SunBride

Quote: Originally Posted by annakoonce Also, I recently booked Samuel Luna for our photography. He's gotten great reviews, but I was curious if any of the Dreams Tulum girls have used him recently? If so, what did you think? I don't think any of the past brides have used this photographer before. Quote: Originally Posted by erinrachel I am getting so excited! My wedding is June 21st at 6pm. It looks like there will be close to 20 of us. More would be fun, but I'm kind of looking forward to having a smaller group. Has anybody else been married or getting married soon at DT with fewer than 25 people? I am interested in hearing about your reception and also what your experience was for getting dinner reservations for the group. My understanding is that less than 25 people can get reservations together at any of the restaurants? I am hoping to have a group dinner the first night everyone arrives, but that will be Sat. night so if it happens to be a fiesta night we would probably just meet on the patio. I only had 10 guests, you can read my review to answer your questions. if you look at the detailed bride list on page 1, it says how many guests they had, and you could read their review too (the links don't work due to a forum upgrade, but you can just do an advanced search by username to find the reviews) Quote: Originally Posted by krista.baird Hi Erin, I'm getting married on July 10 at Dreams Tulum and I'm only going to have about 10 guests. I've been inquiring about doing dinner reservations as well, and from what I can tell on their wedding guide, they charge a setup fee of about $20 per person to "setup" your wedding table of guests in one of the restaurants. The buffet or theme night would be free. I think this is a little ridiculous if they actually charge to have you setup a table for 10 in one of the restaurants, seeing as we can just go to the restaurant ourselves and ask for a table for 12 people, at no extra cost, and we can do that at any restaurant. Even if the restaurant doesn't usually put tables together, you can request a few tables in the same area, so you are all close enough to visit together. Well the restaurants may not accommodate you with a group of 12 even if you just walk in. Their policy is that more than 10 people is a "group" and requires the special accommodations and fee. This is because it's more work for them to cater to groups of this size. That being said, you may get lucky and be able to walk into a restaurant and get a big table all together or several tables next to each other. If you are only 10-12 then I can see this being the case, but I doubt it if you are 15-20 or more. But even if they do do it it's possible you may have to wait a long time for such a big table. But you can certainly try. However if you want to do a group dinner and guarantee that everyone sits together and that you don't wait forever you're probably better off going to the buffet.

Quote: Originally Posted by OceanWonderland I'm going to be doing the 'free wedding package' and was wondering if we will still get a champagne toast after the ceremony? We are NOT having a cocktail hour, wayyy to much extra costs for no reason, but I would still love to have a celebratory glass of champagne right after saying 'I Do'. Do they serve champagne at the bars upon request, and is that free? Yeah the champagne is usually served on the beach right after the ceremony if there is no cocktail hour, for the cake, some people do it right after and others do it after dinner. Quote: Originally Posted by annakoonce Hi All! I am getting married on June 3rd at DT and will have roughly 100 guests with us. I'm sorry if these questions have already been asked, but there is a lot of info here that I am trying to sift through. We want to have our reception in the ballroom with dancing afterward. I am curious about the DJ services that they provide. I saw some reviews that said they used DJ Mania. Is that a DJ at the resort or someone that was hired from outside? The resort charges something like 250/hr for the DJ so I'm just wondering what is included in that cost. Do they have a good/loud sound system with lights/disco balls etc? Also we have a long list of songs that we would like them to play, but not enough to last through the whole night. Can we just bring our ipod with those songs loaded with instructions for when we want those songs played and have them add in songs from their database throughout the night? Any brides who have had a large group like us and had the buffet dinner option? Does it cost the same as the silver or gold packages when it is buffet and not table service? Thanks for any answers/insight! DJ Mannia is an outside DJ. A lot of people choose to book him instead of the resort DJ because he has a very good reputation. He's more expensive than the resort DJ, but a lot of brides have said it's worth the cost. Yes the buffet service is the same price as dinner option (although there isn't as much service, you do get more choices and more food so it balances out)

Quote: Originally Posted by mimi73 Can anyone tell me how the quality of the bouquets is from the resort? I am wondering if the one's supplied in the packages are very nice. Is there a flower store in Tulum that may be a more cost effective option? Thanks girls! check out page 260 of this thread where I posted pictures of past brides' bouquets. Also on page 1 there is a list of the flowers (and colors) that are available as part of the regular package.

Quote: Originally Posted by absonnek Sorry girls, this is gonna get lengthy! I just returned last week from my wedding (the Dreams of Love mid priced package, 25 guests), and we were really disappointed in how much they "nickel and dimed" us too. The previous brides who got to bargain or exchange services were lucky. A summary of our "bumps in the road": We paid $150 for the sound system for the ceremony (which lasted 7 minutes by the way) and with the wind and ocean, our guests couldn't hear it any way. Anabel had us pay the day before the ceremony for our "extras" which included 2 kids meals (going rate per hotdog is $25 +tax and service). The kids wanted to go to Explorer's club after the ceremony so we told Anabel they wouldn't need their meals...no refund. They wouldn't allow my hair and make up to be used toward another service. We had our own photographer but the resort's took pics at our rehearsal since 30 were included in the package. They were terrible (did not use the flash and never got a pic of me and my groom). Also, when I had my meeting with her she had decided where our cocktails and our reception would be...no compromising (despite filling out all the paperwork and submitting it on time). Also, don't think you can get out of paying for 2 extra adults for cocktail hour by having it near a bar and saying you'll go get your own drinks. I tried that too. We did not use the 2 boutonnieres for the guys but had to pay full price for bridesmaid bouquets. As for the dress steaming...it came back looking worse than when I sent it. To the point I had tears in my eyes. And don't forget the extra $33 for them to receive the package I sent to myself there via FedEx. For an end result of nearly an extra $600. For the positives, my flowers were gorgeous. The canopy with white chairs (no bows or flowers!) was beautiful. I got ready in my room while staring at the ocean and watching the crew set up for my big moment. The reception meal was one of the best we had all week. Our real photographer did an amazing job. No one noticed my wrinkled mess of a dress in the wind. I got married to my best friend while surrounded by those who love me (and didn't care about the lack of flowers, bows, dance, etc). My advice- keep it simple. And, if the costs related to the legal ceremony bother you, do your legal ceremony at home before you go or after you return. For us, it wasn't worth being legally married in Mexico for 2 days then waiting months on end for the marriage license to file in the US. We vowed ourselves to each other (which mattered to us) and signed the legal stuff when we got home. Good luck! Whether you spend your life savings or go as cheap as possible, it will be beautiful. Hi, thanks for taking the time to write a short review. Your advice about going a cheaper route is good I think, that's what I did and I still loved it! In terms of your comment about the cocktail hour, you could have told them that you didn't want a cocktail hour, and then gone to hang out at the bar. It's not like they can stop you from taking advantage of the all-inclusive services. But you won't get any special service. I have often recommended this to brides as a way of saving money. Just tell all your guests to meet you at the bar of your choice (lobby, sugar reef, veranda...) I've never heard brides say that they couldn't hear even with the sound system, most say it's totally worth paying the fee because the guests wouldn't be able to hear otherwise, that's really unfortunate that that happened to you. The steaming issue is kinda shocking too, never heard that one before. I'm really sorry to hear you had to deal with that added stress on your wedding day. This might be another reason to request to have the dress steamed and returned to you the day before (not the morning of, I was actually sitting around waiting for my dress to arrive once I had my hair and makeup done) that way you can get them to do it again if it comes back crappy. Quote: Originally Posted by krista.baird Okay seriously!!! They actually charge you $150 to put up the canopy with white tulle over it if you are having the free package. That is what I'm being told by Aurora, and it states it in the wedding guide as well....I think that's crap because who has the wedding on the sand, with just chairs You would think that the canopy would be included! So now I have to pay $150 for the canopy, plus $150 for the sound system, $175 for blood work, $50 for judge transportation, plus they have a special fee if you want to have your wedding dinner in a restaurant that isn't the world cafe buffet, so their "free" wedding, isn't really a "free" wedding, even though I have several guests staying in rooms for more than three nights so I could have this wedding. I'm really frustrated with Dreams and how I'm getting nickled and dimed for everything! Sorry thats my vent..... The structure is always there, they don't charge you for that, they just charge 150$ to drape the poles with tulle because it does take them a while to do that (150$ is steep in my opinion, but I do understand them charging for it). Although the costs are adding up (and definitely not free!) you're still much better off than what many other resorts would charge for the same thing. I remember considering a few resorts that were going to charge me 1000-2000$ just for the bare basics whereas DT it only came up to a few hundred.

Quote: Originally Posted by MnM2Mexico thx for posting this! I'm a month away, and realized this morning I didn't know how many songs to pick for before during and just after the ceremony. and i love your non-traditional picks. So cool. I only picked 3: walking in, signing the certificate, walking out

Great job! I'm glad you ended up with a product you are happy with considering all the turmoil you went through. And I second Fotofusion (I also ordered it after hearing reading Morgan's thread about it). I'm using it for my photobook (which yes, still isn't done TWO YEARS LATER!) and it's really easy to do. It's great for perfectionists (like me!) who want to be able to control every single detail of their page layouts. Although in the meantime, since I started this project a year and a half ago, Blurb (who I am planning to order my book from) now allows you to customize layouts (i.e. move around, add and delete photo and text boxes), so if you are going through Blurb, there is less need for a program like fotofusion then there used to be.

I checked and the attachment downloaded fine. If you have enough points, then my guess is that it must be your computer settings. When I click on it, right away I get the small little pop up window that asks me where I want to save the document (the same type of pop up window I get anytime I save anything on my computer, not a window that is particular to this forum). Here is what the attachment says (the ceremony text for legal ceremony) Ladies and gentlemen, according to the laws of this country we are gathered here to join the bonds of Matrimony which is an honorable status: ________________________________ and _________________________________ Seeing it is a very important act, I would kindly ask everybody to remain in silence. As witnesses of this important act, there are present here: 1. - _________________________________ 2. - _________________________________ 3. - _________________________________ 4. - ________________________________ Who will sign the marriage document. A great Mexican philosopher of the ninetheen century, Mr. Melchor Ocampo, wrote in his legendary letter, the following words that until today are always read in our wedding ceremonies “ marriage “, it says is the only legal and moral way to found a Family, to preserve mankind and avoid imperfections of the human being who are only able to obtain the perfection of the human race, through matrimony in a conjugal duality. Men and Women have the same rights, but it is important to observe their respective obligations. Both of you should have respect, fidelity, trust and assistance to one another and also tenderness and love, much love. Do not fight with one another, use your heads and your hearts to correct something wrong. Both of you should be aware of the great responsibility of being parents, because you should provide your children with attention, good example to follow during the rest of their lives. I now ask two questions to your witnesses. 1.-Are _________________________ and _______________________ ¿Persons you know well? 2. - ¿ And are there any objections for them to be joined in legal marriage in Mexico? ___________________ do you accept _________________________ as your beloved and wedded wife ____________________ do you accept ___________________________ as your beloved and wedded husband. _________________________ and _____________________in the name of the law and the society and with the authority from the Solidaridad Municipal here in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mèxico, I now declare you husband and wife. You may Kiss the bride. ¡ CONGRATULATIONS!

Quote: Originally Posted by Cheri I have a music question. Are you girls counting on your wedding coordinator to handle the music for your ceremony? I am going to rent the speakers as that was the advice from past brides, but am not too sure how the music part plays out. I am thinking of having 6 songs total; one when everyone is being seated, one for my flower girl, one for my ring bearers, one for me walking down the isle, one as background music during the vows and one as we're exiting. How in the world is that going to work? Do I need to bring shortened versions of the songs or will the coordinator know what to do?? I' m so lost on this subject, would appreciate any input! On another subject, are most of you planning on going straight into your cocktail hour or are you leaving a gap so you can get pictures without missing the cocktail hour yourselves? These last minute thoughts are creeping up and haunting me! It's not the wedding coordinator who takes care of the music, it's another resort employee. I would provide them a list that says song 1 (name) - Flower Girl Song 2 (name) - Ring bearer etc I haven't ever heard anyone have any problems with the music. I would just tell them to fade it out and then skip to the next song (although it's possible the song would be faded it not the best part of the song, but there's not much you can do, it's impossible to figure out exactly how long it will take to walk down the aisle, even if you practiced it, the person may walk faster or slower on the actual day, especially if it's a kid). I myself only used 1 song for everyone to walk down the aisle, so I didn't have to worry so much, but it's up to you. As for how long I said it took to walk down the aisle, my guess (if my memory is correct, it has been 2 years!) is approx 1 minute (maybe a bit longer) per person from behind the season grill to the gazebo. But keep in mind that it's common for wedding party members to start walking when the people in front of them are like halfway to the front. But for the bride you usually wait until the wedding party is completely at the front and in position so that all eyes are on you. But the timing is not what's in the attachment on page 1, that is the ceremony script. I will look into why the attachment isn't working, last time I tried it worked fine. Quote: Originally Posted by northernflasher Just thought I´d let you girls know im sitting here in Dreams resort right now, one week after my wedding and im still smiling. You have all picked the most amazing location for your wedding. ´ My day was truly the happiest of my life. I cant wait to fill you all in on my return. Natalia is wonderful, you are in the very best of hands. Happy planning, dont worry everything will come together just right for your special days. One more whole week to go... Promise a review on my return. XXXX Congratulations, we are all looking forward to your review. Quote: Originally Posted by brynns_mum Hi!! I'm getting married in just over 3 weeks (April 29th, 2010) at Dreams Tulum!!!! What I need to know is; are certified birth certificates required Or are the short form birth certificates (originals/credit card-sized) acceptable Please let me know!!! Thanks, Becky I only needed the regular (wallet size) birth certificate. At the time you only needed the certified one if you were divorced or widowed. I'm not 100% sure if it's changed since then, the brides who have returned have not mentioned it.

Here is the thread I was thinking of, I guess it wasn't started by playaweddings (paul shrank) but he did respond and there is tons of good info: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...eremony-24483/

Quote: Originally Posted by barbiegirl_27 Hi Ladies, I just was wondering if anyone knows if Dreams will do cupcakes instead of a cake? I've read through the thread and didn't see anything mentioned. Just thought I'd ask before attempting to email Natalia! Thanks! I've never heard anyone ask that before on this thread (and as you know I've been around forever). It's a great question, make sure to let us know what they say and I'll add it to the info on page 1. Quote: Originally Posted by oasisgirl Does anyone ever have any problem to extending their outdoor reception to 10:30pm? I want to do some sunset photo (~7ish), so am planning to start the reception by the dophlin pool at 7:30pm. Didn't want a 2.5 hr reception either. My wedding is in May so I'm planning the timeline. I emailed Aurora but didn't get a definite answer, she just said she'll put the 7:30pm start time in my file... so do you think I'll have issue with having it end at 10:30? I can't remember, is the regular end time 10pm? If so then yes, a couple brides have been successful having it end at 10:30. I remember like a year or so ago a couple brides managed to negotiate to get it half an hour later, but that was it. They don't want lots of noise late at night because it will disturb guests who are gone to bed. Quote: Originally Posted by taranyc hi. are any of you thinking about doing a mayan ceremony? i really love some of the photos and reviews i've seen where this has been part of the wedding ceremony. i've tried to find anything online (one of the most popular is Shaman Marie and Charlie), but only see links to local wedding planners. do you know the cost to go through these planners? I've also asked on some of the other subforums, but not gotten any responses. None of the DT brides on this thread have ever done it. However, I know one couple who did it is my videographer and he created a thread about it like a year or so ago. If you do a search maybe you can find it. Quote: Originally Posted by clinicalgal Hi Ladies! We are interested in organizing an excursion for our guests. Something along the lines of a catamaran that can pick us up from the resort and goes to an area with caverns. I'd like there to be food and drinks on board and for the excursion to last about 4 hours. I haven't been able to find any threads about brides planning something like this and recommended vendors... has anyone else seen anything along these lines or can advise me where to look? Thanks in advance! I think another bride did this a while back and had a great experience. I think if you check under "member contribution" area on the first page, you will find a link, and then you can do a search for her review and read up more about it.

Quote: Originally Posted by northernflasher So I'm going down there in 2 days and I'd just like to say thank you to sunbride and all of you DT brides for your help, hard work and inspiration. I'm going there for 3 weeks and then the week we get back we are shooting 4 weddings back to back so it's gonna be about a month before I can get my review out but I promise it will come. Let me know if there's any info I can gather for you or help you with while I'm down there. Good luck with all your plans. See you in a month! Good luck and enjoy! Can't believe you are going for 3 weeks, you're so lucky! I look forward to reading your review and seeing your pictures. When you say you are shooting 4 weddings back to back, you mean you are a photographer? Who is your wedding photographer? I have a favor to ask, to you or anyone else on here, I'd really like a picture of a "Dreams Tulum" sign from somewhere on the resort, that I can use for my vacation photobook (yes, it's still not done even though it's been 2 years, perhaps because I spend too much time organizing this thread instead of working on it!). I know there is the arch that you drive under at the entrance, I'm not so fond of that, I think there is another big sign somewhere. Anyways, if you think of it, you could email it to me when you get back.

Only just now got around to reading this, great review and awesome pictures!

Okay ladies, I have finally gotten around to updating page 1, most of the changes are on the bride list and a few minor changes to the guide (no bonfires anymore and added the menu for the mexican buffet) For the detailed bride info, I am only going to be posting this for brides after their wedding when they post a review. That was the original purpose of this anways, was to help people find reviews and pictures that had the info they were looking for (i.e. review of reception at a particular location, review of photographers, photos of a particular photographer, etc). Sadly, probably only like 1 out of 20 brides post reviews, so it was a lot of work to do when most brides don't end up posting reviews. On that note, we've only had 2 reviews in the past 4 months! That's so bad. Sorry to complain but there are so many brides on here who are getting a ton of help planning their wedding and I find it sad when people don't pay it forward by posting reviews to help others. We've had so many brides get married lately, I really hope we see the number of reviews increase. And on that note, I am still wanting to get around to updating all the links to the old reviews (the links got broken when the forum was upgraded last summer. The reviews and photo threads are all still there, but the links are different. It's going to take many hours to update all those links. In the meantime, you can do a search to find them. I recommend doing an "advanced search" and then enter the person's username and maybe a keyword like "pictures" or "review"). So to be clear I will continue posting all usernames and wedding dates in the short bride list before your weddings, but for the detailed info it will only be the brides who post reviews (so after your wedding) So continue to post a message telling me your date so I can add you to the list (I can't just look at the profile info on the left because I won't recognize who's new and who's already on the list. I need the new people to just post a message "Hi, please add me to the list, my wedding date is X" or something like that. You can post in this thread and/or send me a PM.

Quote: Originally Posted by taranyc Hi. When we did our site tour in December, there was a wedding setup that had a sand-colored runner. I am not sure if Dreams provided it, but I really like the look it created up to the "alter." I hope these photos come out, I had to resize them 15 times in order to make them small enough to upload. I'm trying to research how to add photos....I'm going to need to know this for my planning thread. I highly recommend using photobucket for images, I posted instructions on page 1, right before the bride list.

Quote: Originally Posted by mandymert Sun Bride, Everytime... I read this, I find more great info. Anyone.... If anyone wopuld like to donate some points my way.. I would be one GREATFUL bride!! Thanks ladies Hi Just to let you know, members can get banned for requesting points donations and for donating points! You have to participate to get points to be able to download the documents. So start chatting on the forums, there are a ton of threads with really useful topics. Tell people about your plans and ideas, share your photos of stuff you've made / bought, etc. The points will start adding up. Also, I don't think you've posted your wedding date, if you let me know I'll add you to the list. You can also add it to your profile (on the left) by accessing the user control panel menu under Quick Links at the top right of the screen.

Quote: Originally Posted by AchiCAp0547 I'm sorry, I should have asked this in my last post.... When you went for your site visit, could you possibly tell me some information on what the "relaxed pool" looks like? I've read some things on this site, but still do not have a good feel for what/where that pool is. Our reception is going to be at the relaxed pool, so I want to make sure there is going to be enough lighting for a 6p-9p reception. And is it terribly far from the Bar? At our receptions, how do we get our drinks? Are there waiters that go to the bar for us? There are pics of the relaxed pool and receptions and a map of the resort on page 2 which should help you. Quote: Originally Posted by L&A2010 I feel like I should know this already but can somebody clarify the room categories for me? When trying to book on the hotel website or through a travel website such as orbitz they do not call the rooms Dreams suites or hacienda rooms. I assume the cheapest room a "Deluxe Garden view" would be a hacienda room, but then the next cheapest room is a "Jr. Suite Garden view" and then what is a "preferred" room b/c those seem to come in both dreams and hacienda. Also, do all the rooms have a/c? I know they recently remodeled does anyone know which rooms they did and how you can get one of those? Thanks in advance! All the rooms have AC (I was concerned about this too!) I was just reading on Orbitz for you and I see that all the rooms that have the word "preferred" say "comtemporary decoration" and all the others that don't have preferred say "hacienda" so I think you should go by that, i.e. sounds like the "preferred" are the new rooms (Dreams) and that the other ones are the old rooms. Keep in mind that with the old rooms, there are all the categories (garden view, ocean view, and honeymoon suite. If you look at the map you can see that some of them are near the beach near the 2nd wedding gazebo) and with the new rooms too.

Quote: Originally Posted by taranyc Hi. I've asked a few times what lighting options they have and their cost...they have light columns (whatever they are). Go to page 260 (assuming you view at 10 posts per page) and check out the pics of Whamsuzanne's set-up, you will see the light columns http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo.../index260.html

Hi guys! It's been a while since I've been around here. I must be honest and say as time goes on (in a month i'll be celebrating my 2 year wedding anniversary) I'm much less committed than I used to be to updating the thread. It's very time consuming. That being said, I do have all the information saved in a document (all the brides who've posted their dates and other info) and I do hope to find a couple hours really soon to update the bride list and review links. Quote: Originally Posted by jmb0902 Just an FYI - I wouldn't count on candles for any kind of light... we had pillar candles inside hurricane glasses and those wouldn't even stay lit (they put dessert plate on top of them, so they were lit but didn't help the "look"... haha). It's just so windy that they just don't stay lit. Exposed candles like tealights would have no chance! But were your candle holders a lot higher than the flame? I think most brides have said as long as your flame is well protected within the holder (i.e. the flame is a few inches from the top of the candle holder) the wind won't affect it.

Quote: Originally Posted by Cheri Hi girls! Are there any brides out there that do not plan on bringing decorations?? I am so torn. I honestly wasn't planning on bringing anything from the get-go, but now I'm seeing all these reviews and it seems as if most bring stuff with them (i.e. lanterns, candles, chair sashes, table runners,etc.) I don't want everything to be dull, I was just hoping the natural surroundings would be enough. Any thoughts Totally up to you! Although I brought decorations, there are tons of other things that I didn't bother with which most other brides here do. So don't feel pressured to do all the same stuff as the other brides on here. We each do the stuff we feel like and skip on the stuff we don't want to do.

Quote: Originally Posted by AchiCAp0547 I see all of the pictures of the weddings here at Dreams Tulum, and everyone for the most part has bridesmaids and a bunch of family there with them. It's hard to explain what my fiance and I have gone through with our family and friends, but to make a long story short- we have no bridal party, some of our closest friends couldn't be more Inconvenienced, and aren't even coming, While others are complaining- "why are you getting married so far away this is soo much". (the weddings of our friends we've been in, we've never "skimped" on them, always gone above and beyond and given more than we could even afford) The only family members that are coming are our parents and his brother, all of our Aunts and Uncles, my sister and brother, think its ridiculous that we're getting married in Mexico and don't want to get their passports or have any desire to go to Mexico so they're not coming. I just wonder if anyone had this problem, I hope not, but I hope I'm not the only weirdo who isn't important enough to most of the people in my life? Don't get me wrong, we do have a handful of people who are excited, practically my whole office is coming because they're excited to go to Mexico and drink tequilla. Thank goodness or else we'd have no guests at the wedding. I'm so sorry, this isn't the place to rant about these things, but just yesterday my "best friend" from college EMAILED me she isn't coming because she waited too long to book and now it's too much $. My best friend... good thing we decided against the bridal party. Sorry again for ranting, I'm just at a loss. So sorry to hear this is upsetting you, but it's not true that all the other DT brides have had big wedding parties and guests, many of us had small weddings. I only had our parents and our sisters. Our closest friends are teachers and couldn't get the time off work. We were so disappointed they coudln't come we didn't even bother inviting extended family (other reasons too, like the fact that we planned the whole thing in just a few months). Don't worry about whose not there, you will enjoy the company of those that are. In fact by having a smaller group, you'll get to spend a lot of time with them and have a wonderful vacation with those people without stressing about trying to spend time with everyone in a large group. Blkatz had only 2 people I think at her wedding, everyone else canceled due to the Swine Flu. But read her review and she still had a wonderful day. Quote: Originally Posted by vlynnw I have a question for all you past brides that had weddings in April/May/June. What are the sun-sets like at this time. Our wedding is set for May 6, and I'm trying to get an idea of how the lighting is on the beach between 5 and 6. Fi and I want to make our ceremony time as close to sunset as possible to help escape the heat but not lose the lighting on the beach and for good pictures. There are many websites that can tell you the exact sunset time. Do a search on the Mayan Riviera forum for "sunset time". For my wedding, April 1, the sunset was 6pm, but then a few days later it switched to daylight savings time and then the sunset was 7pm. Quote: Originally Posted by OceanWonderland Ok so this may be a strange question. We're going to have ~50 people at our wedding and we're getting the ultimate package which covers 20 people for both cocktail hour and reception. I am fine with spending the extra money per person for the reception, but am not willing to do so for the cocktail hour. I am planning on having the cocktail hour near another bar (if they let me), but I was wondering...will they still provide the cocktail hour for 20 people and not charge me extra, and the other guests can mingle over to the bar (i.e. just enough servers/food that would primarily be used for 20 guests)? Or do I have to forgo the cocktail hour if I'm not willing to spend the extra money? What would they do with the mariachi band? Just trying to cut costs somewhere. Still upset they got rid of the $20 menu option.... Thanks!! Hopefully somebody has tried something similar and has some advice. I just don't want to get charged for a cocktail hour in the package and then get screwed of not having it at all because I don't want to pay for the extra guests. Good question, I would try to do the same as you too, but I'm guessing they won't let you. There probably isn't a "quota" of number of drinks when you pay for 20 people. Although likely they have a set amount of appetizers they would normally serve, let's say it's like 5 trays for 20 people, you could ask if they can still serve those 5 trays. But if they don't, then just go with the casual cocktail hour (no special service) and my personal recommendation would be the Sugar Reef Bar because it's a nice area, although probably the least private so you could choose the lobby bar (also has the benefit of air conditioning, some people can be in and some out on the deck) or the Veranda bar. You could just decide that when you get there.

Awesome review, super detailed which is great because brides love details! Off to see your pictures.

All of my guests stayed in the "deluxe" garden view (note, the word deluxe should not be there) and they were all fine with their rooms, they preferred to save their money rather than pay extra for the more expensive room. You may get a free upgrade, but you can't count on it, although most brides have gotten it. check out the reviews, lots of people talk about what they and their guests thought of the rooms in their reviews, I know when I got married almost 2 years ago it was like the #1 topic of discussion on the DT thread

Quote: Originally Posted by angie_tx Is anyone having trouble clicking and opening reviews and planning threads, every time i try is takes me back to the home page and when i copy and paste is still takes me back to the home page... very confusing, and i would love to see some planning threads... thanks Yes, I've explained this a few times now. The forum switched servers and all the links were lost. I do intend to go back and update them all but it would take hours. In the meantime you can do an advanced search by username to find the proper links. Quote: Originally Posted by AmyandRich Just a thought... when I was at Dreams in October, there was a reception set up at the dolphin pool. This is the same pool that allows kids and there were kids playing in the pool during the dinner...may hamper floating candles!! I asked a cordinator about the pool rules and we were told that they would not require kids to get out of the pool at any certain time. If you want floating candles, I would think the adult pool would work better. This is the first I hear of kids in the pool during receptions too. Really surprises me.

Quote: Originally Posted by BellaBeachBabe Hi everyone I just phoned west jet and I was told that I am NOT allowed to bring my dress on as carry-on, instead it must be placed in my checked luggage! It was to my understanding that on all westjet flights I could. The man on the phone kept on saying "no carry on baggage at all...he said any travel to the US prohibits carry on baggage even though I kept telling him I am flying direct to mexico, not stopping in the US but he still said no?! I think I will call back tomorrow and ask to speak to the person responsible because there is no way I am risking losing my dress! That is the reason why I chose westjet and paid extra $$$. Has anyone heard different for westjet?? I bet that person doesn't know what their talking about. I had no issues bringing my dress as carry-on with westjet (mind you that was 2 years ago and a domestic flight). I have never heard of anyone not being allowed to take their dress as carry-on with any airline. So don't worry about it.

Wow, I haven't been on for approx 10 days and looks like things have fallen apart here! That is really disappointing news about the 20$ menu being eliminated. I think the brides who booked a long time ago should really fight for that. For all those of you who are worrying about the overall cost increasing (if in fact you are not able to get the 20$ menu option) then 2 other things for you to consider is (1) ditch the cocktail hour and just have your group gather at the lobby bar, Sugar Reef Bar or Veranda bar and have your own informal cocktail hour for FREE. Sure you will have other hotel guests around and you won't be getting special service, but you'll save a lot of fun and it will be almost as good. (2) consider having your reception at the World Café. They will put your group off to one side all together and you can still have some decorations and this option is FREE Quote: Originally Posted by Cheri The one thing I thought would be fun is the marriachi band that comes with the package. Does anyone know if they'll allow you to hire an external company for that? I know you can add it on through Dreams, but I think it's around $800. Ouch! You can get the mariachi trip or the carribean trio for about half that price (check page 1 for exact cost). The mariachi band has 7 members instead of 3 which is why it's so much more expensive. Quote: Originally Posted by snicker_doodle53 Hi everyone, first-time post in this tread! Getting married January 20th (2 weeks!) and can't wait! I have a question that the new brides may be able to answer... I went with the free package and sent my wedding coordinator the wedding form stating which bouquets and boutonnieres we wanted (based on the pamphlet), but after looking at your pictures, there seems to be MUCH MORE available than the ones shown on the pamphlet. Is this something that we can discuss with the wedding coordinator when we get there, or should we let her know in advance that we will probably want to change the flowers to more tropical-looking ones? You don't have to do it in advance unless you are worried about it and want confirmation about a special type of flower. Many brides have gone with tropical bouquets that are totally different from what is in the flower guide and have had no problems. Quote: Originally Posted by AmyandRich I emailed Natalia today to ask if there are picture options for different center pieces. She emailed me with a power point presentation that has some cool options. I haven't been able to upload the pics to this forum but if someone knows how, I can email the presentation. Thanks for posting the pics on the page after this message, I have saved them and will add them to the photo page next time I update the thread. Quote: Originally Posted by Cheri Is Mexican Fiesta on the beach or around a pool area? Thanks for your input! It's behind El Patio, off to the side of the resort Quote: Originally Posted by Cheri Another quick question: I'm looking into purchasing koozies for guests, but am not sure of what size to order. Any former brides have suggestions? They have tall koozies for bottles and then standard for either cans or regular cups. I'm not sure how Dreams serves their drinks. Many brides order custom travel mugs for their guests, probably much more expensive but would work better since they serve the drinks in glasses rather than bottles Quote: Originally Posted by OceanWonderland Sometimes I wonder if they just don't understand what we are clearly asking in our emails to them. YES, this was definitely the case with me. It's so much easier when you get there. Try not to worry too much. Quote: Originally Posted by AmyBoerema also - does anyone know what the $800 dance floor fee is for?? If i am getting one of the dreams of love package, but i also want dancing at my reception, do i have to pay for that? If you are happy with dancing on the natural floor (i.e. restaurant floor, around the pool, or on the sand depending on where your reception is) then no need to purchase a dance floor but if you wanted an actual real dance floor, than you have to pay Quote: Originally Posted by taranyc I was wondering if any of the 2009 brides had a copy of the 2008--2009 planner...i would like to compare the verbiage and see if anything is really different. Every time i click on one of the links for the 2009 planner, it brings me to the BDW homepage. Are you clicking on the PDF attachments on post #5 page 1? I just tried it again and it works fine, I re-downloaded the attachment. Quote: Originally Posted by ourvm Hello ladies: Was wondering if there were any other locations other than on a beach at Dreams Tulum. My father may have trouble walking in sand and was wondering if there were other options. Seems from the pics posted - most are on the beach which looks extraordinary - unfortunately, don't think I'll be able to have it there. Thanks. The other options are the chapel or the convention centre (perhaps outside on the entrance of the convention centre?) Other locations are probably okay too, one bride last year got married at the bottom of the grand exterior staircases in front of the lobby.