Dreams Riviera Cancun 2014 Brides

[Sheaka]

Morning Dreams Brides,

 

I have a questions, if you have more than 20 guests for the wedding packages, do you have to pay additional money for the cocktail hour AND the reception or one or the other? Thank you.

[Sheaka]

@@smileitseb Hi, I hope all is well. Have you started working with the resort yet? Did they tell you how they calculate additional guests over 20? Do we have to pay for cocktail hour, food, and bar separate or one flat price?

 

Thanks.

[smileitseb]

@@Sheaka hi doll. David Carillo sent me the wedding budget planner, which is an excel spreadsheet that allows you to play with the numbers and add what u want for the wedding and find out the cost. Have you been in touch with him? He can email that to you. I'm having about 60 guests and got the dreams of love package so it was important for me to see the increment costs for guests over 20. 

 

I dont think there is 1 flat price for cocktail hour, reception dinner and open bar; there is a per guest fee for each guest over 20.

[Lynnette]

Hey brides,

 

I have a question about photography..........Anyone have a friend travel with the group thats a photographer to take their wedding pictures? Is there still a vendor fee if the photographer is a part of your group? If so what is the vendor fee?

[smileitseb]

@@Lynnette My photographer is my cousin. I asked David Carillo about this and this was his response:

 

If the photographer will stay at the resort for a minimum of 3 nights we can waive the fee.

[Lynnette]

Hi everyone,

 

Just wanted to get some help in trying to figure out if its best to have the cocktail hour and reception is the same location or different locations? Can anyone let me know what they did or will be doing? 

Thanks

[smileitseb]

Hi Everyone! Haven't been on in awhile. My wedding is on August 2, 2014 Saturday. We're expecting 87 people. 

 

Ceremony: Gazebo at 5PM

Reception: Pool Deck at 8PM

 

I'm most likely opting out of the cocktail hour to save the $2k.

 

As for decor, I'm trying to go really minimal. I haven't even finalized anything with our wedding coordinator as it is so hard to communicate w/ her. We have Ayahamint. I have so many questions but it sounds complicated just emailing her.

@@ceciile Where did you send your guests between the ceremony and reception? I dont think im having a cocktail hour either

[tkennerson]

**MY REVIEW**

 

Rehearsal Dinner: Wine Cellar

Ceremony: North Beach

Reception: Ballroom

We didn't do cocktail hour. Instead we let our guest go and refresh. The best decision we could have made. It also gave me and my hubby time to refresh before heading to the reception.

Wedding date: November 4, 2014 @ 4pm

 

Can't figure out how to leave a formal review, so I'll just post here.  We were married November 8, 2014 - Dreams Riviera.  Elisa was our coordinator.  Everything was beyond perfect.  ELISA IS AMAZING! Try not to stress. I know not talking to them on the phone can be tough but as you get closer you'll get your turn. Trust me! We went to visit the resort a few months before our wedding and met with Elisa and Claudia (the flower guru).  If your budget allows for this, I'd strongly recommend it.  It made all the difference in the world, especially for my peace of mind.

 

The only thing I'd caution you about is the wine cellar. We went there for our rehearsal dinner.  We were prepared for the $800 purchase fee (we love wine).  However, the Maitre D was taking orders from guests which drove up our tab, without our permission. We ultimately had to get management involved to get this resolved. We ended up paying about $100 more (after negotiating with them).  The guy there really tried to get over on us. Be VERY clear if you decide to book the wine cellar. I literally stomped off because he made me SO mad.  The worst part of the entire trip!

 

We also had problems getting in the rooms.  Many of my guests, including my mom, didn't get in their rooms until late that evening.  That was NOT good.  Lucky for them I knew nothing about it because they sent my hubby and I to the VIP area and we had our planning meeting directly after our check-in. My guests were also very careful about keeping anything crazy away from me. All guests booked through my travel agent so there was no reason for the mix-up.  What I was eventually told is they overbooked.

 

We used an outside vendor for our personal flowers - Floreria Riviera. This saved us a bunch of money and the personal flowers were beautiful. I didn't have to pay the outside vendor fee, because I didn't tell the coordinator.  We met the vendor outside the hotel. All other flowers (and we had lots) were ordered through the hotel. They were beautiful! The cake was pretty, but in hindsight I probably would have gone with something cheaper, also the colors were slightly off (although still beautiful).  We used their cake vendor.

 

My biggest disappointment (in regards to vendors) was the photographer.  We went with Adventure Photography, the photographer referred by the venue.  We should have hired someone outside and spent the extra money.  I have pretty high standards when it comes to photography and they didn't meet them.  We had lots of details and special moments that she really missed We also didn't know who our photographer was until like the day before the wedding.

 

If you're getting married in November, I'd strongly recommend moving your wedding to about 4pm.  We actually moved ours up twice while we were there.  I want to say originally it was scheduled for 5.  We moved it up to 4pm.

 

Lastly, I brought an Event Planner with me.  She was contracted as a month of coordinator. If your budget allows this, I would ABSOLUTELY make the investment.  She handled everything (including getting everything back home), which made my life SO MUCH EASIER. She also dealt with my guests, which was critical given the room situation. I was able to relax and be the bride.  For me, the ability to enjoy my experience was paramount. Bringing someone with me was likely the smartest decision we made. It was my hubby's gift to me. It was WELL WORTH the cost.  Absolutely WOULD recommend, especially if you have lots of details and guests.  We had a total of 54 guests.

 

For make-up I used Styling Trio.  I purchased the service that included ceremony and a trial run that I used for the rehearsal dinner.  My hair stylist came with us, so I didn't use any hair service there.  I would recommend this company.  Very professional and the make-up was really nice.

 

As for linens, I'm part owner in a linen rental company and brought my own.  The chargers were rented through the venue.  All stationary we brought with us.  I used the venue's DJ and lighting company.

 

For the reception we hired the cigar roller. It was set-up on the balcony and opened about an hour before the end of the reception. That was a HIT.  You'll see it in the pictures.  We brought our own cognac. My hubby is a cigar guy so this was my surprise to him.

 

Here's a link to a few pics. Let me know if you're unable to access the link or if I can answer any questions. Happy Planning ladies!  Loving married life

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10203160745089213.1073741844.1525052298&type=1&l=536f70d1c0

Also...North beach is the place to go for ceremony.  It's the most private. Also, because of all the trouble with the rooms they upgraded us to the President suite.  I was able to walk out from the balcony onto north beach.  Not sure what the rate is for the President Suite, but if you're going that route, certainly get the one on North beach.  You will NOT be sorry.

 

#DreamsRivieraReview #AdventurePhotos #StylingTrio #MonthofCoordinator #Floreria Riviera #NorthBeach #Ballroom #RivieraMexico

Edited March 6, 2015 by tkennerson

[smileitseb]

@@tkennerson thank you so much for this review!!! love your pictures and all the details. question -- when you say "personal flowers" what do you mean? like your bouquet? your colors are the same exact colors for my desired I've been trying to describe to Elisa!! 

also do you mind sharing where you purchased your earrings, love them!

i really love your chargers, I was thinking of getting plain silver chargers but your pictures have me wanting the ones you chose.

[tkennerson]

@@tkennerson thank you so much for this review!!! love your pictures and all the details. question -- when you say "personal flowers" what do you mean? like your bouquet? your colors are the same exact colors for my desired I've been trying to describe to Elisa!! 

also do you mind sharing where you purchased your earrings, love them!

i really love your chargers, I was thinking of getting plain silver chargers but your pictures have me wanting the ones you chose.

You're very welcome, and thank you for the kind words.  Personal flowers included my bouquet, all bridesmaids bouquets, the boutonnieres, corsages and petals for flower girl. I purchased my jewelry at Charming Charlies. Believe it or not they were on clearance!  The chargers I rented through Elisa. I showed her a pic of something I liked and while they didn't have what was on the pic, what she recommended was WAY better. She's so sweet.  You're going to absolutely love working with her.  Congrats and let me know if you have any additional questions.