lilly129

Quote: Originally Posted by BethAnne Yes, that helps a ton! Thanks! I have a small group- about 10 or 12 so I'm excited that we can all just pick a restaraunt and go there, without having to have a formal type reception. =) I'm going to e-mail Ana now... Kinda worried about the planning though! I know Ana is probly over worked, but it takes forever to get a reply and i worry if she'll ahve everything documented and ironed out when we get there...anyone else have this fear? Former brides.. tell me how this worked out for you when you arrived!! BethAnne - you should talk to Ana about the wine room - I've heard from her and others that it's beautiful. Although you do have to buy upgraded wine to use it the cost of the wine is minimal compared to the cost of a private reception. It might be a nice place for your group!

Quote: Originally Posted by BethAnne I am curious.. you said you had the reception at the seaside grill...did you have to pay extra to set that up.. or since its one of the resort all inclusive restaraunts, you just had everyone go there? You have two options really for your reception - you can choose a private reception or a non-private reception. For a private reception - you pay per person for the food and drink (I think it's $32 plus tax but don't quote me on that - the contract is on my laptop). You have your own bar and buffet or waiter service. So the per person fee that you're paying is really to cover the cost of the set up, take down and extra staff needed for your event. You can choose to have your reception on the pool deck, the pool terrace, the beach and probably a few other locations. IF the resort is less than 60% occupancy (or bad weather), they will let your private reception move into the closed restaurant. Still costs per person and you still have your own wait staff/bartenders and you pick the menu. But there is no extra charge on top of the cost of a private event. If you choose not to have a private reception, you can have your wedding dinner in one of the OPEN restaurants - along with other guests from the hotel. You'll have to talk to Ana about having tables reserved close to each other, or having a portion sectioned off - she would be able to put you in touch with the restaurant manager to do this. You can also choose to have your dinner in the wine room between the italian restaurant and the french one - it fits 25 people and you have to buy bottles of upgraded (not included in the all inclusive package) wine in order to use the room. Does that make sense?

Princess - yes we're paying for a private event - we're doing the Caribbean buffet and the Caribbean trio for the welcome dinner and I don't remember the cost, but it's the same as the per person cost of the wedding reception. ($32 per person maybe?)

Thank you so much for posting your pictures!!

Hi - I thought I'd chime in because I'm experiencing the same thing...in my situation my future in laws doing this because they want a reaction from us - they want to stir up drama and make a scene. So no matter how hurt we are that they're doing this (and personally I feel like this is the straw and I want them both out of our lives) we refuse to give them what they want...attention. It's depressing and I'm so sorry for you and your fiance, my heart really breaks for your fiance (and mine) because I can't understand how a parent can treat thier child this way. My advice would be to not fuel the fire with a letter. Good luck with everything and keep us posted. Your wedding is going to be beautiful and amazing!!

Quote: Originally Posted by noonie here is a link to my wedding pics...outdoor terrace due to rain...and seaside grill for the reception, BEAUTIFUL wherever you have it:) please enjoy the pics, my photographer was the BEST & caught the most amazing & precious moments from the best day of my life:):) Stephanie & Jamie | April 28th 2010 | Dreams, Riviera Maya Mexico Awesome pictures! Congrats and thank you so much for sharing! I love Weezer!!! Great songs!

Quote: Originally Posted by allegraapple Do you mean the couple in the 5/15/10 slideshow? If so - I was at the resort that weekend and actually saw their wedding. And yes - the reception was at the Seaside Grill. Which I think is an excellent option/choice if your party is on the smaller side. I'm not sure what the capacity for a reception is in that restaurant - but if you want enough room for dancing, I'd guess around 40pp. It's nice because it's covered overhead, but you still get a beautiful view of the ocean and the pools, yet your group is separated into a private area. That party had a buffet set up for the reception and then the light-up dance floor in the middle of the restaurant. -Hope this helps. I talked to Yazmin about this at our site visit - she said that if occupancy is 60% or LESS you can use the restaurant that is closed down for the reception. They close one restaurant each night but they don't decide which restaurant until a day or two before. We're actually going to do this for our welcome dinner. Here's the deal with that though - you won't know which restaurant until you get there and it is based on occupancy. So it can be done, but you'll have to have a plan b in case it doesn't work out.

Quote: Originally Posted by Laura22610 Oops! Guess I should have kept reading first Hahaha I do that all the time! I loooove wedding paper divas!

Quote: Originally Posted by Boo I am planning on getting marachas from Mishka, but as I still dont know exact #s I havent started finalizing things with her - hope to do that over the next 30 days, yikes where does the time go? how much lead time have the other ladies found she needs? she needs a month to actually make them...so my rsvps are due by August 1st and I need to give her the final number by August 18th - but I've given her a rough estimate already.

Quote: Originally Posted by AlisonJimmy Anyone getting the maracas from Mischka? If so, how did you send her your invitation? Did you scan then send? She wants me to email her my invitation so she can get an idea for a design on maracas. I keep spending $$$$$ so I am not sure if I really need these. But I really want them! LOL I had a proof from the company that was a pdf that I mailed her - but you could scan it in and send it. She has great ideas! I'm in the same boat...spending way too much money hahaha

Quote: Originally Posted by jstock311 Thanks. I know it will be great. It's just hard putting all your trust in someone and not knowing what's going on until the last minute! From all the reviews though, I know I have absolutely nothing to worry about. Yours is coming soon.... The time flew by! I can't believe I'm just over two months away! I'm with you - even though all the reviews are excellent, I still freak out!

Quote: Originally Posted by colleenandclint anyone have any suggestions for a good website to get save the dates or wedding invites? they all see so cheesy to me. any help would be great did you try Wedding Invitations, Bridal Shower Invitations & Announcements by Wedding Paper Divas - might be able to find some cute ones there!

Quote: Originally Posted by jstock311 Thanks. I just got an email back from Ana last night about it. She did say we could mix and match between the three options they had but only one entree choice....that really sucks. I think the buffet is the way to go now. I just need to vent for a minute too. Ana said the pool deck isn't available for our reception. I don't want it on the beach. I'm just kind of bummed because I feel like maybe if she had gotten back to me over a month ago when I first emailed her we could have gotten the reception where we wanted it, maybe not though. I just can't see paying all this money and then not having the big things the way you want. I can see some small things maybe not going so smoothly but the reception location is a big deal to me. I emailed her to see what other options besides the beach were available. Now just waiting to hear. Ohh that stinks I'm sorry. I've been told that to be fair to everyone getting married that day, the bride and groom who booked first get first choice for location - it still stinks but at least you know they're being fair and it's not just Ana taking too long to get back to you. Your reception is going to be amazing no matter where you have it The whole resort is beautiful and I'm sure she'll find you a perfect location!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Lindsay in love I just booked today and confirm May 9 2011 at 4pm. Pretty stoked about it...it took me forever to decide on the right location and it came down to Dreams Riviera Cancun and Grand Princess and I am so pleased that I confirmed Dreams. I have absolutely no fears about anything since it's new and modern and beautiful...Knowing that Ana is a little slow eases my mind since I've read that she is great once you arrive so I will do what I can from here but will try to be relatively stress free until I arrive. The (extremely long) countdown is on! Lindsay Congrats Lindsay! The months fly by! I swear just yesterday I was 10 months away from getting married...now I'm three! YIKES!

Oops sorry I answered a question that was already answered! Sorry ladies. After 5 weeks...Ana got back to me and answered all 7 of my questions...phew.

Quote: Originally Posted by AlisonJimmy If anyone is getting the ultimate package, have you heard anything about getting the groom a free room the night before the wedding. The hotel told my TA this would have to be decided closer to the wedding. But that is crazy. Is anyone else having this issue? It's based on availability so they won't be able to let you know until you get there most likely...we're hoping for it, but not betting on it. My fiance will stay with one of his brothers if necessary.

Erica - thank you so much for your review!!! It's super helpful CONGRATS MRS and Welcome back!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by aubry Anyone know how the "Welcome Cocktail" in the group contract works? Does that just mean go to the bar for a drink? What about private check-in? Glad to know things come together in the end. I didn't get my contract for my date until last week after trying to book in April - wedding is less than a month away! I did get an email saying I had the date after a month, though. Also, I am using the resort photographer, but want to do TTD the next day. Should I schedule another appointment (and how much would it be?) or do will they do the shoot then and just charge for the pics chosen? Thanks for those in the know! I think the "private check in and welcome cocktail" is meant as - when you check in at your designated area your guests are greeted with a cocktail...that was my interpretation.

For ladies interested in using Decocancun.com for lounge furniture or any other decor - I talked to Ana from Deco Cancun and she said she's worked there before, and hasn't needed a day pass. She said that as soon as she sends over a final proposal, I just need to send it to Ana and Dreams so she is aware they'll be working there. She said they've worked at DRC a lot and are very familiar with the set ups and locations.

Quote: Originally Posted by cathyandchin does DRC have an airport shuttle? I just found out that those that didn't book with our TA are on their own!! I'd be willing to pay extra if DRC has a bus or van but I was hoping someone on here would know before I called the hotel directly. Cathy ohhh tell them to use Cancunshuttle.com - they can reserve and pay online - I used it for my site visit and they were awesome! We had an entire van to ourselves, it was $65 round trip for 2 people. To keep the cost down they can reserve the non private van - all the prices are on the website!

Quote: Originally Posted by cathyandchin For those that had their hair and make-up done... or will be getting theirs done: Are you using your own make-up and tools and having them do it or do they have supplies? I use bare minerals because I normally sweat my makeup off (I live in Texas) but I'm not sure if I should have them use my own make-up or not. When I was a BM in Hawaii (much less humidity than Texas) the make up artist used liquid and I was shiny all night. It's pretty humid in Puerto Morelos, right? Hi! I live in Texas as well and use bare minerals! I am going to use my own makeup and tools. When I was at the resort in May it was Houston humid - so I used an oil controlling gel as a base and then just the bare minerals powder - I didn't use any foundation or tinted moisturizer and I touched up when I thought about it and I was fine. Its what I do down here in the summer as well. I didn't have a chance to look at their makeup, I just know what works for me in that heat so I'm going to go with that - play it safe

Quote: Originally Posted by pbjwed thanks for the scoop on the lounge furniture!! Anyone spending a bit less in this department?? I would love to do this but don't want to spend more than 500 as i am already getting the lit up dance floor!!! Try Decocancun.com - They're super reasonable. I haven't had a chance to ask the woman from Decocancun if she knows how DRC handles them as outside vendors yet though...but even so they're really reasonable.

Quote: Originally Posted by Kristin Loch That army beach thing really really scares me. Oh no! My wedding is November. I'm a little nervous now. Was it still a nice resort? I've never been there. I went there to visit in May - it's amazing! I loved the resort, I never once felt unsafe! Don't stress out - be excited and happy! It's a beautiful, clean, nice resort and your guests will be very happy once they get there

Quote: Originally Posted by allegraapple We haven't officially booked her yet, but I am planning to use DecoCancun also! I believe there will be a resort fee to bring her in. Assuming they only charge for Ana (from DecoCancun), I think the fee is around $80. I'd make sure - because they might charge for each person she brings with her to help set up. She might even know the answer to that. If you find out, could you let me know? -Allegra Oh good idea - when I respond to her last email today I'll ask her and let you know. She's fantastic! I had just emailed about the napkins, tablecloths and chairs first but now she's bringing pink and orange pillows for the cocktail hour, vases with gems and fun paper lanterns...the best part is, it's all costing about half what the chairs and tablecloths would have cost at the resort!

Ohh Laura - I have a question for you! So I'm looking at your set up and I see the buffet set up along the back, and the tables in front and the dj in the back corner next to the cake... Where was your dance floor? Was it in the middle of the deck or off to a side? I'm trying to remember the configuration I saw when I was down there and for the life of me I can't remember! Thanks!