J&MWedding

Mary, can you please PM me also if you find other pics of your friends wedding (if she doesn't mind)... I was looking at his website too and considering using him... THanks!

Kate, that is good to hear! I heard they do great videos, but you didn't use them for photography, correct? Didn't you use someone else for photography?

I will definitely be purchasing these! Great idea! Did you get some for your OOT bags? If so, let us know how they turn out!

Wow! That is a great deal! They do look very sturdy and good quality too. I wish I knew how many guests I were having, I would order them today! thanks!

I was thinking of including a CD too. I thought it was something inexpensive and something my guests would use. I'll let you know if I think to add any other songs, but I like your list so far! My dad is actually a DJ where we live, so I'm going to consult with him!

I didn't see any other posts about this, but we started our Honeymoon Registry with Traveler's Joy. I really wanted to include some donation to a charity somehow in our registry so I found I Do Foundation which links with many registry stores as well as Traveler's Joy. We chose our own charity and connected it to our Honeymoon Registry. Now, 3% of all the money we raise through Traveler's Joy will automatically be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. I wanted to raise the percentage, but that was the highest they would do through Traveler's Joy. Didn't know if any other brides out there did this?.... I know there are many charity registries, but I liked this idea because it gives a little bit of both... My mother also begged us to register at a store, which we didn't want to, but felt for certain people, it would be better than just "donating' moey.

I'm still considering using Promovision for photography. My conversations with Ray were good, and I liked most of their samples. My friend said for me to just make sure I pick out certain styles I see in their portfolio that I like and make sure to let him know that style. His pricing is what I'm looking for, because I already have one friend that is coming that is a semi-professional photographer, so I don't want to spend too much. I was also thinking of hiring someone that may be out of my budget but just hire them for a shorter amount of time. If anyone has some concrete advice for Promovision, let us know! Thanks girls!

Yeah, I thought Lauren's turned out great too! She said it wasn't exactly what she wanted, but that she still liked it. I think I'm just going to try to pick a look that isn't too difficult. I just want a loose updo, and I'm putting a flower in my hair. not sure if Im using a real flower and getting one from the stores/online. There are some great websites that seem to have some really nice "fake flowers." I'm not too worried about the makeup part. My girlfriend that is coming is a makeup artist too, so I think I'm still going to use Dreams since it's included in my package and they use good products, and then just have my girlfriend touch up if need be, I do want to see some more pics though.....

Such a great link!! I will definitely be using this for my welcome pamphlets!

I've tried to putting my date on Jess' list, but I think I'm not doing it right. I'm December 4, 2009!!!!!!!!!! a few days after Jess!

Yari, do you have any info, website, contact info for Los Arcos? I've never been to PV at all. I tried to look it up online but I wasn't sure if it was at a resort? That's what I found online. I know Cindy was asking for the contact info too. Cindy, I still have a lot of time to plan the details, but I think I'm going to have everyone gather two nights before the wedding at one of the bars at Dreams and pass out their welcome bags etc, have drinks at the bar, really casual. Then the girls and guys are going to separate and go out. The night before the wedding, I'm wanting to do a rehearsal dinner, but we will see.....I'm kinda liking Kathy's idea of rehearsal brunch.....?? Great idea!

I just asked Rebeca about the rehearsal dinner situation. I told her I had heard different things about charing $35 per person etc. etc. She told me in simple terms, that my guests and I are welcome to show up at any restaurant, they just will not take reservations. She said that charge is for anything that requires personal wait staff. I'm sure some of you know this already, but I was glad to get it cleared up. I thinking to set the rehearsal dinner for either early or late to get on either end of the "dinner" crowd. My group is really low key. Anyone know as far as best times to eat at the restaurants? busiest times? etc? I'm just posting everything on our website for "calendar of events" so everyone will know what time to meet.

How long did it take everyone to get your rates from your TA? I'm getting married in Dec, and I know I can go on expedia and get really inexpensive rates right NOW, but I have not rcvd rates from my TA yet. I understand that it takes time because the wholesaler needs to negotiate etc etc etc, but I'm sort of getting worried that the longer it takes, the more expensive it will be. Should I be worried?!!!!! I'm also worried that her rates will be much higher than online. I understand the advantages of using a TA, but my guests won't pay for a TA if there is a big difference between the TA's rates and online.

Jess, we are arriving on Nov 29th, day after your wedding. I think that's great that you got a Saturday for your wedding! I was trying for Sat Dec 5th, but it was taken We are staying from Nov 29th til Sunday Dec 6th and then leaving for one more week, not sure where yet. I'm not sure about a welcome dinner place since I've never been there at all. I'm taking some advice from some of the other brides and probably having everyone meet on Wed evening at one of the bars at the resort and having cocktails and passing out their OOT bags etc etc. Then that night, we are prob going out for a bachelorette night.

I forgot to ask....Does anyone have any feedback on the hair styling at Dreams? It's incl in the package. I know in Lauren's review she said the hair turned out pretty much how she wanted and the makeup was good. Just wondering if anyone else had comments.

Jess, congrats I'm getting married right after you! Dec 4, 09! Their new WC, Rebeca has been awesome with me! I thought she would want to wait until right before the wedding to discuss details and decor, but she told me to go ahead and send her questions and to get started. ps. After I finished Cal Poly, I moved to SD for two years....have many friends there. Will actually be there on the 31st.

Hey everyone! Has anyone heard or worked with Devin Card? He is from Victoria, BC but travels all over the place. His website and portfolio looks great and so does his pricing! Just curious if anyone has feedback! I appreciate it!

Jenelle, gorgeous pics! i'm getting married on Dec 4th at Dreams, so im guessing the weather will be similar to yours. was it beautiful??! Also, how many guests did you end up having? and where did you get those adorable bridesmaids dresses?!!

I would love some more info too! Pricing, etc. I'm getting married at Dreams PV as well. In Dec.

So Dreams was "holding" our date to rcv our deposit. We tried sending over the CC form with a copy of the CC, but Diana kept saying the copy wasn't clear enough - even though she saw the funds were approved. So we ended up having to send our copy snail mail and When my TA spoke to Rebecca, Dreams didn't have any of our info yet. Our CC info is just floating around somewhere I guess!?.... My TA did say that Rebecca responded to her quickly and that our date was still held for me only, so that's good I guess. Well, I still have a long way to go, but sounds like Rebecca is going to be better! The whole time I thought Diana was just too busy, etc etc etc.... guess not....!

Quote: Originally Posted by Nitnylyin1 Hey ladies, I was catching up on this thread as I haven't been on here too much. I thought I would throw my 2 cents in. Just wanted to reassure all you Dreams brides you have nothing to worry about. I was married on Nov. 10th there and everything went great. I was extremely nervous beforehand because of only contacting Diana thru email. I was pleased with her performance when we got there. I had emailed her pics of flowers I was interested in beforehand and she sent it to the florist to see what was in season. It turns out a lot that I had picked was not avail, at that time of the yr. Thank goodness I had picked out multiple bouquets. The one I settled on was not the exact replica of the pic but was gorgeous and HUGE....the flowers looked good as new even days after the wedding. We were married on the gazebo and had our reception at Las Palmas terrace. We rented the sound system and it worked great. We were married legally by the judge and I decided to do a symbolic ceremony also for about 350 $ extra. I was glad we did because the legal ceremony does not cover the traditional vow exchange and blessing of the rings. The legal ceremony involves more paperwork than anything else. The minister who did our symbolic part was great, she picked a nice reading from the bible and did our sand ceremony for us. it worked out well. We even got a printed out copy of the symbolic ceremony from the minister as a keepsake. We got our license in spanish the day of the wedding but had Erica ( the girl who translated for the judge) take it to the "courthouse" to be translated back into English for us. It was delivered back to our hotel in about 3 days. It cost 50 $ to do that. Our cocktail and dinner food was great. The wedding cake was so-so but was included in the wedding package we chose. The bartenders were always looking to get you another drink. They were very friendly. We had the mariachi band for the cocktail hr and it was totally worth it. We also had fireworks, they were great and surprised all of our guests. I think we had them go off after our cake cutting. Our photographer was Juan Carlos Tapia. I thought he was great, we're in the process of waiting for our pics so can't comment on that. I would recommend bringing in an outside photographer. The one provided in the wedding packages is the hotel photoshop. There work is OK but your pics aren't touched up and they are not that creative like the photojournalists. I did not take any decor with me just used what they offered... chair covers and I picked flowers for the centerpieces on the table (part of the wedding package). That was plenty, the beach in itself is the real decor. I gave Diana our guest sign in book, name cards for tables, and wedding flip flops ahead of time and she had them there ready at the reception site. She actually hung around the reception site most of the evening checking in to make sure all was okay. I know she started work our wedding day around 930 and did not leave until at least after 10, she truly is busy. I don't think you will be disappointed with having your wedding at Dreams. I would do it all over again. That is great to hear!! I was probably one of those brides who was a little worried about everything, but I am starting to feel better about it. I finally secured my date in Dec so I'm excited. that is good info for the flowers. I really wanted red roses and green cymbidium orchids, but I heard the cymbidium orchids will probably be extra $$ so I have tons of back up plans - I'm thinking I might just do white calla lillies and red roses (with green pompoms...) Anyways, thank you for your reassurance!! What about a DJ? Did you add that on to the package? How did that work out? I was thinking of just using their photographer in the package, but I'm sending out for proposals too. I just get more and more excited hearing about all the experiences everyone has had!! Feel free to send me any and all info!

Thanks Lauren!! You have answered a lot of my questions since I've been on here. I saw all your pics and everything looked great. It does seem like you wouldn't HAVE to have centerpieces on the tables... I found the flowers in mexico info and it looks like my Green cymbidium orchids would probably cost some extra, so I might go with Red Roses and white calla lilies instead of red roses and green orchids.... We are changing our date to prob Dec 09 (that is if we can rcv the credit card form from DREams to fill out and send our deposit...) don't event get me started on that! My TA has left mess and emails for Diana, their general manager, sales manager etc and when their group sales manager finally responded, it was regarding a different wedding. I know they have weddings every day, but you would think that would want to take our money! AT this point, im actually laughing inside because it's so ridiculous! Thanks again for all the info!

So, I received all my pricing/wedding packet from Dreams. I decided to just use Diana at Dreams as a WC instead of hiring outside. I know pretty much exactly what I want, and my mom is a quilter (owns her own quilt store)- so a very creative mother. She is going to make table runners for each table and then some other things (the items she can put in a suitcase). my question is if anyone had experience with Dreams' flower arrangements? I saw sample pictures, and they looked fine to me. Just curious to see if there was any tips out there! Happy planning to everyone and congrats to all the newlyweds out there!

I'm probably more or less venting to my fellow destination gals, but I was about to send in my deposit next week to secure my date, and I just found out my cousin who is my MOH wouldn't be able to make the date! I was skeptical at first, but I did talk to her and her job blacks out Nov and Dec for selling months - she couldn't take off more than a day during that period. This is legit, even though she has been giving me grief about doing a whole DW. I'm so exhausted, I just want to set a date, and I feel like everything is going against me. I know what your girls are going to say, at the end of the day it is about me and my FI and we should do what we want to do. I'm just having some deep thinking right now. Has anyone gone through a bunch of drama from choosing a DW?! I'm sure you have!

Thanks everyone!! Amanda, your quote is from When Harry Met Sally. I used it on my cousin's engagement party invitations!! It was her favorite quote and I thought fitting since she was having a shorter engagement than she expected.