Why we chose a Destination Weddings?
After I asked my girlfriend for her hand in marriage and she said yes we started looking at local venues in our hometown Orange County, California. We put our guest lists together which came out to be approximately 180 people and our only time frame was within a 1 week period because my girlfriend (now Wifey) is a full time nursing student and her semester break was our only opportunity. We started shopping around for about 3 months quickly discovering that the wedding in our area would end up costing around 15-25,000 dollars after all is said and done - we could have opted to do a much smaller wedding here but that would probably offend a lot of our people because they would not be invited. Having the full scale wedding would also leave us with nothing left in terms of money for a honeymoon and wifey would have to start her next semester the following Monday. We tried finding venues at lower costs being on Friday nights or Sundays. We looked at Palm Springs and the locations further away and it seemed like no matter what we liked there was always a problem. It came to a point when we realized we were trying too hard to please and accommodate everyone else that we lost sight of what matters and what matters is us and our closest people.

Option A vs. Option B
Option A:  Spend 15-$25,000 for a 5 hour Wedding Event - No honeymoon or downtime - She goes back to school and I go back to work 2 days later.
Option B - Make it weeklong Vacation/Wedding with massages, excursions, champagne, entertainment with close friends and family, good food and drinks and spend closer to $10,000 TOTAL

No Brainer - We picked option B

 

Why Dreams Riviera Cancun?
When we decided to do a destination wedding, we wanted to make sure that we chose the best resort for our friends and family. We also wanted to choose a venue that is safe and fun for kids as well since my three nieces would be attending and two of them were our flower girls. After looking at every resort Cancun has to offer along with the various wedding packages we chose DRC and we chose well. The distance from the airport being 20-25 mins. away made it easier on our guests and the hotel had so many food options that there would be something for everyone.

Booking Rooms / Travel Agent
When we first reserved our wedding date with Dreams, they recommended Denise Canon from Travel Concepts to handle all of our guests bookings and plans. We contacted her and started our journey together which turned out to be the best thing that could have of happened for us. Denise handled everything! from providing our guests with discounted rates and all of the pertinent information for their specific travel plans and requirements. This made our wedding planning easier so that our guests wouldn't bother us with all their questions and concerns. She packaged all of the airport transfers and vital information for everyone and then provided us a complete layout of all our guests arrival and departure times. When you book groups of people their reservations lend itself towards getting your room discounted. Denise helped us acquire that discount as she is a Dreams specialist and has an upstanding relationship with the Dreams resorts. She often visits the resort and knows just about everything there is to know about Dreams and DRC.

Our #1 Wedding Coordinator
After we experienced Denise's awesomeness as our Travel Agent we took another step and hired her as our Wedding Coordinator. Her experience with Dreams once again proved to be invaluable. She acted as a liaison for us in terms of communicating to the Dreams wedding department all of our wishes and help masterfully concoct our wedding into a blissful event for all of us ~ a lifetime of memories is priceless and without her support I don't believe we could have pulled it off nearly as good. She answered all of our questions and concerns prior to leaving and gave us a summary of what we had discussed and decided on so that there wouldn't be any confusion when we arrived.

For more information about Denise Canon and Travel Concepts here is a link http://essence.travelconceptskc.com/

The Wedding Package
Among the three weddings packages we chose the "Ultimate Package" which gave us some of the extra perks such as a couples massage (50 mins) which was fantastic and well worth it. The Spa was very clean and a great way to kick off our first day. We also had more options on the menu to choose from in terms of hors d'oeuvres and dinner.

Georgina (Gina) was our on site wedding coordinator and Jorge was also the wedding facilitator/coordinator (the man!) and I have to say - they did an awesome job! The attention to detail and consideration was outstanding as they were with us the whole time overseeing the execution. Everything went to plan and they were working with me and my family from beginning to end. Since we hired Denise to solidify our wishes all we really had to do was review with them and dial in the final details and pay. We had the option to have our Cocktail hour at various locations throughout the resort and you can also choose where to have your reception too. Georgina walked around the resort with us to get a close look at how everything would play out and discuss our time line.

•Very important $: I wish someone else told me about this before I paid for the wedding. Once you have locked down all of the items for your wedding, be sure to review the itemized list carefully. If possible try and have them charge you based on your homeland currency if that option is available. My credit card charged me $170 for being charged in pesos as a foreign currency fee. You will pay for your wedding ahead of time. Also let your Credit Card company know that you will be using your card in Mexico so that they don't think its identity theft.

 

Here is a picture of our Dreams Wedding Team

Starting from the right is Georgina our on-site wedding coordinator, Linda the Dreams Minister, Jorge the Wedding Director/Facilitator and "The Man!" - the videographer (im so sorry I didnt get his name) and the last guy on the left is the Sounsystem technician (again, I didnt get his name im so sorry)

 

Decoration and OOT bag transportation
I originally purchased 2 crates from Target thinking that this would be the best way to bring down our decorations and OOT bags supplies - but Denise my TA/WC advised me against it because it may present a problem when passing through customs. When traveling to Mexico you are required to declare things that cost a certain amount of money (I forget but I think its anything over $2000) If I were to bring down these crates it would look somewhat suspicious… so on the same day of our plane flight I ran over to Target and picked up 2 of these suitcases which are really neat. they have a hard exterior shell and also can spin 360? on the wheels. Luckily when we got into Cancun and through customs they did notice all of the maracas and asked me how much everything cost… I said $200 dollars and that was good enough.. no need for further inspection.

 

 

We brought down:
Purple and Blue Votive's for table decor from party city http://www.partycity.com/search.do?query=votives
Purple maracas for each guests at Amols http://www.amols.com/
Starfish for seating from Michaels
Electric tea light candle  from Target (this is a good idea if you plan on having your reception outside)
Cake Topper
Glow in the dark bracelets for the girls kiddie table
and all of the OOT bag contents for assembly at the resort


OOT Bags Delivery (Out of Town Gift bags)
We brought down custom assembled gift bags which were delivered on time for the most part, there were a couple of people who got there bags late but got them nonetheless. Since each bag was custom arranged by us we made sure to tag each bag with the name of our guest and arrival time. They charged us $3 per bag which was well worth it when they guests were delivered their bag of goodies. Everyone loved how much effort we put into them and complimented us so many many times.

The OOT bags themselves were purchased at Target and all of the other items randomly at Walmart, $1 dollar stores, Target - we had lotions, aloe, lip balms, insect repellent, candles, keychains, blue bracelets for women, hand sanitizers and custom made T-shirts. We decorated the bags with ribbon of our wedding colors and printed out 3 page Welcome letter, who's who Wedding Party sheet, The Meet & Greet invitation.

 

 

 

The Spa

The Ultimate Package includes a couples massage - don't miss out on this and be sure to schedule it as soon as you can. The massages were out of this world and the Private spa is awesome with private pools, hot tubs, cold dips, teas, exotic showers and fountains.. you won't regret it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rehearsal Dinner
We had our dinner at El Patio, which turned out to be a problem when we arrived. We were told that we had reservations for 13 people but when we arrived they had no idea. These restaurants are not readily equipped to handle large groups but they pulled some tables together and the dinner turned out to be successful. The food was good and our server was making it real fun bringing shots of tequila and all kinds of plates of food… it was a festive event along with the all female mariachi band that performed in the restaurant. After dinner we went out to the lobby for our pre-planned "Meet & Greet" for everyone who was not part of the wedding party to mingle and get to know each other before the big day.

If you plan on having your rehearsal dinner at El Patio - be sure to get there as soon as they open - most people don't eat until later in the evening and the best opportunity for them to accommodate you would be at that time.

 

 

 

 

 

Hair & Make up
My Wife had her make up and hair done at the Dreams Spa - but before going down there she visited Yana Beauty Hair & Make-up specialist (From the show Wedding Day Makeover) who went over styles and make up with her. She taught her techniques and gave her a list of make-up to buy especially for hot and humid conditions, She also took pictures of the hairstyle and makeup application to bring down to Dreams as well. I think she looked fantastic and the only complaint I think she has was that the curls in her hair began to lose their shape from the beginning of the wedding which probably has to do with the heat and humidity. She also recommends that you should give yourself ample time to get treated at the spa. Her appointment was at 2:00 and that was a good time.

Wedding Dress and Men's Attire
My wife purchased her dress from David's Bridal in the destination wedding dress section
http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Strapless-Faille-with-Sweetheart-Draped-Bodice-CT326_Bridal-Gowns-Shop-By-Style-Destination
and wore shoes by Jimmy Choo (like OMG Jimmy Choo!) http://us.jimmychoo.com/en/us/crown/invt/247crowngfa/
The men in the wedding party all wore shirts and pants from Tommy Bahama which worked out well because it was really important that all of use kept cool and comfortable. Tommy B has a chain of stores so my brothers were able to goto the stores in LA, Father in-law in San Diego and me Newport Beach.

 

 

 

Our Ceremony
We chose to have our ceremony at the gazebo at 6pm, this unique gazebo is one of the reasons why we chose this resort because the backdrop just above the ocean horizon was very neat and with an extra fee we added tooling along the top which really gave it our own unique signature. We also rented the purple chair bows to match. The chairs were removed from the ceremony area later and used again at the reception as well as the gazebo tooling which was re-used at the entrance of the reception. I have read on other reviews that the brides didn't like that the ceremony wasn't so private being that the gazebo is right next to the pool. The staff does a good job of removing the lounge chairs nearby and keeping people at a distance… but that doesn't stop the looky-loo's from gathering once the music begins. We actually had a lot of fun with it and felt popular as people surrounding us became part of our special day.

When the minister asked for everyone to stand for the bride's entrance all the people around stood up as well! it was very fun for me to look out see random people getting emotionally drawn in and taking photos. I even saw one girl crying in joy… a complete stranger! too funny!… we loved the attention! Our total guest count was 22 - 8 of which were in the wedding party standing there with us at the gazebo - so the remaining 14 people who were seated weren't that many but with all the looky-loo's it felt so much bigger. The actual ceremony itself was conducted by Linda who read the script, led us in our sand ceremony (sand ceremony sand and bottle provided by Dreams) and fed us the lines of our vows. Linda is an American, speaks flawless English and our families enjoyed her spirit. The ceremony was non-denominational one but it was quite moving and meaningful for both of us and our guests.. it's definitely a respectable ceremony.

*If you plan on having the AV sound system for your ceremony you will need to provide him a CD of the songs you would like to play.. here was our list:
Song #1 While guests are gathering and sitting: Jason Mraz, Lucky (featuring Colbie Caillat)
Song #2 Groom's Entrance: Jason Mraz, Im Yours
Song #3 Groomsmen and bridesmaids and flower girls entrance: Jack Johnson, Better Together
Song #4 Bride's Entrance: Guitar Songs Music, Album: Cannon Guitar: Song Canin in D - Pachelbel (from itunes)
Song #5 After Kiss Marriage Announcement: Somewhere over the Rainbow, Israel Kamakawiwi, Album: Alone in IZ World

*If I were to do it again, I might have started the wedding at 5:30 instead of 6:00 to allow for a bit more sunlight for our photos. Be sure to check the time of sunset for the time of year you have your wedding. Here is a handy tool http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=923





 

Cocktail Hour
In consideration of the heat (August) we wanted our guests to cool down before coming back outside for the reception, so we chose the Desires Lounge for our cocktail hour because it is indoors with AC. They sat eating and drinking while the Mexican Trio mariachi did their 45 minute set while my wife and I were taking photos around the resort. We didn't get to see the show or have any food but everyone told us that the mariachi band was very entertaining  and the food was good.

See some video http://www.youtube.com/user/gary3000#p/a/u/1/lSxkWXfRw2k

Reception
We were so fortunate to have our reception in the Seaside Grill restaurant which is located next to the infinity pool. Typically they charge for a restaurant to be shut down for special occasions but luckily for us there was no extra charge! We have to thank Denise Canon for helping us obtain that location. We paid extra to have the inside decorated with paper lanterns and other decor and it was perfect for our small group. The design pattern of the cement and rocks gave us space for a dance floor and we didn't really need to rent one.

In terms of dinner we were able to get the Caribbean Buffet (Thanks to Denise) - This particular buffet is only offered to groups over 30 people - but with Denise's help they made an exception for us and the food was very good. There were several salads, ribs, chicken, Caribbean rice, veggies, kabobs and a giant desert stand - there was so much food I cant remember everything but they were all laid out in a buffet line - there was something for everyone. When the female guests finished putting food on their plates there were waiters there to carry the plate back to their table for them. The service was excellent and classy, waiting on us for everything. They gave is so many drinks that between my wife and I we had 8 different drinks on our table at once. There was one waiter who stood behind each table servicing everyones needs. I made it a point to go around and tip all the staff members who were involved. Since the reception was at the Seaside Grill all of the drinks came from the bar right there.

If there is one thing that didn't go as planned it was the cake decoration - We wanted to have a cake with a purple ribbon around the base and orchids on top but what we ended up getting was this average looking cake - which tasted good but in terms of decor it wasn't there. To be quite honest with you I believe we even paid for the extra cost of decorating but since we were having such a good time I didn't want to have to go back to the office the next morning and complain and try and get money back… Everything else went so well I just didn't want to spoil it.

* I should note that the outside rim of the Seaside grill is uncovered - if it were to rain the tables where our guests sat and the buffet would have gotten rained on. Just before the wedding began both Georgina and Jorge came to my dressing room and warned me that this could occur in which case they would disassemble everything and move the party to their ballroom. At this point they gave me the option to change my mind for the reception site but I went with my instinct and moved forward with the risk of getting rained on - They had me sign a waiver to approve that.. it was a little bit nerve racking just before the wedding but I understand they need to cover their end in terms of legality. I would highly suggest to others that they take the weather into consideration. We were extremely lucky on our wedding night because we had a nice cool breeze, all of the nights prior to the wedding were very hot and humid…crazy enough the night after our wedding without warning it rained hard at 9pm. This is a very tropical location and it can come and go without any warning.

 

 

 

 

Entertainment
We rented the AV sound system for the ceremony and the 1st hour of the reception so that my brother (best man and MC) can introduce us to our guests… as soon as we walked in we triggered our 1st dance song together (Can't Help Falling in Love by UB40)  and then immediately following was the Mother/Groom • Bride/Father dances (spanish guitar, autumn leaves by manuel granada) followed by speeches/toasts. We didn't contract the AV sound guy any longer than that, because we didn't feel that our crowd was the dancing kind of crowd. We didn't continue his service past this point - but he did return later for the Fire dancers music and I know we didn't pay for that because we had already paid for the wedding ahead of time.

During our reception we also hired the Caribbean Trio to come in and play music while our guests ate - it provided a very nice backdrop under Seaside Grill Palapa. Their performance was just right - not too loud or theatrical but soft and subtle allowing our guests to still engage in conversation.

 

 

Lastly and my favorite we ended the evening with the climax ~ FireDancers! We had them do their performance over the water bridge which crossed over the shallow kiddie pool. They were only supposed to do a 15 minute show but they went on much longer (felt like 30 mins). There were 4 of them - 3 men and one woman and it was truly a spectacle as the fire reflected off the water while we all watched from the Seaside Grill. Everyone was thoroughly impressed and it offered our guests a big bang for their last night at the resort. The music they danced to was so loud and the spectacle was so neat we started getting attention from the looky-loo's as they sat around the pool watching the show.

 

Check out this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=akms-dOxycw

 

 

 

After the wedding the remaining party-goers all made their way to the Desires lounge which was playing dance music - we practically had the place to ourselves and gave us that party time to put a cap on the night! My Wifey likes to boogie ya know! When we returned to our room we had a Honeymoon door banner on our front door and rose petals covering the floors, surrounding the jacuzzi with tea lights and a rose petals heart shape on the bed. They also gave us another bottle of Champagne!

 

 

 

Photography
We hired La Luna Photography (sister company of Del Sol) to shoot our photos - They did an amazing job taking over 2,500 photos in the photojournalistic style we love so much. The resort did charge me for an extra entrance fee for both of them but it was well worth it. Jonathan was the lead photographer with assistant photographer Melissa - their professionalism was outstanding and worked extremely well with all of our guests. The dynamic duo was really impressive. In the end we received a DVD disc with just over 300 photos in high resolution.

La Luna provides us with their slideshow link below but that doesn't show all of the photos - there are many more.

Click here to see our Slideshow provided by La Luna

Click here to see my full Review of  La Luna Photography

August Weather
Hot and Humid for the most part, August (summer) is not the recommended time to be in Cancun but this is all we had available since my wife is a full time nursing student her semester break was only for one week. It's hard to predict if/when it will rain or how hot it will actually be.. it's a roll of the dice and it was my greatest concern the entire time from when we first booked to the day of… Thankfully it worked out!

All in all the week long gathering of our friends and family turned out to be fantastic almost like a feel good movie - everybody bonded with each other, going out on excursions together, playing board games on the beach, enjoying lunches by the pool, having drinks in the infinity pool, dinner etc… it was truly a dream come true, it really could not have been any more perfect. One of our guests told us "It was the best wedding they have ever been to" and "it was the wedding of a lifetime" - There could have been so many things that could have gone wrong. All of our hard work and preparation paid off and we have to be thankful to everyone from the top to bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly! We got our Waterford Crystal glasses (Valued at $60) - be sure to check back with your Dreams Wedding coordinator to obtain these and also get the information you need to get your honeymoon return validated. I have to say… I really cant imagine drinking out of these but they are a cute "Nice to have's"




General Resort Review
We had room #2501 which was the Honeymoon Suite - its was spacious and had two hot tubs - one located in between the bathroom and bedroom and the other was on the patio. When we first arrived there was a bottle of champagne and some fruit there welcoming us :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Food was good! We didn't get a chance to try the Japanese but everything else was great - there was so much food and bars all over the place it was plentiful. We would be laying around the infinity pool and the chefs would walk around holding a trays of food and serve us - sushi, kabobs and fruits.. and drinks. In one instance we ordered some drinks by the Swing bar just before taking a snorkel trip. The waiter remembered the drinks we ordered before we left and 2 hours later when we arrived back he came walking out to meet us on the beach with the 2 new drinks the same as we ordered before…. Now that's Service!

Just around the pools there were 3 bars available and at least 6 different food stations - it was more than I have ever seen at any resort. It was all good and everyone working there would smile and be so eager to serve. As for the restaurants (besides the buffet) were relatively small and if you came at the peak of evening you would in fact have to wait. If you arrive early they would take you or if there is some kind of event on the deck (Mexican night, Caribbean night)  If you had to wait they offer you a pager and you can relax in the lobby until it your table is ready… and thats just fine because the lobby is right there and they always seem to have great music playing.

Our favorite was the Seaside Grill for lunch - the Wan Tons, Shrimp Ceviche and Seared Tuna were phenomenal! We hit that place almost everyday. Good luck trying to get the Paella - people wait around for it and it goes quick. We never had the opportunity as our primary reason to be there wasn't to eat.

 

 

 

Entertainment
There was plenty of entertainment and they provide everyone daily printed itineraries to tell you whats going on, Some of our guests saw the fire and drum show and we saw plenty of musicians in the lobby every night. One night we were approached by a magician who did some amazing tricks. One night they had reggae band which was really good…  check out my video. Also they setup stands where vendors sell stuff which is nice because they bring the shopping to you. My Aunts were doing the Aqua Aerobics and they also had a poker game going on around the pool. If you look for the entertainment you will find it. Be sure to keep up with itinerary because the entertainment won't come looking for you.








Pools
The infinity pool was exceptional, the water was warm and soft. There were a lot of kids all around, even in the infinity pool but it really didn't bother us even when they were splashing around by the bar. It's a family resort and this was expected. If you don't like kids, don't come here.

 

Room Jacuzzi's
We used them a few times - the water filled up fast and the jets worked very well. The only criticism I have about them is that the size of them are very cozy for two people. I am 5'6" and my wife is 5'2" - if we were taller/bigger people it might not be so comfortable. The last night we stayed there I had my back up against one of the suction outlets and when i got up and I had a bunch of hickeys patterned like the suction… it was kind of funny but didn't hurt at all… I was completely unaware of it until my wife saw it.

 

 

The Lobby
As I mentioned before there was always good entertainment but if I had one criticism is that it gets really hot. I am not sure but at times it just didn't feel like the heat was escaping even though the ceilings are so high with fans circulating. It was the last week of August and technically still summer which is expected but as soon as you step outside the lobby it cools down. In the end we would still go there and enjoy it.

 

 

General Advice
The hotel does seem to lack some shade - be sure to throw on good sunblock and keep cool in the pools. I am very white (day glow Casper) and I always wore sunscreen. I never got burned and always stayed cool

Bug Spray - Yes. Bring it. You will need it as the hotel is next to the Yucatan Jungle.

If anyone is interested DRC has a live webcam you can see the pool and beach here
http://www.dreamsresorts.com/drerc/webcam.html

 

So that's a wrap on my review... feel free to email me if you have any questions.. For all the future couples getting married at Dreams Riviera Cancun.. I hope this review finds you and helps you with your journey.