twixygrl

I let my photographer suggest the time. I wanted to make sure we had enough light and enough time to do pics before sunset. We even did some of our family pictures before the ceremony so we had enough time to fit them all in. I got married in November. My ceremony started at 4pm. Cocktail hour from 4:30-5:30 and then dinner around 5:45 (after our entrance and first dance). I can't be sure, but I think dinner was over by 7pm. The music ends at 10:30pm at Dreams, and I felt that this gave us plenty of time for dinner and dancing.

Quote: Originally Posted by salomeh Hi, Your pictures turned out AWESOME!!!!! I love you hair and your dress! I am glad to see everything turned out beautiful. Our site visit was great! It was great meeting you and getting to see all of your pictures. The flower in your hair looked great in pictures, was it real? Take care, Salomeh I actually ordered a real flower through my wedding coordinator, and suzanne morel's staff brought it to the room. The flower was a little torn and brown and literally fell apart when we tried to put it in...LUCKILY I brought a backup flower (white rose) that I purchased online from GabbyMac...I think it was onsale for $8 and it saved my life! I was worried it was too big, but in the photos it showed up nicely!

Quote: Originally Posted by olga1708 You look great. I hope you had fun. How did you like bradley? How was the food? Hwo did you flowers and cake? Do you suggest getting the lights for under the table? I am going to write a review soon! I loved Bradley, cannot say enough good things about him, and I am thrilled with the pics. The food was excellent. Cake was beautiful, but I only had one bite and it was ok, they forgot to deliver the top layer to my room so I really don't know. No one was raving about the cake and nobody said it was awful! I think I still recommend the lights under the table. When we arrived at the reception it was still light outside so you couldn't tell...by the time it was dark I was in party mode so I didn't notice them then either. The next morning I told the WC...you forgot the lights! She laughed and said, "look at your pictures." Of course they were there, and I think it really added to the ambiance in the pictures. However, since I didn't even notice them, they probably do not add much to the ambiance of the event unless you are watching from a distance. Does that make sense? I guess the point is that at Dreams, the light the reception area so well from above that you don't notice the table lights unless you are looking in from a distance. Ok, enough for now, review soon, I promise! Let me know if you have any other questions though!

Quote: Originally Posted by Erika J Twixygirl.. your pictures are so beautiful!! I completely forgot that I was looking for the location, I had to go back and look a second time with that in mind .. LOL. I loved so many things about your wedding are you planning on writing a review? Anyways.. THANK YOU FOR SHARING Thanks so much for your kinds words, we were so pleased with every aspect of the wedding. I just got back on Saturday and of course things are crazy at work...I am working on my review, it should be up this weekend some time!

Quote: Originally Posted by ultimateme143 Everything looked beautiful. Especially your dress. We have the same one!!! The dress was a hit. I guess the dress is always a hit, but I was so pleased with it and the way it came out in pics. I am sure you will be thrilled, and I know you will look fantastic.

We had kids and we did send them to the Explorers Club during the week, but not during the wedding. The club closes at 9:00pm so it is possible to do that for the wedding and at least part of the reception if the parents are ok with it. We had enough kids and they were old enough that when we sent them together we knew they would take care of each other and they all had a blast. Another consideration is that what if the parents decide not to force the kids to go, and then you are a a bunch of seats short because the kids show up. I would be more worried about that then the cost. As a parent, I only sent my little girl when she wanted to go and never forced her to go if she didn't want to. Plus the kids might be reluctant to miss out on the big event. I would be careful in judging how parents will react to sending the kids away. Some of our group would not send their kids to exploerers club (mostly the younger kids). Depending on how many kids you are having, it might not save you that much. We only paid 12.50 per kid over age 2. The kids were involved in the wedding and had a blast at the reception, but I know that many people prefer adults only. Another consideration, if your main concern is not wanting kids at the wedding, would be to hire a nanny to care for just your groups kids and maybe swing them by the party to say hi but otherwise you would basically be providing the child care which would make the parents more comfortable, but would be more expensive in the end.

Everything else could have been handled by my Dreams WC Mariana. My outside WC handled my flowers and the music and cake, but the rest was handled by Mariana, the wedding coordinator that Dreams provides. In my opinion if you have already found Dreams the hard work is done. The WC there are more than equipped to handle any needs you have. There are so many resources on this forum that I honestly beleive you do not need an outside coordinator. In fact, at times, having two coordinators was almost more difficult. Even thought my WC work together all the time and work perfectly together, and this might not be the case for all outside WC, in hindsight, I would just have used my Dreams coordinator if I knew from the begining that I was getting married there. I am sure you will find what works best for you! Let me know if you have any other questions!

I am back, everything was perfect. Our group had so much fun at dreams! I got to met Salomeh while we were there. Salomeh- how did your hair turn out? I was the rest of your site visit?? Quote: Originally Posted by olga1708 When are you coming back? Cant wait to see the pictures. Quote: Originally Posted by JGAMMAGIRL77 I'm also getting married in Nov. 09 and haven't decided on a the location for the reception. Pictures will be greatly appreciated. :-) Here is our online wedding gallery link: Cabo Wedding Photography- powered by SmugMug I think you can see some of the location pics, the gazebo and oceana terrace. Let me know if you have any questions!

Mariana was my coordinator at Dreams and it does take several days for a response. In most cases, an immediate response is not necessary but in this case it may be more important to you. I would definately get on the phone and lock in your date. After that you have plenty of time so you eventually get used to the delay. It takes some getting used to, as I really get in the groove and want to make a bunch of decisions all at once and finalize everything immediately. It was hard for me to adjust but I eventually did and even toward the end, I knew my WC would respond when she could so I didn't let it stress me. As far as nickle and diming, that was not my experience at all. Dreams was very accurate and charged me exactly what was quoted, if I caught a mistake they fixed it right away. I did not find any hidden fees, extra charges or suprises. I was thriled with the service we received from our WC and our experience at the resort. Good luck!

I just got back from on Saturday and I visited all of the places that people are suggesting on this thread so you can't go wrong! I am basically just reinforcing what others have said! We had a blast at Mango Deck. It is much bigger then the office. They also had better drink specials then the office... 2 for 1 7am-7pm. Mango Deck and the office are literally seperated by inches so everytime we were down there both places had a similar vibe. I loved Sunset De Mona Lisa. We had the most amazing table with the most amazing sunset. I would have loved to have an event there for all my guests. It is such a neat restaurant. The We also hung out at Nicki Beach at ME by Melia which is just a little bit up the beach from The Office and Mango Deck. They had the best mojitos and a pretty young fun vibe. They had a DJ during the day and then an outdoor restaurant that overlooks the beach area. The bar inside and the night club were cool too. I have not heard of others planning events there but it would be worth an inquiry I think!

We are back, everthing was perfect! Bradley Fraser was our photographer. He was wonderful and we are thrilled. Here is our online wedding gallery link: Cabo Wedding Photography- powered by SmugMug Enjoy!

Does anyone remember the bride that posted her review of dreams and said that her group got some strange rash She even posted pics of it. I was just wondering because we are honeymooning with the same rash! Not sure if we should go to the doctor or if we can just pick something up in town. If anyone knows would you pm the link to that thread please do, I would appreciate it! The wedding was perfect, will write a review when I get home! Thanks!

Everything looks great! Wishing you all the best in your marriage! Thanks for sharing!

Quote: Originally Posted by Reluctant Beach Bride I absolutely love everything you did and am definitly going to refer to this thread for inspiration when my time comes. I hope I can muster the creativity to be as detailed, every aspect of your trip and wedding is going to be amazing. Would you mind sharing how you did the notebooks? They are AWESOME! I purchased the books from Oriental Trading (DYO! HARD COVER SPIRAL NOTEBOOK) they were 8 for $9.95. I then designed each of the pages, printed in color, cut them out. I pasted three pages of the notebook together to make the pages more sturdy and make the notebook appear more full. Finally, I pasted in the 19 pages I designed into the notebook. I used a sticker for the front cover. On the inside cover I used a self adhesive business card holder from Office Supplies | Buy Discount Office Supplies, Office Furniture, Chairs, Breakroom Supplies, School Supplies, Ink And Toner (Vinyl Holder, 2"x3-1/2", 10/PK, Clear). I purchased 50 for 13.45 including shipping. I printed the photoshare cards through Vista Print and stuffed a couple in each book. I will try to get the templates for the pages soon. I had a friend design them in publisher and he is going to convert them to adobe for me. I asked him to do it earlier in the week because I just knew someone would ask for them! By the way, the books are amazing, but they are SO much work. I am not sure if you have a big group or not, but it is a serious time commitment. If I had to do it again I would take it to kinkos or print it on card stock myself and then have them cut it and put in a spiral binding. With 19 pages it would have been worth it considering the amount of ink and cutting and the minor cost of the binding at kinkos it might even have been cheaper. Good luck!

Quote: Originally Posted by kerryjbrown This looks absolutely amazing!!! You have done a great job, it is goign to look fabulous! I have one questions. How did you do your chapstick labels. I have done mine 2x with 2 different types of labels and cannot get them to stay stuck, they keep unraveling. Thanks! I ordered the chapstick from LipBalmExpress.com and I love it! I ordered the watermelon flavor and it smells great. The cost was around $57.00 for 100 lip balms and shipping. You pick the color of the cap and the text and you get three lines to type in your info...it was SO easy. You probably will have to use super glue or rubber cement or one of those multisurface glues in the hardware section to get it to stick to the plastic. Goodluck!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Sparkles8300 Everything looks fantastic! I love the shirts that will make for a cute group pic if you get everyone to wear them at the same time! Do you have the template for the water bottles? Congrats! I do have the template for the water bottles. I will post the info here and PM it to you. I got a message from Tara (married at Dreams Los Cabos) who said the labels were a little bit too short. She said about an inch. I tried them on a standard size arrowhead bottle and they were also short but not by much. The website has the template in word and PDF free to download, and you just design it yourself. Labels by the Sheet 1/2 x 7 1/2 Rectangle Water-Resistant White Polyester Laser Label Sheet The only larger size is 1 1/2 x 9 Rectangle Water-Resistant White Polyester Laser Label Sheet so you would probably just leave an inch or so blank on one side of the label and then when you attach them that would be the overlapping part that is covered from view.

Quote: Originally Posted by MarieSam Wow Melissa, your planning post is so inspiring!!! I LOVE all the details of your wedding ~ your guests are gonna be blown away by your creativity and thoughtfulness. Did you make your own placecards? I LOVE the palm tree accent on them. And where did you get your OOT bags? They are fabulous! And I'm inlove with your logo'ed tanks and t-shirts ~ everything is SOOOO impressive Thanks for your kind comments~ I purchased the place cards from PartyCity, they are the white with silver border, 6 to a page. I downloaded the template from the company which had a nice font, and just filled in the names. The palm tree accent is a sticker. We got the OOT bags from cheaptotes.com, they are called "canvas teachers tote (Natural & Royal Blue)" and were about 3.99 each. They are HUGE and very durable! I really like them and feel they were worth the extra few bucks.

Kids OOT Bags A lot of Stuff: Tube, Beach Ball, Handheld motorized fan, diving sticks, water ball, stationary, pens, stickers, paper dolls, Frisbee, water guns, bubbles, sun block, kite, paint and marker sets, sunglasses. So, I think that is it! Phwew! I was taking pictures and packing, so I now have a grand total of 8 suitcases ready to go! Cabo here I come!

CD with Mexico Vacation Music Invitation to Welcome Dinner Proof Actual Invite T-Shirt Mens T-Shirt & Womens Ribbed Tank Door Hanger with White Erase Board/Market

Guest Notebook Here are the pages we included: Photoshare Card, Welcome letter to Guests, Schedule of Events, Dreams map, FAQ, Guest Directory, Tourist Corridor Map, Dreams Photo, Dreams Restaurants, Dreams Bar, Orientation to Cabo, Overview Map, Map of Downtown Cabo, Map of Downtown San Jose, Conversion Charts, and Spanish Translation Pages. You can see some of them below. We put a photosharing card in a business card insert on the first page.

First Aid Kit Included in the first aid kit are the following items: Pepto Advil Alka-seltzer Chapstick (2) personalized with name and date Excedrin Immodium (2) Dramamine Emergen- C (2) Sunscreen packet Template First Aid Kit Chapstick

OOT Bag For Guests The bag includes the following items, most of which are pictured below: 2 travel Mugs Guest Notebook First Aid Kit CD with Mexico Vacation Music Post Cards (6) Playing Cards Invitation to Welcome Dinner T-Shirt The Bag Travel Mugs Postcards Special thanks to JessicaM and CheeseDiva for the templates and photos I used for the post cards.

Music Selections I am posting my music because it was so hard for me to decide on this many selections! I felt like I had music coming out of my ears planning this wedding, it was the hardest part for me! I will spare you the details of our dinner and reception playlist, but here are the other selections. Welcome Dinner Photo Montage Video Song Selections Crosby, Stills and Nash- Teach your Children Five For Fighting - 100 Years George Thorogood -Bad To The Bone Jimmy Hendrix- Fire Better Together- Jack Johnson Video Song Selections (For Wedding Videographer) DJ Sammy- Were In Heaven (Slow Version) This is the time of My life- David Cook Michael Buble- Everything Photographer Slideshow Selection (For Wedding Photo Slideshow) Im yours- Jason Mraz Ceremony Selections (Performed by Flute/Guitar Duo) Groom’s Entrance ~ Jesus Joy of Mans Desiring Prelude ~ Somewhere over the rainbow Processional of Bride ~ cannon in d major Recessional ~ i'm a beliver Reception Selections Entrance of parents and bride and groom- Song: Crazy in Love/Beyonce Jay-Z First Dance- Song: Norah Jones/Love me Tender Father Daughter Dance- Song: Fleetwood Mac, Landslide (live version) Mother Son Dance- Song: Mama, Boys to Men Guests First Dance- Song: Lets Get It Started/Black Eyed Peas Cake Cutting- Song: Pour Some Sugar on Me/Def Lepord Last Dance- Song: Please don’t stop the music/Rhianna Guest CD for OOT Bag 1. Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffett 2. Arranca - Manzanita 3. When The Sun Goes Down - Kenny Chesney 4. Tequila - The Champs 5. Hot, Hot, Hot - Buster Poindexter 6. Bamboleo - Gipsy Kings 7. Tequila Sunrise - The Eagles 8. Oye Como Va - Santana 9. Stays In Mexico - Toby Keith 10. Chica Me Tipo - Sublime 11. La Bamba - Ritchie Valens 12. South Of The Border - Frank Sinatra 13. Island In The Sun - Weezer 14. Cancion Del Mariachi - Los Lobos 15. Mexico - James Taylor

Reception Location with Chinese Lanterns Place Cards Luminaries Champagne Glasses (An Engagement Party Gift) Cake Table Sign Cake Boxes Cake Cutting Set (Personalized through Oriental Trading Company) Candles (For Table and Luminaries)

Flower Inspiration Pics Bride’s Bouquet (Cobalt Blue Ribbon) Boutonniere Mother & Grandmother’s Boquet Tables at Reception Tall Vase with 10 white Calla Lilies, 2 smaller vase with one calla, Cobalt Blue Linens and Chair Ties