Dreams Riviera Cancun - Brides post here (new thread)

[aperkins7]

My name is Andrea and live in central New Jersey.  My husband Adam and I got married at sunset on the beaches of Dreams Riviera Cancun June 12, 2010.  When we started planning our wedding, we looked everywhere to find the perfect location.  I drove my husband crazy as I would spend hours on the computer researching different options, both locally and destination.  We could not find the perfect location at all!  It was as if the more we researched, the more confusing everything became.  We looked everywhere from Jersey shore, Florida, Bahamas, St. Maarten, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and finally Mexico.  For anyone who has researched destinations in that area, there are about 100,000 locations in that 4000 mile radius, and I believe i looked at every single one of them!

We came across a website for Dreams Riviera and I clicked on it.  I saw a picture of a bride walking down the sandy isle and the water in the background.  And while every resort we already looked at pretty much offered the same thing, for some reason this one just hit me.  We said, lets just talk to the wedding planner there and so we found our friend Ana.  

Ana -for anyone looking to book there- is the most amazing w.c. you can imagine!  I was very worried along the process because I felt so little stress.  For sure all my friends who have ever planned a wedding gave me a good idea of how stressful it would be so I was prepared.  However, with Ana, there was no stress!  No stress worried me because I was apprehensive that nothing was getting done and that the wedding day would come and it would be a circus.  Well little did I realize that Ana was so over prepared that I truly did NOT have to worry about a thing!  For someone who is as controlling and on-top-of things as I am, it took a lot to just delegate this to a person who I never met and was living in another country.  

I asked Ana for a recommendation for a photographer in which I received 2 names.  I looked at both websites and in a second, I knew who would be my wedding day photographer.  I chose Juan Navarro.  Again, as I mentioned before, I was very worried about working with a photographer who I never met, never saw any printed work, and really didn't know much about except from the websites.  But everything seemed great on his website so I contacted him.  Within an HOUR he responded back!! I was so surprised at the speedy response!  He responded "Hola Andrea!  Thank you for your interest. etc"  He sent me links to blogs, pricing, and answered all of my emails quickly.  I couldn't believe how responsive he was to me!  I am not "high maintenance" but definitely hate waiting on people to respond, and with Juan Navarro- I felt like I was his best client.  When I met him the day of the wedding I could tell that this man loves what he does.  I can truly say that he went above and beyond the call of a photographer.  I have friends who spent over $7000 in new jersey for wedding photos that could not even stack up to the work of Juan.  I was honored to have him a part of my wedding. Every single wedding guest came up to me and said, WOW where did you get this guy!? He's amazing!

Juan and his staff were there for every single moment that took place.  Its easy for a professional photographer to snap photos of "precious moments" but it takes true talent to capture the moments that are beyond what the eyes can see.  I feel like Juan's work not only captured our wedding day, but he captured our emotion in every photo.  From the getting-ready excitement butterflies, to the heart bursting moments of the wedding vows, to the joy of the first dance, his camera was recording device of emotions--precisely-the way a psychologist takes notes on emotions.  I can't thank Juan enough for all the work he did for our wedding.  Every guest was shocked by his over the top style of shooting.  Someone asked me, "is it common for a photographer to lay in the sand upside down to get a special angle of the light?"  "No" i replied, our photographer is just amazing and dedicated.

  The day following our wedding we went out with Juan for a "trash the dress" shoot.  If anyone is considering doing this- don't consider anymore- just do it!!  My husband and I had SO much fun doing this!  It was a great bonding experience for us as well.  Juan's photo journalistic approach to the t.t.d was beyond expectation!  He was right there in the ocean, waist deep in water, shooting with a very expensive camera and was more worried about getting "the moment" than he was with the safety of his equipment.  It takes true dedication to be as intense with his work as Juan is.  He came up with a creative sweep of photos that are absolutely beautiful!!  

When we returned home, within a few days he sent me links to some of his work to show me what it looked like.  The first thing I said when Adam and I opened the email was, WOW!!! Each and every single picture we looked at made us say, WOW.  I couldn't believe the incredible talent Juan has.  I believe that the photography is one of the most important pieces to a perfect wedding and I couldn't have found a better photographer.  I have since seen the work of other photographers on other websites and it does not stack up.  I am so happy that I don't have the traditional run of the mill photo work that every other bride has on her wedding day.  I have photos of Sombreros flying through the air and our wedding party's faces in the background with mouths wide open in laughter!  How he thinks of these things is one thing, but actually capturing them is incredible.

I plan on using Juan for any photography work I will need done in my life.  If its family photos one day, then I would probably fly back to Mexico and use it as an excuse to vacation!  I am so thankful for the work that Ana, Juan, and their teams.  I couldn't have had a more perfect wedding without them!  Thanks again! 

 

submitted August 7, 2010.... 

[allegraapple]

Thanks for your review Andrea.  Do you have any photos you can share??  Congrats on a successful wedding :-)

[lilly129]

Hey ladies - sorry I haven't been on in a while - things are crazy and the wedding is just over a month away!

 

So I got an email from my travel agent last night - it was an email she received from Gabriela and her title was "Weddings Manager" for DRC - she said she did not have a deposit from us and would be releasing our date on Tuesday.  AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!  

I sent the deposit back in November! And luckily I keep every email I've ever received from Ana so I have an email with an attached receipt as well as a copy of my credit card statement showing the charge which I just emailed to her.  Seriously! First of all - who the heck is Gabriela? Have any of you heard from her? And secondly...I soooo do not need this right now!

[cathyandchin]

Oceana & Seaside Grill are really busy around lunchtime because they are RIGHT NEXT to the infinity pool. They also don't start getting food out until around 11:30.

[sunkisseddreams]

Hi tlwswa

We're also getting married on May6th!

Where are you having your ceremony & reception? and what time?
 Lisa

 

Originally Posted by tlwswa 

May 6, 2011

[aj42781]

Im seriously bringing my own rake to rake the seaweed off beach!!!! i hate it in the backround of pictures...il be in my wedding gown raking the beach haha

[ddemayo]

I have spoken to Gabriela as well. She actually was sooooooo helpful. I had sent like five emails to Ana and over a month had gone by with no reasons. Then I received an email from Gabriela saying she would find out a status on my emails and she responded back that day to all of them.  I have 125 people coming to our wedding and i think she realized how stressed i was getting with the lack of reponse. And i must say she was great

[sunkisseddreams]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FutureMrsRobart 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ursula Lisa, Melissa and Lindsay it looks like we'll all be there the same week!

YAY :-) We arrive at Excellence RIviera April 27th and then switch to DRC on the 4th when our guests arrive. We'll have to hook up for a little cocktail :-)

 

 

Great idea!
 

[LindsayMichelle]

Cathy - thanks so much for the great review and congrats on such a successful wedding! You looked beautiful!

[LindsayMichelle]

Question for the girls that have been married at DRC :

 

Since a lot of the planning is done once you arrive, and you can't really make a schedule of events for your guests beforehand, how did you get information out to your guests? We may have around 50 people coming. Did you just walk room to room or is there a better way?