Dreams Puerto Vallarta Brides 2012- 2014

[Jenny2014]

Hey There! Sorry very new so not sure where to post this I just booked our wedding, Novemeber 2013 dreams PVR and wondering if any has any must have tips or insite? We are both divorced so second marraige so will be small wedidng with our children and family. We had family emergency last year and had to postpone so we are just doing it now Im nervous being so close! Any tips would be appreciated!! Thanks!!

I have been to Dreams (got engaged there), so I know what it is like, the service you can expect and how absolutely wonderful it all is! What sort of advice/insight are you looking for? Ask any question and we will all do our best to answer it!

[kristadawn]

Thanks:) Ive been to dreams Puerto Adventuras in Mayan and loved it!! Just wondering i guess about the wedding planning , are they flexible with changes? , ideas on how to incorporate kids in ceremony and the legalities of it ? Im a planner and with so quick now i feel overwhelemed. how did you keep costs down or within reason and not out of hand? using photography from dreams , wasnt sure about the small number of pictures or is this flexible? sorry kind of all over the place! lol..

[Jenny2014]

Originally Posted by kristadawn 

 

Thanks:) Ive been to dreams Puerto Adventuras in Mayan and loved it!! Just wondering i guess about the wedding planning , are they flexible with changes? , ideas on how to incorporate kids in ceremony and the legalities of it ? Im a planner and with so quick now i feel overwhelemed. how did you keep costs down or within reason and not out of hand? using photography from dreams , wasnt sure about the small number of pictures or is this flexible? sorry kind of all over the place! lol..

 

haha! No worries! For a second, take a breath! Relax! and Congratulations!!!! It is truely wonderful you are getting married again, and want to incorporate your kids into the ceremony.

 

1.) from my experience (and from the experience of some of the brides on this thread), they aren't flexible with many changes. You can't really substitute much with the packages. The only thing that seems to be able to change is using the photography from the packages for another event instead. But you can't take anything out to make the package cheaper, or exchange the mexican trio with the mariachi band/etc (without there being an additional cost).

 

2.) There is a wonderful thread about different ceremonies you can do, that incorporate kids and family members into it. http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/4785/unique-ceremonies

 

3.) if you want to do a legal marriage at Dreams, there are quite a few steps you have to take (translating documents into spanish, getting an apostille seal, a blood test, etc. many of us are getting married at home either before or after the ceremony at Dreams simply to avoid that cost. Foe example, all the changing of documents, shipping out to them, blood tests, etc would have cost me probably easily $700-$800, if not more. Getting legally married here will cost me less than $500. So it was a no brainer for me. Plus, since we are doing it exactly one year ahead of time, it makes the wait for our big, special wedding much more bareable!

 

4.) Keeping costs down completely depends on your budget. We didn't necessarily set a budget, but I knew in my head I didn't want to go over $20,000 (two week trip included). Right now we are sitting at just below that, with a little bit of help from my parents. I took a stand, and told both sets of parents that we were only paying for 29 people, and that anyone over was on them. So they increased our invite list to nearly 80 (which is giving me major anxiety). Now I will be keeping track of who comes from their invite list versus ours, and am creating a tally of all my increase in costs (invites, save the dates, welcome bags, bonfire, etc.) because this is not something I am willing to pay for. I would sit down with your beautiful fiance, and figure out a budget. Figure out what is important to you that you absolutely could not do without (photography, dj, flowers, etc.), and what you are willing to give up. Many of us also do a love of DIY stuff, to help keep those costs down (I am making all of my invites, save the dates, reception and ceremony decorations).

 

5.) I decided to go with an outside photographer and will just use the package photo's for our bonfire. I wasn't impressed with the prices I was seeing that other brides were posting that Dreams was going to charge per picture/ additional photo's to the package. And it still remained with such a limited number of pictures. I am going with Photoshoots Vallarta, and their package price is amazing, with sooooooo many photo's.

 

WHEW. I hope this helped a little!

 

Let me know if you have any more questions!

[amysis]

Hi Krista!  Congrats on your upcoming wedding!  I cannot believe it, but my wedding is 3 1/2 weeks away at Dreams!  We leave 3 weeks from today!  Phew!

 

Jenny is right on with all her answers.  The wedding coordinators at Dreams are amazing and have been on top of their communication, which I appreciate a ton, but they are not flexible with changes to the wedding packages, and everything has additional cost.  We are doing our best to keep costs low by DIYing as much as possible and bringing things with us (bridesmaids flowers, which are fake, centerpieces, sound system, etc) but we've gotten to the point where additional cost is just a number, and if we pay for it the stress goes away (I know that's not the best thing, but we've just gotten to that point).  I've also thought long and hard about the things that are important to me, and we are putting extra money into those things.  The things that are not priority are not getting any additional money (for example, linens are not priority for us, so we are using the white linens included in our wedding package).  

 

Ok, I feel like I'm just blabbing here!  Please let me know if you have specific questions, and I'll do my best to help!

[amysis]

Oh, and the Adventure Photo will sell you as many photos as you want beyond the 50 included in the package at approximately $10/photo.

[futurekcarrera]

Thaks! The $150 for set up for DIY decorations is well worth it!! We will definitely going to be going that route as well - I have so many ideas for personal touches, there is no way I couldn't!

 

Still in early planning, so still lots of questions for those of you that have been here a while!!

 

In terms of photography, I see that some of you are using Photoshoot Vallarta, which I am also leaning towards. I haven't contacted them yet, but wondering if anyone can tell me how many images are included in the flat rate of $800 for digital files, and also what exactly is the $2000 "andale package"? Has anybody used or looked into using MacMex Photography? His prices look extremely reasonable, I'm just curious about past experiences?

 

Still unsure in the DJ vs iPod area....my FI and I are going to mull that one over, since we have about 18 months to decide I will be excited to hear about anybody going the iPod route and how it worked out!

 

Not sure if anybody has inquired about flowers outside of the traditional local flowers that they offer in the package, but I asked Fatima about peonies, english tea roses and dahlias, and she gave me a quote of $30 per stem(!!!) Needless to say, I am going to go with whats included in the package (most likely roses)

 

Also, for anybody that is doing a cocktail hour, are you going to get extra tables for that? Fatima suggested it, but I don't know if I will yet. It is $120 per table and 4 chairs, and I am unsure of the necessity? The lounge furniture is $220 for the set of 10 pieces, which I think is reasonable, and I like the look, but I am still unsure if it will get used though, thoughts? Is anybody getting it or had it?

 

Last thing (for this post at least!) Who is opting for pics before the ceremony vs. taking pics during the cocktail hour? I know its traditional to not see each other before the wedding, but it is a very cute photo op! Plus, Since we have the cocktail hour, I think it wold be nice to be a part of it.

 

There is obviously a lot on my mind, and SOO much to think about! Thanks Brides!!

[Jenny2014]

Originally Posted by futurekcarrera 

 

Thaks! The $150 for set up for DIY decorations is well worth it!! We will definitely going to be going that route as well - I have so many ideas for personal touches, there is no way I couldn't!

 

Still in early planning, so still lots of questions for those of you that have been here a while!!

 

In terms of photography, I see that some of you are using Photoshoot Vallarta, which I am also leaning towards. I haven't contacted them yet, but wondering if anyone can tell me how many images are included in the flat rate of $800 for digital files, and also what exactly is the $2000 "andale package"? Has anybody used or looked into using MacMex Photography? His prices look extremely reasonable, I'm just curious about past experiences?

 

Still unsure in the DJ vs iPod area....my FI and I are going to mull that one over, since we have about 18 months to decide I will be excited to hear about anybody going the iPod route and how it worked out!

 

Not sure if anybody has inquired about flowers outside of the traditional local flowers that they offer in the package, but I asked Fatima about peonies, english tea roses and dahlias, and she gave me a quote of $30 per stem(!!!) Needless to say, I am going to go with whats included in the package (most likely roses)

 

Also, for anybody that is doing a cocktail hour, are you going to get extra tables for that? Fatima suggested it, but I don't know if I will yet. It is $120 per table and 4 chairs, and I am unsure of the necessity? The lounge furniture is $220 for the set of 10 pieces, which I think is reasonable, and I like the look, but I am still unsure if it will get used though, thoughts? Is anybody getting it or had it?

 

Last thing (for this post at least!) Who is opting for pics before the ceremony vs. taking pics during the cocktail hour? I know its traditional to not see each other before the wedding, but it is a very cute photo op! Plus, Since we have the cocktail hour, I think it wold be nice to be a part of it.

 

There is obviously a lot on my mind, and SOO much to think about! Thanks Brides!!

 

Hey!

 

When is your wedding date? Sounds very close to what mine is!

 

I can send you the package that Photoshoots Vallarta sent me- honestly, the $200 for the full day package is WELL WORTH IT! You will get a TON of pictures. PM me your email and i will forward it over to you. It was honestly what sold me, totally and completely. As well as the link they sent me of a wedding they did at Dreams, that had every picture on it. Sooo, absolutely incredible.

 

Yeah, I am willing to pay the $150 for 12 stems of orchids. I will make due with that, but it gives me roughly 80 or more flowers, sooooo I will use them throughout!

 

We opted out of the tables for the cocktail hour. We are going to get a set of lounge chairs for 20, and if other people want to sit, the reception tables will be right there. But as my Mom pointed out, the less seating you provide people, the more mixing and mingling people will do, which is what you want! You don't want small pockets of people who don't bother talking to anyone else.... and we all knwo we have those people in our families!

 

I like the idea of pictures before the ceremony, but since my FI is so against weddings, I am forcing in those special moments, the one's he isn't even thinking about (aka seeing me for the first time in a wedding dress as I am walking down the aisle towards him). He plays it off as if he doesn't care/ couldn't be bothered to care, but I know him, and he is going to get choked up and be emotional, which is exactly how I want him! haha

[amysis]

Jenny, Photoshoots is $200 for the entire day?!  Wow...I'm kicking myself for not working with them.  How many photos do they include?

[Jenny2014]

NOOOO crap, no sorry, $2000

[Jenny2014]

and it's estimate that its around 50 photo's per hour, so for the full day, it's a heck of a lot of photo's.... and they edit all of them.