Dreams Palm Beach Review- Allie & Mitch Tombs 1-18-11

Wedding photos: http://baillyphoto.com/blog/?p=3201

TTD Photos:http://baillyphoto.com/blog/?p=3294

Resort-

This resort is absolutely beautiful. I looked at so many pictures before I arrived, and still, I was shocked at how gorgeous it really was in person. A great thing about this resort is its location. It only takes a short 15 minutes from the airport to get to Dreams Palm Beach, which is a definite perk over the other Dreams resorts, which are much further away.

            I really liked this resort because of its size. It is smaller in comparison to others I have seen or have been to, but the size was also a pro. Having 40 people with us at the resort was a lot harder than I had originally imagined. I am grateful the resort was not any bigger, because it was hard enough trying keep track of where everyone was (especially with no cell phones!). The size also made it easy to get from one end of the resort to the other, without too much walking. This was important for us, because we made quite a lot of trips up to the lobby to welcome our guests as they arrived, and also saw them off before they left. As a tip, I would recommend having your guests all come on the same day and leave on the same day if possible.  This allows you to spend less time running back and forth to the lobby to meet and say goodbye.  It may seem like a small detail but we spent 5 out of our 9 days in the lobby area waiting for guests to arrive and leave.

Although the resort is a little smaller, you don’t feel like it is small at all. My favorite part was the fact that you never felt crowded, anywhere. There were always plenty of chairs on the beach, by the pool, and always by the bar. At night, there are a ton of different places to sit and relax, always with a waitress to serve you drinks.  There are always endless activities going on day and night, and therefore makes for an entertaining stay.

The staff here is beyond amazing, or how they say, EXCELENTE! I knew from reading other reviews that the staff was good, but I was blown away by how truly genuine they are. I’ve been to resorts where they are pleasant because they want tips, but that is not the case here. These people are awesome. They truly just want to give you the best experience possible, and are very grateful for a tip, if you choose to give them one. Believe me, you will want to tip them all…they are that awesome!

The food here is really good. There wasn’t much that I didn’t like, and I’m quite picky. I was really impressed by the buffet, which we ate at for breakfast every morning and some days for lunch. The burger hut on the beach was great. Every single one of my guests was crazy over the burgers, cheese fries & nachos that are conveniently served on the beach! We also had a chance to check out each of the restaurants. I loved all of them except the Seaside Grill. It wasn’t terrible, but I wasn’t a huge fan either. The location however, is beautiful. It is right on the beach and has a great view. The Italian restaurant was by far my favorite. Every course was amazing. The French, Japenese & Mexican are all really good too.

Wedding-    Symbolic Ceremony 5pm   Poolside Reception 7pm-10pm

Let me start by saying… DON’T STRESS! I know this is hard, believe me, I stressed the whole time about such little things, but they really don’t matter! My advice to you is, to keep it as simple as possible. I spent so much time and energy on my centerpieces and escort cards and I didn’t even notice either of them at all during the reception. If I didn’t notice them, do you think anyone else did? Keep it simple!! You are in the DR and don’t need décor to make your reception beautiful, believe me! You will save yourself so much stress and money too! Bringing all of our wedding stuff down in suitcases was a headache in itself; avoid it as much as possibleJ.  In saying that, try to bring as much as possible on your carry-on bags.  We had problem with our airline losing our luggage and had we not brought our wedding stuff on our carry-on we would have been freaking out!!! 

The wedding coordinators are amazing!!!  You tell them what exactly you want, no matter if it’s something they are providing or if its stuff you brought yourself, and it will get done.  They are very professional and they make sure that your special day is everything you dreamed of. 

Salon-

Make sure to bring a picture of exactly what you want. The women in the salon are good, but they speak little to no English so it is difficult to communicate with them. As long as you have a picture, you will be fine.

Ceremony (Gazebo)-

            I highly recommend the wedding gazebo! When you get to the resort, you will see that the gazebo is right in the middle of everything…don’t panic! They block everything off for your wedding so that no one can walk or come near the gazebo and it is quite private. I believe we had people watching from a distance, but I had no idea until they came up to me later in the week to tell me how beautiful my dress was. None of these people were in my pictures, and they definitely did not disrupt our intimate ceremony, so don’t worry! I did see a few weddings on the beach however, and they did not look private at all. The beach wedding stuff is held right in front of the Sea Side Grill, and next to where a lot of people are sun bathing and walking the beach. At night it clears out a bit, but I still saw people sitting in beach chairs and watching the receptions.

Poolside Reception-

            I cannot say enough about this location! We had 40 people at our reception and we fit perfectly (I’m sure a little more than 40 would work too.) We had 4 tables of 7 or 8, 1 head table, the bar and the DJ all set up on the one side, then the buffet set up on the other. The set-up was perfect. I was a little nervous about space for dancing, but there was plenty. Every one of my guests was up dancing and we had plenty of room. I liked that it was intimate and we were surrounded by water and palm trees. It felt so tropical.  Definitely made for some outstanding pictures!!!  The buffet food was awesome too. If I wasn’t the bride, I would have stuffed my face with another plate of food =). Our guests have been telling us that our reception was one if not the best they had ever been to. We think so too, but we are a slightly biased. We did walk by a few beach receptions and they didn’t look like nearly as much fun as ours. Plus, the beach is pretty windy and the space is not as intimate.

DJ Mannia-

            I am so happy we decided to spend money on a DJ! It was something we went back & forth on for a while, but believe me, he was worth it!

We decided to take care of paying DJ Mannia in full before we left, so we had less to worry about the day of the wedding. DJ Mannia did not have time to meet with us prior to the wedding day, so I was very nervous about the whole thing. I mean, I paid these people, whom I have never met before, IN FULL, before they even provided me a service. When I met them about 5 mins before the reception, they asked for my entrance music list & bridal party names, which I had given them the prior week, so I started freaking out! I was worried they weren’t going to have any of the music I wanted last minute. Despite the mix up, everything went perfectly smooth. DJ Mannia ended up finding the email I sent with my music list and he played EVERY single song on my list. He kept the party going all night, and the every one of my guests was on the dance floor. We had such a great time, and I am so thankful we had DJ Mannia there to help us party!

Grooms Thoughts–

Our guests absolutely loved the resort and especially loved the ceremony and reception that was performed.  Once again, all our guests felt it was the best reception they have ever been to and I feel this is honestly the truth.  After spending a few days with all of our guests having fun, the wedding day was the perfect climax to their entire stay.  We had guests who had never met before, and by the reception, they were taking pictures with one another, and exchanging contact information.  It was everything we had hoped for and then some. 

If I had a complaint, and believe me it’s hard to find one, I would say that this resort isn’t the best place for a honeymoon.  It was great for pre-wedding fun, and especially perfect for the ceremony and reception, but it doesn’t have much in terms of private time for couples.  It was hard to find a quiet place to get away after the wedding to just spend 1 on 1 time together without having to go back to our room.  We did stay in the preferred area, which was much quieter, but children were allowed there, and disrupted any quiet time. Therefore, I would recommend leaving the day after the wedding to go to a quieter location/resort to spend some much need alone time together.