smith3576

I haven't seen the indoor space at Dreams, but I tend to agree with Jess unless wearing shoes is important to you. We went to a destination wedding in Cancun that held the reception indoors. The room was nice, with lots of windows and doors opening up to a grassy area, but it was right next to a bar and cigar lounge. Lots of guests kept leaving the reception and going to the bar or cigar lounge. I don't know if the bride and groom cared, but I wouldn't have liked it. So I would pay attention to where the indoor ceremony would be held and what it's around and how that might affect the reception. If you do it on the beach, be sure to give your guests a heads up so they can plan their clothing accordingly! Also, depending on the time of day, be sure to check the tide info. I've heard of some beaches that can practically disappear, although I haven't heard that of Dreams specifically.

Funny thing - since I wrote that we were going to go outside of PV for our honeymoon since we just would have spent a week there for the wedding, we realized that we wanted to stay! We realized that after a week at a big all-inclusive, hanging out at the pool and beach, that we'd want to be able to get out more to explore, eat at restaurants, and be more active. So going to a secluded place fell off our list. But, here is the list of the places me TA sent us when we wanted something romantic and secluded. They look amazing and are all within a couple hours of PV. Here's what she said: Las Alamandas - VERY private, exclusive, secluded, small (30 guests max) wonderful resort.. on the coast 2 hrs south of PV. Made up of 6 villas beautifully and individually decorated (by the owner Isabel Goldsmith) on 4 beaches w/gardens, lakes, lagoons, bird sanctuary. You can have an entire villa, or a section of it, but all have private entrance. Large terraces w/hammocks. Living room/dining areas have wide screen TV and sound system. Bathrooms have double sinks, large tubs, shower, bidet. Colorful - both the interiors & the sweet-smelling flowers that are everywhere. Nice pool, tennis, fitness center, horses, mountain bikes, fishing, bird watching. I spent several days here in May and Las Alamandas is now my very favorite hotel in all Mexico!! Service and food excellent. www.lasalamandas.com El Tamarindo - 5 star recently renovated small bungalow-style exclusive resort 30 miles north of Manzanillo. 29 luxury units in the trees, gardens, or on the ocean with the finest linens and amenities, all w/private terrace & plunge pool. In the Ocean Casitas (which have private plunge pool & outdoor jacuzzi), you can adjust the sliding screened doors to hear and/or see the ocean while you sleep! Flat scree TV, music system, large baths. Impeccable service and food. 18-hole championship golf course w/breathtaking ocean views. Bird watching, tennis, spa w/Temazcal. http://www.ycwtamarindo.com/ Majahuitas - Accessible by boat (20min ride), 13 miles south of PV. Totally remote on private beach. 7 open-air casitas with luxury service & amenities. Mostly solar powered, artesian well water, fresh fish and local natural foods. Hiking, sea-kayaks, snorkeling (sea turtles, rays, dolphins), horseback riding. Processing.... Hotelito Desconocido - REALLY back to nature. The only over water bungalow-style casitas (like Tahiti) in Mexico. 60 miles south of PV. 30 "palafitos" along lagoon and beachfront w/terrace, dock & row boat, ceiling fans, open-air showers. Perfect place for the right people... very wrong for others. Eat from daily changing menu of fresh fish, veggies, fruits, beef, seafood - all local and natural. index Hope that helps someone. Now we're off searching for something in PV!

We wanted to do the Sunday Malecon thing too, but we will be there over the Day of the Dead so I wasn't sure if it was the same over those festivities. Does anyone know?

These are good points about the sound volume that I hadn't though of! But I'm confused about the cost of the DJ because they were quoting us $800 for the DJ for the evening (vs. $300 for the rental alone) but it sounds like some of you are getting much lower quotes for the DJ. Although I think we got that before Rebecca came on. Can you all give me more detail on what you are getting for the price for the DJ and sound system? And thanks Sarah, for the great info! It's so hard to really picture it all (we haven't been there and can't afford to go down before the wedding) so all the info is really helpful! Thanks!

Oh, and we are hiring an outside photographer! Even on our tight budget, from what I read of the hotel stuff it wasn't going to cut it for us. We don't have a huge photographer budget but we have found some reasonable rates. From what I've found you can expect to pay at least around $1000 minimum for an outside photog (exception being new photographers looking to build their portfolio) and the rates go up and up depending on the photographer.

We went back and forth on whether to hire an outside WC (well, by we I mean me!). I finally decided to just go with the hotel WC because we are on such a tight budget and while it would nice, it wasn't necessary. We are bringing in some of our own decorations and the hotel will set it all up for us. I think this route works well if you want something simple (the hotel does basic stuff - and it looks nice from what I can tell) or, if you want something a little more elaborate (like I do), you have the time and creativity (and don't mind some added stress) to find stuff yourself and bring it down. After we budgeted in what we would spend on decorations, etc. (along with the price of getting it down there), we decided it was better to go that route than hire an outside WC. But if we had the money, we would have hired someone!

We are just going to rent the system and bring along our IPODs (with backup CDs too). It doesn't seem to be too difficult (of course, we haven't done it yet) and it saves us some money! There is a different system for the ceremony and reception (we are having the ceremony on the beach and the reception on Las Palmas Terrace) but they do the set-up for both. One of our groomsmen and one of our bridesmaids are co-emceeing. We asked two so no one person will have to do it all. They both love music and like doing this kind of stuff and we made it clear they DID NOT have to if they didn't want to. And really, they'll just go up there if something messes up with the IPod or to switch songs if necessary and do a little bit of direction (ie. cake cutting time!). We're having a pretty small wedding (~50) and most people know each other well, so I think that makes a difference. The only thing we asked is that they don't get wasted, at least until it's over! Both seemed to be okay with that

Sarah, Are you using Promovision for your video and photographer?? I am still trying to decide whether to use them for photography and am getting a little pressure from them to decide. Their pictures look good and their price is great, but they couldn't give me anyone other than WC for references and I couldn't look at pictures from a single wedding (just their portfolio). I haven't found anyone who has used them, and this makes me a little nervous. The no contract thing also makes me a little nervous. Thanks!

We're not doing a formal Welcome Dinner because people are arriving on different days and we wanted to save the money. We will get there before any guests, so starting on the first day anyone arrives we are going to do a standing "happy hour" every evening leading up to the wedding from 5 to 7 at the Rendezvous Bar (recommended by someone else on this or some other forum). We will be there, just hanging out, and people can come or not depending on what they are doing and if they want to hang out with us/other guests. We will also use it as a chance to touch base for the evening and following day festivities. We haven't decided yet if we are going to hand out welcome bags to those that arrived that day or if we are going to leave them at the front desk/in their room. I heard there is a charge for the desk or room delivery.

I'm not sure, but I know that you are supposed to take the airport sanctioned taxis and these are more expensive (so it'll cost more to get to the hotel than it would be to go from the hotel to the airport). However, if you cross the street once you get out of the airport (there is a pedestrian walkway) there are regular taxis for normal fare. So depending on how much stuff you have with you, you can get a cheaper deal.

We are looking to book our photographer and are trying to decide whether to go with someone who has 2 photographers (or at least an assistant helping to take pics) or just one. We are also considering whether we need two cameramen(women) for our video. Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on this?

We are just at $15K for EVERYTHING. We are paying for lodging for a week (just for ourselves), having between 50-60 guests, have a rehearsal dinner with about 20 of them; cocktail hour plus 4 hour reception all with open bar and sit down dinner. Videographer and photographer. We are doing everything at the hotel and bringing some decorations with us and using some from the hotel.

I would give them to them at the airport and that will give everyone something to look at during the flight. They'll know the destination when they check in anyway. It wouldn't be hard for someone to drop you off at the curb and help you bring in all the bags just inside the terminal; you could have everyone meet there and so you wouldn't have to carry them around.

I had very quick responses from Kristin at Dazzling Details. I thought she was wonderful and very willing to work with us on our budget. And her prices, I thought, were very reasonable. Unfortunately, our budget was just too tight for anything extra, but from my interactions with her and seeing her work, I would try and contact here again (if you already have).

I had a friend who recently stayed at the 4 Seasons in Punta Mita and RAVED about it. We are arriving on Wed and getting married the next Tuesday (at Dreams PV). Since we'll be there a while, and most of our guests will arrive on Friday and we will have time with them, we want to leave PV for our honeymoon. We actually had our wedding on a Tuesday exactly so we would have more time with our guests. This hasn't been a problem for most of them (just one). I really want a true honeymoon, but my FI doesn't see the point in getting on ANOTHER plane to go some place else (time or money wise) when we're already at a vacation destination. While it dashes my dreams of free first class upgrades for being on our honeymoon (if they even still do that!), I have to admit he's right. Our TA says there are a lot of really neat, romantic, hidden places a few hours away from PV so we will probably rent a car and drive. She is in the process of sending me info on them; I will let you know what she suggests.

We are going to include a book (not sure if we'll do all the same or a few) since we'll be at the beach and I know I always run out of reading material on the plane! We figured if there is some overlap it will also give guests that don't know each other well something to talk about. Kind of like a big wedding book club of sorts. We haven't done it yet so I don't know if it'll go over well; I'll let you know! We'll probably try to find a book by a PV author or with PV as the setting.

Hi! Has anyone used promovision for their photographer? I have found reviews of their videos, which are all positive, but was wondering about using them as a photographer too.

smith3576 Nov 3, 2009 (Jamie)

Well, I'm thinking of doing FOUR colors (navy, a darker teal, red, white, gold/tan) so I think it's fine! Oh, that's five colors! I'd really like to add in a light blue too, if my FI will let me! I think if you are thoughtful in how you use them, you can use as many as you want.

My TA told me that usually FedEx and DHL are reliable to get it there (I am thinking of doing the same thing). Of course, you need a reliable place to deliver it to! I know some hotels won't accept packages.

We considered Le Kliff but did not choose it because a lot of people said it was a little pricey for the food and because of the privacy issue, but it is beautiful and they were very responsive to my requests for their pricing. We are getting married at Dreams. Our guests are paying $128 pp but that includes transportation to and from the hotel. There are less expensive places to stay and they were difficult to work with in terms of getting a lower price for reserving a block of rooms. They also don't offer you much in terms of your wedding for bringing a bunch of people there. But is IS costing us less than $5000 (we are doing an open bar cocktail hour and 4 hour reception including sit down dinner in a private location but not much decoration). We wanted to stay in that part of town and there aren't many options down there and it really does get great reviews, so we'll see! If some of your guests stay at an AI and others don't, those who aren't staying won't be able to visit without paying a fee (at Dreams I think it's $60 or $70 dollars a day). If your wedding is there and they arrive within 30 minutes of the ceremony, they don't have to pay.

I don't know anything about that particular resort, but if you search the forum for it you should find some stuff! Welcome!

Yes, thank you for the review!! I'm glad it turned out well - you were so worried in your earlier posts! It's so hard when you can't just call up and get definitive and quick answers from the hotel We are trying to finalize our date and I am trying to figure out what to do about whether or not to hire an outside WC - which will be determined by cost difference but it's really hard to figure out how much the hotel will charge us. Can you tell me which package you bought? Did they decorate the Terrace for the reception? Do you actually eat out there as part of the reception? I am also confused about how much more per person it is for cake because we will have a lot more than the 10 or 20. Did you have to order "extra" cake? Also, with the dinner, what is the special wedding dinner? Is it the "wedding options" on their website (they have like 9 options but then no extra per person charge so I don't know how much it's really going to cost us? Or is it the different buffet options? Those have prices per person but I wasn't sure if those were extra all together (not a part of the packages). Speaking of, how was the food at the reception? We're not looking for something spectacular, but would like something decent. I noticed the upgraded wedding package includes the use of the gazebo. Do you have to pay for this if you use their basic package? what about the beach and the terrace? Are those just a matter of reserving them or do you have to pay to use them? Sorry for all of the questions but any insight you can shed on these would be great! Thanks!!! Jamie

Welcome! We're getting married the following week, although I still probably have more questions than answers!

We are considering having our wedding here in 11 09 but we want a private place for the ceremony and reception. It's hard to tell whether they have any spots that offer more privacy from the pictures....what are the options for where you can have the ceremony and reception? Thanks in advance!