shae

congrats! you'll find EVERYTHING you need to know in this forum for your destination wedding!

wow! the ceremony script wasn't even on my list of things to do until now! glad i stumbled upon this thread

Quote: Originally Posted by IvanG Hola Girls! Hope this link with picture can helps you with grounds at Dreams Cancun. Best, Dreams Cancun Grounds Thanks! The first pic really helps with figuring out where all these locations are at the resort. Didn't realize Himitsu Beach was on the other side of the resort from the gazebo.

Quote: Originally Posted by roo66 Girls last night just before bed i found this post and was like im getting them for our wedding.This morning i got up and whilst drinking a cup of tea i was reading yesterdays paper.A couple in Germany caused £250,00 worth of damage to nearby homes because of the lanterns.I wonder now if this is quite probable with the wind blowing off the sea and potentially causing fire to the thatch roofs etc.How about doing the ones that float on the ocean i think this will be the way we go. Eek! I think this puts things in perspective for me. I think it's more important to be cautious of homes and the natural environment. I'm sure there are other, safer ways to "wow" the guests.

Hi! Has anyone stumbled upon pictures of the food at the reception or cocktail hour?

looking good! i think the riviera maya border is a tad much. i would thin out the border and just put the location beneath the date.

wow...the ingredients you listed seem a whole lot better than what's posted on martha stewart's site! martha's ingredients didn't list soap or "light" olive oil. so the final product really just felt like i was basting myself! thanks for posting!

super cute!

hi! i think it would look alot cleaner without the gray bars and perhaps smaller white dots that are spread out a little more.

i LOVE your centerpiece! was that through a outside florist?

Quote: Originally Posted by cancunbride Claudia was my WC... she is a total sweetheart. Maybe once you tip her you can ask her again. Im sure she wont have a problem arranging some stuff with you. or maybe try tipping her once you get there before she starts the meeting. i was thinking the same thing. does anyone know how much we should tip the wedding coordinator (aside from the 15% that's added to the package total?)

Beautiful! I've booked Del Sol for my Dreams Cancun wedding and super excited about it!

wow! i can't believe you were able to negotiate all that! i'm definitely going to negotiate all the services i'm not using. please let me know if you have any tips on how to go about it. i asked my wc, cecilia, and she said that the package was not negotiable.

hi fellow noobs! i was very frustrated when trying to narrow down a resort. i was already set on Cancun and that it had to be an all-inclusive resort. i created a list (just looked up hotels on expedia.com) of every single hotel/resort and noted what i liked and disliked about each one. it was a huge help! i felt like i was just going in circles before then.

Quote: Originally Posted by JuneWeddingDreams I agree communication has been great. We have also gotten some additional guests over 20 at no additional cost for not using the mexican trio. We chose to eliminate the Mexican trio and we also are upgrading our cake to a larger cake and she isn't charging us anything additional. The photographer was a huge cost and trade in as we got the sound system from 6-11 at no cost for not using the resort photographer. Hope that helps. WOW...I was hoping to nix the Mexican trio and the photographer in exchange for the sound system, more people or ANYTHING! How'd you swing it?!?! Cecilia is my coordinator as well and she said no exchanges

Quote: Originally Posted by mc5363 Maybe it's $93 for cocktail hour and dinner. That makes more sense. I am skipping the cocktail hour since all the guests can drink for free at the lobby bar anyway. A lot of the brides on this forum have done that and said it worked out wonderfully. I exchanged the cocktail hour for 15 extra people at dinner since we are having 43 guests and only 20 are covered in the package. The price I was quoted for dinner was $42 + 15% service fee + 10% tax so a total of $52.50 per person. Hope that helps clarify. Hey! So if you skipped cocktail hour was your reception immediately after the ceremony? I was planning to have my pics taken with the photographer as other brides have done during cocktail hour. But I also expect a large guest count and would love to be able to do the exchange as you have done.

Thanks so much for the info Jill! This forum is so helpful. It makes me change my mind about a dozen times...but it's still helpful

Soooooo inspiring! Thanks for sharing I love the ribbon/fabric that you used on your table cards.

Quote: Originally Posted by sunitam Hey hun, I found that review that I wanted you to see: Best Destination Wedding Forum ~ The Ultimate Destination Wedding Resource this Dreams bride had her reception outside in the spa area and loved it- there are some great pictures in the review that show it off nicely. Theres a really great pic of her and her DH dancing on the water fountatin, lol. Hey there! Hmmm....i can't seem to get to that link. Here's another link of garden pics that I found from another post: http://doremixxphotos.shutterfly.com/94#94 I'm actually surprised the garden would be one of the last locations to be picked by most brides. Is there a certain reason? I'm considering the garden because I want my guests to feel comfortable when they're dressed their best and not have to worry about the sand getting in their shoes. And grass is considered a natural air conditioner so I figured it would be comforting against Cancun's hot/humid nights. Based on the pics above it seems pretty private with a gorgeous ocean view. Thoughts? I'm starting to feel confused now Oh! And is the Club Terrace the same thing as the Spa Terrace?

Quote: Originally Posted by PhillyBride09 WEDDING DAY CONTINUED After my hair & make up it was time to go up to my room and get dressed. My bridesmaids and my mom were waiting for me and we all got ourselves together, took some pics and waited for Claudia to call my room so I could go down. She finally did about 5 minutes after 5:30, but it felt like forever..LOL From that point on, everything went beautifully. The sound guy had my CD and Claudia had a littel headset thing, she told him when to change songs and he did so...Seemlessly...The Officiant was really nice..Although our Wedding certificate had a wrong name, instead of Joseph it said Justin. Joe talked to him about it before I even came down and he crossed it off and added Joe;s name. When it came time to sign, he explained it to me and said he would send a new one to our room, which he did the next day. Side note...The Officiant was REALLY religious. It felt like a catholic ceremony, which was fine by me but ince case you don't want that, be sure to tell Claudia ahead of time. I really liked him. He was nice and full of smiles. Even when My 2 year old flower girl was a holy terror up there with us and I literrally cracked up laughing while he was talking because she was running circles around me & Joe..LOL He never missed a beat. When the ceremony was over and as we walked back down the isle (to the Palm tree is what Claudia told us at Rehearsal) The servers ame out with Champangne glasses for everyone & they gave Joe & I our engraved toasting flutes that we brought with us. I thought that was a really nice touch and so did everyone else. We greated all of our guest by the palm tree and then it was picture time. I am going to do a seperate section for the Photographer and Videographer. When we got back to Cocktail hour it was well over an hour, and we had missed the Mariachi Trio. I figured we would, but I was still bummed. Everyone Loved them and said how great they were. That made me happy. I grabbed a few appetizers and then ran up to the terrace to see the set up. I met with Raul who was our "Head" Waiter and he basically told me, anything i want, He will see to it that it happens. We had three other waiters working our wedding that night. I told him that I wanted more Champagne for another toast before dinner, and he said no problem. I figured we would have to pay at check out..but nothing even came of it and I was glad!! I told him when to serve Dinner (After our Best man toast) and they did. Dinner was served quickly and no one ever had an empty glass. I brought my own iPod docking station & I thought they would set it up off to the side, which is what Claudia told me. When I got up there it was set up on the other side and they had the four round tables set out in a circle, so the dance floor was in the middle...I actually really liked that set up for our first dance ad the mother son dance..But it was hard to do line dances there :-( We managed to do the cupid shuffle ok..LOL I was glad I didn't get a DJ. None of my guests really danced too much, except for line dances..LOL All of my centerpieces were set up great...But they were candles and would not stay lit. I was really bummed, but it was no one's fault and the waiters got burnt more then once trying to light them and make me happy. It just wasn't happening. I should have gotten Submersable Floralights like I originally planned Oh Well..it still looked great! I asked for a knife so we could cut the cake and then we did our cake smashing which was fun. Joe was actually going to not do it until I got him good..LOL Joe bought all of the guys who were at the wedding Cigars, so they were all drunk and lit them up at the end of the night. It went by fast, but I still can't get over how perfect it was. Our waiters always made sure Joe & I were ok and that we didn't need anything. Before I knew it, it was 10:30 and it was time to go :-( I stayed and made sure we grabbed our iPod and Docking stations, and a few other things. I left my shoe there that night and I went back on Saturday before we left to see if they had them. They called the lost & found and sure enough they were there. They brought them up & I was really glad to get them back All in All..My Wedding day was perfect. Claudia and all of the servers did a geat job and I couldn't have had it any more perfect. My guests were really impressed and had a fabulous time!! ONE MORE..I PROMISE!!!....REVIEWS OF PHOTO & VIDEO GUY :-) AWESOME review PhillyBride! How many guests did you have at your wedding? I'm so confused by the fineprint in the wedding package that says "Subject to availability & double occupancy only". Does it mean that only my guests that have 2 people in 1 room qualify as part of the 20 guests included with the dinner reception? I'm not even sure if that made sense! Also, I'm hoping to save some mula and not have to pay for the sound system. Was your ipod docking station loud enough to hear over the beach and the wind? And you didn't need a microphone for speeches or anything? Thanks much!

Quote: Originally Posted by cougs also lindsey (not sure if it's been mentioned here since there aren't many legal dreams brides), the signing takes FOREVER lol! i was able to time it on the video and for ourselves to sign in triplicate and THUMBPRINT, and then your 4 witnesses to sign in triplicate ... it was literally 7.5 minutes of our approximately 15 minute ceremony. i had NO idea it would be like that, and would certainly have chosen at least one song to play during this time had i known! our family/friends looked sweaty and bored to tears, lol! oohhh...great tip! would've never thought about that on my own

I have a question about the Dreams of Love and Dreams Ultimate wedding packages. One of the restrictions says "Subject to availability & double occupancy only." What is this referring to? Is it in reference to the total # of guests that you have at your wedding reception? It'd be great if someone can shed some light on this. Thanks!

wow! i was torn between del sol and another photographer but your review pretty much sums up who i should pick!

Quote: Originally Posted by Trinas79 Jen - His packages range from 2350-5600 and include ALL travel costs. He is on the top of our list right now, he pictures are beautiful and is completely affordable! I would love to know if anyone on here has worked with him, though.... Kerri hi! is this pricing considered to be on the low, med or high end? i've just started looking for a photographer and a little unsure about how i should be comparing pricing. thanks!

hi there! i'm totally in the same boat as you. i've read a few reviews that mentioned the in-house photographer and videographer were better than expected. i'll let you know if i find more detailed info!