clgriffi7

Thanks! I don't have much of a figure (esp up top), so this dress was able to follow my curves on the bottom and disguise the top. I am not terribly girly, so the ruffles on the bottom were perfect for me - just a touch of feminine.

I am a November 5, 2011 bride at Dreams Cancun. I am not worried about having my wedding in the resort areas of Mexico. There are several threads on here about brides worried about Mexico and there are a few themes in the responses: the border violence is literally hundreds of miles (might even be >1000) away from Cancun/Riviera Maya. It would be like saying you aren't going to visit Las Vegas (which is actually closer to the border) because there has been violence along the US/Mexico border.

November does seem like a long time off - but it seemed like forever when I got engaged back in June. So I am just happy to be under the 1 year mark. We are getting married on Saturday November 5th and are having our At Home Party (drinking, dancing, and cupcakes) on Friday November 18th. We are having the party so soon after because we wanted to get everything in before the holidays. This site has so many reviews and examples of photography by all of the major photographers in the Riviera Maya - so there should be plenty of info to help you make your decision. You might even be able to ask a bride what price she was charged to see if there is room to negotiate! Here are pictures of me in the sample of my dress taken at the dress shop . Pardon the look of the bridal store - it is one of those places where you don't get a personal assistant, but it keeps the proces down. If you are able to go to one of those on a week day you still get personal service while benefiting from the lower prices. I am not a very ornate person, so this dress was perfect for me...

If you want a sweetheart - then you should definitely go for it. The dress will look great that way.

shanbeth - Congratulations!!! I just checked out your photos on your profile and they are great! My favorite that you posted was the distance shot of you and your husband on the rocks with the lighthouse in the background. You two look amazing and the lighting was perfect!!! That is the type of picture you frame on a wall. What was your ceremony time and when did you take pictures? My wedding will be next November, so I guess I will have approx. the same lighting.

My suggestion is to get digital photos (front and back) of you in each dress that is even a possibility. Then go and get them printed out so you can look at the dresses side by side. That is how I chose between a few different dresses. I don't think it is realistic to think every bride will cry when she tries on the right dress. I got a huge smile on my face the first time I had on the right style/brand to fit my body and make me feel pretty. It was then a tough choice between a few dresses as to the details. So I say to keep looking but have those printed pictures with you so you can compare to the original dresses - you have plenty of time! I think that if you have 2 dresses that you love equally, then go with the lighter fabric one. But don't sacrifice the style you want for fabric. Those pictures will last forever, so make sure you choose your favorite, not necessarily the most practical. Good luck choosing the one!

I am a November 2011 bride at Dreams Cancun and I do have my dress and my photographer. I don't think those things need to be done at this point, but I have been engaged since this past June and there was no way I could not start planning/buying. The dress was ordered in July and has already arrived and is being stored at my parents' house. I have to limit myself to one visit per month to try on the dress :-) As for the photographer - I am brining a local one to Mexico with me. We had him do engagment pictures at a couple of weeks ago and once we loved his work we went ahead and booked him for the trip. I have heard about some of the best photographers in the Riviera Maya (like Del Sol) can get booked pretty far out in advanace. However, those types of photographers are often out of most couples' price range. If you stick with the photographer provided by the resort (if getting one of the packages), then you won't have a problem reserving your date.

ammorris17 - I don't know if you have found the main Dreams Cacun thread yet, but the link is below. That thread is very active and there are lots of brides that can help you with your questions. http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/2782/dreams-cancun-questions-for-those-married-here#post_34188 Courtney

Your pictures are great. I love the main picture of you on the walkway over the pool - the detail of your dress falling into the water is just perfect.

Congratulations!!!! The one picture you posted is beautiful. Your friends might be saying the pictures are the best they have seen because of the photographer, or maybe the beautiful location your chose, or more likely because of the gorgeous bride in the pictures !! :-)

At the very least you should be able to trade them in for petals for a flower girl and maybe those cones of petals for guests to toss as you are walking down the isle (I have always thought that make for a really pretty picture). Just trying to think of a way that it won't be a complete loss for you. Still pissed off for you. For the photographer, I am hoping worst case is that my photographer comes as a "guest" (though this guest will have a ton of equipment!! - lighting and such) and I get no credit for not using Juan. That would really upset my fiance. In that event I would have to get creative and find a time to use Juan's services - but for pictures that I don't care about getting the CD for as I wouldn't want to pay the extra $300 for that.

If you can't get any credit for the flowers can you use that money for say the gazebo decorations? My guess is that for each package you probably get a certain monetary amount of flowers that are typically used in the manner laid out in the package. But if you wanted a bridesmaid bouquet instead of all the corsages and bouts then that would probably be okay because the florist and resort are getting the same amount of money. Know what I mean? So maybe you could see if all of the different flowers in the package could be traded in for one thing (like gazebo decorations) that you could then not need to buy from your outside florist. You wouldn't be getting the best value, but at least it wouldn't be totally wasteful. I keep saying gazebo decorations because I think that flowers from 2 different florists wouldn't match exactly so you have to decide which ones would be okay to be different. Best of luck.

a couple more:

I just got my DVD of pictures and a few of my favorites weren't posted on the photog's blog:

Cecilia Dumas is a local wedding photographer (local to Cancun/Riviera Maya), so I am guessing they aer trying to pull some sort of outside vendor crap. I thought the rule was that they could come to the resort as long as you paid an outside vendor fee (I thought that was ~$100, but I could be mistaken). i just signed a contrat for a local photographer to travel with me - so he will be staying at the hotel.

KB&JC - I am so sorry. What exactly did Claudia say? No outside photographer or specifically not Cecilia Dumas?

KB&JC - can you give any details and/or an update around your photographer situation? I am planning on asking a local photographer tonight to come with us (staying for 5 ninghts) and your post now has me concerned. Courtney

TLGnhci - if I were a brunette I would most likely go for a gorgeous white or ivory flower. The blond hair, pale skin, and ivory dress situation makes me want to have some punches of color (thus the bright hair flower & shoes).

Thipsy - These are the things that swayed me toward my resort, so they might be items for you to think about as well. resort location: what is more important to you? less crowded, more "authentic", closer to ruins/cenotes = Riviera Maya OR less travel time from the airport for guests, more nightlife options = Cancun ceremony location: have you always dreamed of getting married on the beach? would you like to be overlooking the beach/water and not have to worry about a sunbather being too close? I chose the latter and went on a search for a gazebo that wasn't too close to the pool and such, so that narrowed it down for me. Whereas if you want a beach ceremony there are resorts that are better able to provide a more secluded location. reception location: do you require a private reception? I did, so that ruled out several brands of resorts. child friendly: yes or no? this can rule out several brands as well price: a travel agent can best tell you what to expect price-wise, but if you want to have it narrowed down a bit before working with a travel agent, this is my suggestion: pick a random date ~6months out from now and go to expedia.com and search your location with hotel only. You won't have an exact price, but you will at least know how the cost at each hotel compares to the next. There are lots of November 2011 brides on this forum (including myself) that can give you a real price to be the basis of your comparison. DON"T give up on your dream of a destination wedding bc you are feeling overwhelmed! Please PM me if you have any specific questions you think I can help answer. Courtney

Janine - Everything looks perfect. The resort in T&C looks gorgeous and all of your details are perfect. And can I say how supremely jealous I am of your honeymoon?!!!! Can't wait to see pictures when you get back.

Thanks ladies! I think some of those came out a bit distorted because I tried to shrink them - ooops. These engagment pics were a test run for the photographer - so now my fiance and I have decided to invite him to come along with us to Cancun for the wedding! I am not the type of girl who gets overly excited, but getting these pictures back has kept a smile on my face all morning. Courtney

First I would like to say that the view from that terrace is gorgeous. I visited St. Lucia on a cruise and it is (in my opinion) the most beautiful island in the Caribbean. If you like pink, then I think you have to find a way to work it in. But I see what you mean about not wanting it to be too colorful. My first thought is a lighter shade of pink for the girls' dresses and maybe navy blue for the chair sashes (if you are going to have any). Most resorts have white chair covers, so I think it would be good to have something to contrast, but some sort of "neutral" so it doesn't seem to busy. I said navy blue because there appears to be a dark shade of blue in the tile work that could tie it together. Whatever colors you choose, your ceremony will be gorgeous with that view!!!

a few more...

Ladies - I just got the link to my engagment photos (that we just took yesterday) and I am really happy with them!!! Here are some from the blog:

So cute - my favorite is the black and white one where you are kissing his cheek. That picture is nothing but the two of you and he looks so happy. It is hard to get a man to really smile in posed pictures and your fiance has a big ol' grin going in that pic.