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How exciting! I hope you have a fabulous wedding and try to get some sleep tonight before you leave because you will be on a high for the next week!!

Ann! I didn't realize that you are preggers too! Congrats! I also want to say thanks to the mods and the members who make BDW a great resource for B2Bs. I would not have had the fabulous wedding that I did without them! And I wouldn't have been so encouraged to start up my own little biz without this forum. Hugs y'all Allyson ~ I would def use the trio. They played at Oceana during dinner and everyone loved them. I was so happy when I got to the cocktail hour and the same guys were playing there! As for the DJ, when you get to Dreams you might try talking to Jose Luis the bartender at the Preferred Tower Lobby Bar. He is young and way too nice, but tried to convince us to request one of his friends to DJ, but I thought he was just trying to up-sell me. I honestly believe that his buddy would have done a MUCH better job than the one that Rebecca uses and the guy works at the resort so it was included in the package. Maybe hit up Rebeca to see what your options are as I could be way off. Quote: Originally Posted by ~Crista-Lee~ Hi Ladies, I've been reading through your thread and Dreams PV sounds great! We've were planning our wedding for November for the Azul Sensatori in Mayan Riveria area for the past 8 months... and then whoops... found out I was pregnant and due around the exact same time as our wedding. The Azul was unable to honour the rate for April 2011, so we started looking elsewhere. Our TA came back with a few new options and so far Dreams PV is #1 on the list. So far from the posts and planning thread reviews, I think we've decided. I'm unfortunately going to torture my TA with a long list of questions my FI and I have come up with but I just want to ensure we are making the best decision for us. The first time around, I felt extremely pressured by our TA to book with Azul - of course.. she had all these "special" things they do for her. Anyways ladies, I'm hoping we make our decision in the next couple days... you seem to have some very experienced past brides on here with wonderful pictures and reviews! I look forward to getting hooked on this thread! Crista Congrats Crista! I look forward to hearing what wedding works out for you and FI. Drams PV is such a wonderful resort!

Ditto to the strapless swimsuits and lots of sunscreen. I am super fair and went through a bottle of spf 70 before the wedding because I was so paranoid about tan lines and getting burned. I also tried to avoid sitting by the pool all day drinking non-stop (1. to avoid the sun, 2. to avoid the beer belly and 3. to encourage myself to mingle with the guests who don't enjoy just sitting all day). The plan worked and I had no burn or tan lines, I actually spent some quality time with some guests who I probably wouldn't have otherwise, and our wedding pictures came out just perfect.

Oh I love #3. That's my vote

You should not feel guilty! It is your wedding and your guests can choose to go, and will go if they really want to. For some odd reason it is just easy for people to poke holes in someone else's planning. Remind your guests that they get a vacation and quality time with friends and family.. instead of a couple of rushed hours if you were having a wedding at home. Stay positive and don't let the negative nancys get you down

What!?!?! This is terrible! I am so sorry. Things happen for a reason so I'm sure something good will come out of it. Here's to hoping they find your original ring and give you an upgrade!!!

Erin, I thought the pool was small and boring. At the time they didn't even have cabanas and most reviews say the food by the pool stinks. And although they just opened up their "VIP" pool, there are not a bunch of reviews on it so my guess is that it isn't very fun. If you are looking for a party pool, this is not it.

Thanks girls Cruise ship pool chairs are always hard to snag so we would get up way too early and then sleep by the pool. One of these signs looks like an official reservation and people tend to stay away. This means the early bird of the group gets to put out the sign and everyone else can sleep in!

I love it! Super cute and such a great story to share for many years. Congrats!

Great review K!! Dreams really needs to step up their DJ quality, I think that has been one of the only complaints that is consistent across most brides.

Thanks for the detailed review! It is going to help so many Dreams PV brides Didn't you think those marshmallows at the bonfire were ginormously awesome ? I had sooo much fun on the canopy tour too! That is a def must in PV. You already know this, but I think your pics are simply stunning. Although Fer is an amazing artist, it helps when the couple is super cute and happy like you and P!

Welcome to the forum Stephen! DH and I love to travel as well and picking a DW location was completely stressful. But once, you find the perfect place everything else will fall into place. Your budget is reasonable and very close to what I had. We got married at Dreams Puerto Vallarta and my brother in law was married at Dreams Cancun. I just love the Dreams resorts and truly believe that AI for group travel is the best due to pricing and all of the options they offer. For both weddings, most of the guests flew from Dallas, San Antonio and Austin and fell within your price range. Both of the weddings were not on the beach, the ceremonies were at the resort gazebos overlooking the ocean. And the receptions were at at restaurant on property and a pool terrace. Congrats on your engagement and happy planning!

What a terrible situation. I like the idea of a poem and maybe a toast. I'm with Lucy and think that an empty chair to stare at the entire ceremony would make me pretty emotional. I am sorry for your loss.

Thanks ames! I purchased the advil on amazon and it came in a gigantic box so I just took the leftovers to work for my desk. The Tums came from the dollar store (make sure you check expiration dates if you buy from some place like that). And the Pepto came from Wal-Mart, it is just the chewable ones and they already come individually packed with the name and exp date on each one.

My feeling is that if you take the time to hand write a thank you you are within perfect etiquette. Regardless of what the front says or even if you print a gratitude inside the card, a personalized note speaks 1000 times.

I struggled with the same problem, and ended up putting Puerto Vallarta, Mexico instead of Jalisco, Mexico. It made more sense to my guests and that's all that really matters. So personally I would put Riveira Maya, Mexico. I like that you saidi sunset reception - it sounds so romantic. You can see my templates here: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...invites-48691/

We did not send anything official between the 2. I'm pretty sure the sit and wait is a killer for all B2Bs! I know that it drove DH nutty that people were being flakey. He's pretty annoying and just kept calling and texting people that we wanted at the wedding. Also, when prices changed I made calls to our parents and close friends so they could pass along the news as well as updated our website with the info. It worked out really well and everyone that we wanted at the DW came!

Thanks Allyson! Just so you know, I'm adding some hang tags to my site this weekend: pashmina, wine glass and survival kit

1984 ~ I had to send a check to Dreams that they deposited right away in order to reserve my date. But.... when we were checking out and trying to reconcile all of the wedding charges it was a complete nightmare. They claimed that I had not paid the deposit because they do not run it until after the wedding. This makes me think that their deposit policy has changed. I had also paid for the wedding package through my TA and they claimed that they didn't know that either. The proof was in the same stupid book of vouchers that we used for the room and transportation, but they acted like they had never seen a voucher before, even though all 50 people in our group used them for the rooms. Blah. Some advice to all B2Bs: Save AND Print AAAAAAALLLLLLLLLllllllllll money and set up conversations that you have with your WC. And reconcile your bill the day BEFORE you check out. It sucks having to be over organized, but this will save you a headache in the end! OK. Rant over. Jen ~ The Las Palmas Terrace was absolutely perfect for a 50 person reception. It is tucked away even though it is in the middle of the resort and large enough for a full bar, dance floor and seating. There are bathrooms right down the stairs from it and almost no one uses them at night so I put some deco in there too. I believe there are a couple of pics in my review, but feel free to let me know if you have specific questions.

I can say that my guests loved knowing what we were doing while they were at the resort, but appreciated not feeling pressure to hang out with us. I included our "itinerary" in my OOT welcome book. Here's a link to the details if you want more info: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...booklet-59470/

Welcome Jen! The Dreams Riviera looks amazing and you will find some great info about it on the forum. Happy planning )

Welcome to the forum mapmura! Happy planning )

I love when the guys get all creative! What a great story that you can share with your family and friends for years. Congrats )

Thanks sweetie

Welcome to the forum Kennisha! You will find tons of great info about the DR and PR here. Happy planning )