racer320

Hi everyone, Joy and I just got married at Dreams Puerto Vallarta on Friday Nov. 26, 2010 on Oceana beach. Tania did an excellent job-no fears about Rebeca being gone. We met Louise, the new wedding coordinator-she is really nice. Here's our wedding video that was part of the Ultimate package. We split it into 3 so it can fit on u-tube. We will post a review soon. All of our guests were saying our weddding was the best they ever went to! Enjoy! check out my move on the end of the 3rd video!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBzSwNKlsNs ...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIlKIzJYUIc

first, we were going to go for the cruise ship wedding. but after discussing with the family, we figured the cost didn't work given "bang for the buck". then my sister mentioned the fantastic time that she had at Dreams PV. with her raving recommendation we then did research, and really liked what we were reading on the net. we had some time to get away, and decided to combine a short vacation with a little wedding recon. needless to say, we totally fell in love with the resort. food, amenities, food, the whole idea of AI, being secluded, spending a few hours with rebeca (the WC), and so much more made our decision to place a deposit before we left. we we're not happy to leave. and to actually be on the beach where we're going to get married, just sealed the deal!

what day in november? we're booked for friday, november 26. we're going to have our ceremony in front of oceana, and do the reception at las palmas (the one with the pool). you may want to review with rebeca the pricing per extra person. joy (my fiance) has the numbers for how much per extra person...but i don't remember the pricing being that high for each extra person.

jess, so very happy for you!!! and thank you for the wonderful review!!! congrats on a beautiful wedding!!! joy and merve

when we were at dreams, we stayed in the older tower and toured the newer tower...and like mentioned above, the newer tower is way better. we decided on the older tower so we can experience the less pricer room, and joy wanted to hold the new tower experience for when we go back for the big day! what we plan on doing is going over our list of family and friends and describing both, so we can get a better idea of where they're at. especially since, if i'm remembering correctly, to stay in the newer tower the cost is about $50/night more per person. but trust me, we're really going to push for everyone to stay at the newer tower for the really fantastic room vs a nice room.

kimber, congrats!!! joy and i are so happy for you!!! enjoy the rest of your stay there in PV!!!

opps...thanks for the add!!! gotta love this thread!!! thanks, merve

joy and i are set for nov 26, 2010...deposit in!!!

was really ordering more of the seafood, and steak orders. sorry i don't really remember ordering chicken much. funny, the one that really sticks with me is the clam chowder at oceana...i even ordered 2nd's of chowder AFTER desert!!! as mentioned before, for the most part, all the options are really tasty, with the desert not being all too spectacular. order of restaurant choices: 1. oceana 2. and 3. (tie) portofino and seaside 4. world buffet didn't try el patio always ask for the recommendations for the staff! sort of a long answer to a brief question...but the food is so damn good!!!

wow...love the concerns...everyone wanting to make their day so special!!! hope this helps! first, once you get to dream, i'm sure rebeca will ease all concerns, especially if you get there a few days before "the day". karen - we choose the beach in front of oceana, since it's just so picturesque. plus it is somewhat private. if angled right (270 degrees), your pictures will not have the 300lb speedo guy. and we decided that having the cocktail hour by there gets our family and friends close to the "wedding ceremony" area, so that everyone is close for pics while enjoying the cocktail hour...and they can hide from the sun under the umbrella thingies. jessica - the oceana beach area is pretty private...the actual restaurant opens i believe 530pm, so there isn't going to be any dinner traffic and dinner on-lookers. beth - gazebo vs. oceana beach area...more of a preference. plus the beach area will be more accommodating for our guest numbers. the gazebo is fantastic, and really overlooks the ocean and the beach, but for our numbers, the gazebo isn't quite big enough. plus, joy and i love the idea of getting married bare foot! and like sarah, reception outside in the tropics is so wonderful!!! almost every meal we had on the property was open air right next to the beach/ocean (seaside cafe, oceana, and the world buffet...portofino is "downstairs" with no windows or views (food and experience excellent)). and for food choices...when we were in rebeca's office, there's so many options!!! but for now we're leaning on the steak and chicken. but trust me, the mahi mahi is yummy!!! and as mentioned before, all will be so happy at the resort!!! joy and i just really recommend that all make reservations at the new tower...the older tower is just, well older...plus our room had a/c probs (man, we should have requested a different room after, but just got a little complacent...but still loved everything!!!). and as a footnote: one of my best friends just spent a week in costa rica...and his wife likes to stay at the 4-5 star locations. and from our conversation, we had that much better of a time! validation for dreams being rated in the top 20 for resorts in mexico. so yeah for us having our "dream" weddings there!!! merve

and look for our pics on facebook...find me under merve...should be up by later tonight. got go to the gym and work off the seaside cafe indulgence!!!

ladies, we're back!!! dreams in PV is the RIGHT CHOICE!!! we met with rebeca for over 2hrs, and i tell you, she is so great to work with!!! the rumors about her we're right! she's WONDERFUL!!! given the heat, the humidity, and the thunderstorms (typical for this month), we still smiled every minute there!!! we even showed rebeca this site, and she never realized this was here. so maybe she'll look into us here on this thread, and help to support our wedding experiences! every location for the ceremony is wonderful!!! and we're choosing to have our ceremony on the beach in front of the oceana restaurant. our cocktail hour is going to be at the beach area right next to oceana...thus everyone can lounge on the beach chairs under the umbrella thingies, and everyone is close for pictures before the dinner begins. we're leaning for las palmas for the dinner, and may ask rebeca options for what it will cost for the oceana restaurant. as for the resort...WE WANTED TO STAY!!! food and drink was wonderful and tasty!!! and you can order as much as you please!!! we loved that we can order steak and have scallops and shrimp on the side (actually another complete order). this all inclusive thing is wonderful. there was lots of reservations on the food being too much like a buffet, but far from it. even the buffet was wonderful!!! service was fantastic. tipping gets you so far. they really appreciate that small bit of generosity. recommendations: 1. have everyone book the new tower...pay the extra bit, we'll worth it. and your guest will notice the difference if they go for the lesser priced room!we heard they may have a temporary hold for the old tower's remodeling (blame the economy). 2. using the coupons for the spa was wonderful. joy had a scrub and massage, while i did the 80 minute deep tissue. those we 3 items that we used the 3 spa coupons on...yup, use all three for one visit, but only one coupon per item. we saw it as saving $100 over the scrub and 2 massages! and for the spa to allow you to relax on the balcony overlooking the beach after was too fun...me i stayed more in the jacuzzi after while joy took to the lounge chair. joy remarked her spa experience as heavenly...(coming from a girl who like to get a massage once a month!) 3. rebeca has a ton of pics and examples to choose from. we're going to request a cd from her of all the options so we can better choose. (our date is over a year from now, so our chooses can change before the event). 4. before we booked our "recon" we went over several pricing options...travel agent, online directly with the resort and the airlines, and on travel sites. our best price was Vacation Deals and Travel Specials by BookIt.com®! we saved over $500 compared to a travel agent. thus we're making sure the invitees are all good with knowing how to book flights/reservations online. but if we find a killer travel agent, comparable in pricing to what we find online (like Vacation Deals and Travel Specials by BookIt.com®), then we may go that route. 5. arriving at the "aeropuerto", make sure to tell everyone to ignore the "timeshare trap" and go directly the booths at the door leading outside that say taxi. we paid $23, but on the way back we paid $15 (which included tip) 6. look to the daily activities...so much to do as part of the in resort activities...scuba 101, kayaking, rock climbing, spanish lessons, etc. and the kid activities are there too!!! best one is the turtle release!!! gotta do that!!! 7. food options for everyone...even the picky!!! just let them know, and they'll work to accommodate!!! i even ordered room service every night so that if i woke up, there's my pizza!!! great late night snack or early morning app! 8. if your guests need the adrenaline running, we did the adventure vallarta canopy excursion...TOO MUCH FUN ZIPPING THRU THE JUNGLE!!! guides made us feel safe and made us laugh!!! but everyday the jet skis were there, along with the parasailer, and small fishing charters. 9. no need for money exchanges...we brought lots and lots of $1 bills. did some math in our head, and everyone took our US dolares! be warned...my brother-in-law picked us up from the airport, and now he's working on my sister to go do another "recon" mission!!! from our experience, i know, and i really mean I KNOW that dreams is our place for our wedding!!!

ok...off to visit dreams on friday!!! hoping to get a whole lot more info for all of us!!! let me know if you have things for us to check while we're there!

jess, since your going to be the 1st in for "recon", what does rebeca have in mind for showing you while you're there? sounds like you'll be in PV for only the day? merve

jess, kim, when are you two doing the "recon"? the FI and i will be at dreams in less than 3 weeks!!! sort of hoping not to get overly distracted when we're there...my sister totally loves dreams from her past vacation, and she had too much fun, thus how we picked dreams. also, i just checked the weather for the next ten days >>> no bueno...hoping it gets so much better. merve

thank you, ladies, for the warm greetings!!! will work to give a good report on our recon mission to dreams.

ladies, hi! my name is merve. my FI (joy) and i have been monitoring this thread for some time now. actually more me than her given i'm more the night shift person than her, even if she acutally works night shift. first off, THANK YOU ALL!!! all of your information on dreams - pv has been so helpful!!! we were initially suggested the dreams resort from my sister's past vacation there. and from all of your postings, we decided to choose dreams as our location for our wedding. since our date (11/10) is still some time away, we've been working our plan. and so everyone knows, we just booked our "recon" get-away to see the dreams resort, catch a wedding or two, and visit with rebaca...we're going in a month! so we are really excited, and once again we do want to thank you all as we say our initial hello! and i do hope you're all good with me being the male perspective!