Missy1

After speaking with Veronica again about trading out the dinners for the cocktail hour what she told me was that I could extend my reception for an extra hour for no additional charge which works for me...you still have to pay for the additional dinners but you don't have to pay for those additional people for the cocktail hour. I'm just having my guest meet at one of the bars by the pool and having the mariachi band play there.

and for anyone interested here's a link to the spa menu: http://vacationagent.net/Dreams%20Spa%20Menu.pdf

Who is the new dj? I'd like to contact them as well. Is it still the same price?

The problem with getting anything confirmed now is that the wedding coordiantor your dealing with now may not be there by the time your getting married. I put my deposit down in September and I've gone through 4 different wedding coordinators....all of which have told me different things. And even though you have something confirmed and in writing the rules seem to change quite a bit and somethings they will not honor no matter what. I was originally quoted $1200 to reserve El Patio for a private reception. I got my 4th wedding coordinator last week and she informed me that if I still wanted a private reception at El Patio that it would be $8100...which is clearly a huge difference. I sent all my emails from the previous WC confirming the price of $1200, my fiance' spoke with the head of sales whose been there since the resort opened and at first they wouldn't do anything about it and then they offered to do it for $50.00 per person...which is still alot. Finally they offered me the pool deck for my reception which had been my first choice all along but was told by the 3 previous wedding coordinators that another wedding had already booked the deck that day. I hate to be a Debby Downer but these are somethings to think about before booking anything. All the other brides have told me not to worry and that everything will come together once we get there, so thats pretty much what i'm doing now. I've turned the wedding over to my fiance' to handle because he's pretty mad about the whole situation at this point.

I would re-check into that whole exchanging dinner's for the cocktail hour. I just emailed my wedding coordinator, Veronica, and this is exactly what she told me" "I've heard of some other brides doing this in order to save money. Instead of having my cocktail hour can I apply that to my reception so cover the cost of the additional guests I will have? This information is incorrect, the cost of the cocktail is different than the cost of the reception, since the packages are fixed, we are not allowed to credit anything from the packages towards something else. "

There not charging for the alcohol, there charging for the staff having to be there for the additional hours that is not included in your package. I'm having 50 guests as well and I'm thinking of doing away with my cocktail hour because I'm not crazy about having to pay an additional $30 per person (x's 30=$900) when they can just go to the lobby bar, the club at the resort Desires or the pool bar that stays open till 6 for an hour and get drinks until the reception starts.

I'm April 22nd (Easter Weekend) Getting there on the 20th. Anyone else that weekend?

If someone has the menu options can they please, please, please email them to me at [email protected]

Barbiebride, this thread if for Dreams Riviera Cancun, and believe me there is a huge difference between the two. The Dreams Riviera Cancun was just built on 2008-2009 and is way bigger and nicer. The Dreams Cancun is much older, and I know only has one pool.

According to Lori Fletcher on page 498 of this thread Gaby's gone too

I haven't gotten marrired yet so I'm not sure if I will need to or not...you may want to check with the bride a little further up.

Does anyone know whose left...so far Ana's left, then my new coordinator Magdalena left, then I saw another bride post tht Gabby's gone too....this is getting ridiculous!

For brides who have already gotten married by the gazebo....how long does it take to get from where your coming from down the isle.....I'm trying to decide what part of a certain song I want to use for that but I need to know how much of the song is going to be played.

http://the-makeup-pros.com/

Does anyone have Fernando Fuentes' email...i went to his website and it won't let me submit a message.

Does anyone have Fernando Fuents' contact info?

I love the isle runner...what size in length did you order?

I would love to see photos...especially of the gazebo set up....i've been back and forth as to whether or not to get flowers to decorate it. Wonderful review!

Thanks! For any brides who have gotten or will be getting married using the gazebo...as far as music for your wedding party to walk up to and for myself, does anyone know much of a song you need to get from point A to point B? I'm trying to pick songs but I'm not quite sure where they need to be cut at or where they should be faded out at.

We're paying for the restaurant so that we can have a private reception, ie have a dj, which I was told we couldn't do unless we had a private reception. I figured I would save in decorations has far as the reception goes because El patio is such a beautifully decorated restaurant already. How do ya'll feel about a dj...yay or nay? I've gotten mixed reviews or just getting a sound system and having their technician do it but it is cheaper...is it worth the hassel and money saved to do it that way? Also, if anyone has the menu options can they email me at [email protected]. Thanks everyone for the advise.

Brides that have already been married or one that are getting ready to be, Its been one headache after another trying to get a straight answer from the wedding coordinator on what my total cost is going to be for the wedding. Everytime I think I've gotten things squared away the WC quits (I'm on my third) and we're back to square one. I just wann =a make sure we're staying on budget. If you dont mind me asking, could anyone give me ballpark figure of how much they spent on there weddings and any tips on where to save money when planning. I just don't wanna get there and they tell me, ok, that'll be $10,0000. Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated : )

Can someone email me the menu [email protected], Thanks!

Ashley, If I were you I would book your locations ASAP. They should really tell people that upon booking their wedding dates, but the fact of the matter is there are more than one wedding each day so if another bride books a location you want your pretty much screwed. For example, I wanted the pool deck for my reception, however another bride already had it book so my only other option was the beach, which my fiance' did not want. So now we have to pay an additional $30 per person ($1200, because you have to have at least 40 people to do this) to close down a restaurant and have a private reception. For the most part I think the beach is ususally available for reception location but the pool deck goes quickly and it cost at least $1200 to close down a restaurant.

I've asked this before, but is anyone else getting married on April 22, 2011? Thats my date and I was told there was another wedding that day at 4:00 and I wanted to find the other bride to see if there were any cost we could split as far as decorations, dj, etc.

I just emailed her and she confirmed that she will be leaving.