OceanWonderland

Quote: Originally Posted by Ashlynn039 I have a question for the November brides, I'm not going dress shopping until the end of May when I can fly home to shop with my Mom & sister.. how long does it generally take once you purchase your dress for it to come in? I worry that I'm cutting it a little close, but this is really the soonest I can get down to Florida since we're moving next month and I don't want to shop without them. It only took 3 months to get my dress once it was ordered, so I think you should be fine. But I have heard it can take up to 6 months, but I think that mainly applies to higher couture end dresses and my budget was waaaayyy under those prices. Mine was around $1K. I was told for alterations to get those done about 4 - 6 weeks before the wedding. So if you order your dress in May or June, you should have it by September and then just go straight to alterations. Dress shopping was so much fun!! Even though I have my dress already, I wish that I could still go 'looking' since it's so much fun trying on dresses. But I'm scared I'll find something super beautiful and second guess my decision. Maybe I'll go to a store that only sells really expensive dresses that I know I could never afford anyways and just try those on for fun Have a great time with your mom and sister!!

I love #8, purely because it's a picture that if I saw on the wall, I would definitely take notice. It's got great colors, lighting, ambiance, and both of you! It commands attention.

I think a month or two before the wedding, they ask you to choose your dinner items. At that point, I'm sure they will still be either silver or gold, but I'd still inquire about the $20. I would choose your menu items and create a menu to bring down. That way if they force you to use the silver or gold menu, you'll have a cute little piece of paper in front of everyone explaining what they are eating. But if you get down there and they actually let you use the $20, then that menu won't match anymore, so then you couldn't use them, but it's a 50/50 chance. Another option, is having the basics printed out on the menu (first course, second course, dessert - however you feel like phrasing it), and then you and your bridesmaids can write in the actual meal items once down there. Won't look as nice, but they would still get the gist.

Cheri, I think once you get down there you should still ask for the $20 menu. Because someone definitely posted that they still got it and they were married in January this year. It wouldn't hurt to ask... then let us all know if they let you or not Maybe Aurora is the one steadfast with the silver or gold menu, but the other WC are more flexible? I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.

I think the fire dancers are every Saturday. Dreams resorts are pretty predictable in terms of entertainment. They have 7 days worth of it, and it just goes on repeat (karaoke, fire dancers, comedy, fiesta, etc). I don't know the schedule for every day, but I'd rest assured that they will continue with fire dances on Saturdays. I think it would be cool to walk your wedding group over to watch! That'd be fun Also, for any of you girls getting married soon (or have just got married in 2010), did any of you inquire about the $20 menu? I know a lot of you have the silver or gold package and that includes up to 20 guests, but I'm hoping someone might be in a similar situation to mine where I have a whole lot of guests coming and the $20 menu would definitely help the budget. Not looking forward to potentially spending 5K on dinner reception. I know one girl mentioned she somehow got the $20 menu in January, but she didn't say how, so it sounds like it MIGHT still be an option, but I'm hoping other brides ended up getting it as well.

Congratulations!! You'll have a blast planning your wedding, but finding the place is quite stressful, but once that's done it seems everything falls into place. Don't forget though, if you are planning a wedding for around Xmas and New Years, that hotel prices seem to increase during those time periods. It's a very popular time and hotels are usually completely booked, so don't expect any free upgrades and such. Having said that, I still think you can find something under $1200 for a week. Dreams resorts could be something to look into. But that wouldn't include flight.

this looks great. i've been working out but i can't seem to lose 5-10 lbs...in fact, i've been working out for 2 months straight and i still weight exactly the same. i know muscle weighs more than fat, but it wouldn't hurt to see the scale go down ONCE in a while. i read the whole pdf file and looked at your spreadsheet and this definitely seems doable BUT i had a few questions... 1) do you think i can continue working out? i go about 4 times a week for an hour and do interval/cardio/small weights. 2) do you eat all the veggies raw? or can you cook them? they didn't mention olive oil anywhere....i guess i can boil my veggies, but what about the fish? bake in the oven with lemon juice and salt? i feel like cutting out olive oil will be difficult but i'm willing to give it a try for 10 days. thanks for this!! i'll let you know what happens in about 2 weeks

Yes, it's an all-inclusive which makes this absolutely ridiculous. I know that we are paying for the 'private service' because we are taking away servers/bartenders, but still, with so many people it gets insanely expensive. In 2009 and before, they had a $20 meal option, but apparently in 2010 that has ended. I unfortunately have nothing in writing I'm hoping when brides start getting married in droves again (april/may), that one of them will come back with a review saying they still got to use the $20 menu. A girl can dream...

Ashlynn - We are using William Sanchez as our photographer.. Destination Wedding Photographer Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Cancun | William Sánchez I don't think there are any reviews on this website so far, and I only know one other girl who has booked him for her wedding in April, but I like his pictures on his blog so I think he'll do a wonderful job!! Did you book a photographer yet? Maybe you're the bride who got Claudia Rodriquez for Nov 15? I think I emailed at LEAST 20 photographers for their rates and it's just nice to be done with that part of the wedding planning. Blue and apple green sound like amazing colors! It's cute that your fiance was adamant about having blue no matter what. Boys like the blue! Maybe I should ask mine what color he wants the most, instead of choosing purple and telling him he can pick the next. I sound demanding don't I? I just love the pictures of bridesmaids in deep, popping purple colors against the white sand and blue ocean. But I also love the bright blues as well. Who knew picking colors could be so difficult? I just emailed my wedding coordinator about our group rates, my wedding is becoming HUGEEEEE. We have 70+ people who have all confirmed they want to go in on group bookings. I was having a DW because I wanted a SMALL wedding, thinking no one would want to fly all the way to Mexico. This is starting to get expensive now...and I heard a rumor that Dreams Tulum won't offer the $20 menu anymore, so now it's either $55 or $65 per guest. I can't fathom spending that much on food!! There goes the out of town bags haha.

Seems like a lot of brides are picking shades of blue and gray/silver. Popular colors for November? I'm thinking about purple and green, but it sounds like my fiance wants yellow, so now it might be purple and yellow? I'm not sure how that will look. I feel like yellow would be washed out with their khaki pants...but he says it's a power color. Boys... I like the idea of silver though, I hadn't even thought of that. Maybe purple and silver haha, I'm so indecisive when it comes to colors. I booked my photographer yesterday!!! So exciting Such a relief to get that off my shoulders. I can't wait to do the TTD photos. My mom is super worried I'm going to ruin my wedding dress, but I don't understand why it's that big of a deal. Am I really going to wear that dress ever again? So I get it wet, it'll dry. Are any of you thinking of having a separate dress for the TTD or just gonna go all out?

Yes I did. I guess the contact form I filled out on the website didn't work, most likely something I did. I emailed him with the address you gave me and he responded right away. We just filled out the contract and will be sending the deposit tomorrow morning!!! We are soooo excited Booked him for our wedding and a TTD session. Gotta love it! Thanks for recommending him. You're wedding is coming up fast, can't wait to see the pics.

Quote: Originally Posted by Ashlynn039 I'm getting married November 15th in Riviera Maya Ashylynn - We're date twins!! And we both chose a Dreams resort How far along in the wedding planning has everybody gotten? This could be a great resource for girls that might have very close wedding dates at the same resort to share chair sashes and other decorations, helps with cost and baggage! So far no other Dreams Tulum brides, but maybe in the next 9 months one will pop up. So far, I've got Dreams booked, about to finalize a photographer (which took MONTHS and MONTHS to choose) there are just too many amazing ones to choose between, booked our DJ, found my dress (!) and sent out Save the Dates just this week. Still have a decent amount left to do, have to book our trip and pick out bridesmaid dresses, OOT bags, gifts, and all the little things that just add up and up. How long are you all staying down for your wedding? Is it also going to serve as a honeymoon? Can't wait to get to know you all as our wedding approaches. It seems you get to know your wedding month girls the best, since we seem to be on the same timelines of happiness and stress.

Yes!! And November still feels so far away! Getting married Nov 15 in Tulum Getting ready to finally book our trip this week to make it really official.

I've tried emailing him for his availability and Trash the Dress rates, but he hasn't responded yet. It was only a few days ago though, so he's probably just busy. I would also like to see an entire wedding shoot. Did he happen to send you an example? How quickly did he return your emails? He does seem relatively new by looking at his blog (only 3 weddings so far). I'll let you know if I hear anything.

For all of the girls that have already been married at Dreams Tulum, I have a question for you. Did any of you book the cheapest room (garden view), and were upgraded once at the resort? If so, what room were you upgraded to? Finally, what month did your wedding take place? All input is greatly appreciated. Thank you

One of my good friends had a similar situation as yours (no longer speaking to her father and she invited them to the wedding, but he refused to come). She didn't have any of her family come, so she couldn't ask her mom or grandparents. Anyways, what she did had me bawling like a baby. It was very symbolic. She stopped at the end of the aisle (before walking down) and her fiance actually walked down the aisle to go get her, and they both walked down together. It was her way of showing that her fiance is now the new man in her life and is most important to her. Soon as the music started playing and you realized that she wasn't walking down, but he was coming to get her and they were going together, it was just a cry fest!! It's another option you can consider.

Ok so this may be a strange question. We're going to have ~50 people at our wedding and we're getting the ultimate package which covers 20 people for both cocktail hour and reception. I am fine with spending the extra money per person for the reception, but am not willing to do so for the cocktail hour. I am planning on having the cocktail hour near another bar (if they let me), but I was wondering...will they still provide the cocktail hour for 20 people and not charge me extra, and the other guests can mingle over to the bar (i.e. just enough servers/food that would primarily be used for 20 guests)? Or do I have to forgo the cocktail hour if I'm not willing to spend the extra money? What would they do with the mariachi band? Just trying to cut costs somewhere. Still upset they got rid of the $20 menu option.... Thanks!! Hopefully somebody has tried something similar and has some advice. I just don't want to get charged for a cocktail hour in the package and then get screwed of not having it at all because I don't want to pay for the extra guests.

I did a search through the thread but couldn't really find too much on this. I'll be getting married Nov 15 of this year and we're about to book our rooms and I was wondering which room other brides recommend and also, do you think we should just go with the cheapest room and try to upgrade once we get there? I really want a room with a jacuzzi but also hoping we might not have to pay for that (?). Besides the bride and groom, what room do you recommend I suggest to our guests booking? Here are our options in order of cheapest to most expensive: Deluxe Garden View Junior Suite Garden View Preferred Junior Suite Garden View Deluxe Ocean View Junior Suite Ocean View Preferred Junior Suite Ocean View Preferred Club Junior Suite Ocean Front Hacienda Preferred Club Suite Deluxe Garden View Connecting Preferred Club Honeymoon Suite Hacienda Club Presidential Suite Just don't want to waste my money if you girls don't think it was worth it. Thanks so much!

Did you have to make the menu template for guests to read during dinner or does the resort do that part? How soon do you have to pick the menu items?

Quote: Originally Posted by carolina24 at dreams they have a "toast" right after the ceremony and before the cocktail hour (kind of so everyone can congratulate you and take pics and stuff). we are having 50 guest and doing a cocktail hour so that we (FI and I) can take pics together. Then we're having a 3 hr reception and probably going to the lobby bar after (we like to party!!). as for the "formal toast" (when the bestman and maid of honor talk) we are doing that during the reception before dinner. it sounds like a lot when i read it just now, lol...hope this helps! Our plans sound very similar. Qick question though, maybe you have the answer to. When does the first dance/father daughter dance happen? I see: ceremony, cocktail hour, reception (eating first, followed by toast, then dance)?? Or should we dance, toast, eat? And I'm not saying full out dance party, just a few songs? And then after eating, go crazy with the dancing. I have no clue how this works... haha

Hi Cassie, I live near San Francisco, but I used to live in Orange County and frequently visited the LA area. I have never been to Montebello but it does look nice, and I don't understand why your relatives are harping that it's not near anything. You are only getting married there, it's not like people are forced to stay in that city for the entire time they are visiting for your wedding. Anaheim (Disneyland) is less than 30 minutes away, Hollywood is a similar distance, if people want to stay on the beach (Redondo, Santa Monica, Malibu) that's about 45 min away. I don't see any of that being 'far', personally. You have to do what you can afford and what you feel calling to you. I will say that East LA (which Montebello is close to) is not the safest part of CA, but it's not that bad. I have family that live in Oakland which is supposedly really dangerous, but there are good parts and bad parts to every city. Just don't drive or walk through a scary looking neighborhood. But most of the time will be spent on the freeways. And yes, it will be hot in August. Are you planning to have the ceremony and the reception both outside? Unless you are ON the beach, it will be hot in southern CA, and even then, it will probably STILL be hot on the beach in August. That's why the beaches are packed! I'd estimate the temp will be around 85-95 on the beach and about 100 inland. But maybe you'll get lucky and it won't be so hot. Sometimes it's unpredictable. Now if you wanted cooler temps you'd have to venture further north, like Santa Barbara or even wine country, but that is just ridiculously expensive. And the affordable places up north are inland, and the temperatures also reach the 100's, so that wouldn't change anything. Maybe you can rent a place with a pool nearby for the reception and people can jump in and swim if they get hot? hahaha Good luck! I say go for it. It looks like a really nice place and it's in a central location. Leslie

Sometimes I wonder if they just don't understand what we are clearly asking in our emails to them. If you read the first page of this thread it states that other brides have had both the silver and gold packages but downgraded the meals to $20/pp in order to save money. Unless they changed everything on Jan 1 of this year, I am going to assume that things remain the same. That you can have the ultimate package and choose either gold, silver or $20 menu. What if you don't like any food on the gold menu, they really wouldn't let you choose other items? Plus for some brides, they may have booked here because of the cheaper costs, and now that they will be forced to spend upwards of thousands more just for food, that could have changed their initial decision to choose this resort. Seems very unprofessional. But like I said earlier, I just don't think they really understand what we are asking and once we get down there, everything should work out smoohtly (crosses fingers!).

Username: OceanWonderland Names: Leslie and Aaron Date & Time: November 15, 2010 at 3pm Wedding package: Ultimate (but this may change) Type of ceremony: Symbolic Number of guests: ~50 or so Ceremony location and time: Beach at 3pm Reception location and time: Seaside Grill or Dolphin Pool Photographer: Still looking, either Claudia Rodriguez or Zasil Studio - so much money for pictures!

Usually when I email someone and get an 'away on vacation' reply - I just resend the exact email again when I know they have returned. When I go on vacation I can have hundreds of emails to read through and yes I go through them every day or two and I don't delete the ones I intend to respond to...but sometimes some of them just get lost in the cracks. My suggestion is to email her again to touch bases. If she still doesn't respond, then get some credit on Skype and give her a phone call. Good luck!

Awww, that sucks. I'm sorry. I bet you were so excited the wedding was almost a year away, but I agree with some of the other suggestions...maybe you can plan it for May 2011 instead? Give people another 4 or 5 months to save up after their summer plans and holidays (and they could use their tax money to help them with the trip?). I know what you mean though. We already had to change our date to another 6 months later because of important people scheduling conflicts and money issues and I almost feel like just going to the courthouse or having a really small wedding in the park and whoever can make it, does. It's weird how much you have to cater to others for a day that is supposed to be one of the happiest of your lives. It's like they don't want it to happen (?). I know it's not true, but sometimes it sure feels like it. Good luck in whatever you end up doing.