leigh2011

Claudia gave the videographer my CD of ceremony music and he used that for the video.  From what I remember, they chose one of my guests seating songs for the intro to the DVD (the part where you select Play), a second guest seating song for the canned Dreams Cancun shots, the details shots and the video of the guests actually getting seated, and then used the correct songs for bridal party entry, bride's entrance, and recessional.  The recessional song was played through the end of the video.  So you don't need to select additional songs if you don't want to - just make sure you like your choices for the ceremony.
 

Originally Posted by jana297 

Does anyone know how many songs or length of music you give to the videographer for the 30 minutes of ceremony taping he does? I don't even know which company they use. It is included in my Dreams Ultimate Package....any help would be great..Thanks

When I arrived I went to the Concierge desk and they called Claudia for me to set up our pre-wedding meeting.  I had attempted to set up the meeting over email the week before my trip and Claudia wanted to wait until I got there to set it up.  I think hte reason is they were always running around working on a wedding, so they didn't want to commit to a time too far in advance.

In the pool area (next to the volleyball court) there is a hut where the club promoters set up shop to sell the writst bands.  We only talked to the Coco Bongo promoter, so I am not sure what other clubs sent a rep.

For those of you that haven't been to Cancun before - Coco Bongo is THE place to go.  It isn't a great place for dancing because it can get very crowded, but there are so many show/numbers they put on that are a complete and utter spectacle.  I had gone to Coco Bongo back in 2004 and told my younger guests they should check it out.  A group of 8 of us went out one night and everyone was AMAZED!  Side note:  Coco Bongo is walk-able from Dreams Cancun as long as you aren't wearing super heels (I wore flat sandals that night).

http://www.cocobongo.com.mx/coco2010/inter/main/1/

 

Originally Posted by Channing 

Can someone tell me if I have to contact Claudia once I arrive at the resort or will she know to contact me?

 

Also,non-wedding question, I was wondering if anyone could tell me if club promoters came to Dreams at all? Last time I was in Cancun people from the bars came to the resort selling wrist bands that would give you admittance and free drinks once you were at the bar- I think it was like $45

Not sure if they go to all of the resorts down the strip or not but it sure made it easy!

Try and have as many receipts as you can.  If you have enough (and they are low enough in value) you will overwhelm the customs agent and they will eventually let you pass out of frustration and having better things to do.

Also, if the customs agent initially asks you the value of what you have with you - have a clear answer in mind.  I think this is what got me in trouble (and thus sent to an inspection table), I was fumbling trying to do math in my head.  When the agent asked for the value of the wedding items he wasn't clear about wedding dress was part of the total or not - so a good response would have been something like, "Between the two of us, we have approximately ~$450 worth of wedding decorations and gifts for our guests and my dress is worth about $xxx".  They won't care about the value of your dress, but it will look like you are being very forthcoming with information if you are giving out extra info.
 

Originally Posted by jana297 

Oh boy I did not think of this. I better start looking for receipts!

 

 

When I traveled through customs with ~100 small starfish & shells (laid out around floral centerpieces) they didn't say a word about them.  However, I did get pulled to the side by customs to serch my bags to make sure we were under the $300 per person limit for non-clothing items.  The customs official saw my wedding dress bag and all of the luggage we took and probably thought we would be easy pickings to pay the tax if you are >$300/pp (for non-personal/clothing items, like OOT bags and wedding decor).  So it is important to take receipts for all of your wedding items to prove you are under the $300/pp.  The second customs official eventually got frustrated with looking through the bags and comparing them to the receipts and eventually let us go without paying any tax.

 

Originally Posted by jana297 

I am going to have around 25 starfish with me for my place settings. Will I have an issue going through customs. When we went for our site visit last year they did not even search my bags but it would figure if they did.

Here is the spa email address that worked for me. 
[email protected]

If I remember correctly, it took about 2.5 hours to do my hair and makeup!  It took that long because the stylist did a lot of re-curling of the same sections to make sure it looked good.  I think estimating 1.5-2 hours would be smart.  My hair was up (you can check the pictures in my signature to see what style I had) and it did not move all day/night as the hair spray they use is some serious stuff.  I was done at the salon around 11:30am and my hair was no different when I took out all the pins at ~1:30am.  If you want a style with your hair down and curls, then you may have more issues with the curls falling out.

As for when to schedule your appointment - make sure to give yourself plenty of time to get ready (dressed) so you aren't stressing.  You may think you would hate to be sitting around twiddling your thumbs waiting for the ceremony, but let me assure you it doesn't happen this way.  There is always something or someone that will take up that extra time.

Originally Posted by Channing 

I know its so close! I'm having nightmares every night now, so weird, I didn't think I was stressed but maybe I am haha! I keep having dreams that I forget my wedding band, my dress, I miss my flight... good grief!!

 

Anyways, I have a question for anyone who got their hair done at the spa. When should I schedule my appointment on the wedding day?? My ceremony starts at 4 and I feel so clueless about this. I don't really know how the day will unfold and I dont want to be rushed but I also dont want to have my hair done too early and then it fall out by the time of the ceremony. I guess I'm just curious as to what other brides did on their wedding day? When I've been apart of wedding parties in the past they have been so casual so I just don't know what to expect...

 

Also if anyone has the spa email address could you post it please? I remember seeing it a while ago but can't remember if it was on here or not

 

Thanks so much!

Thanks ladies.  Wishing you all the best for your upcoming weddings!

That second picture is defintely not from Dreams Cancun.  I just checked out the Blue Lens website and it is from Dreams Riviera Cancun.  Regardless, the photos are very nice.

Originally Posted by bluelenscaribe 

Hello Dreams Brides!

 

I'm sure you are all very excited about your wedding coming soon!

A few days ago we were at the Dreams Cancun for a wedding shooting and here are some of the pics!

Married life is great - but to be honest things are just as they were before the wedding (we moved in together after the engagement).  I guess the only thing different is Paul having to hear my complain about how big of a pain it is to change my name with every little tiny company out there.  I had completely forgotten about little things like airline miles programs and hotel rewards programs until a recent business trip and the names didn't match up.

Is anyone missing the wedding hoopla yet?  I had my AHR immediately after Mexico, so I have been in withdrawal for over 2 months now.  I don't miss planning yet, but I sure wish there was a reason to search for and buy a new wedding dress :-)  And I think a 1-year vow renewal might be a bit much.  I sometimes see "Say Yes to the Dress" on TV when I am at the gym and I get jealous....
 

Originally Posted by JoanneIreland 

Hello November brides! Hope everyone had a great 2 month anniversary and that married life is treating you well!!

There were 2 nights during my 8-night trip that the wind was a problem.  One night there was a passing storm and there was wind associated with that (but there was also a quick rain shower), so you would have been moved inside for the rain anway.  The other night it was just plain windy all around.  We were eating dinner at the Seaside Grill which is directly off the sand from the large beach near the Tower.  The wind was blowing in strong enough that at times sand got picked up and you could feel it. Not that anyone was bothered enough to get up and leave the restaurant.  That night was a Monday so they had planned to put up a large screen at the lagoon and show Monday Night Football, but that had to be moved inside because the screen would not have stayed upright.

But then my reception on the Himitsu beach had perfect weather.  I am sure there was a bit of a breeze, but nothing that I took notice of.  As long as it is not gale force winds, the beach at Himitsu is protected because you are next to the restaurant and beach bar which are built into a hill/rocks.  Not sure how to explain this, but I will try.  If you walk down the sidewalk from the gazebo to the lighthouse (along the length of the ocean side of the pyramid building) you have to take a left and head downhill to get to Himitsu restaurant and Himitsu beach.  That change in elevation makes a difference in the wind.

 

Originally Posted by jana297 

The other thing that is a bummer is that people that spend the money and travel just to be stuck in a ballroom. With no ocean view. I was told the beach weddings are to windy. Anyone here have there wedding on the beach that can tell me how it worked with us.

It definitely seems that this rule about guests having to book tower rooms in order to use the patio for the reception is quite new.  I wonder if tower guests have been complaining that receptions are keeping them up at night?  Regardless of the reason, if your contract says the terrace then I think you will be able to force them into allowing you to use it.  (Just like when they switched the photographer but had to allow brides who had already booked to have Juan Navarro)

I would sit here and tell you how wonderful Himitsu beach was for the reception, but that doesn't matter when you have your heart set on the terrace.  Let us know how it turns out.

Congratulations!!!!  You looked beautiful!

 

Originally Posted by dreamsbride12 

Well, we've been back for a couple days now and I will do my review in the next week along with pictures. Our day was absolutely perfect! It started a little late but otherwise everything went as planned and the weather was absolutely gorgeous (someone was looking over us because the day before and the 2 days after ours it rained ALOT). I don't know if I am head over heels with Dreams Cancun, we had more than a few issues but I'll write about that in my review. I do have to say though that we hired Juan Navarro and he was absolutely amazing!!! I highly recommend him, it is so worth the money....I cant wait to get our pictures back from him!!

 

Thank you so much.  I have so many pictures and I just don't know what to do with them all.  So to this point we have unfortunately not done anything with them!
 

Originally Posted by emives 

You're pictures are gorgeous!

Thanks.  There were definitely treats involved with getting the dog to sit still.  I even got a couple of "out-take" shots that I printed and put inside the card.  In one the dog was licking his chops, and in the other his eyes were shut but he had his tongue sticking out a little bit.  Very cute - and Paul laughed & cried because of the card (the photog got some great shots).

Paul also loved the cake topper.  At first (from a distance) he thought the cake topper was just a generic couple until I told him to take a closer look.  Then he was so excited he went to each table to tell all of the guests to go and check it out up close.  That reaction made the expense and effort worth it.
 

Originally Posted by MsBlissMpls 

I really love the detail! Thank you for taking time to share with us. I LOVE your wedding day card with your baby and I will be copying this idea (with our kitten) - if I can get him to sit still long enough to take a photo. I also love your cake topper with the pup.

 

Thank you for sharing.

Customs can actually be a problem, so you must be prepared!!!  The customs agent saw my then fiance and I pull 2 big suitcases, 1 big duffle bag, 2 rolling carryons and my wedding dress bag off of the x-ray conveyer belt - so he decided to ask us how much all of the stuff we were carrying was worth!  (After you get your bags off of the baggage claim conveyers and stand in a long line, you will have to put all of your bags through an x-ray machine and then speak to a customs agent - who takes the form you filled out on the plane).  If I remember correctly, you are only allowed $300 per person in merchandise (not including clothes and such) so if they suspect you have more than that, then they will try and catch you and tax you. 

So:  1) don't take more than $600 worth of OOT bag & wedding day items and 2) bring all of the receipts with you.  Apparently other brides have simply said "I have the receipts" and that prevented the customs agents from searching their bags.  Not me.  The lady opened my bags and tried to compare what she saw with the receipts.  Eventually she got frustrated and gave up, but try to not find yourself in this position by knowing up front you have say $300 worth of gifts for your wedding guests and $150 worth of items for the ceremony & reception. (whatever the amounts are, just be sure they don't reach $600 and that you can back up what you say!)

You will love Dreams Cancun for your wedding!  I will say that we didn't feel like the rehearsal dinner was necessary (the reservation and $$ as the restaurant wasn't very crowded), but I can assure you I would have been a nervous wreck assuming things wouldn't have worked out.  So essentially we paid for my peace of mind.  However, if the resort will be more crowded in the summer, then you may very well need that reservation.

I am not sure if you have checked out the albums that are in my signature, but there are pictures from the resort there.

Courtney

I assume you are talking about sky lanterns (there is a thread on BDW):

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/74564/sky-lanterns
 

I didn't try this, but one concern I would have is wind.  There are 2 concerns with wind:  1) the wind doesn't allow the sides of the lantern to inflate so they can't rise on the hot air, 2) the wind will blow the lanterns into a tree or structure and could cause a fire.  And Dreams Cancun is very windy based on its location on the point.  So I would really try and ask your wedding coordinator if they think it will even be possible (based on wind or their policy), before you make all of the effort of packing them up and transporting them to Mexico.

Best of luck.
 

Originally Posted by Katie Grozny 

Does anyone know if flying lanterns are allowed? We're leaving Sunday and have already purchased biodegradable ones.

 

Also. thanks ladies for all of your help. I have never posted on here before, just looking through this thread I've found thorough and thoughtful answers to any question that I would have had for the WC.

I do believe there are rectangular tables you can use, but we used round.  In my opinion these tables most comfortably sit 6-8 ppl.  You could try and cram in 10, but it would be tight.

I am not sure how many coolors the wedding coordinators have on hand, but you will likely save money by bringing them with you.  I think the resort charges you $4 per chair bow, where as you can buy them from $0.99-$1.49 on several different websites.  If you purchase or rent chair bown for the ceremony, the resort staff will move those bows to the reception chairs for free.  Another suggestion:  if you have extra chair bows, the staff can tie them onto the pillars of the gazebo (if you don't have floral corsages) to give the pillars color.
 

Originally Posted by Channing 

Could someone tell me what the tables are like for the dinner? Do you have an option of round or square tables and do you know how many people each table seats? I'm just trying to do my seating arrangements...

 

Also, I was thinking of using chair bows for the ceremony. I was hoping to have pink and orange as my wedding colors. I know the hotel offers chair bows but has anyone used them and do they come in a variety of colors??? I'm wondering if I can use the ones the resort has rather than having to buy my own... Thanks

 

 

About 2 weeks before my group rate expired, I sent out an email to those I had not heard from to ask them to RSVP and to remind them of the group rate expiration.  After that, I just let it go.  I was annoyed that a couple booked less than 1 month before the wedding, and I did what I could to make sure they had an OOT bag - but it had fewer items in it than the other bags did.

I would say to give a single reminder and that is it.  If your parents want to follow up additional times with any relatives, then they can take that on.

Originally Posted by Sasha030412 

how are you ladies dealing with people who are not RSVPing or contacting you about the wedding. As it's getting closer to my deadline, my room hold expires today and I still have some people that haven't given me any notification if they are coming or not (one person being my crazy aunt). Have you been calling them to remind them?

I don't want to put down any ideas, but.....We bought disposable cameras (with flash) for our reception tables out on the beach and they were a COMPLETE waste of money.  Not a single picture was usable after we got them developed on disc as the flash just wasn't sufficient.  Just my 2 cents and I hope it saves you some money (we were out about $50 when all was said and done).
 

Originally Posted by Sasha030412 

Did you buy disposable camera's for your tables or OOT bags?

I completely agree that the hair styling was fantastic!  Take pictures of what you want and you will be super happy.  They use some super heavy duty hair spray so your hair (especially if it is up) will not budge even in the wind at the gazebo. 

I must say that I was not as thrilled with the makeup.  I love what she did with my eyes (which is of course the tough part), but she only did concealer - not an all-over foundation.  I do not have good skin, so I definitely wanted the foundation.  So my suggestion is that if you want foundation, you may want to have that on when you go to the salon.

Originally Posted by bnwedding2011 

I had my hair done at the salon and LOVED it!! It was the exact picture I showed the stylist.. They don't speak English very well so make sure you have a picture of what you want.

You have the option of writing your entire ceremony if you would like.  If you are doing the symbolic ceremony they will pretty much say whatever you would like.  If you would like me to email you my ceremony script, just send me a PM with your email address.

You only need the $1's if you would like to leave tips.  Tips are certainly not necessary, but I liked to give $1 or so after every few drinks ordered by the group.  We also left tips at restaurants if we were a large group or if the kids made a mess.  Lastly, we left a tip for the house keeping staff on the last day.
 

Originally Posted by KristaMM 

Ceremony written? I have been working on vows and what is going to be said during the sand ceremony...is there anything else I need to come up with?

 

Good to know with the $1's! I knew to bring extra cash but didn't realize lots of extra one dollar bills.

 

Around 2-3 months, I was making sure the following were taken care of:

- ceremony written

- music selected

- bridal party gifts bought

- decide if you want menu cards or programs for the ceremony

Random:  Start collecting $1 bills.  I liked to leave small tips at the bars and I thought I had brought enough $1's - I was wrong.  And they make it very hard to break bills at the resort (probably because everyone is trying to do it).  The front desk only breaks bills at certain times and the gift shop often gives change in pesos (and large bills).  A couple of times we went to the convenient store across the circle from the front entrance to buy something we didn't really want just to break a $20.

 

Originally Posted by jana297 

Woooo HOO 61 days. I have 94!! I need the same advice!!

 

Best of luck with the trip and the wedding day.  We all want to see pictures when you return!

 

Originally Posted by dreamsbride12 

We leave in 4 DAYS|!!! 

Your pictures are fantastic - congratulations.  I love how well the still photos captured the dance down the aisle...awesome.

 

Originally Posted by sxcT 

I just received the slideshow from La Luna!!!!  So excited to share it with you girls.  They did such an amazing job!!

 

http://lalunaphotographers.com/blog/galleries/melissa/weddings/taryn-david

 

I have to say that your ceremony gazebo and reception location were beautiful...I am jealous!

You looked gorgeous in all of the pictures I could see (the planning portion of the thread), but I couldn't see (even when clicking on the pics) the pro pictures from Juan Navarro.  I know his work is stunning, so I can only imagine they were fantastic.

We actually just did plain Thank You cards from Target.  We had an online honeymoon registry so we got all of our gifts before the wedding and sent out thank you notes as we got them.  I think what we did might be cheating a bit but at least it kept us from taking 6+ months to get our notes out. 

One of the couples that attended our Mexico wedding got married in June and had note sent out Thank You notes.  When they heard that we had already sent ours out, the bride rushed to get hers done as soon as they got back.

 

Originally Posted by JoanneIreland 

 

Where is everyone ordering Thank You cards from (assuming you are getting personalized ones with a wedding pic) ?

 

 

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!