Laura22610

Quote: Originally Posted by chirorach i am not happy to hear that she is not allowing any trading/swaping either. from other Dreams threads i have read it didn't seem too hard to do this. maybe she will be more reasonable in person? although those brides did say they had to be persistant. curious what brides have found who have done site visits?? otherwise i plan on getting pushy about it!!! Ana did allow me to trade something...I asked her if I could have anything in exchange for not using the photographer in my package (I am getting the ultimate package) and she said that I could get more video instead. Although I keep asking her how much more video and she hasn't answered that yet. Other things I have asked to trade, though, such as the hair and make-up, she has said the package is not allowed to be altered. Seems crazy to me! So, maybe you are right...if you are persistent , she will eventually give in I am getting there five days before my wedding, so I am hoping that in person, things will be a lot easier to straighten out!

Quote: Originally Posted by Megan24 Here are some questions for you ladies... I picked the love package Does anyone know what kind of food we can pick for the reception? Is there a menu? Also what flowers, centerpiece, and cake goes with this package. I know some of you girls picked this package just wondering if Ana sent you any of these things. Or do you just wait until you get there and pick out what you like? Megan, I am not sure about the flowers, centerpieces, and cake but Ana did send me dinner menus. I am copying and pasting the Love Package dinner menu. I am not clear on this but I think that you only get to pick ONE entree and if you want to offer 2, you would have to pay extra. Here is the Love menu... Dinner a la carteé (SILVER MENU FOR LOVE PACKAGE) No 1 Portobello in a puff pastry shell with balsamic vinaigrette Smoke salmon salad with endive and fresh asparagus Mediterranean fish soup Red snapper filet over ratatouille and beurre blanc sauce “OR†Individual beef Wellington served with charon sauce Chocolate mousse cake No 2 Raviolis filed with spinach served trees cheese sauce Carpaccio of scallop and Salmon served with lime and Shallot vinaigrette Cream of Asparagus with roasted almond Sea bass fillet served over fresh Spinach and Hollandaise sauce “OR†Gigot of Lamb served with Provenzal sauce Tulip of strawberry with grand Marnier sauce and ice vanilla ice cream

Quote: Originally Posted by taranyc Thank you both! Did you book your wedding through the hotel, but rooms, flights, etc through the TA? Thank you for the tip on Berman, I will contact them...sounds soooo much easier. tt That's exactly what I did. My TA is in touch with the resort also and he offered to communicate with Ana for me but I thought it would be easier to do that myself. I contacted Ana by email and booked my wedding with her. When I sent out my invites, I put all of my TA's information on there and everyone is just booking through him, which makes it easy since he knows all of the details of the wedding. It is also much much much less stressful for me since I don't have to keep track of who is booking and worry about getting them good deals. My TA lets me know when someone books and soon he should be sending me a list of everyone's travel dates, flights, etc. I don't think that I could have done this all on my own without being super-stressed!

Quote: Originally Posted by taranyc Hi everyone. I was reading your posts about your guests starting to make their arrangements, etc. Did any of you work with Dreams to get a better rate for your guests...or did you take the travel agent route? My fiance and I are visting DRC on Dec 11th to tour the site and finalize things for our Sept. 26, 2010 wedding and a reduced rate for my wedding guests is def top on my list. Thank you, tara I went through a travel agent. It seems like there are different deals all of the time.

Quote: Originally Posted by soon2BMrs.Prince Hi ladies! I've been MIA for a little bit. Work, kids, homework, coaching my daughters cheerleading squad consumes so much of my time. I'm drained, plus I had to take a break from this forum because the more I read, the more I wanted and the more I stressed myself out. I sent out STD in early September, ordered my dress last month, paid the deposit and so far 38 guests have booked. I feel good about what I've accomplished so far and I'm trying really hard not to stress out over the little stuff. Thanks to all of you for posting the information on the photographers & cocktail/reception locations. I like the pool deck the best. Has anyone had their invitations made or making their own that you can share? Welcome back You have a ton accomplished! I made my invitations...I took pictures and will post as soon as I get a chance...I haven't uploaded them to my computer yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by AmandDex Hello everyone thanks for all the info I couldn't quit read all of it but what I did read was very helpful. Febuary is right around the corner and we are so excited. Feb. 12th 2010. So I hear a lot of talk about Ana is she someone new or is she someone you have been working with for awhile? I was talking with Claudia back and forth and as many of you may know who have worked with her it takes forever and a day to get a response. Is anyone else having that problem? Great picture's by the way they were very helpful. Are you having your wedding at Dreams Cancun or Dreams Riviera Cancun? I think Claudia is the wedding coordinator for Dreams Cancun. Ana is the wedding coordinator for Dreams Riviera Cancun. February is right around the corner...my wedding is the 26th of Feb and I can't believe how quickly time is flying by!

Quote: Originally Posted by JenKen11082010 Thanks for all the information everyone, it makes life so much easier to be able to talk to other people who are planning the same thing as me : ) I think I will also scan my credit card info and email it to Ana and we will send out our STD's in about a month (hopefully) - my family will need plenty of time to plan. Another question for everyone. We are having a small wedding (20 or so) and are trying to stick to a budget so we chose the basic wedding package and then we'll pay for all the extras that we want. From my emails with Ana, I believe a private dinner reception will be about $60/guest. My question is, do any of you know of any other reception options? I've read about the buffet option (but I heard that it's for > 40 guests only) and the semi-private receptions-would that take place in one of the restaurants? Have any of you noticed that the prices on the DRC site have gone up in the last few days? We haven't booked our room yet just to be certain this is the resort we want. I was surprised to see the prices go up but I guess they are the # 1 hotel now! Thanks again : ) We are having about 35 people. When choosing my package, I worked out all of the prices of packages with adding extras. Did Ana send that document with the prices of all of the extras to you? If you are planning on having a private dinner reception, it is definitely more economical to upgrade your package. If you are having the cocktail hour with your reception, the price per person is more like $90. I asked Ana if a buffet was an option and she told me that it was and did not mention that there was a minimum amount of guests required. Hopefully, there is not because I was planning on having a buffet! Hope this helps

Thanks for all the pictures!! I attached a couple that Ana sent me that are a little different than the ones previously posted. I think I decided to have my reception on the pool deck. Although, the picture on the Dreams website of the beach reception looks awesome too! I think, though, for dancing the deck would be better and it's so close to the beach! I also paid my deposit by credit card. I just scanned all of the info that Ana requested and emailed it to her. I was wondering...Ana sent me an email with photos of bridal bouquets that are included in the package. Does anyone know if you can change these at all? Maybe just the colors at least? I haven't started on my OOT bags at all. My wedding is in 3 months!! I feel so behind. I just didn't want to start buying stuff until I know exactly how many are coming. Some of my friends are definitely waiting until the last minute!! As far as my invitations...I just got engaged in July 2009, picked the destination in August and the resort in September so I didn't really have time to send out STD's and invites. So, I sent out my invites at the end of September and gave an RSVP date of December 1. Everyone pretty much knew the invites were coming before they got them though and it was plenty of time for everyone to book. Actually, the people who booked last week got the cheapest price and a preferred club room with jacuzzi in room and on balcony!! I am jealous...their room is nicer than mine, I think Okay...sorry for the looonnng post

angel : halo

Quote: Originally Posted by chirorach I was planning on going the IPOD route as well. My understanding from the price list though was DRC charged you $180 per hour for speakers (which seems pricey and not much less expensive than the DJ). Am I confused?? Other brides on this forum have also bought Boze docking speakers... which I hope will be loud enough? I also was under the impression that it was $180/hour for the speakers...I think because the sound system has to be operated by a "technician"? I am almost positive Ana told me $180/hour. I was thinking about getting Bose speakers. A friend of mine told me her neighbor has them and they are pretty loud and good quality.

Quote: Originally Posted by SDbeachgirl With the Ultimate package you get 1 hour free of Mariachi or Carbinean trio. I am going to use one for the cocktail hour. I just don't know what the difference is. I will have to ask ana during my visit. I was probably going to use an ipod for the ceremony music as I don't think I will play the traditional wedding song. I haven't figured it all out yet though. Maybe I will have someone play during dinner too. Is anyone getting a DJ? I was planning on it, but wondered if that seems weird with only 30 people. What is everyone else doing? I was also going to use the Mariachi or Caribbean trio also for the cocktail hour. And I am not getting a DJ. We will probably have about 30-35 people and I was just going to use my ipod for dinner and the reception. I was planning on bringing a small docking station/speakers for my ipod, which I think will be loud enough and good enough sound for 30 people. Hopefully it will work out!!

Quote: Originally Posted by ebernard4985 Hey everyone! I just received an email from Ana about the beach location. I expressed my concern about the privacy issues and she said that when I get there I can pick the location to have it set up, this is good news! Hopefully there will be a spot on the beach quiet enough for a wedding without random people in the background! Fantastic!! This makes me so happy

greenhouse : flowers

fiance : marriage

I also like #1...nice and beachy!

weights : heavy

They are all great! I think I like #3 the best though. Good luck choosing

Trees : leaves

confetti : paper

new year : celebrate

I am getting married on a Friday. Most of our guests are arriving on Thursday and leaving on Monday. I think that, when you are having a DW, it doesn't really matter which day of the week I chose Friday because my mom and a couple of our other guests are teachers and they wouldn't be able to take off a lot of time during the week. This way, they only need to take off 3 days and still get a 5 day vacation!

what to make? : chicken

nachos : cheese

Quote: Originally Posted by SDbeachgirl I'm not too worried about the service. I have been reading the reviews on Facebook and Tripadvisor daily and most people have raved about the service. I've only read a couple of negative reviews about the resort. There are always going to be exceptions at any resort. I'm sorry that you, Laura, did not get the service that others have been raving about! That is such a bunmer! But it doesn't worry me. What worries me about your review is the ceremony sites. I can't understand why when they are designing a new resort that they know will have hundreds of weddings a year, they can't create a separate secluded area off to the side for the ceremony. That really bums me out I will be there in 2.5 weeks and will take photos from all different angles. Hopefully they will have weddings there over Thanksgiving. I imagine they will. I have also been reading about the lack of privacy in the rooms and that concerns me too. I hope that they will do something about it. I saw a post from Rod (on FB) at one time where he said they planned to fix that. But I don't when. I hope it is soon. Why would they design the bathrooms with such little privacy?! Anyways, thanks Laura for your review. I have the same exact concerns...I have read a lot about the bathrooms too...hopefully they fix that by Febraury!!! I would think that it would be a no-brainer to design a bathroom with privacy As far as the wedding sites...I wasn't planning on using the gazebo for my wedding but the fact that the beach wedding wouldn't be more private bothers me. If they have to set up for a wedding on the beach, why wouldn't they be able to set up in a different, less public spot? I've read that the beach is pretty big there. I am also not so concerned about the service. I have read many good reviews on this aspect of the resort. Plus, they did just open a month ago and there probably are kinks to be worked out. I think that, as with all resorts, you will have both good and bad reviews. So, I am going to keep optimistic and go with the good reviews SDbeachgirl..you must be so excited to get down there and see the resort! I really wish I could do this. Hopefully, you can post your pictures!

Quote: Originally Posted by RCBlondie has anyone received an updated list of photographers from Ana? She sent me one with only two options and Claudia was not one of them. Could you please let me know what she has said is permissible? Thanks! Rachelle Ana did not send me a list of photographers. I also just got the two photographers that the resort uses in an email from Ana. When I asked her about bringing someone else, she told me to let her know who I wanted to use and then she would let me know if it was okay. I asked her about Claudia Rodriguez and she said that would be fine to have her. I am paying for Claudia on my own. I also asked Ana if anything could be substituted for photography in the packages, since I won't be using their photographers, and she said that I could get more video. I am waiting for her to get back to me as to how much more video I will get. Hope this helps!