TammyWright

i'm serious about setting it up...also, all of us gals that didnt do a TTD can do one now!! woohoo!

yeah courtney...and you have to splurge on surf and turf for us!! i thought maybe june, july-ish....

carolena, i agree with courtney that you should try to work it into a package. with juan having to travel it will be an expensive TTD session if you are getting married in cancun. waht about leigh, sol, or elizabeth medina?

juan, great job! natalie, you and lance look amazing...i agree with ann...these will be such great shots to show your little one some day. awesome!!

Quote: Originally Posted by amy&andy08 Discounted rates for BDW memebers I still need rooms! Work it girl! we get pretty good rates already there...usually alot lower than elsewhere...i am gonna try to get super, duper low rates for our BDW get together though.

dreams tulum is less expensive room rate wise... it is in riviera maya instead of cancun...cancun obviously has more stuff to do while tulum is more chill...i am a more riviera maya gal myself but that is because i live in san francisco so when i got out of the country i want quiet

Quote: Originally Posted by JaimeLynne Hahaha no way! It is kind of tempting to go buy one. I've never made a cake with more than one layer... But I think I'll try it anyways! I really think it'll mean a lot more to him - he comes from a home where his Mom made everything from scratch and he's been away from there for awhile now. He'll understand if it turns out "off".... right...? haha you could always make cupcakes with it...or just bake in a large sheet pan and frost the top...sometimes it can be a pain to do multi layers.

well, since you are on the west coast why not take advantage of it and do something like hawaii or tahiti... one of my best friends and DH's brother honeymooned in belize and loved being on the resort but said it can get dangerous off the resort...my BIL actually was chased through town one night and he is a pretty mellow, levelheaded, adventurous guy...like he drove a vw bus from oregon down through mexico on a whim... costa rica is very charming...they have small boutique hotels instead of the mega resorts...if you are gonna do caribbean what about st. lucia?

Quote: Originally Posted by naughie tell him to tell the GM in PV to sit on gaby and make sure she responds to emails!!!! you should have your TA email gaby and the sales department with a stern email...usually that gets them moving a little. Quote: Originally Posted by TammyB oh oh I got one.. Ask him to send me some of the water there.. lol i could make a killing selling that water...mwuahahaha

carrot cake is super easy to make and so yummy...especially the cream cheese frosting... this is a basic one: Quote: ingredients Cake 2 cups sugar 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil 4 large eggs 2 cups all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 3 cups finely grated peeled carrots (about 1 pound) 1/2 cup chopped pecans (about 1/2 ounce) 1/2 cup raisins Frosting 4 cups powdered sugar 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 4 teaspoons vanilla extract preparation For cake: Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly grease three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of pans with waxed paper. Lightly grease waxed paper. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and vegetable oil in bowl until combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into sugar and oil mixture. Stir in carrots, chopped pecans and raisins. Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing equally. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean and cakes begin to pull away from sides of pans, about 45 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap tightly in plastic and store at room temperature.) For frosting: Using electric mixer, beat all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth and creamy. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread with 3/4 cup frosting. Top with another cake layer. Spread with 3/4 cup frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Using icing spatula, spread remaining frosting in decorative swirls over sides and top of cake. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate.) Serve cake cold or at room temperature. Bon Appétit, October 1994 Becky Guyton: West Carrollton, Ohio this one is a little fancier but has gotten great reviews: Quote: ingredients Cake 2 1/3 cups sifted all purpose flour (sifted, then measured) 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut 1 cup dry-roasted macadamia nuts 3/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger 3 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 cups sugar 1 cup vegetable oil 4 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups finely grated peeled carrots 2 8-ounce cans crushed pineapple in its own juice, well drained Frosting 3 8-ounce packages Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 2 cups powdered sugar 3/4 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco López) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon (scant) coconut extract 14 whole dry-roasted macadamia nuts 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger preparation For cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper. Combine 1/3 cup flour and next 3 ingredients in processor. Process until nuts are finely chopped. Whisk remaining 2 cups flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and oil in large bowl to blend. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Beat in flour-spice mixture. Stir in coconut-macadamia mixture, then carrots and crushed pineapple. Divide batter among pans. Bake until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 1 hour. Run knife around edge of pans to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool completely. For frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar, then cream of coconut and both extracts. Chill until firm enough to spread, about 30 minutes. Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on platter. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over top of cake. Top with second cake layer, flat side up. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over. Top with third cake layer, rounded side up, pressing slightly to adhere. Spread thin layer of frosting over top and sides of cake. Chill cake and remaining frosting 30 minutes. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Arrange whole nuts and ginger around top edge of cake. Chill 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and chill. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.) Bon Appétit, April 2003

I have a conference call with Dreams Cabo General Manager today so if you ahve any questions/issues post them in this thread and I will try to get answers.

Quote: Originally Posted by TammyB Juan asked me if I was a cop because I knew so much about his upcoming shoots he was doing.. lol.. Hmm maybe I' am his official stalker.. lol yeah...officially you are his number 1 stalker

i want a nose job too but am also too chicken to do it...nose jobs have a long recovery...i wouldn't do it 6 months before my wedding...

that is exciting...i cant help but feel sorry for that man...last time we were waiting for tammy's slideshow...i emailed him about it an numerous others...we are such stalkers!

YAY Lee, you're back!! great review and you are right about so many things... ladies: if you/your guests don't like the room they give you, ask for another one...they give you rooms based on availibity at THAT TIME so if they know that a few people are going to check out in a few hours, it might be worth waiting for those nicer rooms....if they say nothing is available they are usually being honest...they are pretty accodating there. july weather is HOT! especially late JULY.

hyi em, i'm in san francisco also...cabo might be a great choice for you because the flight is pretty cheap and short. i got married in cabo...let me know if you have any questions.

welcome! we have a bunch of las caletas brides on here so i am sure you will find all the info you need!

we paid for our DW because we wanted to do what we wanted to do without having anyone give us their opnion...that being said, after we planned everything DH's parents insited on paying for the photographer and really would have given us more $$ for the wedding if we wanted. my parents paid for the AHR. we are both really lucky...we have 2 sets of very generous parents but also make enough so that we didnt need to ask them for anything.

Quote: Originally Posted by Ryjaxs19 GREAT review I love the pics! You guys look like you had so much fun, your making me so excited to GO!!!! OK so I asked this of someone else but how did you get the room upgrade did you have to ask? jackie, alot of times you dont even have to ask...if they have it available they'll usually give it to you...almost 1/2 my guests were upgraded w/o even asking.

Quote: Originally Posted by gkashmira We spent like 3 nights in Venice and honestly it was our least favorite of all the places we went on our honeymoon. I wouldn't spend more than maybe 2 days there. It's VERY crowded and expensive and while it's definitely a sight to see it's so overrun with other tourists that it's hard to really enjoy. If you're running short of time I would actually just skip it. Sadly that's the only place in Italy I've been so it' snot a ton of help I know. I hear fantastic things about the art in florence. great food in tuscany. i didn't like venice that much either so we stayed on an island right off venice...i forgot what it was called but all the rich italians spend their summers there...so much more quaint...we rode bikes around, had gelatto, etc.

i had a bride ship a bunch of things to mexico...gave it a bunch of time to het to cabo, filled otu paperwork exactly as she was supposed to and it never made it in time for the wedding...it ended up in tiajuana...

I realized that my review on the old forum was never moved over so here it is: Overall the week was F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!!! I could not have picked a better resort/location for my wedding. I was worried the cascade terrace (where i had reception) was not going to be private enough….but it was fine…the oceana terrace is also very beautiful…we had our welcome dinner there. Dreams Resort (A+): The resort is beautiful and just as beautiful in person as it is in the website pics. There were a lot of people of all ages there and our group loved it. It was a little bit of a downer that the beach is not swimmable but you only need to walk like 10 mins down the beach to the Hilton to swim in the ocean…or we took the bus to Costa Azul / Zippers and went into the water there but I would have been just as happy to have another pool day Cons of resort: you have to take a taxi or shuttle into cabo san lucas. you can take the bus to san jose. also, they make you shut off music around 10:30...you may be able to push it to 11:00pm. service was inconsistent and slow at times. hard to get straight anser...lots of people nodding like they understood your problem but then nothing done to resolve it. people by the main pool are chair/floatie hogs but i have a secret way to deal with them... Weather (A+++): Could I say PERFECTO! My reception started at 6pm and it wasn’t too hot at all…in fact I am so glad we didn’t start later because they day/night just fly by…By the time pics were taken, dinner served, cake cut etc. there was very little time for dancing. The Explorers Club: The explorers club was great. A friend dropped off her 3 & 5 year old and they didn’t want to leave. They had stuff planned all day like: how to make Papier Mache piñata, to collecting sea shells and the kids really loved it. Food (: The food for my welcome dinner was a Caribbean/Mexican buffet and it was fantastic! The food for my reception was also good but not as good as the welcome dinner. The service was impeccable for both events. The food at the resort was ok…not bad but not awesome either…I mean it is Mexico, people….not San Francisco. Portofino is really good. El Patio and Oceana are really good. Himitsu was not so good (my friends at there and didn’t like it). The Seaside grill has really yummy fish tacos. Breakfast at El Patio was probably my favorite meal. Room Service (B+): a couple of nights we had a poker tournament in our suite and it was so great to order food at like 2am…sometimes they took awhile though and I had to call back and be a pest....food choices limited but anyone that will bring food to my room in the middle of the night rates at least a B. Pool (A+): during the weekend the pool got busy and the best chairs were gone by 8am…even though it says not too, I would save about 10 chairs for my group THEN go to breakfast. If you want to be really sneaky, get fresh towels the night before and put them out in the morning because towel guy sometimes didn’t get out until 8:30am. Night time entertainment (A-): Pirate night was really funny….karaoke night was funny in a “she sucks and must be so embarrassed” sort of way….mime night…well I skipped that one….mimes scare me. Service (A-): overall everyone is really friendly and helpful…the shuttle service was a pain in the ass because they were really inconsistent with their policy. Like they wouldn’t shuttle 1 group because they said you had to make a reservation the night before…but when I tried to make a reservation for the next day (like they said i had to) they told me to come back in the morning to make a reservation for the same day….uhhh…ok. Or some hosts would not combine tables for larger groups even though there were 4 table right near each other…she would tell us it was “impossible”…but the manager the day before did it with no problem. Shuttle to Cabo San Lucas: Also, I had negotiated with the hotel to have free shuttle rides into town for my wedding guests…well every time someone would try to use it, they were told it wasn’t free…so Marianna (wedding coordinator) came out and would tell the concierge/bellboy it was free…and all was good until there was a shift change and I would have to go through explaining we got a free shuttle and Marianna would have to come back down, etc…this happened like 5 times. DJ Antares (: He played what we wanted but didn’t MC…I kinda already knew that and had one of the groomsmen MC and he was hilarious so it was so much better…I think it is best to have a funny friend MC for you. He had everyone dancing so I guess no complaints. Sam Perch (A++): Videographer- ok, he was GORGEOUS and all the girls were crazy about him and he had the cutest british accent…oh wait, you guys want to know about how good he was…he came with an assistant and I would be surprised if he missed even 1 special moment of the day. He was everywhere…I would totally recommend him and he was the cheapest of all videographers I spoke to ($900 for 6 hours!)...and he was cute, cute, cute and sweet! Mariachi Band (A+): Maye booked them. Truthfully I don’t remember how they played because I was sobbing too loud walking down the aisle to hear them…I know, I am a big baby…also, when they played during the cocktail hour, I was taking pics on the beach…but no news is good news, right…they were on time and the guests loved them so enough said....update: spoke to steve (he is a musician), and hesaid these guys were awesome...they played all the right songs at the right time...i had 7 person band and they were as cute as can be! i think they are a MUST HAVE for your ceremopny. Palmela Floreria in SJD Flowers (A): turned out beautifully. i had green and pink cymbidium orchids for the ceremony and bouquets. I will post pics when I get them. Marianna (Dreams coordinator) (A): she was really great, helpful, super responsive and nice. Welcome Dinner (A++): Marianna booked casino night for us after the buffet and it was super fun…we became obsessed afterwards and had poker tournaments in our rooms almost every night. (see “food”) for more info. Spa: ok, the massage I got was awesome!! And I am such a spa whore…3 other gals got them and said they were great as well. Also, they didn’t charge my guests $20 for the spa party. Redrum Deep Sea Fishing ©: the guys probably wouldn’t do it again. 2 of the guys got really sick. Also, the crew was kind of grumpy and mean and yelled a lot but i think it was because they had to work on a sunday which they normally do not do...but steve caught a 100lb marlin and said it was beautiful. JT Watersports (B+): the sailing/snorkel trip was really fun…we had the sailboat to ourselves and lunch was really good…but it did get choppy on the way back and the last ½ hour of the trip was brutal but not the companies fault. The Office (B-): we went to dinner in town and went to “The Office”…the food was really good but SO EXPENSIVE! I am talking $50-80 and entrée. Thre was a band that played when you ate but they were really pushy...even if you didnt want them to pay, they played anyways and expected a tip from EVERYONE...my fiance gave them $10 and other people gave them $2-3 BUTthey were still hitting our friends for more money until they got some cash from everyone....and the flan was gross and i love flan and custard. Cabo Wabo/Giggling Marlin (C-): can I say Cougar Den?!?...unless you enjoy watching 50-something year old divorcees that have had too much sun rub themselves on 20-something year old frat guys trying to make them get hard-ons to win a prize of….FREE DRINKS….so scary and a waste of time…at least for my group.

when i was looking at las ventanas (and this could have changed)...they had a $10,000 food and drink minimum for the private reception so that could be a little expensive for such a small guest list. the one and only has a super charming chapel and the rooms are alot less than las ventanas...that might be an option.

leigh, beautiful pics!! courtney, how adorable are you and aaron!

can't wait to hear all about your wedding and see pics...i am also a dreams cabo bride!