DWB2B2014

The lighting was fine. I did pay for some extras like the tiki torches and lanterns. It was beautiful. I was worried it was going to be too dark but they made sure it was perfect. Even added under table lights. They also have bright spotlights that they use to light up the area. Definitely not something to worry about.

I hired an outside photographer from cancun Dean Sanderson and he was great. We did have to pay the outside vendor fee. It was $150 but I think it was totally worth it. If you are using a package like Ultimate, you cannot get a credit for the photographer, only use him on whatever you want. I ended using him to shoot pictures at the cocktail hour of the guests.

The pool is next to the gazebo so it is not the most private location but for me it didn't bother me at all. I thought that it would but I was so focused on our own stuff that I didn't even notice until the next day or at Desires when people pointed out how much they loved the wedding ceremony and congratulated us.

2 business days. We got there on Saturday and had our ceremony on Tuesday.

Well the pool deck requires a minimum of 60 guests unless you want to pay the difference. I think if you talk to your wedding planner, if you don't want the beach they may give you another option as the party is really small. BTW, just emailed you the menu options. Let me know if you have questions.

I don't know how to post images on here so I will try pm'ing you. The image shows how close everything is and where south beach receptions are. The reception is included for 3 hours but only for up to 20 guests. You need to pay extra for all the additional people. I used the cocktail hour as credit towards the additional people.

Hello Everyone, I finally finished writing my review. If interested it is here: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/index.php?app=reviews&module=reviews&section=reviews&do=view&id=4333 Happy planning!

Hi All, I just finished my review of Dreams Riviera Cancun. We got married there 3 weeks ago and loved it! http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/index.php?app=reviews&module=reviews&section=reviews&do=view&id=4333 If interested.

South beach is on the side past Barracuda's bar. Not sure if this is the more secluded one but ti was definitely great for the reception. After seeing the pool deck receptions, I was so happy I decided not to do that. But it all depends if you want sand under your feet and privacy or not.

Just got back from our wedding at Dreams and it was fantastic! We used the gazebo and then had our private beach party reception on South Beach. It was absolutely perfect in every way. They are fantastic and I had nothing to worry about.

Oh my gosh I leave in 9 days! My reception is also on the beach. It is a little more private than the pool deck i understand. I will let you all know how windy it is when I get back. How time goes so fast!

We leave in 3 weeks tomorrow! I cannot believe it is coming up so fast!

I am so worried about it raining! Past January brides, how was the weather while you were down there?

Hello Past Brides, What and who did you tip? I've read a lot of different information but not sure what others have done. Did you tip the DJ, wedding coordinator, servers for the dinner, etc?

Quote: Originally Posted by Hanhi Nguyen Booked our wedding date for December 6, 2014 and just moved the time to 3pm Ceremony and 5pm Reception. Thinking about also bringing our own photographer or friend who is a photographer even though we are on the Ultimate Package. With the Ultimate Package how long do you get the photographer for? Who have you used? Please help! Hi Hanhi, Congrats! My wedding is in January and I have the same ceremony and reception times. The resort photographer you get for 1 hour with the dreams ultimate package and you get 50 pictures. You can add additional hours but the number of pictures you get don't change. You can however add a package from their catalogue in the Dreams wedding guide, see below. PHOTOS & VIDEO Standard Packages Package 1: 1 hr coverage, 40 images in a cd, photo book and online slideshow $699 COVERAGE: Ceremony and 30 min photo session. Package 2: 3 hrs coverage, 60 images in a cd, photo book and online slideshow $950 COVERAGE: Getting ready, ceremony, photo session and cocktail. SUGGESTED TIME TO START THE COVERAGE: 1 hour prior to the ceremony Package 3: up to 6 hrs coverage, 100 images in a cd, photo book and online slideshow $ 1150 COVERAGE: Getting ready, ceremony, photo session, cocktail (can be switched for a longer photo session) and reception (first dance, cake, and toasts.) SUGGESTED TIME TO START THE COVERAGE: 1 hour prior to the ceremony Package 4:Complete coverage, 200 images in a cd, photo book and online slideshow $1599 COVERAGE: Rehearsal dinner (in case there is one schedule, 30 min. service), FULL COVERAGE on the wedding day up to 6 hours and on location TRASH THE DRESS. SUGGESTED TIME TO START THE COVERAGE: 1 hour prior to the ceremony ALL ABOVE PACKAGES INCLUDE 40 PAGES HARD COVER PHOTO BOOK So even if you upgrade to package 3 you only get 100 images. I wanted more than that and someone who does this for a living. I decided to go with an outside photographer. I read a bunch of reviews and went with the one my wedding planner suggested. I used weddingwire for reviews and ended up booking Dean Sanderson. He seems to fit with us and I love his style of photography. I found it important to look at the images photographers took in order to see what I wanted. I can let you know after my wedding how it went.

Quote: Originally Posted by emmyss OMG! We just got back from our wedding and everything was absolutely amazing! I will post my review sometime this week. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. The resort and staff are amazing. We were so surprised by how great the food was. Our wedding day was perfect, my expectations were blown out of the water. Emmy I can't wait to read it. And to see what you have left over if anything from your decorations and where you got them locally! So missed the Vancouver part before.

Quote: Originally Posted by ceciile Any advice for booking a photographer? I know one is included in the package but I haven't even read the details yet. I've decided to book a vendor not through the resort. I will have to pay a vendor fee to bring him in but I would like to have someone who isn't responsible to the resort but only to me. Plus you get a lot more pictures this way. It does cost more than the resort though so it all depends on your budget.

Quote: Originally Posted by lynseyloo0812 Sounds good congrats! It is coming so fast!! Have they been in contact with you much? I am pretty much waiting for them to contact me about things I figured if its important enough they will come to me. Seems like they do this a lot... I actually have a destination wedding planner through my travel agent and they do all the contacting the resort on my behalf. Its been great because they seem to be able to get stuff pretty fast. But I am waiting on menus and that is the next big step. She is seeing if there is anything new/changed for 2014. Now its just all the little details that need to get done.

Quote: Originally Posted by lynseyloo0812 I plan on taking them in my suitcase now. I hope the customs at the airport will be more flexible since its for a wedding. We leave January 15 so I'll let you know! Please do! Or anyone else who is bringing them down before then. We are leaving on January 25th. It is coming up way too fast!

Quote: Originally Posted by lynseyloo0812 Well learned my lesson the hard way. Spent $200 to ship two large boxes via UPS to the resort and they are now being sent back because I had starfish and shells in the boxes. Very frustrating but thankful I'm getting the items back. Just thought I would warn everyone! Time to buy another suitcase! I have starfish I want to bring down as well. Do you think we will just pack it in the suitecase then? Or do we need to be making alternate plans?

Hi Emma, I'm getting married January 28th. They do include the standard white table cloths but if you want chair sashes or colored table overlays or runners there is a rental fee. Chair sashes are $5 / chair and the table overlays are about $25 / table depending on what you choose. I have the pricelist if you want to pm me your email. I've also decided to pay the extra for the tiffany chairs.

Has anyone bought starfish to bring down? If so, where did you buy them?

Fantastic! Thanks! I am busy looking at what flower options to use now.Do they show what colors are available? I have one catalog from them but alot have lillies in it and I found out one of my bridesmaids is allergic to lillies

What I was recommended to do to save money on centrepieces is to reuse the bridesmaids bouquets. I bought matching chargers and will get vases. As you only have an MoH may not work so well for you but is a thought.

Tablelinendirect.com I ordered the embroidered overlays and chair sashes in pool plus napkins and a satin table cloth for the head table. I've been trying different ties of the sashes to see what I like best. I can't decide. I guess I have over 5 months to figure it out. If only I had a white tiffany chair to practice with