amesharpe

I made everyone dress up wacky tacky one night and that was a blast.

Here are some pro pics

and finally the meet the guests brochure

my oot bags our welcome letter attached to the oot bag with ribbon name cards

confetti for the tables we attached these to the oot bags for everyone to post their pics from the wedding sea shell favors that doubled as christmas ornaments we handed out the paint brushes for our guests to wipe their feet after the ceremony

We used these as table numbers pics of wedding programs pics of menus

Here all all of the pics from the wedding Professional and candids from everyone's camera's ameandmatt - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Hi Girls!!! I know this is seriously overdue but here it is. Choosing a resort Let me start out by saying that I’ve read tons of reviews today of other resorts and I am absolutely sure that we chose the perfect place for our wedding. Matt & I stayed two weeks at Dreams Tulum and I definitely recommend it for all future brides if possible. We arrived 10 days prior to the wedding which gave me enough time to relax, soak up the sun, witness several other weddings and spend time with all of my family and friends. There are several reasons why we chose this specific resort. First, we knew we wanted to stay at a Dreams resort. Matt and I had been to the Riu Vallarta in Puerto Vallarta the year before and I really wasn’t impressed with the resort at all. My maid of honor had stayed at the Dreams in Puerto Vallarta last year and when we both came back and compared notes there was no question that the service was superior to other resorts. I really liked the fact that Dreams Tulum was very secluded. And oh boy is it EVER secluded. There is nothing for miles in either direction on the beach (oh well except for the creepy bates motel thingy south of the resort about 2 miles). My Dad ran to the ruins every morning and he just loved it. Matt and I took several walks south of the resort early in the morning right around sunrise and it was amazing. It was like we were on our own island or something. We found many shells and even brought some home. I also really liked that the resort didn’t require us to wear wristbands and that they had premium liquor (that way we knew what kind of hangover we were in for the next day) Arrival, check-in & OOT bag delivery Matt and I arrived on Tuesday Dec. 10th. We booked a private transfer through Apple Vacations although I don’t really think it’s necessary. The resort is so far off the beaten path, half of my guests booked private transfers and the other half just had the regular transfer. The other half said that they made one or two stops and it didn’t really take that much time to stop and they loved looking at the other resorts that they stopped at. When we checked in we were promptly greeted with warm hand towels, champagne and a “welcome home†(very impressive) We also received our wedding appointment letter from Landy . We booked an Ocean view Dreams Suite (room 8336). It was beautiful and overlooked the activity pool by the Sea Side Grill. The bed was covered in rose petals and there was a bottle of champagne on ice as well as a letter from Daniel (also impressive). All of my guests except for one couple booked Hacienda rooms. My travel agent put in requests for my parents, my maid of honor, my husband’s mother, sister’s and grandparents to be upgraded to Dreams suites if available. They were all upgraded as requested. We had guests arriving every day from Saturday to Friday. I was a little hesitant to drop off all of my OOT bags at once and hope they made it to the rooms so Landy suggested that we bring them on the days of check-in. That actually worked out great because we had planned on greeting all of our guests at check-in. It wasn’t long before Erica (at concierge) and I became the best of friends. I had brought all of our guests iteniaries and we checked with the apple rep every day to see if there flight was on-time. We made sure that we were in the lobby about 1 & ½ hours after the plane landed. We brought the OOT bags with us to the lobby and met with Erica. She took the bags and wrote down the room numbers for check-in. This is the important part. I actually got to see the reservations on her computer. The guests that we requested for an upgrade were listed as VIP’s. I would recommend that all of you future brides ask your travel agents to request the guests you would like to be upgraded listed as VIP’s. Erica took the bags and had them given to our guests at check-in. This way we could ensure that all of our guests did receive their OOT bags and we avoided the $2 bag delivery fee. One major problem that was resolved perfectly We did have one hiccup at check-in with my husband’s sister. I thought it was strange that when we arrived our bags stayed outside and we were ushered inside right away. On Monday we had 10 people arrive (the largest group) There were a ton of bags, children and we were just all excited to see each other. Matt’s sister let her camera bag with two camera’s and a video camera stay outside with the rest of the bags (unbeknownst to her probably because of the excitement) It never made it to her room. She didn’t realize it until dinner and was absolutely devastated. Everyone that arrived that day remembers seeing the camera bag on the top of all of the luggage outside. We notified the front desk and conceirege immediately. They were pretty unresponsive until I finally walked her back up there the next day and started asking questions like whether they had checked with anyone else that had checked in that day. They hadn’t and I started to get upset. We decided to use the resort photographer so Matt’s sister had brought all of this camera equipment to record the entire vacation and make a scrap book of our wedding for us. I asked to speak to Daniel and he was unavailable because he was in a meeting so Landy came down and we explained everything to her. Daniel called Matt’s sister every day with an update on if they had found the bag or not. The day before the wedding they offered to drive her to Playa del Carmen and replace everything! She was a little concerned about buying cameras in Mexico and the warranties that would come with them so they gave her the replacement value in cash. The Spa The spa was beautiful. Matt and I went in and had a couples massage one day when the weather wasn’t so great before all of our guests arrived. I didn’t react to well to the massage. It must have released all of the toxins in my muscles and I was sick to my stomach afterward. I felt drunk and nauseas and wasn’t sure that I could walk all the way back to the room. At one point I didn’t know whether to ask for a golf cart ride to my room or to see the medical person on staff at the resort. I ended up going back to the room and sleeping for the rest of the day and through the night. After that I decided to give the complimentary massage offered in our Ultimate wedding package to my maid of honor and my father. Funny note: They gave my Dad the facial too. Of course they ended up giving me a facial too. My maid of honor and I had pedicures the day before the wedding and then we both as well as my Mom had our hair and makeup done the day of the wedding. Don’t worry about your hair. These girls are pros and they do wedding hair almost every day. Think about it…your hair stylist at home maybe does wedding hair a couple of times a year. We just brought a picture and they went to it. It took two girls about and hour and fifteen minutes to do our hair and makeup. The makeup wasn’t that great. We definitely had to do some touchups on our makeup though. They were off on matching the makeup to our complexions. I waited until we got back to my room and we fixed it and it all turned out fine. Ceremony & Reception Matt & I met with Landy for about an hour the day after we arrived. If you are worried at all about the logistics about how the wedding planning will go once you arrive please do not. You will receive a letter upon check-in from your wedding coordinator. Matt was really hell bent on having a civil ceremony. I tried and tried to change his mind and get married at the JOP in the states before we left but he wouldn’t have any of it. In hind sight I’m so glad he really pushed the issue. It turns out that you actually don’t need your birth certificates if you’re from the states. They only require your passports and tourists cards. We opted to bring our marriage licenses home instead of waiting the 4-6 months of waiting to have them apostilled. Landy told us that it was pretty much the same as having it notarized . We took a gamble and brought them home. I went to the Social Security office yesterday and filed the forms to change my name without any problems. Landy took notes on everything that we wanted and I dropped a suitcase full of decorations, ribbons, menu’s and programs off the next day. I decided the morning of the wedding that I really wanted the mariachi band instead of just using my ipod for the cocktail hour so my Mom hunted down Landy and she said she would check for us. When my maid of honor and I were having our hair & makeup done Landy managed to find my Mom by the pool and told her that she managed to get the Maraichi band. The day of the wedding everything worked out fine. There were a couple of little problems but they all worked out. I requested not to have any flowers on the gazebo thingy on the beach and they went ahead and put them up anyway. I requested not to have them because I really didn’t like the way it looked and Matt is 6â€7 and I thought they would interfere with the pictures which they did. I also asked to have the aisle lined with palms which we didn’t get but oh well. We planned on having the cocktail hour on the beach by the sea side grill and after the ceremony Landy said “so we’ll meet you up at the lobby in an hour for cocktails†She managed to get that changed right away and everything worked out. So really the things that went wrong were so minor that I could have cared less. We had the reception by the activity pool on the beach side. It was absolutely beautiful. They set up the speakers and we just plugged in the Ipod. The food was fantastic, I think maybe the best we had during the two weeks we stayed there and I thought the food in the restaurants was amazing. The servers were great and kept checking on all of us for drinks and such. And even after dinner and cake when we had moved on to the dancing they brought out tequila boom-booms and everyone that wanted to do a shot could sit in the “hot seat†and have one! Landy just might be the best WC ever. She checked in with me or my parents about every 45 minutes. The shut us down about 11 o’clock and we just moved over to the sugar reef bar until close. That’s pretty much it. I think it was the best vacation and wedding I could have ever imagined and I’m soo pleased with the way things turned out. Please feel free to contact me with any questions! Oh and my maid of honor was proposed to the day after my wedding so we’re now in the process of planning her wedding and have the Dreams resorts on the top of our lists!!!

Callie- You look absolutely georgous. I remember seeing you up at the lobby, I loved the pink bow!!! (I was waiting for guests to arrive). I wish we would have got intouch before we all went down there. We could have met up for a drink.

Hey Girls!!! I'm back and let me just tell you all something.... Don't even for one second worry about anything at all. Landy is absolutely amazing and she can make anything happen in 15 minutes. I'll start working on my full review this weekend and post more pics later.

Amy- Good luck and stay calm. everything will be perfect. Can't wait until you get back to hear all about it

cement: permanent

So I'm wondering if there is a typo in the wedding guide for the menu option. Under the surf & turf option it says it's served with "malted butter" I wonder if they ment "melted butter" I already had my menu's printed so it's too late now but just wondering

Quote: Originally Posted by can't wait! Ladies, I FINALLY got an email! whew! For anyone wondering...the name of the minister who performs their services is Francisco Flores. Remember, it's non-denominational AND the minister could change depending on availability. Here's an outline of what he'll say: Opening prayer Welcome 1st. Reading (Mark 10:6-9) Institution of marriage Reflexion on the scripture 2nd. Reading (1st. Corinthians 13:4-8a) Love Meditation on the reading Prayer for the rings (your hearts) Vows: Bride, Groom´s name: I give you this ring Wear it with love and joy I choose you to be my (wife, husband) From this day forward For better or for worst For richer or for poorer In sickness and in health To love and to cherish For as long as we both shall live Amen Presentation to the congregation as Mr. and Mrs. Signing of the certificate. You may write your own vows. You can add: Sand ceremony, poems, songs, other readings…etc. I will guide the timing for them, or as you prefer. It lasts approximately 20 to 25 minutes. ALSO, and this is a big also (at least for me), they will no longer be allowed to have bonfires on the beach. Landy says its part of the agreement the resort recently made with the gov't. Now, I need to think of something else for AFTER our big shindig! Cant Wait, Can you believe it? It's actually going to happen. You're going to get married at DT!!!!! When do you leave? I'm soo excited for you and can't wait (no pun intended) to hear everything when you get back

Amy!!! You thought of everything! It all looks fantastic.

pan : Peter

Quote: Originally Posted by Michelle terrifying and liberating at the same time : getting married! (lol) LMAO I was wondering if that would be the response

I just got my FI's ring and am so excited about it! He works in construction and I just know he'll love it

Okay, I'm freaking!!! I haven't completed ANYTHING!!!! I have all the paper for the programs & menu's but haven't figured out what I want printed on them. I totally forgot about place cards & table numbers which means I have to figure out seating charts (forgot about that too) We're doing seashell ornaments for our favors. My mom has all of the seashells and has drilled holes in them. She bought the ribbon to loop through the holes to hang and as even bought little cards to be printed and attached. Not sure what I want to print on them. Thank god she's on the ball. I do have a welcome booklet that I started months and months ago. I guess I can just work on that and print them. I still need to finish my music playlist. I need to get shoes for myself and my MOH! what else am I missing

Quote: Originally Posted by Simistar Ummm...okay, can you tell I'm bored? :-) I took a pic of my placecards/escort cards...here is what I did tonight:-) So, one more thing to check off the to-do list! (except for the ones I couldn't finish because of the lack of glue situation...) Simistar! I love these. Did you use a scrapbooking punch out for the palm tree?

sky diving: terrifying and liberating at the same time

okay, I'm finally getting excited again girls!!!!! I must have been depressed becasue I hadn't gone to the gym since the closure. Miracously, I went Wednesday and have been every day since. On that note, I've got a dress that's a size too small and have to loose about 10 pounds before the wedding. I'm wondering what the gym is like at the resort. I'm assuming it's treadmills and weights? Can any of you that have been there already tell me a little more about the gym? I'll be there 10 days before the wedding and am hoping to get some last minute workouts in. It's soo nice to be in real planning mode again.