Jackies Dreams Cabo Wedding Review w/ link to pics

[Jackie]

Hi girls, we're back and we had such a fabulous time, this is so long and I tried to make it condensed but its really impossible lol.

 

I. Travel (Overall Grade Average A-)

A) Flights - Grade A+ We used Delta from Boston to Atlanta to Cabo. Everything here was excellent, every flight was on time or early, they hung my dress on both flights, and all luggage arrived safe and sound for us and our 15 guests flying out on the same flight!

B)Customs Cabo - Grade B Very busy, slightly disorganized, our luggage was searched and they wanted us to pay for the hurricanes etc in his bag but were so busy that the workers decided just to forget about it and rushed us on through. It took us 2 hours just to get through the airport. We flew in on a Saturday and it was insane, If at all possible I would recommend flying in on a weekday for sure.

C) Epic Transfers - Grade B Epic is wonderful in that they want to please you and will make sure that any glitches get worked out, the workers are great and the vans are clean and air conditioned. The issue is not with who you deal with in person but I think rather with the people in the office that set up the dates, names, and lists of pick ups. They didn't have 4 of us listed but had a couple of us listed twice etc on their sheet of transfers, it is very important to have your vouchers on you as proof. It took about an hour standing outside with the guy (Jose I think) comparing lists and vouchers before we eventually loaded the van.

D) Wright Travel Agency - Grade A+ I can not say enough good things about Tammy to truly express how wonderful she was to work with. She never missed a beat, went to bat for me on a couple of occasions when things got a little screwy on my end and truly seemed to care about me and my guests from beginning to end. I never for a moment had to worry about the travel aspect of our wedding. The fact that she also specializes in destination weddings was a huge bonus. I could ask her anything trip or wedding related and she was able to help.

 

II. Dreams Resort and OOT bags (Overall Grade A)

A) Everything Dreams - Grade A At this point I think we have all read 5 thousand reviews on Dreams so I am not going to go to much into this. Dreams was excellent, they surpassed our expectations in every way possible. Ryan, myself and every last one of our guests LOVED DREAMS!!!

OOT Bags -Grade A+ the OOT bags were a hit. Everyone loved them, they were small blue tote bags with sunscreen, custom Koozies, spanish for dummies, advil, tums, chapstick, pier one soaps and some other little stuff in them. I thought they were going to be way to small but they worked out perfectly, they looked nice and stuffed and everyone used them all week to carry around there camera, suntan lotion and other goodies down to the pool or out in cabo.

 

II. Welcome Sunset Dinner Cruise (Overall Grade A+)

On Sunday night to say thank you to our guests and to welcome everyone to Cabo we hosted a Sunset Dinner Cruise. We used Browns Private Transfer to get us there and SunRider Adventure Tours for our sunset dinner cruise.

A) Browns Private Transfer - Grade A+ Price $379.00 + $100.00 tip We had a total of 27 people being transfered for the dinner cruise. I worked with Nadia Brown through e-mail to set up this service. She was absolutely wonderful and replied usually within minutes every time I e-mailed her. We got 2 Suburbans and 1 Van for our party. Nadia's husband Manuel Brown was our head driver and was so nice and great to work with. He showed up 15 minutes early to pick us up, all three vehicles were immaculate. When he dropped us off at the marina he even walked me to where the Sunrider boat was and let the captain know who we were and what we were there for, he didn't leave my side until he knew we were all in good hands. Ryan ended up chit chatting with him and before you know it Manuel called one of his friends and Ryan had a two boat fishing trip (more on this later) planned for the next morning. The total amount for Browns Private Transfer came to $379.00 or $14.00p/p not including tip. We tipped them $80.00 with the final cost for transportation being $459.00 and worth every penny!

Browns Private Transfer website Home - Butler, Chef services and Private Transportation in Los Cabos

Browns Private Transfer e:mail [email protected]

Sunset Dinner Cruise- Grade A Price $980.00 + $100.00 tip The only reason our cruise didn't get an A+ grade is because there was a small mix up at first but they definitely made up for it. We arrived at the Marina 45 minutes early and first in line to make sure we would get the top of the deck. For some reason the captain and crew thought we were a private tour, the got all confused and asked us to move out of line to a separate area while they scrambled to get a private boat ready for us, but by this time there were already a lot of people behind us in line. After we finally figured out that I booked a public tour but he was thinking private tour we now had to get back in the public tour line, which kind of sucked because now we are behind about 30 people instead of in front of them. The captain took me to the side so that I could pay for the group and he kindly apologized for the confusion and told me he wouldn't charge for the 2 children's tickets. I asked him nicely if we could still board the boat first because we had been early and first in line and he said he would make sure we did, and he did. Every body stepped aside and we boarded first, the party got started and it was an absolute blast from start to finish. Food was good grill quality food, the music was great and the staff made everything so much fun, from the dancing, the tequila shots, the beautiful scenery, and the endless flow of beer we could not have asked for a better night. OK so pricing, the public tour is $45.00 p/adult and $22.50 p/child. Mario told me if I booked 25 or more people that he would give me 2 people free, on top of that they gave me the two kids free because of the mix up at first so my total price came out to $980.00 and we tipped the entertainment staff $100.00 at the end of the night which they were completely deserving of and so thankful for. SunRider Adventure tours was also very easy to work with through e-mail.

Website SunRider Adventure - Excitement & Fun

E-mail [email protected]

 

IV. Wedding Ceremony, Cocktail Hour, Reception (Overall Grade A+)

A)Ceremony and Cocktail Hour- Grade A+ Price $987.00 from the music to the rose petals, to the hair and makeup, to the minister, to the weather everything went so well. It is completely nerve wracking to finally be in that moment that you have been so diligently planning for the past year. I definitely was so afraid that I was going to faint that I really did not hear one thing the minister said, I just kept making sure my knees were bent and kept repeating "Coronas and fun to come, Coronas and fun to come" in my head to get myself through it. Ryan could not believe how much I was shaking I was a nervous wreck! Originally we had decided that since my father had passed away Ryan would come meet me half way and walk me the rest of the way down. But then when we got to Dreams and took a look at the Gazebo we decided that the distance from the point he was supposed to pick me up at was really short and to just forget about it. I guess Ryan told the minister the story before the ceremony and the minister told Ryan to definitely come get me half way down the aisle. It was so sweet to see Ryan put his hand up and tell me to wait when I was half way down the aisle, I didn't know what was going on but he was coming to walk me down the aisle, it meant so much to me. The wind was perfect and not a rose petal was out of place, the program fans went over well because it was not windy and just hot enough to use them. We weren't there for much of the cocktail hour but everyone said they had a great time and the food was good. The price of $987.00 included 2 non guest charges, chair ties, and the charge for the ceremony and cocktail hour for 30 people.

Reception - Grade A+ Price $895.00 The Reception began at 6:30PM while, with dinner being served at 7:00PM, we arrived to the reception at 7:15PM and immediately began our first dance and then the mother and son dance. I wanted to do it this way because I knew that I would not be able to relax until the formalities were out of the way. Looking back this was a mistake. I think our first dance would have been a lot nicer if 1. it had been dusk and not still daylight and 2. we had a couple of drinks in us and weren't so stiff. Its so strange because Ryan was fine during the ceremony and I was a ball of nerves, well it went the other way come dance time. Ryan was a mess he wouldn't move his feet he just kept moving his hips back and forth like a weeble wobble? I asked him what was wrong and he just said "I don't know, I'm trying" it was kind of funny but it kind of sucked in a way too there was definitely no romance in the first dance at all. Other then that everything went well. Dinner went well we had chicken and fish, snow crab, garden salad, strawberry and ice cream for dessert. The dessert was to die for, maybe one of the best desserts I have ever tasted. Everyone including Ryan (he wouldnt lie) said they loved dinner, I think my nerves were still a little messed up because I just couldn't eat it and didn't love it, I was so worried that everyone else was having a good time. The table came out so nice, it was absolutely beautiful. We had one long table with lots of candles, roses, and, natural rocks. I made individual menus. We had the hanging lanterns, and 50 luminaries surrounding the pool and our wedding area. The music was good and once I had a couple cocktails in me I had an absolute blast. People just couldn't believe how beautiful everything was and how much detail we were able to put into it even though it was a DW. They were really blown away. The price of $895.00 includes the chair ties, charges for 30 guests at the reception, the luminaries, and 3 vendor meals.

 

V. Wedding Vendors (Overall Grade A)

A) Wedding Coordinator Mariana - Grade A+ Tip $150.00 You do NOT need an outside wedding coordinator if you have someone like Mariana helping you. She is good with e-mails, sometimes it may take a few days to hear back but she is handling so many weddings that it is impressive that it only take a few days. She might be one of the sweetest people you will ever have the opportunity to meet. She gives you honest opinions, and great suggestions. The ceremony and reception turned out beautifully. There were 3 minor things that went wrong. 1. We were down two chairs at the ceremony so two of Ryan's friends had to stand in the back, I didn't even know about this until Ryan told me days later, it was not noticeable and really no big deal. 2. She had thought that the ceremony was supposed to start at 5:30PM not 5:00PM no big deal we moved it up to 5:15PM which is exactly when we were all ready to go anyways. 3. I asked for the new lighting they now can put under the table, but it never happened, the table still looked gorgeous and I wasn't charged for it so again, no big deal. All in all with so many things that could possibly go wrong during the course of a wedding the little things that happened during ours was really nothing in comparison. We love Mariana and are definitely nothing less then extremely grateful for all her hard work and effort put into our day.

Photographer Juan Carlos Tapia - Grade A+ Price $5800.00 Juan is amazing. He arrived on time and stayed for the full 6 hours, was very personable, we both felt very comfortable around him. I am going to do a separate thread and review on him and will go into more depth about Juan, the TTD shoot, and his pricing. Juan's pricing of $5800.00 included both the wedding and the TTD shoot. The Wedding itself cost $3600.00 for 6 hours of service and $500.00 for the CD. The TTD shoot cost $1400.00 for two hours which we went WAY over and $300.00 for the CD. Everything went so well and I gave Juan a grade of A+ because of his professionalism, personality, and pictures he showed me many on the camera screen and they were all beautiful.

Juan's website: Juan Carlos Tapia Photography

Juan's E-mail: [email protected]

C) DJ Ron Webber - Grade B+ Price $600.00 Tip $100.00 Because I splurged in a couple other areas money wise I knew we would have to skimp on the DJ. We hired Ron Webber for a very good price of $600.00 for 5.5 hours although he came to set up an hour early. Ron was so good to work with via e-mail, he is originally from California so there is no language barrier. He met with me at Dreams the Saturday night before the wedding so that I could give him all my Cd's that I have made for the wedding, he does have his own music, bringing in my own music was my choice, I like music a lot and wanted to have complete control over what would be played during our wedding. I think he completely understood this because by the end of the night when people were feeling good and requesting stupid songs he said "sorry but the bride says NO" lol. Ron is really super sweet and the only reason I gave him a B instead of an A is because he stumbled a couple times on wording things nicely when he had to introduce the first dance etc. Other then that he was perfect and really wanted to please me and Ryan. I would definitely recommend him to anyone who just needs a DJ. We didn't need a DJ to get the party started or keep it going etc etc, we just needed one to play our music. Ron took all the Cd's I gave him and put them into his system and faded them in and out perfectly, shortened a couple of songs that needed to be shortened and worked really well with all of our music.

Ron's e-mail [email protected]

D) Hair/Makeup Suzanne Morel- Grade A+ Price $675.00 Tip $100.00

My hair and makeup came out PERFECT and my hair is not super easy to work with. I brought exact pictures of what I wanted and did have to let them know ahead of time that my hair would need to be flat-ironed. I loved the way that my sisters and our flower girls hair came out also. My manicure felt so nice, the nicest manicure I have ever had. The price of $675.00 included Brides hair, 2 Brides maids hair, 1 flower girl hair, Brides makeup, and 1 manicure. The girls that came were super nice and sweet. The office was also good to work with via e-mail.

Website: Suzanne Morel Face and Body Care

e-mail: [email protected]

E) Flowers, Martha Zarate - Grade A Price $970.00 Martha was also great to work with via e-mail, always got right back to me and sent me pics of what things she could do or ideas. She arrived at Dreams to drop the flowers off 15 minutes earlier then she said she would. The only reason she did not get an A+ is because I would have liked it had the roses been a little more open, but regardless they were beautiful. The price includes Brides Bouquet, 2 Bridesmaids Bouquets, 1 Boutonnière, 2 Bags of rose petals, 6 reception table center pieces.

Website: Mazarte Floral

E-mail: [email protected]

 

VI. Extra Activities

I will just quickly give a run down of a few things we would recommend on your off days in Cabo and if you want any more info or pricing on them just pm me.

 

Ryan and the boys went Marlin fishing and loved it. Ryan's dad caught a Marlin and that day might go down as one of the best days of his life, he loves fishing and fishes every day but not many Marlin here on the Cape lol.

 

We did the glass bottom boat tour and really liked it. It was a lot of fun and cheap. A nice way to spend some time in Cabo, we had the Captain drop us off at "The Office"

 

We went to "The Office" Which is a bar among about 4 other bars right on the beach by the Marina in Cabo, it is kind of raved about if you ask people where to go that is where they will send you. We went there for some beers and nachos and honestly it was nice but we weren't all that impressed, the good thing is that the sand on this stretch of beach is so nice and soft and the water is beautiful. So then we headed next door to the Mango Bar

 

The "Mango Bar" was so fun and funny. We sat on the top deck and watched the action below. They have contests and music and really crazy drunk people everywhere. If you sit on the deck you get to enjoy the atmosphere and fun of it all without having to be in the middle of all the craziness. And you can still play the games if you want. We loved it hear.

 

Cabo Mall is a nice place to cool off with some decent shopping, and very clean.

 

The Harley Shop and bar was fun and right on the Marina with a nice view, we stopped here for a couple of beers and had a nice time.

 

Hard Rock Café is nice and has some really cool merchandise. We didn't eat hear but did go in and it looks really nice, we bought a few T's.

 

Cabo Wabo is fun, I think more fun during the day then the night but that just my opinion.

 

The Zoo is not my cup of tea, its as cluby as they get, a little to tech-no for my tastes.

 

The Giglin Marlin looks like it could be really fun at night but it was empty during the day except for some outside seating. They hang you upside down at night and make you do shots...could be interesting.

 

El Squid Row was my favorite, just the right combo of music and atmosphere. Loved it here.

 

VII. The Total Price and Summary!

A) Price of Wedding The total price of our wedding with out the cost of our Week at Dreams was $11836.00. Figure an additional 2000.00 for attire and extras and the total would be $13836.00 for our wedding. I am not including the stay at Dreams because we would have spent that anyways on our honeymoon. If we had had a wedding here at home we would have spent triple that.

Summary I could not be happier with our choice to have a DW and our choice to have it at Dreams Cabo. Everything went so well, I'm still in AW of it all. All of our guests had such a good time and now want to plan another trip next year. We spent much less then we would have for a wedding at home and got to spend a week with our closest friends and family instead of a few hours. I would do it all over again in a heart beat!

 

 

Link to photos on snapfish, I am having so many problems getting photos on here, this will have to do for now girls, sorry.

Snapfish: Wedding Pics

[NHPT]

yay! you are home! so glad that it went well- congrats MRS!!

[TammyB]

Welcome back Jackie. I can't see your pictures, so as soon as I get home I'm logging back on to view.

 

Congrats girl. Did you see Tammy & Sarah?

[Jackie]

Getting Ready My Hair

 

Ava our flower girls hair AWWWW

 

My sisters, Ry's mom, and Ava our flower girl patiently waitting.

 

One shoe at a time now...

 

Ryan and the men patiently waitting

 

Here I go!

 

 

And another one

 

The Cake that comes with the package

 

The Table

 

another table pic

 

and another

 

And another one

 

We let the kids cut the cake, they were so excited. our flower girl and ring bearer Ethan and Ava

 

Bad Pic of first dance

[Jackie]

Crap none of my pics are showing. Let me work on this for a minute.

[Alyssa]

Welcome back jackie!!!!!! Congrats - I cannot wait to see your pics

[JessicaM]

Welcome back...that for the great detailed review too!! Puts my mind at ease since i am leaving in 1 week!! I cannot wait to see your pictures!!!

[Jackie]

Sorry girls but I'm having some problems with my pics. I'll try later, I need to go unpack and do some laundry before Ryan kills me, Ive been writting my review all day, who knew it would take so long!

[michelle08]

Okay...you are on it!!! I still haven't finished mine and you just got back!!! You weren't kidding when you said you would have it today!!

 

I just had to say that and now I have to read it!!! I will have mine tonight hopefully!

[ACDCDCAC]

YAY! cant wait for the pics! awesome review!