I tried to find it somewhere else on the forum but didn't have any luck. If anyone has this could you please forward it to me it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much You can't open the attachment because you don't have enough points, because you did not participate enough on the forum. I can send you the info by email if you send me your email address by private message, but I hope my effort will help convince you to post a review when you return! We need everyone to chip in as much as possible to keep this thread helpful to eachother.

Quote: Originally Posted by violetvixen Does anyone know what the deal is with rectangular tables vs. round for the reception? I love the rectangular table in some of the photos at the adult/relax pool and am wondering if we can request that, or if it's only for very small groups. We're expecting 25-30 guests. I think it's such a nice variation on the traditional 8-10 person round table. I remember somebody saying a long time ago that you can choose either rectangular or round.

Quote: Originally Posted by AmyBoerema Hi..I've had this problem too. I think it's because we're newer. Once you accumulate a certain amount of points, or posts, then you get access to other links, documents, etc. Strange, huh? I guess it's to encourage people to continue posting. I think I have to post 150 times before I can download documents. That means I hae like 147 more posts to go..... That's right for attachments, but not links, anyone can access links. However, they did server upgrades, and all the links were changed. I've updated the ones in my signature. Eventually I'd like to update all the ones on page 1, but that will take a while. In the meantime, use the search function, and take advantage of the advanced search feature. So let's say you want to search for Blkatz's review, under advanced search you can search by username, then click the option "threads started by this user" and in the word search bar put "review" (not that if you don't click the "threads started by this user" option, then you'll get every thread for which Blkatz replied "great review" or "thanks for posting a review") Quote: Originally Posted by AmyBoerema Hi ladies! I am confirmed for Dec. 4, 2010!!! I am so excited!! I have a bunch of questions and I am going to just throw them out there. Thank you in advance for your help!! 1. For a religious ceremony (not civil), how many days do we need to be down there prior to the wedding day? 2. Has anyone on here gotten married in the chapel? I know it's small, but how many people were you able to fit comfortably and did you enjoy the chapel? 3. Does Dreams Tulum handle finding the Catholic priest for our ceremony? Will he speak in English? 4. What specific decorations are included in that package for the reception (white linens, bows on the chair, etc.?) 5. If there are other weddings on my day, do I have to reserve the reception spot I want in advance? 6. Is early December a slow time at the resort? I’ve heard some restaurants/bars are closed in slow times. Anyone have this experience? 7. What time do the bars/restaurants at DT close? 8. If the reception ends around 10 or so, any suggestions for post-party? Thanks ladies. I really appreciate al your help. I don't think these questions were answered yet... For the reception, the only decorations included are white tablecloths, napkins and chair covers. If you had a flower arrangement on your ceremony table, they will move it to the head table. Good post-party ideas are either the dance bar Desire Lounge (which is open late, I forget, maybe midnight or 1am?) or you can go for the outdoor Sugar Reef Bar which is also open pretty late and has plenty of seating (this would be for a more relaxed party atmosphere, Desire is for dancing).

Yes, I had the exact same experience, I thought the honeymoon suite was a bit better than the Dreams Suite, but not amazing. I talk about it in my review too and explain the differences between the Dreams Suite and the Honeymoon Suite.

Yes, most brides who had multiple weddings on their day have had no problems, StarlitK did, and I think another bride who got married a few days before or after her also mentioned a few issues (not quite to the extent of StarlitK but not perfect either). It definitely is a risk you take with DT versus with other results, but in most cases it ends up not being a problem.

The white linens are definitely free, you only pay for the colored ones.

So for the review links, it turns out that when they did surver upgrades all the old links changed, so those threads still exist but the links are different, I'll have to do individual searches for each of them, and then update them all. In the meantime, just use the search function. For example, to find my review, you could search "review" and then "sunbride" for poster and then add the date limits of April 1 2008 (my wedding date) to like June 1 2008 (if you don't put the dates, you will get a huge number of threads in which I posted the word "review")

Quote: Originally Posted by thefuturemrslutz Sunbride, random question...do you know why your wedding review and some of the other girls' reviews are not pulling up? You guys had some cute ideas, but for some reason they are not pulling up! No, I don't know why but it worried me, it looks like it's lost! None of the links for my review work (in my signature or on page 1). I will contact the forum admin about that. Quote: Originally Posted by avagrace Hi girls, Quick question. I am bringing chair sashes, table runners and candles for the reception, and Aurora just sent me an email saying it would cost $2/person for them to set this up for us. Has this been the case with past brides too? We have 26 guests so I realize this isn't a ton of money, but I just hadn't heard about this before. Well it sounds like many ladies have been quoted this, although it's the first I hear. I'm not surprised though, I mean, when you think of it, it's extra work for them. They spent a couple hours doing my special setup for free, that just doesn't really make sense (maybe if you are already paying a lot for the more expensive package and for private reception, etc, but not when you are using the free package). At least 2$ per chair isn't that bad, I know I would have been happy to pay that price to have my sashes put up. But yes, it's annoying to have these costs pop up unexpectedly, and especially that some people are quoted 2$ and others 3$. It would be great if they had a nice long Wedding Guide that included all this info. Quote: Originally Posted by krista.baird Hi Ladies, In regards to the extra charges ($2 per person) for chair sashes, set up, etc. I was quoted the same thing by Aurora for July 2010. She said if they supply chair sashes, it was $5 per person, but if I bring them, then its $2 per person for set up of sashes on chairs. Also,she said if I choose the dreams ultimate package, the white tulle on the gazebo is free, but if I bring colored tulle, then it's $60 for the setup. If I choose the free package, then I have to pay $150 for white tulle on the gazebo, because they don't provide that with the free package. That seems a little strange to me...they would just have a bare gazebo for your wedding unless you pay the $150 extra? Also, with the free package if you bring your own tulle, they will charge you $60 to set it up. Has anyone else who had the free package recently experienced this? Did you have to pay the $150 (if you didn't bring tulle) or $60 (if you did bring your own tulle) to have the gazebo decorated? Well the basic set-up with the white tulle (the way they do it in the guide, with the tulle just wrapped around the poles) has always been free, I think with the free package they want you to pay if you have the more elaborate set-up (similar to what I had) as it takes longer to set-up (regardless of the color). I'm not sure, but I'm thinking maybe that's what they mean about the 60$ charge (even if you bring your own tulle).

August and September aren't very popular months to travel (in part because it's prime hurricase season) I assume the wedding business is probably quite slow down there at that time. We have had no DT brides get married in the past 2 months.

Wow, BellaBeachBabe I'm so sorry to hear that.

Quote: Originally Posted by alysalynn Hi ladies, I also had a conversation with the wedding coordinators regarding beach/pool receptions and fees when going with the free wedding package. What I was told was that I could have the beach/pool areas for NO private event fee; however, I must use Silver or Gold menu at 55 or 65 a person. The 20 per person menu is only available at the restaurants. (Perhaps they were making an exception and saying you could use a restaurant menu, but there would be a private event fee? I don't know, it seems strange to me.) I decided on the beach reception with the silver menu. I don't necessarily need the fancy menu, but wanted the right space for speeches and dancing and that didn't seem as possible in a restaurant. I wonder if, when you have the free package, you have to pay for either the silver or gold menu, OR the private event fee (and 20$ menu) to have your reception at the pool or beach.. when you think about it, it's a lot of work for them to set that up, when your wedding package is free. Perhaps this is why some brides are being told they have to pay the 750$ fee (with the cheaper menu) while you have been told no set-up fee as long as you choose the silver or gold menu. For those of you who have been told it's 750$ for the pool/beach reception, ask them if you upgrade to silver or gold menu for your guests (remind them how many guests you have) ask them if you still have to pay the 750$. Quote: Originally Posted by melaniejade31 Hello Wonderful, Helpful, Informative Brides! I am so thrilled to know about this forum. Oh, by the way, my name is Melanie, and I am strongly considering Dreams Tulum for my wedding on April 10. There are only a couple of reason why I haven't already secured my date. One is that they only have noon available for a ceremony on that day, and I'm wondering if my guests are going to be uncomfortably warm. We're getting married on the beach. I guess it's only for 30 minutes, right? Encouragement on this front would be greatly appreciated. The other thing is that (as everyone on here has mentioned), the responses and figuring out all the info from the wedding coordinators is so confusing. I've read about them making mistakes in contracts and unexpected charges, so I'm feeling wary about that. Plus, I don't even want half the things in the packages, but when I've e-mailed with the coordinator, they are insistent on choosing one of them. Oh, and another thing---I really want a private beach wedding. Here and everywhere else I've looked, there are people around. I'm wondering if it will be a big deal or not. Any comments about that? Does anyone know of somewhere I could have a private beach wedding? I'm at the point where I just want to pick somewhere, you know? But I'm worried about picking the wrong place. Hmmm... Melanie While there has been some confusion about charges for some brides, the cost is usually not exorbitantly high, i.e. you won't owe like 2000$ more than you thought. It might be a couple hundred dollars (i.e. when they started charging 150$ for the speaker system at the ceremony and the reception, and people had to pay the fee twice instead of once). If you keep yourself a small reserve fund for unexpected surprised you should be fine. Compare their prices with the other resorts you have in mind to see which offers the better value (DT is still much cheaper than a lot of others). There are no private ceremony locaitons on the beach, but... and this is the first time I even really think of this, perhaps you could ask to have your ceremony further down the beach past Seaside Grill, but it would not be at the gazebo. If you look at the pictures posted on page 2, you can see how there is nothing past the gazebo. If you had your wedding further, say near the pile of rocks or even just past that, there would be no one around (although nothing stops a few lurkers from walking over, but that would probably be at most 1-2 people, not like having a small crowd of people sitting on their beach chairs at the beach watching). Why not ask the coordinators if this is an option?

Yeah, although it's never been totally clear, it sounds like with the free package you have to pay to have your reception at the pool or beach, it's only free with the other 2 packages (although I think some people have managed to get away with having a free outdoor reception even with the free package). As for where to have an informal cocktail hour, some people have had it at the lobby bar, or the Sugar Reef Bar, or the Veranda Bar. Yes you can bring your own docking station for your ipod or you can rent their speakers but you have to pay (I think it's 150$ unless that's changed). The arch is part of the dolphin pool, which is next the seaside grill. For a lot of the the questions above, read a bunch of the reviews, people talk about what they did for music, cocktail hour and reception location and about any problems they had or whether they were happy with their choice. This is why reviews are so important, and not just saying everything was wonderful but taking the time to explain all those different arrangements (cocktail hour, reception, music ect) and what you liked and didn't like about your arrangements and how much you paid.

you aren't allowed in the ruins in your dress, I know, I had to leave. But you can access the tulum beach (not the ruins beach) which is supposedly just as nice as the beach at the ruins, it's a bit further down the road (a few minute south), I'm not sure exactly how to get there, you'd have to ask at the resort.

I can't say specifically about vases/candle holders, some people may have mentioned them in their review, but I think most people bring them. In my opinion, DT offers a very good price for the basic stuff (i.e. the wedding packages) and you will get very good value for money if you stick with those, but a lot of the extra stuff is quite expensive, especially decor items like these. I think that is why most people bring them. Try to choose centerpieces that are easy to transport, and assuming you aren't having an enormous wedding, then just bring your own decorations. If you choose your decorations carefully you should be able to just fill 1 suitcase full (or less) depending on what you need. I had 2 suitcases just for decor items (one of them was half full of tulle, I brought way more than needed, also brought all my silk bouquets). Check into your luggage allowance and ask family members to pack stuff for you.

Quote: Originally Posted by Nevesta I am reading the Wedding Guide for 2009 and I am confused: under Wedding in Paradise package it says "use of the wedding canopy." It says the same thing in the Ultimate package. But later in "Beach Ceremonies" it says "Gazebo is included only for Dreams of Love or Ultimate wedding package." What is "canopy" vs. "gazebo," does anyone know? Yeah, that doesn't make sense. From my experience and what I've heard from others, the use of the gazebo is the same for all wedding packages (even the free package includes basic gazebo decor).

I think it's better to bring your own candles. For example, one bride wanted tealights through the resort but they didn't have enough so they bought their own in Playa del Carmen. In terms of lighting, they just use regular restaurant lighting, and for outdoor receptions they have outdoor floodlights. But if you want something more decorative or more ambient lighting (like paper lanterns) you should bring your own. They probably could provide them for you if you really wanted, but they will charge you a lot. Choose items that are light and easy to pack. If you use candles for an outdoor event (including seaside grill and el patio which are open restaurants) you need to have candle holders that are min a couple inches higher than the top of the candle to block the wind, otherwise they won't stay lit. I know this from personal experience.

good for you for keeping positive and laughing about it, a way better option that crying. Hope it all works out.

Quote: Originally Posted by Kacelb WHAT AN AWESOME IDEA!!! I didn't realize you could do that. Yep, check out page 1 of the thread, it's all explained under the reception section. Not a lot of people go with this option, because they want the fancy 5 course meal (especially if 20 people are free and they only have to pay for a few extra people). So that's why people don't talk about it much on this thread.

Quote: Originally Posted by Tisha316 Girls...i need some help!! We are planning our reception and we are going to have 42 guests estimated at this time. We can't afford to pay the extra $55-65 per extra person above 20 and were wondering if you guys had any suggestions on what we can do to eliminate costs!!?? We might want to include that in some of our reception entertainment...any suggestions, thoughts or rebuttles? Thanks ladies...this has been so helpful!! If I were you, I would cut back by going with the regular restaurant menu, rather than the silver or gold menu, that way you only pay 20$ per guest. If you need to cut down more than that, you could have your reception in the buffet restaurant. A few brides have done that and have been happy with the results. Another suggestion would be to not have a cocktail hour (if you are having one). Just tell all your guests to meet you at one of the bars and take advantage of the all-inclusive benefits of the resort. It's pretty much the same thing except that you won't have servers just for your group.

If you want me to crop some more of them with photoshop just email me again, I'd love to do whatever I can to help.

Quote: Originally Posted by sdtooley The cylinder vases were provided by the resort. We also used the sashes from the resort. We were going to get our own sashes to take down with us but we already had 14 suitcases as it was and couldn't worry about putting one more thing in. wow, I thought we had a lot with our 5 suitcases + golf bag + 4 carry-ons + garment bag (wedding dress)

Quote: Originally Posted by AmyandRich You have a beautiful bouquet!! I guess I need to start researching pics. Did you have to pay extra for a custom bouquet? Most people don't use the photos in the guide, they either bring their own photo or just describe what they want to the coordinator. You will only pay extra if the types of flowers you want are more expensive for them to get. Look on page 1, under the flowers section, I have included a list of all the common flowers that they can get for no extra charge (and which colors).

so sorry to hear about your accident, hopefully everything heals quickly. I broke out in a nasty rash on my face a month before the wedding, luckily the only scars I had left by the wedding were under my chin so I was okay. For the pools, it's definitely not private as it's an open area and people can walk by, but generally people don't hang out around the pools after dark, so basically you will probably just have people walking around nearby (not right next to you) as they head to the restaurant or move around the resort but they won't be right there. You ask if it's important to upgrade the menu or do a private cocktail hour, it totally depends on you. If it was me, personally, I would go for the normal restaurant menu and informally gathering at the bar. I would prefer to spend my money on other stuff (photography, mariachi trio, etc). But I know most of the brides do want the fancy 5 course meal. You have to decide what's important for you.

Both links are for the same site (Private Policy) is this intentional or is there actually a difference between the Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use. I admit, I never normally read these things, but thought I would be a good e-citizen and do it this time

Quote: Originally Posted by ddk5576 Dreams should give you a referral fee! I know, I keep thinking if I had approached them a year ago I could be rich by now