lilly129

A lot of that have been married at Dreams started planning and got exceptions made by Ana - and then honored by Gaby after Ana left. Ana made a mess of everything, she made exceptions for everything and everyone and by the time Gaby got there, she inherited an unorganized exception nightmare - so I think she just seems a bit tougher on exceptions - but that doesn't mean she isn't flexible - it just runs smoother for everyone with less exceptions and mixing and matching with the menus etc. Have you tried asking (sweetly) for an exception from Gaby? They won't take any money off the price of the package but they'll probably let you bring an outside photographer. Be prepared - if that photographer is NOT staying at the resort, you might also need to pay for a day pass for that photographer. It's pretty standard at all these resorts that there are more than one wedding a day - for a while Ana used to allow 3 a day, Gaby cracked down on that and only does two a day. As far as finalizing everything - for those brides just booking now - my advice (and what I did) is to book your date, time AND locations (ceremony, reception, cocktail hour) all at the same time and right away. The rest of the details: food, flowers, decor will be done 2-3 weeks before your wedding. When Gaby met with my husband and I the week of our wedding we really got along well and I've emailed her a few times since our wedding to chat - she really is a sweet and fabulous woman...she's just quick and to the point with her emails during the planning stages - but now I find her emails much more personal since we've met in person and we had some good laughs while we were in Mexico too. I'm sure it's hard for her, she wants you to have confidence in her so she wants to be professional and through email that might come off as cold or short. I have a lot of respect for her because she stepped in one month before my wedding with nothing but an empty file folder with my name on it and my wedding was absolutely everything I hoped for and more. I understand there are always frustrations but I admit it - I'm a Gaby Fan and a total Gaby cheerleader.

We also did a legal ceremony - but we wrote our own vows. I agree - despite the fact that you have no control over the script, it really was a beautiful ceremony. We also included a reading by two of our guests - the hand ceremony. So in total I'd say our ceremony was about 20 minutes.

Congrats Robyn! And Janine - you're soooooo soon!!!!!! Hey ladies - I saw that Dreams blogged some of my wedding pictures - here's their blog: http://dreamsresortsblog.com/2010/11/01/destination-wedding-at-dreams-riviera-cancun/ I posted my slideshow from Elizabeth Medina in the "Post your wedding or engagement pictures" forum as well if anyone wants to see the whole thing So fun, I was missing my wedding so much until I got my pictures last week and found this blog yesterday Also, I've noticed a lot of comments here and on facebook about the frustrations with communications... I've been there. I know what you're going through, I understand there is anxiety...but remember, we've all come back from our weddings raving about how wonderful our weddings are. Gaby is an absolute pleasure to work with. I know you try to call or email and don't hear back for days...but trust me - I was in Mexico for a week before my wedding and she made herself available to me many times during that week AND she was with me from 5pm until 10pm to make sure my day went exactly how I wanted. She has two more assistants now, I can't say the communication is going to get better just by the sheer number of emails they get a day...but just take a deep breath and try to remember all the great reviews you've read. Have faith in Gaby ladies...she'll come through for you! That's my little pep talk for you ladies!!!!

Oh yeah - and for our trip to Playa - we used vans from American Express - Alex works in the Amex office in the lobby of the resort and he can arrange vans for you so you don't have to deal with taxis. My groups that went shopping used taxis and just agreed on a price before getting into the cab. But when you get a cab at the resort the resort staff is standing there and I never felt like there was any "funny business" with the cab drivers.

I didn't feel unsafe at all at the resort. As a matter of fact once your guests drive up there are HUGE gates and every one has to be a guest at the resort to get through those gates. Several of my guests walked down the beach into Puerto Morelos and they said it was nice and they never once felt unsafe. In addition, guests went shopping in Cancun and we took about 22 people into Playa for a dinner. Stick to the tourist spots, don't rent cars and you'll be fine! I told my guests that like any time you travel abroad you need to use common sense. And if any of them are super worried about safety, they certainly don't need to leave the resort - there's tons to do. I've heard that Playa is just a bit nicer then Cancun which is why we chose to have dinner there. Here's what I wrote on my website actually, if that helps any: The resort is exteremly secure. There is a large wall up along the entire perimeter of the property with security cameras. Additionally, in order to enter the resort, you must check in with a security guard at the front gate. The guards at the front have a list of all people checking in that day and all guest passes that were approved for the day. You'll notice when you arrive your driver is asked to provide the name of your reservation. If you ever schedule transportation to an excursion the excursion provider will ask for the name of your reservation as well as your room number. This is so that thier driver can let the guard at the front gate know. During our visit we never had a problem with our property being stolen. I left my jewelry and my computer out in plain sight, however I suggest you use the safe for your passports, wallets and valuables. (And we don't suggest you leave your jewelry out, we just forgot) The balcony doors lock and we suggest that when you leave your room you lock the sliding glass doors just to be extra safe. You will feel very safe on the resort grounds AND frankly throughout Riviera Maya and Cancun. Just please use common sense when leaving the resort!

congrats MRS!!!!

Reagan - the day before we left for Dreams Tropical Storm/Hurricane Karl popped up and my advice - don't sweat it cause you can't control it. You're wedding is going to be beautiful regardless of the weather. I just checked stormpulse for you and it's tracking way south of cancun now I really think you're going to be just fine!!! Tropical Storm Karl hit 150 miles south of us and we got bands but according to storm pulse cancun is out of the band range for now!! YAY! That's great news!!! Even more exciting is that when there's a hurricane in the area the ocean looks BEAUTIFUL and the waves are huge so your pictures are going to be amazing!!!! Keep thinking about the positives girls and we're all keeping our fingers crossed for you! Also ladies - my pro pictures are in - here's a link to our slide show if you'd like to see it - Elizabeth Medina rocks my world!! www.elizabethmedina.com/RC10

Thanks ladies - I got married on September 18th so now my guestbook makes an awesome coffee table book and it was so much fun to read everyone's notes!

I made a sign actually - it said: "Write us a little love note and put it in the envelope...just please don't seal it" however, I can tell you that later in the night and towards the end of the book people were sealing their drunken little love notes into the envelopes. Luckily no one sealed them too tightly so we were able to get them open.

I adore looking through the photos on this forum and I'm thrilled that it's my turn to share with all of you! We love love love love love our photos- we're absolutely thrilled and I have no idea how I'm going to decide which ones to frame...I promised Ron I wouldn't wallpaper the whole house with them...maybe just a room or two We feel so honored to have had Elizabeth and Lauren with us - the moments they captured bring back all the emotions and excitement of the day. Thank you thank you thank you thank you! We really can't thank you enough! Enjoy! www.elizabethmedina.com/RC10

Woo whoo!!!! Elizabeth beautiful work as always Makes me even more excited to see my pictures!!!! Casey

Wine Cellar: You would need to pay for the upgraded wine - this would be a PRIVATE event, for just your group in the wine cellar. If you just want a reservation in a restaurant for a small group you can talk to the manager but that would not include use of the wine cellar. Semi-Private Event: our welcome party got switched to this because the resort was having a celebration for guests for the independence day that day...it worked out because all the guests were at the party and OUR guests had El Patio to ourselves. I was not charged at all for this - but that's because we had originally planned on a private event and they had to change it. But I had been quoted previously the $15pp. Transporting wedding stuff down: Do not ship, it is very risky. We packed two small suitcases, one large suitcase and duffel bag...then on the way home we stuffed the duffel bag into one of the suitcases...We have elite status on continental so we didn't have to worry about baggage fees. But the plastic containers are also a good idea so you don't have to deal with all that stuff on your way back. We left EVERYTHING down there except two signs.

Ivan will email you a form to fill out with the timeline, music for specific dances (father daughter etc), your must play list and your do not play list. Then he'll meet with you before your wedding to go over the form and make sure everyone's on the same page.

Hey ladies -my ceremony was at 5:30 and I was paranoid about hair so I scheduled myself, my 3 bridesmaids, flower girl and mother of the groom starting at 1:30 and we finished at 3pm - and two of the girls had their hair washed, dried and then styled. The women in the salon work pretty fast and they do a great job. We also brought our own makeup to the salon and they let us run wild in there and do our makeup so by 3pm we were ready to go back to the room and get dressed and take pictures.

Hey ladies - since I've had some requests for it - I'm attaching my diagram. We had a cigar roller there as well - so that's what the extra table is off to the side. The tables on the left side of the diagram are next to the dj and his speakers - so I would suggest that if you have older people coming - put them on the right side. We didn't feel tight at all, tons of room - the deck can hold 200 people. Cocktail hour was at the Desire's lounge - it was nice for me because Desire's is air conditioned and I could stand inside while the girls bustled my dress...and I had 18 bustles :) Wedding - Seating Chart.pptx