Maria's Dreams Cancun Review - Pic Heavy

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Delta Airlines from Boston

Delta was great! They upgraded my FI and I to business class and then my MOH and her husband. Since Business was essentially empty, I asked if our parents could be bumped up as well and they were. It was a really nice flight down especially since we got free booze and a decent meal. The flight attendants were really nice and took care of my dress. When we landed, they announced that there was a wedding party on board and congratulated us. Our flight attendant gave us 2 bottles of champagne to take. So nice!

 

However, we changed our flight on the way back to come home a day early since Hurricane Ida was rolling in. This was a debacle and Delta charged me a fortune! I was very irritated by this. I am a platinum member and fly on Delta frequently and felt that they should have been a bit more accommodating. I will be complaining.

 

 

Arrival in Cancun

The day we arrived, customs was insane! We waited forever to get through because there were so many people coming in that day. I got out ahead of my FI and he ended up getting stopped. He had one of my bags because it was so big and heavy and they gave him a really hard time. The suitcase also had a lot of wedding stuff in it and I didn’t have receipts. Luckily, they let us through with everything but it was a bit of a hassle, so if you have receipts, save them and bring them with you.

 

Since there were 30 of us travelling together on Saturday, I arranged for transportation for all our guests from the airport to the hotel. We used Cancun Limo and I cannot say enough wonderful things about this company. They were friendly, accommodating and some if the nicest people I have ever met. Plus, their prices are super reasonable. The owner, Pedro, gave us his cell phone number and ended up taking us everywhere the week we were there. I HIGHLY recommend them to everyone. We reserved 3 vans from the airport and 4 back since we had more guests join us mid week. I will definitely use them again if I am ever back in the area.

 

 

Arriving at Dreams

Check in ran pretty smoothly. Be prepared to pay up front. It wasn’t a big deal, but I am just used to paying when you check out. I guess they do that since the resort is all inclusive. Most of us had to wait for our rooms, but not for long at all. We had a couple drinks in the lobby bar, Rendezvous, and my FI bought cigars for all the guys to enjoy outside. Before we knew it, we were in our rooms.

 

Our 1 bedroom master suite was great. When you walked in, there was a small table and chairs. Beyond that was a living room area with a couch and TV and sliding doors that led out to our balcony where we had a great view of the dolphins and the ocean. There was a large bedroom of that room and a bathroom. The room was spacious and very clean. We were both very happy with the accommodations.

 

I really can’t say enough about the staff at Dreams. Anything you want, you get with a smile. The people who work there are beyond accommodating and aim to please and make your stay fun. Every day we found ourselves interacting with the entertainment team and they were just wonderful. I especially loved mini-me and Z. Z put a night out together for us for my bachelorette. She took us to Coco Bongo and got us a private seating area. I got in for free since I was the bride and the girls all paid $35 each which included open bar. Z made sure we were treated like celebrities. No one ever had an empty glass, the shots kept coming and the staff was extremely attentive. They took me up on stage to dance and later put the spot light on me, had me drink a shot off the top of a cake and lined up one by one to give me a hug and congratulate me. We had the time of our lives that night and Z stayed with us all night to make sure we were safe. We finally were out of there at 3:30am and she had to be back at Dreams at 8:00am where she welcomed our hangovers with a smile and a little dance. She is wonderful!

 

 

 

 

 

OOT Bags

My OOT bags were a huge hit. I found straw mid-sized bags online and everyone used them as their beach bag all week. Inside we put individual thank you cards with a little note, Imodium, Pepto, Advil, Luggage tags, Bath & Body hand sanitizer, bottles of water, gum, mints, on the go drink packs, chapstick with SPF, flip flop note pads, maracca pens and glow sticks. On the first night, we all met in the lobby bar for welcome drinks and I handed them out. I was really glad we did this since people came from so far just to celebrate with us.

 

Restaurants

The restaurants overall were pretty good.

World Café: Buffest style restaurant with various theme nights. The food was always fresh and there was a great selection with something for everyone. We ate breakfast here most days and had dinner here a couple times as well.

 

Himitsu: I loved this place! It is a completely open aired Japanese restaurant. The sushi was yummy but they also have alternatives for those who aren’t sushi fans. Definitely give it a try. The ambiance is great and the waiters were awesome!

 

 

Seaside Grill: My FI and I ate here on before we separated the night before our wedding. We both had filet and it was pretty good, but a little overcooked. The medium hardly had any pink and since I like my steak mooing, it was a bit dry for me. The wait staff was great though and it was nice to sit on the tower side facing the ocean for dinner.

Oceana: I ate here once for dinner and once for lunch and dinner was by far the better meal. I had a scallop and crab leg app with stuffed grouper for dinner and it was yummy. My FI had filet and he said that was good as well. During dinner there was a guy playing the clarinet and people were dancing off and on.

 

 

The Snack Shack: loved this place! It’s a little window by the pool and a great place to grab a quick lunch to eat poolside. The fries are delicious and I was also a big fan of the ham and cheese burrito. They also serve hamburgers, chicken sandwiched, grilled cheese, etc. It’s a no frills, beach fare type of place.

 

Room Service: Yes, room service is included and many of my guests took advantage at 3am when we got back from the bars. The food was pretty good. We ordered breakfast to our room one morning and it was really nice to sit out on the balcony, watch the dolphins and just relax together before the craziness of the day began. I would definitely recommend getting up early one morning and doing this. It’s so peaceful.

 

Coco Cafe: This place has really good coffee and offers all kinds of designer frozen coffee drinks which you can opt to add liquer too. They have a variety of muffins and cookies and also do paninis for those on the go. We frequented the Coco Cafe in the mornings.

 

Swimming with the Dolphins

Swimming with the dolphins was a little pricey but I had always wanted to do it and was determined to on this trip. The people at Delphinus were very knowledgeable and we all really enjoyed it. I am so glad I finally tried it.

 

 

Wedding Coordinator A+++++++

If there is one word to describe Cecilia, it’s WOW! She is an amazing person and works her tail off. We arrived on Saturday and she called me on Sunday to introduce herself and confirm our meeting which I thought was very nice. We met Cecilia on Monday and within 35 minutes all the details of our wedding were planned. Her input was great and she was open to making whatever we wanted happen. Our rehearsal was Tuesday and she ran through everything with us. At that point I gave her all my favors, decorations, music, etc and told her how I wanted everything set up, which by the way, was perfectly done!

 

Cecilia came to the spa the morning of the wedding to check in again. We hit a spell of bad weather, which later turned into Hurricane Ida, but that’s another story. She unfortunately came as the bearer of bad news and told me it didn’t look good for our beach wedding. I had prepared myself for this since it rained the night before, but I had seen another wedding in the tower lobby and terrace and it turned out great. I asked her if she could set it up there and she informed me that a business had a reception on the terrace and I would need to use one of the ballrooms. I was heartbroken and just started to cry. I didn’t come all the way to Cancun to have my wedding in 4 walls with no view of the ocean. She called the business and asked if they could move their reception and unfortunately they wouldn’t and worked all day to make my wedding what I had dreamed of. She kept calling my FIs cell phone to give him updates so I wouldn’t get stressed.

 

Around noon, she came back to the spa with my flowers and assured me she was still working fervently to make things happen for me. She came back a half hour later with flowers from my FI, which he later told me she helped him order. He wrote in the card “No matter what happens today, I just can’t wait to marry you.†I knew no matter what, it would be the wedding of my dreams at that point.

 

Usually Dreams makes a decision about the beach wedding by noon so they have plenty of time to set up, but Cecilia held off and waited it out longer for me. She came back up to my room with her boss, Claudia, around 1:30 and told me that they would set up the wedding on the beach and also set up a ballroom in case it started to rain so we could move inside. She made my day! I was so impressed with how out of the way she went to make my day special. We lucked out and the rain held out and our wedding was perfect thanks to her.

 

The beach looked amazing and Cecilia continuously came back to check on us and make sure everything was going according to plan. She even ran and found me booby pins to fix my hair after a windy ceremony and safety pinned my veil to my dress so it wouldn’t blow away. She had all bases covered and was nothing short of AMAZING! Ladies, do not stress about anything. Cecilia makes dreams come true.

 

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B]Day Trips[/b]

We didn’t really take any trips since Dreams is so amazing and had plenty to do, but the guys did go to the golf course that is included on day. They all said the course was gorgeous and loved it, but it is an hour away so we again employed the services of our friend Pedro at Cancun Limo.

 

Spa at Dreams

The spa is fabulous! It is absolutely gorgeous inside and you immediately become relaxed. There is a hot tub with a waterfall outside, which is great for relaxing your muscles before a massage. I got a Swedish massage the second day I was there and my body was like jello after. When I was finished, I sat in the relaxation area which faced a water wall and had a glass of water while a warm aromatherapy wrap warmed my neck.

 

The day of the wedding, all of my girls were in the spa. My flower girl, junior bridesmaid and I all got manicures first thing. After that, I treated my MOH to a salt scrub and massage which we did together. Our skin felt so soft and silky after that. Then I had my hair and makeup done. The ladies did an impeccable job. Everyone looked beautiful!

 

 

 

 

On Saturday when everyone left, we got a couples massage and it was superb. It was my hubby’s first massage and he’s hooked. It was really relaxing and romantic and is a must do at Dreams Spa.

Almost everyone who attended the wedding had a treatment (or multiples) at the spa and they all raved about it. You can’t go wrong here and plan on going at least a couple times. You’ll be hooked.

 

Rehearsal

The rehearsal was quick and flawless. Cecilia directed everyone and we did a quick run through. We also discussed all the details with Cecilia that evening. We didn’t set up a formal rehearsal dinner and it worked out just fine. There was a Mexican dinner and show on the beach so we all went there and hung out before we separated for our bachelor/bachelorette nights.

 

 

 

 

Bachelorette

Two words: Coco Bongo! Wow!!

 

 

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Wedding Day

Ceremony: The ceremony was very nice. The minister was very nice and put together a lovely service. My sister wrote a poem for the sand ceremony, which added a little something extra. Overall, it was very touching and special.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Flowers: The flowers were the most vibrant things I had ever seen. They are absolutely beautiful. Ladies, go tropical! You won’t be sorry.

 

 

Cake: We got the tres leche cake and it was delicious. My DH doesn’t eat cake and even he said it was yummy. They put fresh flowers on top to match my bouquet. There were 39 of us and I did not upgrade the cake and there was plenty!

 

 

 

Dinner: Everyone said it was the best meal they had all week. We had 2 salads and scallops for an app. Then we had salmon, chicken and filet for dinner and it was all delish. I also heard everyone raving about the mashed potatoes so naturally I tried them and they were right. The veggies were great too. For dessert, we had crème brulee, tiramisu and cheesecake. I didn’t try any of them, but they looked good. I heard the cake was by far the best though. The food was endless and everyone enjoyed the meal.

 

 

Reception: OMG…fun! Everything was perfect. The dance floor reminded me of a Michael Jackson video, the centerpieces looked wonderful and everything I asked was in place. I had the time of my life and many of our guests told us it was the best wedding they had ever been to. I can’t complain about a single thing.

 

 

 

 

 

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Wait Staff: The wait staff at the wedding was great. They really worked hard to keep everyone happy and I don’t think anyone was without a drink the entire night. The waiters would randomly walk over with trays of shots and hand them out on the dance floor so we never had to leave. They couldn’t have been more attentive.

 

Photographer

We used Cancun Wedding Photography. I know there have been some horror stories about Michael Maurus, but my experience was wonderful. Michael doesn’t really shoot weddings himself anymore and has a staff that takes care of it. They were wonderful. Two photographers showed up at 2:00 to shoot stills and everyone getting ready. After that they split up. One stayed with me and the other went down to shoot the guys at the gazebo. They were very open to my ideas and were great to work with. I think they got some great shots, but I will confirm when I see the proofs…can’t wait!!

 

Videographer

We used the photographer that came with our package and he did a great job. He was really nice and had our wedding video for us the day after our wedding. We watched it when we got home and are so happy we got it. My only regret is not extending the video time since it came out so lovely.

 

DJ Mannia

We were really nervous about hiring a DJ that we never met since music really makes the party. DJ Mannia was fantastic and exceeded expectations!! The MC and the DJ were so much fun and easy to work with. They played everything we asked and had our group dancing all night long. Definitely use these guys.

 

Private Dinner

I wish I knew! We had a private dinner scheduled for Saturday, but every day after Thursday was a washout. The locations were beautiful though and the food was good at the resort so I am sure it would have been wonderful. Someone will have to let me know. Maybe if we go back for our anniversary, we’ll get to try it out.

 

So Happy

Overall, I had the wedding of my dreams at Dreams. Everything was perfect and I don’t have a single complaint, well other than the weather, which the resort has no control over. The staff went above and beyond, Cecila made our day amazing and my entire group had the time of their lives. You will not be disappointed!!!!!!!! Just look at the pics. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

 

 

 

 

[Nikki&James]

Congrats!!! You all look gorgeous..

Fab review, your beach reception piccies are amazing!! We just got mega excited looking at them as we are having the same as you.

Could i please ask what time you got married? We have said 4pm on 5th Dec 2010.

x

[carolina24]

OMG Maria!!! I was sooo excited about reading your review. Everything turned our amazing!!! You looked beautiful and everyone seemed to have a great time. It's good to hear that Cecilia did everything in her power to make sure your day was perfect. I'm glad that she's my WC. I can't wait to go!!!

Couple of questions...do you remember who your officiant was? Were they easy to understand? Did you do a TTD session?

Thank you so much for a great review!!

 

Congrats MRS!!!!!!!!!!!

[ML YoungLove]

Congrats Mrs! Fabulous review! Everything looked great and your beach reception looked like so much fun.

[*Nadine*]

Congrats! What a great review and so many pics! Nice job You looked beautiful!

[Ana]

Congratulations!!! It looks like such a fun time