SunBride

I don't know, I didn't even ask what colors they had, I had just brought the small roll of tulle to the meeting and she said it would be perfect for the bows because they didn't have a similar color that would match well for the gazebo tulle I had brought. So we never even talked about what colors they do have. Try emailing her to ask, it might take a while to get an answer but you have the time to wait!

The sand dollars are just a little bigger than the size of a quarter I got the 30 starfish assortment (5$), and there were some decent sized ones. They varied from the size of a quarter to like 4 or 5 inches across Natural Starfish Assortment I wouldn't call them sugar starfish. Sugar starfish are thicker and more sturdy (at least from what I know). I don't know what these ones are called. Here's an example of the difference Sugar starfish (from Michaels) (painted white) Starfish from OTC (one of the biggest in the assortment package )

I bought mine at Michaels but I'm sure you could find them at wal-mart or any other craft or sewing store. here are a few pictures of the boutonniers. I used the same starfish as the chairs but spray painted them white (had to do many many coats before they were well covered) I used the same pins for the larger starfish for the chairs. I don't know the name of the greenery, I had just showed her pictures and refered to them as palm leaves, although they are obviously smaller than something pulled off a big palm tree

Barcelo also has a no outside vendor policy, but I don't know the exact terms as I simply ruled out the resort after finding out I couldn't hire a local photographer for the day I do agree that a sticky post of boycotting the resort is a little much. Why not just have it as a regular thread? It seems like normally only the most important threads are stickies. I wouldn't have thought this qualified as being something that should be a sticky.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR DOWNLOADING SUNBRIDE'S NEWSLETTER Everyone can access the newsletter here: 4shared - free file sharing and storage - share folder - My 4shared So now no need for anyone to PM me asking for it (I've gotten a gazillion requests). Just go to that link and click on the document, then click download, then a new page will open and you have to wait a few seconds (it says "loading file info, please wait"), and then click download file (middle of the page, under where it says "no virus detected"). If you have problems, please PM me rather than filling up our beautiful Dreams tulum thread with Qs&As about downloading the file. It's a microsoft word file. I also added the DT wedding guide, the flower document with pictures of bouquet, the spa price list and the map that I created (same as their map, but clearer to read as their version is quite blurry)

Quote: Originally Posted by neen SBlake and I are getting married on the SAME DAY in January. I requested a group rate/block for 25 rooms for our wedding weekend. SBlake was quoted a group rate of $390 per night and I just received our quote for $420 per night. WTF? Definitely strange, tell them this! If the date was closer, I would say she got a better price for booking sooner, but with the date so far away that does seem strange. Quote: Originally Posted by Seahagamy I am having a problem opening your newsletter as I don't have Microsoft publishing. Are you able to change it to another format such as adobe or something and resend? I'm no computer whiz so I don't even know if this possible? I had tried before and it didn't work, all formatting was lost. So I took the time just now to re-create the document in word, one section at a time (I had to completely redo the title page, but I thought it was worth the time, because I really like the way I did it). I thought I would be able to attach it to my post here, since it's word (you can't attach publisher documents here) but it still won't let me because it's too big. I was gonna break it up into several smaller documents, but that doesn't work either because the first page alone is too big to attach. So I've created myself a file sharing account on 4shared. I'll put the link and instructions below in a new post so that it's obvious and everybody can find it

Quote: Originally Posted by chibi411 hello ladies.... i was searching for template for a welcome letter for tulum. i though i saw one. anyone know of any? thanks Are you talking about my newsletter? It was an info package about our vacation, the hotel, the mayan riviera, etc. If that's what you're talking about, PM me your email address and I'll send it to you. If not, I have no idea what you're talking about. Quote: Originally Posted by Callie I need some advice ladies...I will be married at Dreams Tulum on the beach and from what I can see in the pictures the chairs, arbor, etc. are all bright white. My wedding dress is an ivory/champagne color. Do you think this will look alright or will my wedding dress just look dirty next to all of that bright white? Any advice/ideas is very appreciated! Thanks! I don't think it's a problem, I'm sure all ivory brides still have white chair covers since that is the usual color.

Quote: Originally Posted by mrsfink Actually, November isn't at all the cheapest time to go to DR. Also, after conversations with several TAs I learned that the rates for DR actually went up this year over last year. I'm not sure why that's the case, but it is. If you're looking for a season that's more affordable, maybe try June-September or right after Christmas when demand drops and so do the prices. I never said it was the cheapest, just that it was cheap. Definitely cheaper than the middle of winter or spring break season. It's true that right before and right after Christmas vacation are good times, as it is winter weather here, but still fairly cheap. But anyways, I was just trying to remind people that you can't expect to get the same price as somebody else if you are leaving from a different airport, or going at a different time of year, as prices for a resort can fluctuate by several hundred dollars based on those two factors.

Quote: Originally Posted by calyx6 I love Dreams but I don't think their staff is very efficient. My ManOfHonor left a pair of shoes at the front desk for them to give to us and we never got a message nor did they try to deliver them to our room for the 3 more days we were at the resort. Then when we found out they had the shoes, they tried to charge us an arm and a leg to ship them to us claiming that my MOH had said to not deliver them to our our room (what a lie!!!!.) We had our own aisle runner which Sandra said someone would get from us but no one ever came so we had to go deliver it to her ourselves. We had to ask 3 times for our wedding DVD which was finally delivered to us at 10:30pm the night before our departure (but not the raw footage which we had also asked for.) Sooo, while I give Sandra and Landy great credit for what they do, I don't really trust the front desk and staff to do anything 100%. If you want the job 100% well done without any worries you should probably pass out the bags yourselves. -V- Oh, that's unfortunate. That's completely the opposite of my experience at Dreams, I found them so efficient. For example the night before we left I had somebody call and ask what time the bellboy should come and pick up our luggage. I was impressed because I was just going to go check out an hour before and ask them to send the bellboy. There are lots of other examples too.

I actually chose my song based on this video AngelaandMatt.mov which I found when googling "wedding video mexico" or something like that. AND, the weirdest part is, I later realized that the bride, Angela, is a very active member of this forum (cheese_diva). I realized it because at one point she had some wedding pictures in her signature and I recognized her from the video. What a small internet world! I got so chocked up every time I saw her video, and I watched it like 10 times and sent it to my bridesmaids (sisters). I didn't know the song before then but I thought it was perfect. Seeing that video is what made me realize I wanted a good professional, and I would have hired hers but he was in Cabo. That's when I started looking for videographers in the MR, and found Paul who did a similar style of video. Paul has tons of other samples on his website, so you could get something a little different if you prefer. I really find that the song makes or breaks the video.

For both sets of starfish, I glueguned a pin on the back. Not a regular safety pin, but one of those pins with the flat back.

Quote: Originally Posted by amy706 Gorgeous! Its perfect. You look beautiful and the video is amazing! now my FI wants to use this videographer (instead of the videographer that comes with the package!) As you may know I debated for a while between the two. For twice the price you get twice the coverage time, plus the edited highlights video, whereas I heard from somebody that with Oscar Video they got a long video in which only the beginning and end are edited but not the ceremony. I'm sure it's nice but would be a bit long to show at a reception. I love that we have both the long and short video. I think it's well worth the money.

I tried changing the title of my review but it didn't work and I didn't want the video to be missed so here it is Stephanie & JeanYves' Wedding Day Edit on Vimeo It was done by Paul Schrank at Playaweddings. Cost was 800$ for 2 hours of coverage with this edited video as well as a full length video (which isn't on his website, I'll get it when I get the DVD next week) I'm obviously very very happy and would strongly recommend his services.

Just got our video! Paul was very fast as it's only been 9 days. Here's the link Stephanie & JeanYves' Wedding Day Edit on Vimeo We'll also receive a full length video on the DVD he sends us

I think maybe when you were there they changed the gazebo because the other one was damaged or something, but I don't think it's their regular practice to change them all the time, probably only once in a while (they weren't changed when I was there). I know somebody mentioned that they used to have a more permanent structure which got damaged in a hurricane. You can see it in the trip advisor photos if you go back a bit. It was a bit farther from the main area, almost right in front of the rocks. You'll probably have trouble getting an answer about the measurements, they seem to give priority to emails they think are important, and they might not think a question like that is! But I guess you have lots of time to wait. If I was to guess I would say it was 7" high. I personally think it would look just as good if they were a bit too short, you could always cut them different lengths so that some are a foot off the ground, others two feet. Or make them too long (like 8 or 9") and cut off the excess when you get there. Or lastly, you could just make one long string and then cut it into several strings the right length once you get there. I don't know the color of my husband's suit, I called it sand. We got it Stars men shop, which they probably don't have in the U.S. It's a calvin klein suit though so you might be able to find it elsewhere. It cost 300$ + taxes and alterations (415$ total). It's 100% wool, not hot wool but I lightweight wool, I read online that it's a good fabric for summer because very breathable. He did get hot in it, but not unbearably. He kept the jacket on longer than I expected him to for photos.

no, I don't have the measurements, sorry

It's true that the tulle shows up very light, when mine was rolled up it looked much darker, because on the gazebo it is probably only like 2 layers thick. So I think brown would work. However I personally think turquoise would work better. Or why not use both? If you do it exactly like mine, you could get them to use the brown in the back (rather than white) and turquoise in the front (where I have turquoise). I think that would look amazing and you would still have your brown but it would be a little less front and center. For the chair bows, brown would look great. You could also alternate them brown and turquoise! I had parasols leaning against the chairs, and my guests didn't use them! Mom said they didn't know if they were "suppose" to or not She was so carefull about doing things like I wanted! So make sure a couple of your guests know to use them and get the trend started. I think it would have been cool to have a photo of the ceremony of all the guests holding parasols, but oh well. We did use them for the photos after, but then I felt like they were more of a photo prop rather than something actually usefull (i.e. for blocking sun during the ceremony). I also had the palm leaf fans (tucked into the chair bow on the inside) but nobody used those either seeing as it is very windy on the beach. So I would suggest to future brides not to bother with those. On a different note, at one of the weddings before mine they had a red aisle runner, and I didn't think it looked very nice at all because the bridesmaid dress was pink! After seeing that I made sure Landy knew I didn't want the aisle runner, she said that they don't normally use it but the bride had requested it. Another thing is that the aisle runner makes it difficult to walk if you are wearing shoes, I noticed it as everyone walked down the aisle, especially the mother of the bride. They had to exaggeratingly lift their feet. So I think aisle runners in the sand are a bad idea. One thing I had thought of doing (but didn't have a picture to show Landy so didn't bother) was having some tulle, kinda twisted or tied with ribbons, so it wouldn't be too wide, along the aisle. So it would go under the flower arrangements and serve to kinda "attach" the flower arrangements and make a more defined aisle. Just an idea if anyone is interested.

yes you can get married business day 4. So if you arrive Monday, you can get married on friday. Some people have actually been able to get the resort to count the arrival day as day 1. I think usually you have to arrive in the early part of the day for this to be allowed. In my case I kept strickly being told 4 days (not counting arrival day), but then as we finalized our travel plans teh date changed, we'd be arriving and leaving on a thursday, so we couldn't get married until wednesday, the night before we leave! (seeing as the business days would be friday, monday, tuesday, adn then weddding on wednesday). That wasn't acceptable to me, and all of a sudden they were willing to count the arrival day (our flight arrived at 1pm, we arrived at the resort at about 3 or 3:30). So I would try really hard to push for them to count your arrival day. As for memorial day, I'm not sure, but I doubt they celebrate it, I think it's a U.S. thing only (we don't celebrate it here in Canada). I don't know about any other holidays.

Great thread, I should have put a summary list like this in my review (in fact, I'm going to add it!) Why we chose the Mayan Riviera 1) Lots of things to do (ruins, Xel-Ha, Xcaret, golf, etc) 2) Lots of good reviews of the area 3) Not crowded / party atmosphere like Cancun 4) We preferred going somewhere we’d already been so we’d know what to expect (hadn’t been to the MR, but had been to Cancun with a day trip to Xel-Ha, so we had an idea) Why I choose Dreams Tulum 1) One of the cheaper 5 star resorts 2) Free wedding package 3) Decent beach compared to some of the other cheap 5 star resorts (in the end I was disappointed with this aspect) 4) Good reviews on food, 6 a-la-carte restaurants (with no limit to number of visits per week) 5) Middle sized resort (I wrested with the advantage of being able to have alone time versus it being easy to find my family when I wanted. In the end the latter prevailed and in retrospect I'm very happy it did) My first choice was Dreams Cancun, but it was 100-200$ more per person (okay, not that much for a week, but still a difference, especially for my in-laws who were paying for 4 people). Also DT had the advantage of being in the Mayan Riviera instead of Cancun, although the down side was that it was so far (farthest part of the Mayan Riviera). In the end my only complaints about the resort are the beach and the location. For more details, see my review http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t18711

I would just talk to or email the people who are interested in coming and let them know it is immediate family only. That way it's crystal clear. I had to do that with a few people. Even though I emailed everybody and told them we were going to mexico "with our parents and sisters" (we were already booked) I still had somebody email and ask if they could come. It's important to be really clear. Nobody's feelings should be hurt since it's not like you are inviting some guests but not others. Immediate family is a good seperation line.

I think it totally depends on if teh 4 of you have 4 different stylists, or if you are all being done by the same stylist. I think you should plan 2 hours for your hair appointment (in case it starts late, and it often takes over an hour) plus then allow sufficient time for make-up/getting dressed and photos if necessary. So if no photos before, I would say at least 3 hours before for your hair, you don't want to be rushed. If the same stylist is doing everyone's hair you probalby want to allow like 5 hours to do all 4 of you (that sounds crazy!) so then you would have to start real early. I left A LOT of time between hair and ceremony, and I don't regret it one bit. My wedding day was so so relaxing and I had time to take everything in and enjoy it - I remember every bit of the day, whereas I've heard others say they were so rushed it's all a blur. Initially I wanted to spend the morning on the beach, but I'm so glad I started getting ready early, it's really much more important to be relaxed and not rushed on your wedding day than to spend a couple hours on the beach.

I planned the whole thing in 4 months (engaged end of November), and booked only 2.5 months before the wedding (early January)!!! And it was amazing, I still had lots of time to focus on lots of little details, you can see my review in the Mayan Riviera forum

Like I mention in my review, I thought the buffet dinner we had as a group (not on the wedding nice) was very nice and could be appropriate for a wedding, but it's up to you to decide what you want. If you want to do speeches (with a microphone) or dancing it would probably be better to reserve a restaurant all to yourself. There are lots of good things the ultimate package has that the free one doesn't, including upgraded dinner menu for 20 people, cocktail hour, photos (most people pay the extra 350$ to get the CD), video (worth 380$), band (worth 350$) hairstyle & make-up (worth about 100$), spa service (worth 200-300$). You have to decide which of those you want and if it's worth getting the ultimate package, or just going with the free package and then paying seperately for the stuff you want. As I indicated in my review, there is no need to register your mariage when you return to Canada.

One more thing I forgot to mention in my review is that there weren't really any issues of strangers hanging around during my ceremony. As you can see from the resort pictures (in the link in my review) the closest chairs are right next to the seaside grill, a good 30-50 feet away from the gazebo, so anyone who wants to watch takes a seat there. My photographer mentioned I think that there was one couple who walked along the beach during the ceremony, but just one isn't bad. Also there is generally very few people swimming in the ocean behind the gazebo (not sure if there was any during my ceremony). So in all I think it was pretty good, definitely not completely private but not like some of the horror stories I've read in other reviews at other resorts (like strangers taking your guests' favors and helping themselves to cake and champagne!)

Thanks so much Paul for the great pictures! I'd love to get a copy of them when you send the video if that's possible (my photographer may have similar ones but I'm not sure as I haven't seen any of hers yet) Only a week for the video? I can't wait!!!! I mentioned on the last page that the white tulle is the resort's and the turquoise tulle, which is mine, required the entire bolt (54" x 40 yards). The 8 chair bows used the entire small roll of tulle (6" x 25 yards) although I think it could have been done with less since it wasn't necessary to have such long ends hanging down from the starfish.