DREAMS PUERTO VALLARTA "thread"

khannan · June 17, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by m1984

Hi guys,

I have searched this thread already regarding deposits but for all the girls who have confirmed their wedding dates with Dreams PV, did they already charge you the $500 deposit to secure the date? I'm dealing with Samantha, whose name I have not seen at all in this forum and she said that my date was booked but that she won't charge the deposit until we arrive...

That makes no sense to me.... I forwarded her my credit card info and we filled out the initial paperwork (expected number of guests, when, where etc,) but she hasn't charged the deposit to us.

I know others have mentioned something about not charging it until the next year's rates come out (my date is supposed to be May 24, 2011) but is this right? I'm about to get invites printed out but all of a sudden, I'm not 100% sure that our date has been officially confirmed...

Can anyone that has booked shed some light? I think I'm just going to ask Rebecca to take over.. because I feel like Samantha is giving me false information...

Hi,
I am also dealing with Samantha, and had the same thing happen. She told me the date is secure but will not charge the deposit until we get a reservation code. I am also thinking that I should be dealing with Rebecca because I am worried. I also asked that even if we reserve a block of rooms are my guests able to use the travel agent of their choice. She tells me we can but I am feeling a little uneasy about dealing with her.

natalie0131 · June 17, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by lauren

thanks girls!!! i'm due 12/21, so it could be christmas day!!!

my suggestion - as it always is - is to read this whole thread. click on the links in dreams pv brides' links to slideshows and pictures. do a google image search for dreams puerto vallarta wedding. there were a few pics floating around when i got married 2+ years ago - there are definitely TONS now.

I know this is probably going to be taken the wrong way and you're going to be quick to chastise me, but I really don't understand why you always make remarks asking people to go back and read previous posts when someone comes to the forum asking for help. I thought the forum was supposed to be a place where people can converse and ask questions. Not just read. There are (currently) 105 pages to this site with countless years of advice/experiences. I read through it all when I was sick. It took hours. I think you'll agree with me that some of the information that was true/relevant 2+ years ago may not still be accurate, so going back to review posts may be helpful, but it doesn't mean that it will completely answer the question. If it bothers you so much that people keep asking questions about the same thing, then I question why you continue to be on the board 2+ years after you got married. If it's to help people, then you may want to change your approach.

KarenM · June 17, 2010

Hey everyone. Just wanted to let you know I posted my review! We had the best time!

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...7/#post1331155

Let me know if you have any questions!!

ChicagoPT · June 17, 2010

Karen- Just read your review..Awesome!!! You looked beautiful! Love all your pics! I want to have my wedding NOW!

autjo · June 17, 2010

Great review K!! Dreams really needs to step up their DJ quality, I think that has been one of the only complaints that is consistent across most brides.

sarahLambert08 · June 17, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by natalie0131

I know this is probably going to be taken the wrong way and you're going to be quick to chastise me, but I really don't understand why you always make remarks asking people to go back and read previous posts when someone comes to the forum asking for help. I thought the forum was supposed to be a place where people can converse and ask questions. Not just read. There are (currently) 105 pages to this site with countless years of advice/experiences. I read through it all when I was sick. It took hours. I think you'll agree with me that some of the information that was true/relevant 2+ years ago may not still be accurate, so going back to review posts may be helpful, but it doesn't mean that it will completely answer the question. If it bothers you so much that people keep asking questions about the same thing, then I question why you continue to be on the board 2+ years after you got married. If it's to help people, then you may want to change your approach.

Here's a link to my video & some pics. I started this thread!!

It's been about a year for me, and I periodically come and check up on you brides to see how the Dreams planning is going!! We went back for our one year this past March and I was always chatting with Rebecca etc. We Love her!! Such a nice lady!
Anyway I hope this will help you a bit!
YouTube - Dreams Puerto Vallarta Destination Wedding Sarah&James

YouTube - kingjml1's Channel

KarenM · June 17, 2010

Thanks guys!

A - I know. We figured we couldn't go wrong by providing the dj ALL of the music, plus a playlist in case he already had the music. Whatever. I'm sure he gets bored just playing what people tell him to, but some of the stuff he picked was pretty bad.

Sarah - how great you guys went back for your 1 yr anniversary! How long did you stay? We've been talking about it & although we'll have to wait & see, we'd absolutely love to!

allyson779 · June 18, 2010

Karen...Your review was amazing!!! Thank you so much for all the info and pictures.

Here comes some of my random questions for you (hope you don't mind and other past bride feel free to jump in....)

For your private dinner at Portofino did you make reservations a head of time with Rebeca or with Portofino directly? Was it the same menu for dinner or was it a special menu?

Bonfire... Did you have to pay extra for the waiter or was that included in the fee? (I think Rebeca told me like $250 or $300 for the bonfire)

Ceremony.... was it really hard to walk on the sand/bamboo path? I am so worried I am going to fall on my face! Was it just a bamboo mat or was there something else underneath? Also did you use a microphone for your ceremony....I

Cocktail Hour... OK so I am debating on even having the Mexican trio (even though it comes with the package)... How long did they play for- I think they said it comes with one set.. but how long is a set?

Also did your cocktail hour last the whole hour or was it actually shorter...

Excursions... did you book everything before hand or did you do it through the company that provided the transfers when you got there? Do you remember roughly how much the fishing trip was?

Thanks again for all your help..... what would I do without the forum ... =)

KarenM · June 20, 2010

Thanks Allyson! I answered in blue next to each question.

Quote:

Originally Posted by allyson779

Karen...Your review was amazing!!! Thank you so much for all the info and pictures.

Here comes some of my random questions for you (hope you don't mind and other past bride feel free to jump in....)

For your private dinner at Portofino did you make reservations a head of time with Rebeca or with Portofino directly? Was it the same menu for dinner or was it a special menu?

DH & his brother-in-law stopped by & asked the hostess at Portofino if there was a way to seat like 14 people together (they asked at like 4:30 or 5 for that same night and we came back at 7). One of the waiters (Victor, I think) said we could reserve the wine cellar, which has a table that seats 12 comfortably but could seat up to 14 I think, but we just had to pay for 1 or 2 bottles of wine. I don't think they were very expensive though. And in the booklet of coupons they include several for $10 off each bottle of wine (we didn't find these until the day before we left! oops) And it was the same menu. Really nothing different except we all were together and they were able to turn off the music in that room so we could hear each other. It was perfect, especially as a nice dinner before saying good-bye to our parents.

Bonfire... Did you have to pay extra for the waiter or was that included in the fee? (I think Rebeca told me like $250 or $300 for the bonfire)

The waiter is included in the price. So are the marshmallows (they give you tons!) and the chocolate dipping sauce. We brought graham crackers from home and when we went to Wal-Mart in PV earlier in the week we bought some Hershey bars.

Ceremony.... was it really hard to walk on the sand/bamboo path? I am so worried I am going to fall on my face! Was it just a bamboo mat or was there something else underneath? Also did you use a microphone for your ceremony....I

No, it really wasn't hard to walk on the mats, but I was barefoot. They're pretty thick actually and one is placed right after the next. My parents wore sandals & didn't have any trouble walking. I'll post another pic, but they're the same mats that are in front of the chairs at the bonfire (there's a pic of that in my review.) It was a little harder to walk on the pathway after coming down the stairs. It's made up of strips of wood & isn't totally even and my dress (which was all lace) kept catching on them. But it wasn't really a problem & I hardly noticed.

We had the DJ for the ceremony music and we did have the microphone. Lucie (the minister) used it for the whole ceremony, then my brother & P's 2 sisters used it for their readings. We spoke our vows just to each other w/o the microphone, but we did do the exchange of rings speaking into the microphone.

Cocktail Hour... OK so I am debating on even having the Mexican trio (even though it comes with the package)... How long did they play for- I think they said it comes with one set.. but how long is a set?

Also did your cocktail hour last the whole hour or was it actually shorter...

They played for about 45 minutes. The cocktail hour continued around 20 more minutes (& probably would have gone even longer) until we told one of the waiters we were ready for dinner. After the trio finished, the DJ just put on the music we gave him to play during dinner so if you provide a playlist or the music for the DJ I would make sure you have well over an hour of music. We had right around 1 hr of music & at the very end of dinner it started to repeat.

Excursions... did you book everything before hand or did you do it through the company that provided the transfers when you got there? Do you remember roughly how much the fishing trip was?

We didn't book anything ahead of time. We had Tukari as our transfer company (through Vacations4Less) and I met with Alejandro one morning to book the Los Veranos Canopy Tour. I think it was about $60 per person and it was totally worth it! One brother & sis-in-law booked a canopy tour in advance b/c they were able to use some of their credit card miles/points to pay for theirs. I don't know what company they booked it with but theirs was a more extreme version of the Los Veranos tour and they loved it. My other brother booked through Tukari for their 2 excursions (canopy tour & rock climbing).

The fishing trip was actually booked by a good friend of P's as a wedding gift so I don't have the details (if you're interested though I'm sure I can find out). He chartered the boat with some well-known local fisherman months in advance and I think it was really expensive b/c it was just the 2 of them and the boat crew. But I know there are opportunities to book deep-sea fishing with the tour companies too.

Thanks again for all your help..... what would I do without the forum ... =)

You bet! Let me know if you need anything else!