SIMBASIM

Quote: Originally Posted by sunitam hey jen! congrats again and thanks a lot for the review you guys look like you had a blast! I was looking at your pro pics, which are awesome by the way, and was wondering where all the balloons came from at your reception? I thought DJ mannia brings those, but you didnt have a dj right? thanks again We only had the coundsystem, no DJ. Funny, the balloons just appeared?? I have no idea where they came from. We were very nice to claudia ($$) and it certainly paid off. BTW, thnakns for the compliment on the pro pictures. I cannot say enough good things about Juan!

Quote: Originally Posted by keni03 *I just want to know if you ladies think the cocktail hour is worth having? I am trying my best to keep our dreams budget in the 4,500 range with 40 ppl and if they will allow me to trade the cocktail hour for 15 more people to have dinner that helps me alot in cost. What do you guys think? Quote: Originally Posted by cubsfan I think that you will be fine w/o the cocktail hour. I have read many posts on here and people say they can just go to any bar and have cocktails, the only thing they would miss out on is appetizers and if u want to just save money, I would do it this way. I am skipping cocktail hour as well. During this time, you and your party will be taking pictures as well. Honestly, u you can go without. I did and it worked out just fine. We were taking pictures quite a long time but there was a bar right in the tower building byt he gazebo. When I returned from taking pictures IO arrived at the beach and my guests were seated and applauded us as we entered the reception. The appetizers are no big deal either. Let's face it...it is an all inclusive resort. If you are hungry eat before you come. There is a a 3 course meal for the reception, also.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jefiner Jen! Great job on the review! I am dieing to know more about the party afterwards, look like you had a killer nightclub set up on the beach? Is that included? That is the first I've seen in pics before? I saved money and used a soundsystem instead of a "DJ". It was less money but it included the same things Anyway it was awesome!

Quote: Originally Posted by Michelle613 Simbaism, love your pics! They were beautiful. & Cassondra, thanks for the review it was really good and the pics were great as well and cant wait to see the pro ones Thanks! Juan did an awesome job! He is so sweet and fun! Quote: Originally Posted by SDbeachgirl Hi all, I've posted this question on a couple different threads but haven't gotten a lot of response. Was just wondering if anyone has used the Caribbean Trio or if anyone knows anything about what that kind of music is. I will most likely use either that or the Mariachi during my cocktail hour. I've heard good things about the Mariachi band but if there is something that sounds more tropical I would really like that. I'd like to hear a sample, but not sure where to find it. Any help you can provide would be great! We had the mexican trio playing while we arrived to the reception. The guests LOVED IT! When then used the sound system for the remainder of the reception. Quote: Originally Posted by andim Hello! I am still considering several resorts around Cancun and was wondering if anyone knows what the beaches are like at Dreams? I know it has several, but are they any that have waves w/ minimal rocks? From the pictures they all seemed to be more like a lagoon. There is a variety of beachs. There is no break in the waves but it does still have the sounds of the beach. I am not a big fan of the "lagoon Type Beaches" but I avsolutely loved the beaches at Dreams. Quote: Originally Posted by zorlack76 Hey all, I have a question for all the brides who have already been married at Dreams. Call me petty, but I am kind of worried about the noise level during out ceremony and reception. We are only having 15 people at the wedding, and I checked and found that all rooms are booked during our stay. There are only a few dolphin view rooms left, but everything else is booked. Did any of you have a problem with people being loud or obnoxious who werent part of your group? If so, how did you handle it? If not, how would you recommend I handle it? Thanks! No problem for us. We did not pay any attention anyway. Quote: Originally Posted by KelZavs20 Just yesterday we officially put the deposit down at Dreams Cancun....our date is 8/9/10!!! I am so excited, we opted for the Ultimate Package, but there are so many things that we wont use/want since it seems everyone on here was able to trade some things for others...can some one fill me in on how this works? Did your coordinator give you a detailed list of each items value? i just dont know how to go about asking to change things.... Congrats on your date. No you do not get a list of each item value, you just have to find out what she will allow you to trade certain items for. They are offered at discount rates since it is a package so she gives you things to trade. Quote: Originally Posted by keiperwedding Hi, I am getting married Nov. 7th and have had my reception location and times changed on me. I think I may be stuck with the spa terrace as of now. I am so bummed out. I don't even think there is a view of the ocean from there and isn't that the whole reason we do destination weddings in Cancun? I feel I am being moved around due to a large wedding that is more important but I don't have that confirmed. I would be so grateful if anyone could give me pros and cons of having my reception in the spa terrace or the garden as I think these may be my only two options. I just feel the garden is so out in the open it wouldn't feel private at all and weird dancing away with so many onlookers? Or, does anyone know any other locations that I could look into that have an ocean view? By the way, we booked Dreams 17 months in advance. I am feeling a bit down...any help would be appreciated. Thanks. OMG!! That freaking sucks! I am so sorry. The spa area is beautiful!! We spent alot of time in the outdoor area. I would certainly find out why you were booted!!!!

Great review! You look awesome!

Quote: Originally Posted by zorlack76 Hey All, just curious if any of the recent brides can answer this for me. We were thinking about getting some toasting flutes to bring down there, but are really worried that they will get broken. How are the toasting flutes that Dreams provides? Would you recommend we use theirs or bring our own? We are not really worried about the sentimental value of bringing our own, so that isnt a big issue. Thanks a bunch!! I broght my own toasting flutes. They were Vera Wang and quite expensive. I worried about them disappearing not as result of someone stealing them but just from cleaning the tables. The best thing to do is to make someone in charge of special items. I had one bridesmaid resposible for making sure my cake topper, cake knife and toasting glasses were collected at the end of the evening. My bridesmaid brought the box for the glasses and the cke knife and put it under the table at the reception and tt worked perfect. There were several grils who had issues witht he cake toppers and cake knives being removed from the tables. I was leaving the next morning so I had to make sure all of my items were collected immediately after the reception. . Quote: Originally Posted by heatherw SIMBASIM--I am wondering who took all of your pictures?! very pretty~! Juan Navarro took my photos. He is great and very nice to work with. He is the photographer that the resort uses. I upgraded my package and it was well worth it.

Quote: Originally Posted by Kat81 No, it's the lobby. They can't really get onto you about having too many people. There are a ton of tables and chairs and even a porch outside with tables and chairs. It's where we had our welcome drinks. It won't be a problem at all. No problem for us either! There was lots of room. We were a group of 26 and no problems accomodating us!

Pro Wedding photos: JENNIFER AND FREDERICK COCHRAN

Quote: Originally Posted by Gen Snipes Simbasim - I was keeping my eye out for you while I was there... I saw your hubby everywhere! (Gym /Buffet etc).. (I didnt know it was him until I just saw these pics!) Turns out we were staying right above you (the master on the 16th floor). the room was awesome but we had some A/C issues too Anyhoo - just wanted to say hi and congrats (I will write a review soon too). Your wedding looked great. Ps- i did say hi to one of your bridesmaids in the elevator (i might have scared her - I was dripping wet from the ocean and I was like "are you in the simbasim wedding? say hi from Gen!" Yes she told me! I was excited to hear something from another BD bride. Can't miss the hubby!! LOL!! Hope your wedding went well! Can't wait to read review! Quote: Originally Posted by destination Congratulations Jen! You were a beautiful bride! Sorry I didn't get to meet you in the days before our weddings. It was nice to finally meet you in the spa. I was a little uptight/nervous. Not sure why because everything went so well. You were a beautiful bride...loved your dress. Looks like you had a good time! can't wait to read your review, too!

Quote: Originally Posted by cubsfan Wht about the ice they used for frozen drinks I am just speculating! I drank the heck out of frozens drinks! BTW.. below are my professional pictures. They are awesome! Juan is unbelievable nice and very fun to work with. Highly recommended!

Quote: Originally Posted by cancunbride CONGRATULATIONS..... you looked absolutely beautiful and your review was so fun to read. Im glad you enjoyed that te wrap. I got it done also and I was addicted to it. If I had enough money I would of gotten one of those everyday. I got the idea from your review..thanks! I loved the spa! Not only was the service great but there was such a wide range of services. All of which were awesome! Can't wait to go back for 5 year anniversary!

Quote: Originally Posted by cancunbride We went to Daddy O's and Ice I think its called, its the big white one... its kind of a replica of Coco Bongo. They do the same thing except its cheaper. Make sure to get your photo taken with your hunni and get it stuck onto a tequila bottle, its $20.00 and its such a great memory. Coco Bongo was 70.00 per person so that was too ridiculous for us-- It was only $50/person when we went. If you have a group, you have more room for bargaining. We ended up buying 3 bottles of liquor and getting a private table and skipping the all you can drink.

BTW..hubby got montezumas revenge BAD!!! He is an ice eater!! He eats ice like most people chew gum. The only time we ventured off and consumed beverages was Coco Bongo and Jungle Cruise (only bottled water but who knows if it was refilled). No one else got sick in the group. Just an FYI..don't eat the freaking ice. I would assume it would go without saying but he is stubborn!

Quote: Originally Posted by PhillyBride09 Oh really? I didn't think it had the Jacuzzi's in there!! That's awesome to know! :-) Thanks!...I will be sure to refuse that Room # if we get it..LOL We are also the kind of people who are always hot...we sleep wth the windows open in the bedroom in the winter...So no AC will def be a problem :-) Thanks for the Heads up! I leave tomorrow! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA I appreciate you answering all of our questions I am sooo jealous! Have a wonderful time. Remember there are only a couple of rooms in your room catergory so if you get stuck in a room you are stuck unless you want to downsize. BTW..hubby got montezumas revenge BAD!!! He is an ice eater!! He eats ice like most people chew gum. The only time we ventured off and consumed beverages was Coco Bongo and Jungle Cruise. No one else got sick in the group. Just an FYI..don't eat the freaking ice. I would assume it would go without saying but he is stubborn! I am going to post this on the other thread as well!

Quote: Originally Posted by rabutler816 Thanks for The Review!! How exciting!! You were gorgeous! I am so nervous on the DJ thing now... :/ I have Mannia but boy oh boy my Ipod has 1000 + songs that would soo just be ok. With no DJ do you still get a mic? Yes you do get a mic! That is the funny thing. You basically get a DJ who calls himself a sound guy?? go figure! We have over 4000 songs on our itunes. I downloaded a whole playlist for the wedding and to be honest, I think he played music off of his own playlist the whole time. he had a mac computer connected to the sound system and he was fiddling with it the whole time. he was great! I tipped him and his assistant $40 bucks. WELL WORTH IT!

Quote: Originally Posted by PhillyBride09 I keep reading your review because I leave in 2 days & I am SOOO excited! I am glad you didn't have a problem at Customs. I know LIsa said they didn't either...But I am just nervous. However..I don't feel like making receipts :-( We are also getting the One Bedroom Master Suite...How was it? One of the main reasons for me getting that was the size....Was it really spacious? I am secretly hoping to be upgraded to a Jacuzzi suite or something, but if the worst thing that happens is I get to keep my 1 bedroom master suite, that's more then fine..LOL Yes, the one bedroom master suite has a jacuzzi in the master bath and on the balcony. the whole family used the one on the balcony and we took a picture of us all washing wach others hair...HILARIOUS! IF THEY GIVE YOU ROOM # 6156 TELL THEM HELL NO!! The A/C does not work in bedroom!Girl, don't let them lie to you..it is broken! It was so freakin hot the day oF the wedding. My DH got a room the night before, when I went in his room I realized how freaking hot it was in my room. I told him I would sneaking in the middle of the night!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by PhillyBride09 How was customs for you? Did they give you a hard time? I am in the process of making my "receipts now" we have 6 bags...Plus a laptop bag ad my Oversized handbag...Ugh :-( We had 5 bags. I did not have receipts for anything. I am such a slacker. Customs was a breeze. No kidding it took us 45 minutes from the time we stepped off the plane to the time we pulled up to the the resort. The longest wait was waiting to for another party to arrive for the bus to leave. They finally left without them so we had the bus to ourselves. On the way home, customs was just as easy. We had a layover in Houston so went through customs there. Took a few minutes, no waiting and headed to our connecting flight. Quote: Originally Posted by JoLo908 Hahaha, No joke, I thought your rehearsal pic was your ceremony pic, and I was like, great... FI is going to be so jealous and want to get married in his swim trunks too... LOL... you looked beautiful and congrats!!! If he could have been married in his bathing suite he would have, I had to beg him to wear pants to the civil ceremony before we left. I think he actually enjoyed getting dressed up in his fancy pants after it was all said and done! Quote: Originally Posted by nickicolb123 Great review!! You pictures are so beautiful and so are you! It is so good to hear that everything went smoothly for you. Is there any way that you could post some pics of the beach reception set up? I haven't really been able to get a good idea of what it will look like. Thanks so much, and again you look gorgeous! Thanks so much. Amazing what a makeup, a pretty dress, flower in your hair, and incredible scenery will do for you! I just got a few more pics from my sister, I will post them today! Quote: Originally Posted by bbpacco Thanks for the review, and you looked beautiful! Can I ask a quick question, how long is it going to take them to send you the video? I really want the get that before I leave Cancun... When I get it I will let you know.

Quote: Originally Posted by mummergirl $1000 isn't bad at all for 4 hours, considering you'd need about $500 more than that to get most of the other area photographers there for 3 hours. all i got for not using him is an extended video. you're one of the only people on here who used the resort photographer and it sounds like you were very happy with him, so it's a good option for someone on a budget. Definitely well worth it! Quote: Originally Posted by PhillyBride09 Great review & Pics Jen!! Congrats again. It sounds like you had a fabulous time I am ecited that you used Juan Navarro as I am using him too. I think if you don't upgrade you get him for 90 mins right?? I guess I will find out soon, as We leave on Saturday!! :-) The situation with the Video guy sounds shady. Hmm...We will be there a full 4 days after the wedding so hopefully there will not have to be shipping involved. Anyway...I am so happy for you and everything sounded great! :-) Our biggest issue was we were leaving the day after. You should be fine. I am glad I printed all my materials to reference. I printed all photo packages, video packages, all emails, etc. Quote: Originally Posted by Kat81 You looked amazing Jen. Everytime I see DC reviews it makes me all teary. I can't wait to go back there and visit. I get teary eyed just thinking it is over. It was magical and wonderful but I really wished I could have stayed a few more days. We cancelled our Honeymoon cuz of work reasons and really could have used the down time. We took off Monday and sleep til 12 so that helped...ok babbling on now.

Quote: Originally Posted by mummergirl you looked beautiful and your flowers are GORGEOUS! i was really pleased with mine as well (not that you'd know that because i'm a slacker and STILL haven't done my review!!!) haha i love that you joked with claudia about getting stuck in the elevator the day of my wedding ... told ya she was freaked out! she is the sweetest little thing, isn't she? so glad you had a great wedding ... you said you took pics out by the lighthouse with juan navarro? had you upgraded your photo package from what was included? it was my understanding that what was included was just the ceremony. anyway, we had the same thing happen with the timing ... ceremony started around 5:25 instead of 5 and so we ended up with an amazing sunset for our pics. they say all things happen for a reason! CONGRATS!!!!!!!! She did get a kick out of the elevator joke. My way of letting her know we talk..LOL!! I upgraded to photo package 4 which gave me 4 hours of photographer. Cost me close to $1000 extra.

More photos to come!

I finished my review: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...385#post841574

Flight and Check in A+ Flew Continental..nothing special, checked in, waited in line, waited for flight….. Only funny thing was on the way from Houston to Cancun, we were last to board because plane was delayed in New Orleans and I asked if I could put my dress in the First Class Closet. She said there were already 5 Bridal gowns in Closet. So I took up a whole overhead compartment. One man attempted to open the CLOSED overhead compartment and my DH warned him not to open or he would suffer the wrath of the Bride. He proceeded to the next compartment. Airport No problems there. My DH decided to wear a sleeveless shirt and scared all the little Mexicans with his tattoos! It was kinda funny. They would not even make eye contact with him or me! Great idea honey!!! Arriving and Check in A+++ Our room was ready when we arrived. Rafael (bellhop) was awesome! He walked us through property to the Club Tower. The check in was easy. We got our key and up we went. Room B- We reserved the 1 bedroom master suite. A beautiful room on the 15th floor of the Tower with an incredible view of Gazebo. We had some A/C issues with the unit in our bedroom. We are very very hot people and keep our A/C at home on 65 year round!! We are freaks about A/C. Anyway, they attempted to fix the unit three times. Kept telling us it was fixed but NOPE!!! I let it slide due to the fact our living area was so cold. It really was not a major issue until the blood pressure was up the day of the wedding but it was too late by this point. The Resort A+++ All I have to say about this resort is SERVICE, SERVICE, SERVICE…They take care of you and will do anything they can to make your stay amazing. We made our way each day to a different area. First main pool, then the different beach areas, then the club tower pool. I loved them all. I am a very early riser and spent my mornings getting up around 5:30am and cruised the property. It is absolutely my favorite time of the day. There were pelicans, iguanas and most of all incredible sunrises. I think I will miss that the most. I then would head over to gym at 7:30 and get a workout in. The gym is a nice facility and offers enough to get through the vacation. After about 9:00am it gets pretty packed. I finally figured out the drinking system after the 3rd day. The key to feeling any sort of alcohol is to ask for a drink and then a shot on the side of whatever liquor you are drinking. For instance, if you are drinking Margaritas, ask for a shot of tequila ON THE SIDE CHILLED, or Pina Colada ask for a shot of rum ON THE SIDE CHILLED…Finally got a buzz after the 3rd Day!! I also ordered a whole lot of Corona in the can. I did not care for the draft. Wedding Coordinator – Claudia A++ I scheduled a meeting with Claudia at 3pm. I made my appointment about a month before so I could schedule accordingly. She was great. I did make a joke about not getting stuck in any elevators the day of my wedding. She laughed it off but you could tell she needed some therapy for that incident. Anyway, I had quite a few drinks on the plane so I was a bit tipsy. We joked around and wheeled and dealed with her. She loved my DH. He is a pretty funny guy so she gave us a few breaks. We paid for the wedding and gave her a $150 tip. I forgot a few things so the next day I left her a message and everything I asked for was taken care of. Rehearsal A++ For rehearsal Celia met us. I am assuming Claudia was busy with another wedding. No worries because she is completely competent. She is very knowledgeable and sweet. I brought the favors, signature frame, shot glasses, cameras, etc. Everything was placed correctly. We went over the song lists and order of songs and it was followed to a T! We went over other special requests and it was followed exactly! Hotel Food A The food was great. Some were better than others. I like Oceana for dinner. Seaside for lunch. The sushi was OK. I am a big sushi eater and very picky. So like I said it was OK. Definitely worth trying once. The buffet was OK. Not a big buffet eater. I liked the buffet for breakfast but dinner not my thing. We ate for our meet and greet but did not venture back again after that. I did not eat lunch there. We did eat a lot of poolside lunch. I ate the tuna sandwich or the Cheese burger or Club sandwich. Nothing special just bar food. The room service was good, too. If you want something that is not on the menu just ask. My menu was in Spanish for the first 3 days so I was just “winging†it. Once I got the menu, I realized most of what I was ordering was not on the menu. Also, the coffee in the room sucked so every morning at 5:30 I ordered coffee to my room. I will make one last note. I am not a fan of Splenda and that is all they offer. I only use Sweet and Low. I was DYING FOR 5 DAYS!! I had to use regular ole sugar! Spa A++++++ I loved the Spa! It was my escape for a few days from the hustle and Bustle of planning a wedding. My DH got his first Pedicure and we took advantage of all the services from Body Scrubs to Green Tea wraps. Couple massage beachside was absolutely awesome. I highly recommend scheduling them in the early am (like 9am). This way there is no background noise like Jet ski and sea dos at this time. We spent some Quality time together there. It was awesome! Mireya did most of my services while I was there. I HIGHLY recommend her for a massage. She worked this kink out of my neck!! She will apply as much pressure as needed. Awesome!! I did have to fix my eye makeup some but I am pretty picky about my makeup and do just fine on my own. She definitely helped getting it jumped started! Great for putting fake eyelashes on! My Bridesmaid is my hairstylist so she did my hair and what an incredible job she did. I was a nervous wreck by the time I got to her. I had my nails, toes and makeup done then my hair. I do not like to sit down very long so I was a bit agitated by this point. If I had to do it all over again I would definitely break it up some!!!!! Private Dinner A++++++ Definitely needed. We chose the beach by the Tower. It was perfect. Away from everything and very private. The food was OK. It was really just a time for him and I to spend some quiet time alone having dinner. He was able to get a room that evening for the wedding night so we stopped at Oceana and had some coconut Ice Cream and said good night. BTW..THE COCONUT ICE CREAM ROCKS!!!! Hypnotist A Nothing better than free entertainment. There was a hypnotist on Thursday after the meet and greet. It was hilarious watching your friends get hypnotized! Definitely worth seeing! Coco Bongo A After the Hypnotist we headed over to Coco Bongo. One of my guests is fluent in Spanish so he negotiated for us. We ended up getting a private table with 3 bottles of liquor between 12 of us. It was plenty enough and when they were gone so were we. It was a long night! Flowers A+++++++ Of course they were beautiful. I told Claudia what I wanted and she provided it. They were amazing. Ceremony The ceremony was the PERFECT TIME! We started just a little late because of a wardrobe malfunction. My zipper was having issues getting past a seam. After 20 minutes of playing with it, divine intervention helped us and it went right up!!! Anyway, we started at 5:35. By the time we ended the ceremony strolled over to the lighthouse for photos, it was time for sunset. We got the most amazing pictures. My DH is not a mushy guy and he looked at the photos on the camera and got tears in his eyed. It was that beautiful! Minister A++++ She was Fabulous!! She was very fluent in English. She said some beautiful words. Guests came up to me after the ceremony and complimented me on the ceremony. I wish I knew her name. Just ask Claudia the name of the Minister for the Keller/Cochran Wedding. I am sure she will accommodate. Photographer A++++ Amazing pictures, amazing creativity, amazing amazing amazing! He was so nice and enjoyed him so much. We used whoever came with the package. My DH husband dealt with him so I am really unsure of his name. As soon as the pictures come in I will be passing them along! We left the day after the wedding so he will be emailing me the info and mailing me a disk. Videographer B We definitely felt a little taken advantage of. We were told to give him $70 for the DVD at the wedding. When we checked our package it was included. We called Claudia and straightened it all out. He is supposed to be sending us our money back. He says it was for shipping but my DH clearly remembers him asking if we had a FEDEX account (which we do) and sending him the number to ship. It was all a bit shady but Claudia was able to fix in 30 minutes before we got on out bus to leave the next morning. Other than that he did work hand and hand with the photographer. They did a great job working together. Reception It was perfectly set up. There were 4 round tables and our table facing the dance floor. I did not bring any centerpieces and honestly did not need them. There was a large light provided in the corner and lights under the tables. There was a candle in the center of each table. I did have favors that were placed at each person seat. (Personalized M&M’s in white round containers) Cake A- Originally this was an A+++++ but when I looked back at the photos I noticed the “&†symbol was backward. I was more amused than angry. The cake was beautiful and it tasted great! We had the Tres Leches and upgraded cake and eliminated the desert from dinner. Dinner A++++ Caesar Salad – Yummy Lobster Bisque – Yummy Dreams Trilogy – Yummy I was not hungry and was ready to party, so in between courses we were cutting the rug. By the time dinner came, I was hot and over dinner. My guests complimented me on the choices. Honestly, I did not care if anyone liked dinner or not. They can go order room service after (like we did) if they did not like! Sound System A+++++++++++++++++++++ You are making a mistake to hire a DJ. A BIG MISTAKE! He is a DJ! I gave him an iPod and he played the specific songs for certain dances and then he played some of his own music. He was amazing and we jammed!!! The whole wedding was up dancing and sweating. My DH had his shirt opened it was so hot from all the dancing. I do not think I have ever sweated so much. Some of the guests from Abby’s wedding were peaking in on us! I think someone overheard someone referencing the groom as the “Hulkâ€. My DH loved that! We were having an awesome time. After the wedding the girls climbed into the water to cool off! I knew there was no way no one was getting into the water at a beach wedding!!

Quote: Originally Posted by TA Jill Yay Jen!! I'm so glad you had a good time! I hope they took good care of you and your guests! They were awesome!

If anyone would like to see a preview of my pics you can befriend me on facebook. Jennifer Keller Cochran