leigh2011

The garden is just the grassy area off to the side of the terrace at the end of the pyramid building. This first picture is from my room in the pyramid and the gazebo is hidden by the palm trees. The "garden" is the area to the left of the trees. The second picture is a view from the gazebo, so the garden is the grassy area at the end of the shorter building on the right.

You should be very excited - you will have an absolutely fantastic wedding. Thanks for the compliment. Feel free to ask any questions you come up with.

Taryn - Everything looked fantastic. You did a fantastic job with all of the details and I can only imagine your guests loved it. Congratulations on being a Mrs! (I love the picture of David carrying your train...showing some real teamwork there )

Carrie and Sarah - Both of your photos are fantastic! Sarah - You are certainly still rocking that dress and the beach/cliff backdrop was gorgeous. Carrie - Your review was great and how lucky that it rained for a bit so you ended up getting the reception location that you actually wanted. And I LOVE that picture of the two of you walking back down the aisle with the sunlight and the colors - awesome. I hope everyone gets all of the photos they want for you AHR. I had mine in time to put them into a slideshow (with all of the standard pics of baby through embarassing teenage pics) and we got so many compliments. You will hear over and over that night how beautiful it looked and how much people wish they were there, etc. Worst case, if the pics aren't in right before your AHR, email the photog and see if they will email you some of the unedited photos. Unedited would definitely be better than nothing!

I can't say that I really saw the ballroom. I know where they are located and I went into one of the rooms, but it was set up in such a way that I can't give you any idea what it would look like for a wedding. You can tell there is a large room that they can break into segments to make different size rooms. On Monday nights during NFL season, they set up the giant screen on the lagoon beach so people can lay on the lounge chairs and watch MNF. Well, it was really windy on the Monday night I was there, so they set up to watch MNF in just one tiny segment of the ballroom. They set up rows of chairs (with the white covers) pointed toward a projection screen. The room definitely did not feel warm (though it was night) so I would assume they do have AC as well. Hopefully Claudia will get back to you soon with some pictures of weddings in the ballroom.

My guess is that depends on where your cocktail hour and reception are located. My cocktail hour was on the Terrace, so the waiters would just go in and get drinks from the bar in the lobby of the Tower. My reception was on Himitsu beach right next to the bar attached to Himitsu to restaurant.

Hmm - I will list out the items I brought with me: - OOT (out of town bags) - ceremony programs - bubbles - sand ceremony frame - CD with ceremony music - chair bows - table runners - colored napkins - bought maracas at a Cancun flea market - menu card - donation card - seashells & starfish - escort cards - cake topper - engraved cake cutting set All of these items are described in detail in my planning thread: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/76481/leigh2011s-planning-thread-long-with-lots-of-pics I think the chair bows, table runners, and napkins are a cheap and easy way to add color to your wedding and they don't take up much room in your suitcase. The resort will rent these to you, but at ~4x the cost of just buying them yourself. I don't regret any of the items I brought - though the programs, menu cards, and donation cards were likely tossed immediately or left behind. The cake cutting set was a gift, but is of course entirely unnecssary. I am glad I brought everything I did, but of course it is all a matter of personal taste.

One thing you will notice at the resort as a whole - and especially at your reception - is that unless you tell them to stop refilling your drink, you will continue to get drink after drink of the same thing. This is great on the one hand because you don't see the bottom of the glass, but the bad thing is that you really have to let them know if you want to switch to a different drink.

I hope my comment doesn't come across the wrong way. When I read "nice" I thought "fancy" and I don't think it is a fancy place but it would certainly be a nice place to have the cocktail hour. I think the view from Himitsu is probably better than the view from the Terrace.

I don't know if "nice" is the right word for Himitsu. I think it was kind of "cool" but maybe not nice. Here is a picture from my rehearsal dinner to use to explain a bit. Himitsu is open to the outside. One side of the restaurant is the sushi bar/kitchen/bathrooms (the red wall in the left part of this pic). A second side (the right side of this pic) is technically open to a hillside but it edged with black bamboo. The third side is more black bamboo and the entrance to the restaurant. The fourth side is completely open to a deck with additional tables (see below). From that deck you can walk out onto Himitsu beach (where the smaller beach where receptions are held) and to the adjacent beach bar. I would wonder how they would set up the cocktail hour - would they remove all of the Himitsu tables and chairs and bring in the standard cocktail hour setup? (large center food table surrounded by chairs with white covers) I do think having the cocktail hour at Himitsu would be nice - out of the sun, out of the wind, in a relatively private spot.

Welcome to the forum. There is a whole thread for Dreams Cancun brides (I got married there on November 5th), where you can get all of your questions answered and see pictures and get advice from past brides: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/2782/dreams-cancun-questions-for-those-married-here/5880#post_1702273

Joanne - Having to change things in 2 countries would be soo much worse. I am sure immigration lawyers have dealt with this situation a lot and can definitely advise you on the best way to go about things. So my DMV trek was uneventful - I think going on any day other than Friday is probably a good idea. I have started the process at work with my HR department and signed my first documents with my new name. I changed my name in my email signature and sent my husband an email and his response was "I just got chills! YAY! ", which I thought was sweet. My state takes your picture at the DMV office and then mails your new license to you, so I think I will have to wait to change more things (like bank accounts and such) until that arrives in the mail. But I think I am done having to present my marriage license and new social security card, so it may be time to send off the passport.

Taryn - The location for your ceremony looked beautiful and Joanne is right that you and David make a good looking couple Congratulations and welcome back.

Hopefully another former bride (or vacationer) from the spring or summer months can confirm this: You do not have to worry about flying bugs at Dreams Cancun. My wedding was in November, but I don't think the seasons matter in Mexico for bugs because it never gets cold enough to kill them off like here in the US. I never saw a single mosquito or fly while at the resort. My guess is that the wind/breeze at Punta Cancun is just too much for flying bugs to be able to withstand. I actually put wipes with bug repellant in my OOT bags, and not a single person used them.

Has anyone else started the name change process? I have already gotten my new social security card and am heading to the DMV today to get a new driver's license. I was worried earlier this week when I had to travel for work and my name with the federal government (via the SS card) didn't match what was on my plane ticket. Luckily, for domestic flights they don't do any checking and as long as your ticket matches your driver's license, then you are good. Not looking forward to having to change my name everywhere else - uggg.

I did see a reception at Himitsu Restaurant on my wedding day. I would say the restaurant is a perfectly reasonable option for the cocktail hour. Would you be willing to move your reception to 5pm in order to get out of the heat of the day for the reception?

Until 11:30am, only the World Cafe (buffet) and the coffee shop are open. At 11:30am the snack place by the pool opens, and at 12pm the other restaurants that open that day for lunch will start serving. So if you want to do a "brunch", the World Cafe is really your only option. I am not sure what the policy is for reservations for groups at World Cafe. They certainly have enough tables to be able to accomodate a group that size, but it would take a bit of planning by the hostess to make sure tables are left empty and then put together before you arrive.

Thanks. We ended up getting an extra 30-45 minutes of reception time to make up for the issues that came up, so I had 3.5 to 3.75 hours for my reception. I am actually really glad we had that extra time, I do feel that 3 hours would have felt a little short. However, my dinner seemed to have run a little long. Before getting to the resort, our DJ asked for 12-14 songs to play during dinner and I gave him 12. I remember that he had to improvise on 3-4 additional songs to finish the dinner. While eating we did have a bit of time between courses (less than 5 minutes - not bad at all) so at times a few people would get up to dance and then go sit back down when the next course was delivered. We thought about extending the reception for yet another hour, but decided the extra fee ($280/hr + 11% tax for DJ and $15/pp/hr + 11% tax + 15% gratuity for the bar service) wasn't worth it. However, if you could plan that into the budget ahead of time you will likely be very happy that you did. I don't think I got anything extra for free. The only thing that is a maybe (and other brides can say if they got the same thing) is whether I payed for the light-up dance floor verus the wooden dance floor (not sure if there even is such a thing). My bill simply says "Dance Floor" and was charged at $600 + 15% setup + 11% tax = $756. However, the planning guide document online has a wooden dance floor for 30 people listed for $700 + 11% tax and a supplement of $150 + 11% tax for the lighted dance floor. So I am not sure if I got something for free/discount or if they have made changes to the dance floor prices that aren't reflected in the guide.

Here is what we put in our OOT bags and a comment about each: travel mug - luckily we only spent $1 each on these because hardly anyone used them around the resort. I heard maybe 2 people say they used them for coffee. visor - these were a big hit because very few people remembered hats/visors - we did not emroider them and I think that made people more likely to wear them sunglasses (men) - we got knock-off aviator sunglasses and they were a big hit - so if you forgot yours or you wanted to keep your expensive ones safe in the room pashmina (ladies) - these were a big hit too as it was windier and thus chillier than most of the ladies expected starfish jewelry (ladies) - hmm - I saw a few of the ladies wearing these necklace & earring sets - I think it was a pleasant surprise for them but I can't say it was a hit pen & notepad - we didn't see these being used, but it is expected they would be an in-room product. These were free from Vistaprint, so I would say only useful if you are ordering something else as well so you aren't paying the shipping just for these items photoshare card - USELESS! - everyone has come back and just loaded their pictures onto Facebook first aid kit - big hit pepto - definitely used advil - definitely used bug spray - useless at our resort - it was too breezy to have a bug problem aloe - didn't see this getting used hand sanitizer - didn't see this getting used lip balm - the ladies used these candy - didn't see anyone eating this, but maybe they did in the room arm floaties (kids) - perfect for the age kids we had (2 and 3 yr) sand pail (kids) - the girls (2 & 3) used these to carry their stuff around all week Pez (kids) - they loved these - even took them into the pool where the candy got wet and had to be thrown out koozies - not used at the resort - not sure if they were taken home and used $1 tote bags from the dollar tree - PERFECT - great size and great price - would definitely use these again gum - not sure, but never a bad purchase floss picks - not sure, but they were cheap Shout wipes - did not hear a single word about these being used (but our guests were only staying 3, 4, and 5 nights) Hmmm - that is all I can think of right now. Hope that list helps future brides.

Congratulations Sarah! Best of luck with the AHR planning. And good luck with figuring out what to do with the pro pics - there will be so many you love and then you have to decide what to do with them all! Congratulations Joanne! I just saw your iphone pictures and they look great. Both dresses looked fantastic on you. Hopefully you won't have to wait the whole 2 months to get a few teaser pictures from your photog. Best of luck adjusting to real life :-)

Thanks Joanne :-)

Thanks ladies. I think it is fun to string all of your pictures together to see how things progressed from boyfriend & girlfriend to husband & wife. JayKay - thanks....I was very happy when I had that bouquet delivered to my room. I intentionally kept my wedding colors on the neutral side (light blue and navy blue) so that I could have pops of color in things like the flowers and have them stand out.

Hmmm - good question. My best guess would have to be in the neighborhood of 45 seconds to a minute. But of course that can depend on how fast you are walking. I think the spa did really well on my hair and fairly well on my makeup. Definitely bring pictures of what you want to your appointment. The ladies at the salon style hair for a lot of brides, so they have probably come across any style you ask them to do. For the makeup, I think she did my eyes really well (even applying fake lashes that I brought with me) - however, she did not apply a concealer which I feel like I need because my skin isn't that great. If I had known she wasn't going to do that, I could have applied the foundation I brought with me before I went to the salon.

Congratulations! Your pictures are lovely - the ones you posted AND the ones on the blog. There are some beautiful and artistic shots. But I think my favorite may be the last one on the blog - the simple closeup of you behind his arm - because you look so happy!

I just looked at your gallery and those pictures are so unique!!! I would never have thought to do a TTD on horseback - so cool. Color me jealous