SunBride

that may work to make a copy but maybe not to upload it online (for example to youtube). I know for my video, it wasn't just one file, it was dozens of different files (I assume because of the menu, the music, the chapters, etc) so my husband had to reformat it to make it all one file so that I could upload it to youtube.

I personally don't think it's worth it, everyone will have their digital cameras and it's so easy to share photos (sure, some people will never get around to it but others will) and disposable cameras take poor quality photos. I have bought disposable waterproof cameras for my last 3 vacations and each time I am really disappointed with the photos. I don't expect them to be nearly as good as my digital camera, but they are outright awful.

hum... this is definitely new (and unfair of them not to give prior notice). Maybe they think it's not worth closing down the restaurant for less than 50 guests (don't forget, it's not just the private event fee, but also the cost of the menu at 55 or 65$ per person so they still make less money off a small group). You can definitely dance next to the adults pool. You could do decorations even if it's not a private event, but you can't do a DJ. Why not have dinner at the seaside grill and then do the dancing on the beach with a DJ (close to the seaside grill)

Quote: Originally Posted by sdtooley Hey ladies, I have been searching the site today trying to find the forum that talks about the ceremoney readings and vows. I stumbled across the forum a few months ago and liked a lot of the things that I had read in there and now that I need it, I can't find it. Some people had absolutely wonderful readings and vows and I just need some inspiration. If anyone has seen it lately or can point me in the right direction I would really appreciate it. Thanks! if by chance you replied in the thread, then you should be subscribed to that thread (notified of any updates by emails). In that case you can go to "quick links" on the top right, and click on "subscribed threads" and check that list. It's hard to search for a thread using a common word like "vows" or "readings" because pretty much every thread has those words. Is it by any change this one? http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t37543

Quote: Originally Posted by Bethanykd Katie your pictures are lovely! Your wedding looked great! Does anyone have a recommandation on make-up? I use bare minerals and mac...I don't want sweaty make-up face and I was just looking for sugestions to try There are a ton of threads about make-up around the forum, I suggest you check out those ones rather than starting another discussion about that here (just since it's not really a Dreams Tulum thing). Here is an example of one of those threads: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t42079

lots of great pics on her site. Just to note, her home site is: fresh real natural touch artificial silk wedding bouquet flowers the link above is just one page on her site (I know I almost missed the rest).

For the ceremony you only need 3 songs, one to walk in, one for during the signing of the certificate, one to walk out.

Quote: Originally Posted by gimliori Is it standard to use a TA for all the wedding guests? I've been reading the previous messages and it seems to be quite common. I emailed Cecilia Bardi, Groups Sales Manager who gave me a group rate on rooms at DT. It was $150 per person per night which works out to $1050 for 7 days and 6 nights. I was just going to let guests book their own flights down as I'm sure some will want to use airmiles. Have people found it to be a better deal to book through a TA and if you do, how do you block rooms at DT for your guests and get the rooms at DT close together? Thanks for any info sent my way! I think that some people do it both ways but probably more go with an agent. That seems like a pretty reasonable price though, once you add a flight at like 600-700$, an all-inclusive package from Edmonton would probably cost over 1500$ (as that is approx the Toronto price). Why don't you see if an agent can get you the same quote or better? Try contacting Tammy Host of this forum.

Quote: Originally Posted by Teesha Hi Jenny, This is true. I had originally asked for all different coloured Calalillies. Apparently they only grow white calas in Mexico and the florist explained that they could import the colour ones from Holland $$$$$. So I then switched to all different colour lilies with white calalillies mixed in. My bridesmaids each had a small bouquet of whitel calas for $35 each. Here is what the florist told me they had available in terms of flowers and colours as the standard: WE HAVE ROSES, YELLOW, ORANGE, WHITE, PURPLE, IVORY, PINK, RED. LISIANTUS, WHITE, PURPLE AND PINK. IRIS, WHITE AND PURPLE. GERBER DAYSIS, YELLOW, ORANGE, WHITE, PURPLE, IVORY, PINK, RED. LILIES, WHITE, YELLOW, ORANGE, PINK. ALSTROMERIAS, RED, ORANGE, WHITE, PINK, YELLOW, DEPHINIUMS, WHITE AND BLUE. BIRD OF PARADISE, ORANGE. GINGERS, RED AND PINK. MINI-ROSES, WHITE, RED, YELLOW, ORANGE, PINK, IVORY. WHITE CALAS, Wow, that is great info about the flowers they have available, a lot of girls have asked about that but we've never had such a complete answer before, thanks! I'll post this on page 1. It's good to know that white callas are part of the package but that colored callas have a high extra cost, it helps to clarify some of the confusion about this. I know for one of the first brides married on this forum, they died the callas and the color leaked! I guess they learned their lesson and don't do that anymore.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dee83 hey ladies I have quick questions for those who did or are doing a welcome dinner. Where did you do it? Did you let your WC reserve it for you and is it free or is there a charge. Thanks The cost depends on where you have it, the policies are the same no matter whether it's your reception dinner or welcome dinner or any other group dinner. The only free option is the buffet (your group will be aside in one section). All the other restaurants you have to pay 20$ per person (regular restaurant menu) or 55$ per person (silver menu) or 65$ per person (gold menu) plus you have to pay the 700$ fee if you want them to close the restaurant down for a private event (and this is only allowed depending on the resort capacity). Most people who have had a welcome dinner have done it at the buffet. There are very few past brides still on the forum, pretty much just me and a few brides who got married in the past couple months. I recommend you read the reviews to see what people did for welcome dinners (focus on the most recent reviews, i.e. the past 6 months or the past year). I know there are a few brides who talked about their welcome dinner in their reviews.

Quote: Originally Posted by jmb0902 Did any of you have ppl stay off the resort and come in for your wedding and other festivities? I have 2 friends who are hell-bent on going through vrbo.com to save $$ (I don't think they will when you tally up food/drinks, etc.). Did you have to pay the $55 a day guest fee? I know there aren't wristbands or anything... I don't want to "sneak" them on but I'm wondering if anyone would notice? From what I saw when I was there they probably could get sneaked on. They just have to give their room number, they could give one of your guests' room number. However it is a chance they are taking and they could get caught and could get in trouble. Is it really worth the risk? The reason I say I think it's possible is because when we'd leave the resort as a group of 4, we'd have to give a room number, well even if the 4 of us were in different rooms then we'd give only 1 room number. Then when we came back maybe we were in different cabs with other people, we'd still give only 1 room number, not necessarily the same one, so it didn't match up. Alternatively, if they say they are coming for the wedding (and admit to being off resort guests) the guards may assume that the bride has paid for the day passes? For example, when some people hired an outside photographer and an assistant photographer showed up unexpectedly, they said they only ended up paying for 1 day pass (coordinators probably never thought to charge them for the 2nd one).

I posted my thoughts on another similar thread recently, thought this might be helpful for you http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t41490

My videographer wasn't in the way at all either, in fact he is only in 2 of my pictures (both were taken from far back).

Quote: Originally Posted by jmb0902 I can't find this anywhere really---how far in advance can you let them know where you want the reception? I'm worried about other brides wanting the same one... I would definitely try to get it confirmed asap, I would be concerned too if I was in your shoes. Just try to keep an open mind as they do have a lot of great locations. I'm sure they can do 2 beach receptions the same night, one on each end of the beach and you wouldn't even be able to hear or see eachother. Let us know if they allow you to confirm in advance or if they make you wait until it's your turn to fill in the form. It seems to me priority should go to whoever booked first (both the location, if allowed, otherwise whoever booked their wedding first) If you do get a confirmation, make sure to bring your emails with you when you go.

Quote: Originally Posted by jennyatk ok for girls that have been married. I sent a pic of my bouquet of cally lilly with ribion wrapped around it. Very simple she emailed back saying they are very expensive. Is this true? and how much extra did she charge you? You could try sending a PM to Neen who got married in January. Also look at pictures of other brides and send PMs to anyone who had those flowers. The only one I've heard of being really expensive is orchids. I don't remember hearing that about calla lillies. But it may depend on the season too.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lonna14 HI Ladies! Me again... June 20th is closer than we think!!! Anywho, I am thinking of including "cash" or a mock gift certifciate for each guest to go to the ruins as part of their OOT bag. Do they have gift certificates there, or how much cash do you think it would be for one person to get into the ruins with cab fare? Also, would you recommend getting gift certificates to the gift shop or anywhere at the resort?? Any suggtesions would be great:)) Thanks!! Have a great evening! Lonna The ruins cost approx 4$ to get in and approx 8$ for cab (you can check my review for the exact amount) but you can put multiple people in a cab. Rather than give out money, why not just organize a group trip? Have people meet in the lobby, and when you are ready to go and cabs are filling up hand somebody in each cab the money to get there. On the way back though it may be trickier as some people will leave sooner and the cab sharing groups may change. But I'm sure you can work something out. You could simply pay back whoever paid for the cab rides back.

For people who have not opened the attachment (doing so requires points) here is the new menu posted on the previous page: GOLDEN DINNERS Choice of Appetizer: Roasted Italian Vegetables Mexican Tapas Sampler Spinach & Feta Triangles ~ Choice of Soup: Clam Chowder *** Hot & Sour Soup *** Minestrone soup ~ Choice of Salad: Caesar Salad *** Chinese Chicken salad *** Dreams Salad ~ Choice of Entrée: Surf and turf of the house or Marinated Skirt Steak Mexican style , with mushrooms ajillo. or Filet of Grouper grilled served with peas and poblano chilly sauce. ~ Dessert *** Chocolate and Coconut Bread Pudding *** Tiramisú Cake Coffee or tea ~ Petite Fours THE GOLD CHOICE DINNER INCLUDES: Welcome Bar Service with Imported liquor, wine and beer Red or White Wine from Chile served with Meal BUFFET STYLE for minimum 50 guests Include from above menu: 3 Entrees, Vegetables or choice Starch, 2 Appetizers, 1 Soup and a 4 Salad bar which includes 2 of the salads above

Quote: Originally Posted by jerzygirl85 This is for any upcoming brides and past brides....I am allowed to offer my guests two entrees. I am using the ultimate package so I am supposed to pick my two entrees from the gold menu, however, I really want the chicken from the silver menu and the surf & turf from the gold menu. Has anyone been allowed to do this? Choose one item from the silver menu even though you have the gold menu?? I have been emailing Landy, Natalia, Aurora and Anabel and none of them have given me a straight answer!!! It's getting to be frustrating since I think this is a very simple question. I can't see why they wouldn't let you order a menu item that comes from a cheaper menu. In fact, I seem to recall another bride talking about having used the silver menu rather than gold because she liked it better, I can't remember who...

Quote: Originally Posted by Chanti So confused... The "Golden Menu" on page 20 of the PDF Wedding Guide for Dreams Tulum is the same as what SunBride has posted on page 1. BUT completely different from what the coordinator sent me! I've sent her an email to clarify... I really prefer the one in the Guide. If you prefer the one in the one in the guide, they should be able to give you that one, it doesn't make sense to me, and they are usually pretty flexible on stuff like that. Let us know what happens.

I used the free package at Dreams Tulum. I did not have to pay for a higher end room, they offer a choice between booking 5 normal rooms (which just so happened to be the number of rooms for us and our guests) or a honeymoon suite. We booked 5 of the cheapest rooms (and I got upgraded free to a honeymoon suite!) For us the free package worked perfect, and I was pleasantly surprised by everything it included. The only thing we had to pay was 150$ for the blood test and a small fee (I think 20$, the info is in my review) for the judge's transportation. Both of these fees were related to the legal ceremony. But even if you go for one of the deluxe packages you still pay these fees on top of the package fees. At Dreams Tulum, the free package includes 10 guests, if you have more than 10 guests you pay 20$ per guest for those additional guests (i.e. if you have 20 guests you only pay 20$ x 10 people). That is for the basic menu though, if you want the special silver or gold menu then it costs more and you have to pay for all of your guests (even the first 10) because the free package only includes the regular menu for 10 guests. You would also have to pay an extra charge for champagne, I think it's 3$ per guests (again for 20 guests you would pay 3$x20). You also need to pay extra for more cake (although in reality everyone says the cake that comes free is more than enough for a lot more than 10 people so you can probalby get away with not paying that small fee). Overall, I think the free package deal at Dreams is pretty good. But I remember when I was thinking of going with the Paradisus, I was going to use the free package and the extra costs to add extra people were high, and the most crazy part was the extra cost to have a legal ceremony instead of symbolic, I think they were going to charge me almost 1000$ for that part.

Quote: Originally Posted by BellaBeachBabe Hi everyone! I have yet another question about bows! For those who purchased the bows, did you use the same ones for the chairs at the ceremony and than had them placed on the chairs at the reception, or did you buy two sets for all the chairs? Thanks! I'm 99% sure that some past brides have mentioned that their bows were moved from cermeony to reception, because in fact they just move the chairs with the covers and bows on them over to the dinner venue.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lonna14 Hi Ladies! Okay, so now is almost my one month mark, so I apologize in advance for starting to become annoying, and for asking questions that I should know the answers to and or where to locate them:) sorry sunbride!! But, can you tell me again how to pay for the wedding when we get there and or any additional services that we will purchase? Credit card? check? cashiers check? I recall that some of you mentioned the exchange rate, etc. For those of you who were just there, or anyone, if you could let me know that would be great!! Also, I confirmed $5 a bow...that was the price in the 2008-2009 wedding guide I believe. Also, how did you pay d.j. mannia? and what is an appropriate tip for him? Thanks!!! Lonna I know it can be hard to find the info on page 1 as there is so much, here is what I had written there but somebody else can chip in if they have any other info: --- (11) PAYMENT Cash, credit card or travelers checks accepted. For credit card payments, your card will be charged in Mexican pesos (i.e. the prices listed in the wedding guide will be converted to Mexican pesos and will be charged to your card this way, your credit card company will charge you a small fee to convert it to your local currency). ---- If you pay cash or travellers cheques, you'll pay in american dollars. This MAY work out to your advantage depending on the exchange rate they use (since converting it twice, once to pesos by them, and then back to american dollars for your credit card, you can loose a few percent with each transaction). Seeing as we don't know the exact exchange rate, it's hard to say. Normally you loose 2% with each transaction (exchanging cash at the bank or charging foreign purchases to your credit card) which would mean 4% but if they are using a poor exchange rate it could end up being like 10%. Anyways, it's really not that big of a deal. I would say pay with whatever you feel most comfortable using.

to make a copy I think you can just burn a copy of the DVD (assuming you have a DVD burner on your computer). Reformatting it is more complicated. My husband was able to reformat mine so I could upload it to youtube (in chunks because the site only allows 10 min videos) but I don't know how he did it.

Quote: Originally Posted by BellaBeachBabe Hi everyone, I was just reading some of the latest posts and I see that some of the brides are bringing their own bows/sash for the chairs...do you suggest we all bring them? I thought they were included in the set-up?! The resort can provide bows, and they do have a pretty decent color selection, but it can be cheaper to bring your own, and also it ensures you get the exact color you want.

I don't know if you read my review or not but in it I pretty much concluded that my opinion was that the best way to go would be a casual BBQ, although one concern about that is if people will feel obligated to gift a gift and may think that you threw a cheap party to try to get wedding gifts (sorry if that sounds weird, but it was a big concern for my parents and I was also concerned about it too). It depends on your families, but a safe way to go about it is always to put "no gifts please" or "your presence is your gift" (and those who really want to give a gift will do so anyways). You can still do all the fun DIY projects and decorating with a less formal event. My review is in my signature if you haven't seen it yet.