DREAMS TULUM brides please post here!

[julieanddonnie]

I recently had my wedding in May at the Dreams Tulum property and it was amazing! We had 42 guests attend and worked through a company called Destinationweddings.com. I have some advise for things to look out for with both the hotel and a destination wedding company!

 

Dreams Tulum:

 

The property was amazing! Here are my suggestions:

1. Ask to be placed in the newer buildings! Some of my guests forgot and the arrangements were nice, but the newer buildings are much nicer.

2. Have a direct transfer from the airport! The direct transfer is about 1 hour and 15 minutes to the propery. If you have to stop at other hotels it did take some of my guests 2+ hours to arrive!

3. Watch out for the photographer and his pricing if you want to buy pictures outside of the package. I had trouble with him trying to over charge me and him wanting me to sign documents that were not describing what I was buying.

4. Ask how many weddings per day! I was told two, but there were four on my day- but honestly I wouldn't have guessed that there were four based on the wonderful service and attention I recieved.

 

PICKING OUT DETAILS/BLOOD TESTS

We were upgraded to a honeymoon suite, but instead chose a Jr Suite right off the pool for no extra charge because we had brought so many guests. We had the Ultimate Wedding package. We met with Landy, the hotel wedding coordinator, on the second day we were there. Their website and the documentation they send you is great and you are totally prepared. You need a blood test- which was fine they had a medic there that showed us the needles in the package, used alcohol and didn't leave a mark on us! He was great. We had our parents as our witnesses and all they needed was their passports. We picked out the locations where we wanted out activities.

We chose the Beach ceremony (all flowers were included to match my bouquet), the lobby balcony for our cocktail party (while we took pictures) and El Patio for our reception- we also had a Mariachi band (Landy's wonderful suggestion) playing during dinner and then a DJ for a couple hours after dinner. It was beautiful!

 

HAIR and MAKEUP

I went into my hair and makeup appointment not have a clue what I wanted. I have chine length hair but wanted it off my face, because it was 95 on my wedding day! She made me look like my hair was super long and the makeup she applied was perfect- I do not wear a whole lot and this was my first time getting my makeup done by someone else. She was wonderful, I gave her hugs and basically all the cash I had on me because I was so pleased!

PHOTOS

Our pictures can all be viewed at Donnie Franzen :: PowerMove Central. (I cannot seem to upload any, they are probably too big!)

 

We stuck with the inhouse photographer and videographer- both were amazing and took great shots! Very creative and really captured the beach wedding. We ended up buying the CD with all of our pictures for $345.75 extra, but I had to fight with the manager for that price (this is where I had trouble negotiating, but let Landy know and received an apology email from the photgrapher about an hour later).

 

WEDDING PLANNER

I didn't need to worry about a thing- Landy made sure that our ceremony and reception were flawless. She would check in with us every 30 minutes to see if there was anything that she could do.

 

STAFF

The staff was more than happy to help with anything! At the pool you develop a relationship with a couple servers that literally watch for your drink to get low and after day two they know what you drink and just keep them coming. The activities pool had entertainment and games then the same people would dance at the club! So you get to know them quite well too. No one expects a tip, but they are very grateful when you do give them one. We tipped $20 every other day just because they were so great!

 

I would certainly reccomend Dreams TULUM! It was unforgetable!

 

The travel company destinationweddings.com.

I was assigned three different consultants... the first one was the reason I chose to work with the company, but due to a death in her family, I was assigned a new consultant. His name was David Victor. He was the most disorganized person I have ever met with. First he told me I wouldn't like the Dreams Property and he worked exclusively with an other resort in the Mayan Riv. He was upset that I did not want to change my mind as I had done my fair share of research and had already made up my mind.

 

He quoted a bunch of my guests to arrive after the date of my wedding, and was just disorganized so I had to request a new consultant. I then worked with Christine Gulino who was fantastic! She got me an upgrade to the honeymoon suite and was very attentive to my requests!

 

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

[Blkatz]

thanks for the review! Is El Patio outside or inside? Did you have music walking down the aisle?

[alin & mako]

LINENS: When I was there for my site visit Sandra said she had started working with a new company that rented linens. She showed me their brochure and they had tons of stuff. I am doing Chocolate and Red and Jody is doing Teel and they had both of our colors and they were very pretty. I almost wanted to change to Teel! I don't think it is expensive to rent, but don't remember the price. She said she was going to try to take pictures of the different color linens or post a web site to look at them on but she still hasn't.

 

SPREADSHEET: I saw my spreadsheet during my meeting with her but it didn't occur to me to ask her for a copy. Bummer, that would be nice now. I wonder if we e-mailed Landy if she would send it to us. It is just one basic page but it has your colors, times, names, places to do things, flowers, food, cake, everything. I'm going to e-mail Landy. I'll let you guys know if I get a copy.

[Bianca]

sunbride--- how big were your starfish?

[can't wait!]

Quote:

Originally Posted by julieanddonnie I recently had my wedding in May at the Dreams Tulum property and it was amazing! We had 42 guests attend and worked through a company called Destinationweddings.com. I have some advise for things to look out for with both the hotel and a destination wedding company! Dreams Tulum: The property was amazing! Here are my suggestions: 1. Ask to be placed in the newer buildings! Some of my guests forgot and the arrangements were nice, but the newer buildings are much nicer. 2. Have a direct transfer from the airport! The direct transfer is about 1 hour and 15 minutes to the propery. If you have to stop at other hotels it did take some of my guests 2+ hours to arrive! 3. Watch out for the photographer and his pricing if you want to buy pictures outside of the package. I had trouble with him trying to over charge me and him wanting me to sign documents that were not describing what I was buying. 4. Ask how many weddings per day! I was told two, but there were four on my day- but honestly I wouldn't have guessed that there were four based on the wonderful service and attention I recieved. PICKING OUT DETAILS/BLOOD TESTS We were upgraded to a honeymoon suite, but instead chose a Jr Suite right off the pool for no extra charge because we had brought so many guests. We had the Ultimate Wedding package. We met with Landy, the hotel wedding coordinator, on the second day we were there. Their website and the documentation they send you is great and you are totally prepared. You need a blood test- which was fine they had a medic there that showed us the needles in the package, used alcohol and didn't leave a mark on us! He was great. We had our parents as our witnesses and all they needed was their passports. We picked out the locations where we wanted out activities. We chose the Beach ceremony (all flowers were included to match my bouquet), the lobby balcony for our cocktail party (while we took pictures) and El Patio for our reception- we also had a Mariachi band (Landy's wonderful suggestion) playing during dinner and then a DJ for a couple hours after dinner. It was beautiful! HAIR and MAKEUP I went into my hair and makeup appointment not have a clue what I wanted. I have chine length hair but wanted it off my face, because it was 95 on my wedding day! She made me look like my hair was super long and the makeup she applied was perfect- I do not wear a whole lot and this was my first time getting my makeup done by someone else. She was wonderful, I gave her hugs and basically all the cash I had on me because I was so pleased! PHOTOS Our pictures can all be viewed at Donnie Franzen :: PowerMove Central. (I cannot seem to upload any, they are probably too big!) We stuck with the inhouse photographer and videographer- both were amazing and took great shots! Very creative and really captured the beach wedding. We ended up buying the CD with all of our pictures for $345.75 extra, but I had to fight with the manager for that price (this is where I had trouble negotiating, but let Landy know and received an apology email from the photgrapher about an hour later). WEDDING PLANNER I didn't need to worry about a thing- Landy made sure that our ceremony and reception were flawless. She would check in with us every 30 minutes to see if there was anything that she could do. STAFF The staff was more than happy to help with anything! At the pool you develop a relationship with a couple servers that literally watch for your drink to get low and after day two they know what you drink and just keep them coming. The activities pool had entertainment and games then the same people would dance at the club! So you get to know them quite well too. No one expects a tip, but they are very grateful when you do give them one. We tipped $20 every other day just because they were so great! I would certainly reccomend Dreams TULUM! It was unforgetable! The travel company destinationweddings.com. I was assigned three different consultants... the first one was the reason I chose to work with the company, but due to a death in her family, I was assigned a new consultant. His name was David Victor. He was the most disorganized person I have ever met with. First he told me I wouldn't like the Dreams Property and he worked exclusively with an other resort in the Mayan Riv. He was upset that I did not want to change my mind as I had done my fair share of research and had already made up my mind. He quoted a bunch of my guests to arrive after the date of my wedding, and was just disorganized so I had to request a new consultant. I then worked with Christine Gulino who was fantastic! She got me an upgrade to the honeymoon suite and was very attentive to my requests! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

Thanks for the review! I just spent the last half hour looking at your pictures. It looks like you guys had sooo much fun! I'm expecting around a similar size group...55 guests Just wondering...Is there anything you would differently?!

[nde062010]

I tried reading through all the pages regarding the private reception options but it seems things keep changing...

 

For new bookings, is seaside grill not an option for a private reception? Only beach, ballroom, and El Patio??

[can't wait!]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nde062010 I tried reading through all the pages regarding the private reception options but it seems things keep changing... For new bookings, is seaside grill not an option for a private reception? Only beach, ballroom, and El Patio??

From what I understand...it's on a "wait and see" basis. All the other options can be guaranteed in advance. Because of its popularity (I'm guessing), the Seaside Grill can only be guaranteed a month before the wedding and it will depend on availability. I think the standard is if the resort is over 70% full the Seaside Grill isn't available.

[blondie]

beautiful photos julie...where did you go horseback riding? i really want to ride on the beach like that when i go down there but couldn't find anything on the internet about horseback riding on the beach in tulum...was it close to the resort?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by julieanddonnie I recently had my wedding in May at the Dreams Tulum property and it was amazing! We had 42 guests attend and worked through a company called Destinationweddings.com. I have some advise for things to look out for with both the hotel and a destination wedding company!   Dreams Tulum:   The property was amazing! Here are my suggestions: 1. Ask to be placed in the newer buildings! Some of my guests forgot and the arrangements were nice, but the newer buildings are much nicer. 2. Have a direct transfer from the airport! The direct transfer is about 1 hour and 15 minutes to the propery. If you have to stop at other hotels it did take some of my guests 2+ hours to arrive! 3. Watch out for the photographer and his pricing if you want to buy pictures outside of the package. I had trouble with him trying to over charge me and him wanting me to sign documents that were not describing what I was buying. 4. Ask how many weddings per day! I was told two, but there were four on my day- but honestly I wouldn't have guessed that there were four based on the wonderful service and attention I recieved.   PICKING OUT DETAILS/BLOOD TESTS We were upgraded to a honeymoon suite, but instead chose a Jr Suite right off the pool for no extra charge because we had brought so many guests. We had the Ultimate Wedding package. We met with Landy, the hotel wedding coordinator, on the second day we were there. Their website and the documentation they send you is great and you are totally prepared. You need a blood test- which was fine they had a medic there that showed us the needles in the package, used alcohol and didn't leave a mark on us! He was great. We had our parents as our witnesses and all they needed was their passports. We picked out the locations where we wanted out activities. We chose the Beach ceremony (all flowers were included to match my bouquet), the lobby balcony for our cocktail party (while we took pictures) and El Patio for our reception- we also had a Mariachi band (Landy's wonderful suggestion) playing during dinner and then a DJ for a couple hours after dinner. It was beautiful!   HAIR and MAKEUP I went into my hair and makeup appointment not have a clue what I wanted. I have chine length hair but wanted it off my face, because it was 95 on my wedding day! She made me look like my hair was super long and the makeup she applied was perfect- I do not wear a whole lot and this was my first time getting my makeup done by someone else. She was wonderful, I gave her hugs and basically all the cash I had on me because I was so pleased! PHOTOS Our pictures can all be viewed at Donnie Franzen :: PowerMove Central. (I cannot seem to upload any, they are probably too big!)   We stuck with the inhouse photographer and videographer- both were amazing and took great shots! Very creative and really captured the beach wedding. We ended up buying the CD with all of our pictures for $345.75 extra, but I had to fight with the manager for that price (this is where I had trouble negotiating, but let Landy know and received an apology email from the photgrapher about an hour later).   WEDDING PLANNER I didn't need to worry about a thing- Landy made sure that our ceremony and reception were flawless. She would check in with us every 30 minutes to see if there was anything that she could do.   STAFF The staff was more than happy to help with anything! At the pool you develop a relationship with a couple servers that literally watch for your drink to get low and after day two they know what you drink and just keep them coming. The activities pool had entertainment and games then the same people would dance at the club! So you get to know them quite well too. No one expects a tip, but they are very grateful when you do give them one. We tipped $20 every other day just because they were so great!   I would certainly reccomend Dreams TULUM! It was unforgetable!   The travel company destinationweddings.com. I was assigned three different consultants... the first one was the reason I chose to work with the company, but due to a death in her family, I was assigned a new consultant. His name was David Victor. He was the most disorganized person I have ever met with. First he told me I wouldn't like the Dreams Property and he worked exclusively with an other resort in the Mayan Riv. He was upset that I did not want to change my mind as I had done my fair share of research and had already made up my mind.   He quoted a bunch of my guests to arrive after the date of my wedding, and was just disorganized so I had to request a new consultant. I then worked with Christine Gulino who was fantastic! She got me an upgrade to the honeymoon suite and was very attentive to my requests!   Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

[julieanddonnie]

Blondie,

 

We booked the horseback riding through the Apple vacations rep at the hotel. The only thing was it was about one hour away from the hotel. It was the family owned ranch and it was the only horseback riding where you could go for a swim with the horses and ride through the jungle. The others were just through the jungle.

 

To answer the other question, I really do not think I would do anything differently. El Patio was outside, but it was right off the beach so there was a nice cool breeze once the sun started to set. I would say to book the DJ a bit longer. We only had the DJ for two hours so he started while people were eating desert because we started running out of time! The food was amazing as well! Landy is amazing - I asked her for her suggestions on locations when I got there and I was so glad I went with them!

 

I highly reccomend doing excursions! We did one 5 out of the 7 days and it was totally worth adding to the entire experience and gives you and your husband some quality alone time!

[Blkatz]

I thought you were not allowed to have music outside? Can you tell us your set up for the DJ and El Patio?