Dreams Riviera Cancun - Brides post here (new thread)

[futureMrs.S 2011]

continued......

 

STAFF:  I’ve been to many resorts all over and I have to say that the staff at Dreams was EXCEPTIONAL for us.  ALL 23 of us agreed that they were wonderful.  They were always there and HAPPY to do anything for  you.  “It’s a pleasure†is a phrase you will hear constantly during your stay. 

 

WEDDING DAY!!!  OK, so that morning we went down to breakfast..hung out by the beach with the group until around 1:00.  I headed back to the room and got ready for my spa appointment.  

 

SPA:  I met up with my girls and mom at the spa and they started to do my hair.  I believe the girl I had was Gabriella?? She was GREAT!!! She did exactly as I asked.  I had no picture to bring down. I just explained to her what I wanted and poof!!! She did it!!! (They have a few books that you can take a look at if you need to.)  She also did my make-up which I have to say I was definitely nervous about.  I have very senitive skin and was totally afraid.  I also have a birthmark on my cheek which I have special make-up for and brought with me just in case.  She did an AWESOME job!! I was a little hesistant at first with it and waited for her to finish and OMG…..I LOVED it!!!!  This girls in the spa know what they are doing, fear not ladies!  (FYI….they used MAC products on me.)  My mom and all my girls had their hair done and loved it. One of my girls had her make-up done as well and loved it too.

 

I went back to my room to get ready.  Our photographer, ANEL was there to take the “getting ready†pictures.  Ana, came to deliver my flowers and they were perfect!! I had sent her a picture of the flowers I wanted and they were exact. 

 

PHOTOGRAPHER:  Anel (the photographer) is AMAZZZZINGGG!!!!!!! She is a true professional and managed to capture emotions and the energy of the night.  We booked her for the full day photos and she is worth every penny!!!!!  We are sooooo happy we asked for her.  

 

At 6pm, Ana came to get us and walked us down to the beach.  We got married at the north beach closer to the Oceana restaurant.  It was definitely more private there and it was perfect.  Ana started to tell the girls, one by one, to head down and then finally it was my turn!! Ana communicates with her workers via walkie-talkies to make sure everything is right.  We got the sound system package for the ceremony and I am so glad we did because no one would have been able to hear us without the microphones they gave us.  The sound technician was perfect, didn’t miss a beat. I had so many different songs to play…one for the girls, one for me, one for the sand ceremony, one for the signing of the certificate and two for the bride/groom exit. ALL perfect!!! We asked for Linda, the officiant who spoke English well and did a great job.  We had two readings from our cousins which she incorporated into the ceremony.  We also chose to read our own vows.  I had made copies for Ana and she gave it to Linda beforehand so she was well aware.  Everything was very smooth and I couldn’t believe how relaxed I was.  Weather was PERFECT.  The ceremony lasted for about 30 mins.  After that, we took family/friend photos on the beach.  The cocktail hour began at 7pm so everyone headed to the Jazucci area where Ana had set everything up and kept it private for us.  My husband and I stayed on the beach to take some more photos with Anel.  We asked her if we could make the end of the cocktail so it was about 10 minutes before the end when we showed up.  The Caribbean trio was leaving as we walked up to it….ohh welll, everyone said they were good and even took requests.  All I had at the cocktail hour was the shrimp satay and it was really good!  Ana came to let everyone know that the reception area was now open and that we should all head over to the pool deck. 

 

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[futureMrs.S 2011]

Continued.........

 

RECEPTION:  I only had the best man and maid of honor make a special entrance which the DJ did perfectly... however, when he announced our name….He pronounced it totally wrong!!!!  We all laughed about it and I took it very lightly but you really should make sure, as a DJ, that you know how to pronounce the bride and groom’s last name!!!!  I mean come on…that’s your job, no???  hahaha…We went with the resort’s DJ and overall he was very good.  I had a list of songs for him that I had emailed him before we got there.  When we had a meeting with him the day before, he had all my songs in a folder for us to listen to just to make sure it was exactly what we wanted.  We also planned out all of the special dances we wanted and when we wanted them.  I should have told him how to pronounce our name here!!!!!! lol

 

RECEPTION FOOD/CAKE:  We chose the carribean buffet and everyone loved it.  We especially loved the bbq area with the beef kebobs and the ribs. Yum!!!  It was all set up so nicely. We had our own private waiters who actually would carry your plates back to your seat for you.  We upgraded our cake to make it a little more special than the plain one layer cake that’s given to you in the package.  We chose the tres leches cake and it was yummy!!!

 

We had an absolute wonderful, amazing time!!!!!! We are so happy we picked this resort.  We would do it all again in a heartbeat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

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[7jax]

asanyc,

 

I agree it's pretty ridiculous to charge per head for dinner at an all-inclusive resort.

We were thinking about renting out a restaurant for our reception to save some money, such as Seaside. But, they charge $35/pp for a minimum of 40 people in order to do this. So it's totally not worth it, in my opinion, unless you have over 40 people. We will have somewhere around 32 people. Plus, the restaurant reservation is only for 2 hours, as opposed to 3 hours for a silver/gold dinner. So now we're back looking at the wedding packages...

 

Regarding the silver/gold dinners:

The Wedding Guide says "Menu only applies for Dreams of Love & Dreams Ultimate Wedding Package". I guess this means you can't simply pay (add on) for a sit down dinner with the complimentary Wedding in Paradise package to save money?

[futureMrs.S 2011]

continued....

 

Some of my tips…..be prepared with what you want and they’ll make it happen.  Have copies of lists of songs, or readings etc. to hand to your coordinators.  I bought personalized napkins for the cocktail hour and reception but they were left on the bar tables and hardly used.  They couldn’t leave them on the tables because it was too windy…I would have done without thoses. I bought chair sashes for the ceremony and they moved them to the reception chairs for no extra cost.  I had high heels for the reception on the deck and there was no problems. I also bought high flip flop wedges for later on at night.  We had the smaller lighted dance floor and it was a little tight for us.  We were 23 and all love to dance so it was a tiny bit on the tight side. My oot (out of town) bags were a huge hit!!!  Totally happy I did those. 

 

FYI….Ana never wrote anything down when I asked her for special requests and this had worried me a little…..she got every single thing that I asked for correct.  I was super specific with how I wanted everything to look and she did it perfectly.  I was super pleased. 

 

 

Things I brought down with me…..

 

Ceremony:

Sand ceremony and sand- bought from Michaels Craft store

Coral for the rings - bought at the dollar store

Sand dollars for the seating chart- bought at the dollar store

Bubbles and fans- party city and Oriental Trading

 

Reception:

Maracas- bought from AMOLS.com

Parasols for the girls- bought from Oriental Trading (loved them!!)

Cake cutting utensils- was a gift from my mom

Chair sashes- weddinglinensdirect.com

 

 

If there’s any questions I could possibly answer, don’t hesitate to ask….This forum was a huge help for me and I would love to give back!!! 

 

Happy planning to you all….enjoy every moment and try not to stress too much…it really is a DREAM come true…. 

 

PS.  Sorry the review was so long!!

 

HAPPY PLANNING!!!!!

 

 

[LindsayMichelle]

Sharon,

Oh no...I hope everything is okay. Let me know if you want to talk or anything..You can e-mail me: [email protected]. I'm looking forward to meeting you still!

[LindsayMichelle]

FutureMrsS. Amazing review and congrats to you!!! Sounds like everything went amazing for you!!! I am crossing my fingers for good weather because it sounds like it is raining a lot right now?

Can't wait to see your pictures!!

[futureMrs.S 2011]

HERE'S OUR SLIDESHOW......

 

http://240611steiger.dreamsriveriacancun.adventurephotos.com.mx/ 

 

 

[dimplesandsuga]

Well you have convinced me to switch up on Ana, but she may be good after all so we will see. I didn't know when I should go and buy my dress. I wanted to loose a zillion pounds before I got my dress but I know which one....Maggie Sottero Raye!  I CAN'T WAIT!!! 

 

Originally Posted by LindseyM 

I know!!  We're July of next year and pretty much all planned out already!  I even got my dress already!  Now it's hurry up and wait.  When I was there Jorge told me that last May they did 62 weddings!!  They totally know what they're doing.  I've put all my trust in Yamina. 
 

 

 

[LindsayMichelle]

Evelyn, thank you for posting your slideshow! You looked absolutely stunning!! Everything looked so beautiful! Our wedding is in less than two weeks and we have a lot of things similar to yours..colors, chair bows, locations, even the same sand ceremony set I had been stressing lately with work and final planning details, but watching your slideshow made me so excited again!

 

I hope for weather as beautiful as yours!!! We are getting married around the same time.. how was the temperature?

 

Congrats again!!

[dimplesandsuga]

So what about legal weddings down there, has anyone heard about getting married legally there being a problem or are some of you getting married in the US? We are still trying to figure out what to do with this, we started off going all the way legal in MX, then heard you will have to wait months to get your lisense and the extra cost are not worth is trying to get it translated so we said, ok, we'll get married state side when we return but I don't know if I want to do that either