sgbrown

Hi girls, Alright - I know we've all been through this conversation a dozen times, but I still don't have it straight in my head! In terms of playing music at the reception, I will need: 1. To pay $150 to rent the speaker system (?) 2. To use an ipod docking station to hook up to the speaker system (?) 3. To bring AAA batteries with me for the ipod docking station (?) If anyone can clarify this once and for all, I will be eternally grateful! I've read a couple of times that the ipod docking stations are not removable from the guest rooms, so I'm unsure about whether I need to bring one down with me and whether it'll easily hook up to the speaker system. I'm hoping to have my reception at the Seaside Grill. Thanks for any clarification that can be provided. And sorry for being so dense about this... I just feel a bit confused!

Excellent review Lulu! My fiancé and I chose to have a destination wedding because we wanted a low-key, casual wedding experience. It was really nice to hear the same perspective echoed in your review. I'm so glad you enjoyed everything and had a positive experience. I'm eager to see your professional pictures as well. I'm using Freddy Damian and Claudia Rodriguez team, so I'm always eager to seem more of Claudia's photographer's work. Thanks again for taking the time to write your review.

Quote: Originally Posted by Blkatz check out this site-it has a bunch of pictures that everyone took Claudia Rodriguez | slideshows Wow, Beth - I never saw those slideshows before. They all look so great. I can't wait to take (and then see) my wedding photos. I've been telling Mike that he better start practicing his smiles in the mirror! He's also such a ham in pictures. Fun, fun!

I tried to book Claudia or Citlalli for my wedding on May 7th, 2009 but both were already booked. I chose to go with Freddy Damian from Claudia Rodriguez' team. I haven't see tons of work from him (I think he's relatively new to Claudia's team) but everyone that works with her seems really talented and I haven't heard a bad review.

Quote: Originally Posted by Mixie23 Hey ladies, I downloaded the text of the civil ceremony since my FI and I are having a legal ceremony in Mexico, but does anyone have a template for how they changed it to include their own opening addresses, vows, etc? I would like to have fan programs printed up, but I am having a hard time trying to figure out where I would fit in the judge's part. We have a couple books with ideas and have found some things we want to go with, but like I said, I am trying to figure out where the official part would go. Thanks! Hi Nicole, I've also been curious about that. I have vows that I'd like Mike and I to say and I was also thinking of writing an opening address (which I think perhaps Landy would deliver - not too sure). I'm a little uncertain as to how to organize it just yet, but I was thinking of adding our vows after this line: "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." The other possibility is adding our vows after this part: "___________________________ ¿ do you accept _________________________ as your beloved and wedded wife, _____________________________ ¿ do you accept ___________________________ as your beloved and wedded husband." I'm not really sure, so I'd love to hear your input! -Sarah

Quote: Originally Posted by Blkatz so I asked about upgrades when we get down there and I was a little surprised with the answer...this is how much it is for an upgrade! Dreams Suite Presidential Suite for 1600 usd a nt Dreams Suite Honeymoon Suites for 120 usd a nt Dreams Suite Ocean Front for 100 usd a nt Dreams Suite Ocean view for 60 usd a nt, Hey Beth, I had a similar response from a woman by the name of Karina. Her first quote was that it was going to cost $60 US/night to upgrade from a Hacienda deluxe gardenview room to a Dreams Suite gardenview room. Since I know that SunBride was offered this upgrade for $20 US/night, I responded and said that I was very appreciative of her time, but her price was too high for what I had heard other people getting for their upgrades. She wrote me back immediately and dropped the price to $40 US/night. I wrote her back again and told her that I would let my guests know, but I still thought the price was high (and thank-you for your time). My TA called Daniel (she met him once doing a site visit) and she told us that my FH and I are going to receive a free upgrade. I'm still crossing my fingers that we'll be able to get a better upgrade rate for our guests, but we'll see. I'm a little worried that the resort is going to be really busy that week, since there seems to be lots of weddings going on. Good luck with your negotiations and keep me posted if you get anything better!

Congratulations Tracy! The two pictures that I can see are beautiful and I can't wait to see more. Your positive post makes me feel even more comfortable with the thought of how great our wedding will be in a few short months. I'm looking forward to reading you review. Welcome home!

Thanks girls - I'm sure 3 weddings in one day won't be terrible. There's nothing I can really do about it and they definitely seem like professionals at Dreams Tulum so I'm sure everything will be fine. I think a beach wedding would be a really nice alternative, or maybe El Patio but I think it's subject to the same "70% occupancy or less" policy. For the girls getting married in May (I know there are quite a few of us!), where are you hoping to have your receptions?

Hi girls, Not that there's anything I can do about it, but I just thought I'd share a little piece of information I recently learned. I emailed Anabel to ask her about occupancy rates last May (i.e. what was the likelihood that the resort is going to be less than 70% occupied the first week of May since we're hoping to have our reception at the Seaside Grill) and she wrote me back this reply: "About you request for the seaside grill you are right is depends the occupation in the resort; may Is a very busy month in the resort. We confirm the locations 3 week before to the wedding but I have you request. We have 2 wedding more that day but if the occupation is less than 70% we can confirm you the seaside grill, but only one month before to the wedding." I'm trying not to get too bothered by the fact that there are THREE weddings on May 7th. I was originally told there was one other wedding on May 7th, so I guess they've booked another. I could complain, but it's not like they're going to cancel someone's wedding. Would it bother any of you or am I getting a little bridezilla-ish? Oh well, I've asked for the wedding arch at the Seaside Grill for 5 pm (confirmed) and the Seaside Grill for my reception (we'll see). I guess I should just come up with some other options for my reception in case I can't get it. I don't want to be in the ballroom, but we have 52 people so I'm not really sure what the next best option is. Sorry for being grumpy!

Quote: Originally Posted by jawedding I can't believe it's Neen's wedding day! I wish we could be there to see it! Good luck BC bride!! can't wait to hear all about your days!! I might have asked this before - but can anybody tell me how much your guests had to pay for their trips? ours will be leaving from Toronto mostly.. but any quotes would be good! The best we have is 1775 pp.. we are hoping to find something slightly cheaper (planning to get married in Jan 2010), but not sure if that is a totally rediculous hope!~ thanks!! Hey there - We booked our trip with an Air Canada Vacations travel agent here in Ottawa and our guests are paying $1726 - taxes in - from Ottawa (and slightly cheaper from Toronto - one less connection) for the first week of May 2009. If we had picked March 2009, we would have paid closer to $1800 so I don' t think your quote is bad. Funny thing now, last minute deals are starting to creap up. We just had 4 family members book through selloffvacations.com for ~$1500. Good luck!

Wow - can I say how impressed I am with the useful amount of information that was posted in the last 24 hours?! To finally know the answer to the ipod battery question is a relief! It had gotten to the point where I was going to delegate each of my bridesmaids to bring xx amount of AAA, AA, C and D batteries hoping to get it right! Haha. I'm also happy to know the cost of a bonfire. $60 doesn't seem too shabby. I just sent an email to the spa to request hair appointments for myself, bridesmaids and moms. What a productive day I'm having (and it's only 9:28 am) - ha!

GREAT review!!! Thanks so much for posting. You've got me even more excited for my own wedding at Dreams Tulum. Your husband's wedding outfit is almost identical to the one my FI just bought. I think he's going to look great! What was your communication like with Landy (or any of the other coordinators) before your wedding trip? I haven't sent too many emails yet (a few here and there, but nothing major) because many of the brides have said not to worry and that things will be well-organized once you meet with the wedding coordinator on the second day after arrival. Sometimes I worry that I'm being too laid-back and I won't get as great of service if I don't speak up now and make myself more known to the coordinators. Does that make any sense?

Thanks for posting the menu link SunBride! Much appreciated!

Quote: Originally Posted by SunBride Some girls have definitely paid the old price. Try to print out an email that proves when you booked. Also fight hard by telling them that other girls paid the old price. I do remember there is a bride this fall who paid the new price even though they had booked with the old guide, but she said she didn't bother arguing about it and figured that if she had they might have given it to her. Although it does say in the guide price subject to change, so they do have the right, but still I think it's not very fair if you've made arrangements based on a certain price. Thanks ladies! I'll definitely make sure to print the emails showing when I booked in early 2008 and the one where Lizet says I can have the old prices and hope for the best. Here's a DUMB question for you all. Some of you may have read my post a while ago where my IT guy at work permanently deleted my wedding folder on my work computer (d'oh!). As a result, I lost a bunch of my wedding planning files. I've managed to work my way back to having mostly everything, but there's one thing I can't seem to figure out. I re-downloaded (made-up word perhaps!) the 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 wedding guides from page 1 of this thread (thanks SunBride!) but one thing is confusing me. How come there are no menu descriptions in the 2008/2009 wedding guide? Am I being dumb or is this information somewhere else? Neen was just talking about the 5 course versus 4 course meal optins in the two guides but I can't seem to find the 5 course menu options anywhere. Can someone please help me out. My brain isn't working very well this morning. Thanks!

Ok ok, one more question: Regardless of which wedding package I choose, will I have to pay for a set-up fee for the ceremony and/or reception? I know there was a post about this a couple of days ago, but I'm still a little unclear. We have 53 confirmed guests (and counting), so this could start getting a bit pricey! I guess I was under the impression that the set-up was part of each package. If anyone can clarify, I would really appreciate it! Thanks a bunch.

Hey girls, Quick question for any of the recently married brides. Have any of you been given a hard time about honouring the 2007-2008 wedding guide prices? I have an email from Lizet telling me I can have the old pricing, so hopefully everything will be OK for my wedding in May. Just wonderin'!

Beth, thank-you so much! I feel like it's getting down to crunch time and I need to start getting more organized. This planning sheet will definitely help me out! How come Natalia sent this to you already? Do they normally send it a month beforehand? Can you believe we'll be getting married in ~4 months!? Craziness! -Sarah Quote: Originally Posted by Blkatz Natalia just sent me the planning sheet for the wedding-I am attaching it just in case anyone was curious...

That is THE best wedding video I have ever seen in my entire life!!! I showed by FH and he was blown away too. Congrats on everything! Laura, do you have a review posted? I'm going to look for it...

Oh, and they just wrote me back yesterday, so it took about 3 weeks for a response.

So I sent an email on December 2nd to Raul, trying to negotiate a 50% discount on room upgrades for my 50+ person group (I know that this is the discount SunBride was offered). This is the email I got back (it's a bit disappointing): Dear Mrs. Brown: Greetings from Dreams Tulum!!! It will be a pleasure to assist you about the up grade, sincerely we do not offer a 50% off for groups, subject to availability we offer a special rate according to how many up grade will be. The up grade for May from Deluxe garden to Dreams Suite Garden is USD$60.00 per night. We appreciate to let me know how many rooms are interested in order to offer them a special rate. Happy Holidays Karina Ramos Gerente de Reservaciones / Reservations Manager Dreams Tulum Resort & Spa Tel.: 011(52) 984 - 8.71.33.33, Fax: 011(52) 984 - 8.71.33.57 [email protected] Dreams Resorts & Spas: Unlimited Luxury Any advice on how to write them back? I know they offer 50% off discounts!

Congratulations! Thank-you so much for taking the time to write a review (and thank your husband for us, too)! It was soooo refreshing to hear a man's point of view (and humour) about his wedding experience. What a great idea... I wonder whether I can convince my FH to write one when we get back! I'm glad to hear that once you arrive, everything will be organized. I haven't been emailing the wedding coordinators very much because it seems as though they don't respond, so why bother? I'm just hoping that when we arrive at DT, we'll be able to organize everything face-to-face. I've emailed them about MAJORLY important stuff (e.g. location and time of ceremony, confirmation of receiving 2007-2008 pricing, etc) so I'm hoping everything will be OK. Thanks again! It's very much appreciated.

Quote: Originally Posted by ashjanbro I am a little preturbed girls!!! I got an e-mail from Natalia answering some questions I had sent Landy like a month ago. Natalia informed me that there will be three weddings on my day. WTF!! I thought there were only 2 weddings per day. Additionally 2 of BMs canceled. One can't even go to the wedding at all any more and another is going but is not going to be able to be in the wedding. On top of that, on of FIs GM canceled too. Aw, that's terrible! I'm really surprised they would allow three weddings on one day. I wonder why they overbooked? (My guess is $$$). My only concern for you would be whether you get your first choice of wedding and reception venues. Do you know where you want to have your reception? Perhaps you can request to secure your reception venue now (even though I think it's policy to choose your venue one month before - unless you're in the ballroom I suppose). That really sucks about your wedding party members backing out. I'm getting married only 2 days after you and I've been wondering lately whether we'll have some last minute cancellations. I have a close friend who's getting married in Jamaica in January and she's been dealing with similar issues with one of her BMs (and she only has two). At the end of the day, your wedding is about YOU and your hubby, so try not to get too bummed out about what other people are doing. No matter what, it's going to be one of the most memorable days of your life. Chin up!

What an excellent review! Thank-you sooooo much for taking the time to write it - we all really appreciate it. Your reception set-up looks so beautiful. I'm so glad you had such an amazing experience. It sounds like your guests loved everything, too. I am really excited to see Citlalli's pics. I originally tried to book her, but there was a scheduling mix-up so I had to choose Freddy from Claudia Rodriguez' team instead. It seems like everyone from Claudia's team is amazing though. How many hours did you book Citlalli for? I've asked for 3 hours, but please let me know if you think I need 5 hours. I'm not very keen on having reception pictures taken. I just want some pics before the ceremony while we're getting ready (like you did), during the ceremony, and then pics of our families, wedding party, and of Mike and I (of course!). Do you think we'll be too rushed in your opinion? Thanks again! I can't wait to see more of your pictures when you receive them.

I just wanted to say thank-you so much for your thoughtful review. I know it must have taken a long time to write, but it's so appreciated. More than anything, I want to have realistic expectations when I'm at Dreams Tulum and I think your review will really help me be emotionally prepared for the ups and downs I may encounter. Thank-you!!!

I just need to vent for one quick second... My IT guy came to repair a program on my work computer and by complete accident, he permanently deleted all of my desktop files... including my "Wedding" folder! I know, I know, I shouldn't be working on my wedding stuff at work... I guess this is my punishment!!! I had my wedding vows, seating chart, inspiration pictures that I downloaded from this site, etc etc... ALL DELETED! Oh well, I know it was an accident but geez, that was months of hard work! Looks like I need to start over. Good thing my wedding isn't until May. The poor IT guy though... he seemed like he was going to die of humiliation. Serenity now...!