ArmNat

Jen, Thank you SOOO Much for the info. If you could send me pics I would be through the roof appreciative. Thank you! Nat

Jen, that's great news!!! Congrats again! Ok I have only one question (for now - LOL). Which area did you have her reception in? I haven't heard from anyone that has had the reception on the terrace. Any suggestions? We are going with a sunset-ish ceremony in February . . . Nat

Almost wedding time. Have a wonderful time "kreeves42"!

Glad you brought it up Sandy. I want to get mine, the two moms, and the bridal party done there. Any thoughts from you all would be appreciated . . .

Welcome. Cuba! Wow. That sounds amazing . . .

Looking forward to all of the reviews (mine is in February . . .). I got some more info that I want to share, in case any of you are interested. My 86 yr. old grandmother will be joining us and they said they have a doctor on site from 9am to 7pm. They can also call him after hours. They also confirmed that there is no drinking in the pool, that they definitely have a lack of shade compared to the Dreams PV, and that their bars close at 1am. None of this concerns me, but it might affect your choice of venue . . . My current dilemnas involve . . . invitation wording (any PM's are welcome with sample language), photog/video (we have a very tight budget there, because we are spending so much in other areas - we have gotten a $2000ish total quote from promovion for both, but that scares me since others are around that much just for photography). My invitation issue stems from the fact that we will have a religious ceremony here the weekend before, followed immediately by a cocktail/champagne and cake reception. So I am basically sending out two invites . . . Any thoughts or advice . . . much appreciated!!! Have a great saturday everyone. I will be having a romantic weekend with my hubby to be . . .

Hello Ladies. I am sure you all know this, but here is the not so well-known scoop (at least to me) re the Dreams VM. It does not matter to me, as all of the positives outweigh any potentially negative impact this may have. So here it is: 1. No swim up bar. 2. Apparently, no drinks in the pool - period. 3. Most publicity photos emphasize the private condos and not the actual hotel, as the condos have preference over proximity to the ocean and, accordingly, the views. 4. Shade is a big problem. I stayed at the Dreams PV in April and it had one umbrella/palapa setup for each 2 beach-recliners. And there were several. And I mean severa - no matter what time of day we went, we always found a spot. VM apparently has very few at the beach and the palm trees have not matured to the point of providing enough shade (and people say there are not enough palm trees even if they do mature). The foregoing notwithstanding, there are many more positives than the negatives. I simply want to post these points in case they are important to you, so you make an informed decision. I am still incredibly excited and can't wait to stay, get married, and celebrate at Dreams VM! If any of you has additional details or have facts to refute these points (and I hope you do), i am all ears! Thank you!!!

Thanks. I hope those getting married there this year will share photos! A good weekend to all!

Not of the wedding structure, sorry. In fact, many of the pics I saw were from internet research I conducted (but not of weddings). I should have saved them! I hope those getting married there this year will share photos! A good weekend to all!

Oops. I meant I am NOW a DD bride . . .

Hello ladies. We have changed it yet again, but now it is official! After going back and forth between a million locations/venues, I am now a DD bride getting married at the Dreams VM in February 2010!!! I am so excited to have this all finally in motion. As for gripes, I cannot believe they charge a $1000 fee just for using an outside consultant and vendors. But I love how beautiful the structures and rooms look. We stayed at Dreams PV in April and from the pictures, VM looks even better. I hope that is the case. I will provide planning details soon and hopefully it will be helpful, because so many of you have been so very helpful to me. I am sure I will also seek tons of advice. ciao for now!

Hello ladies. It's official! After going back and forth between a million locations/venues, I am not a DD bride getting married at the Dreams VM in February 2010!!! I am so excited to have this all finally in motion. As for gripes, I cannot believe they charge a $1000 fee just for using an outside consultant and vendors. But I love how beautiful the structures and rooms look. We stayed at Dreams PV in April and from the pictures, VM looks superior. I hope that is the case. I will provide planning details soon and hopefully it will be helpful, because so many of you have been so very helpful to me. I am sure I will also seek tons of advice. ciao for now!

I am also looking into China Blanca and I guess due to lack of points, cannot see the pics. The website has so few! Can anyone provide pricing info for a one night event; i.e. a wedding? The website only prices stays. THANK YOU!

Hi Jess and everyone. I too am going with DD and am awaiting Kristin's recommendations on an off site wedding. We are staying at Dreams PV, but they are booked for our date as far as doing the ceremony there, so, assuming our budget allows for it, DD will plan a wedding at one of the many villa or private beach options that are out there. If you have specific recommendations in the meantime, I am all ears!

Ladies, forgive what may be a breach of forum rules (I guess, since this is not about a Dreams wedding per se, but related), but I wanted to share this with you because you have been so wonderful. In case any of you are on the fence about Dreams PV due to dates or anything else (it is a wonderful selection, so this is for those, like me, who are set on a date and the Dreams is booked then): I had to look for alternatives and thought about Riu Pacifico. However, the Riu does not work with outside planners. I do not have enough confidence based on my research to book the wedding there. It looks like the best thing to do is the following, assuming our budget allows for it (and I welcome your thoughts on this as well): We will stay at the Dreams PV, which is where we wanted to stay all along and use Dazzling Details to plan a wedding at one of the many villa or private beach options that are out there. If you have specific recommendations in the meantime, I am all ears! If not, no worries. I do not want to detract form the focus on your wedding at Dreams PV. Good luck to you all. May it truly be the day of your Dreams! xoxox to all . . .

Thanks Helen and everyone. It looks like the Riu does not work with outside planners. I do not have enough confidence based on my research to book the wedding there. It looks like the best thing to do is the following, assuming our budget allows for it (and I welcome your thoughts on this as well): We will stay at the Dreams PV, which is where we wanted to stay all along and use Dazzling Details to plan a wedding at one of the many villa or private beach options that are out there. I am sure I will come back for advice or info on the ones that Kristin of DD recommends. If you have specific recommendations in the meantime, I am all ears! xoxox to all . . .

Thanks for responding. Looks like this thread is not as active as some of the others, especially the Dreams brides . . .

Good points, all! Yes, it looks like we will go with Riu Palace Pacifico, but it is in Nuevo Vallarta. No biggie since we do not plan to leave the resort. I just am apprehensive since I have never stayed at this particular resort (though we have stayed at other Rius) and when I did the research, I got a "corporate" feel. Also, I have yet to hear back from Kristin of DD, but I sent feelers to a couple of other planners and they said Riu does not work with outside planners (of course, the said something similar about Dreams, and we know Kristin works with them). Fingers crossed.

Thank you. And if you guys can think of any alternatives that are as charming a Dreams (I am not sold on Riu, but my FI thinks it is great - I think it is too big and corporate, if that makes sense), please let me know.

Hello ladies and PLEASE HELP. This is Nat. I began posting yesterday, when I thought things couldn't get any crazier. The ladies on the Dreams PV site are amazing and I am sure everyone on here is equally wonderful. I in need of serious assistance. My fiance, AM, and I were originally going to be married in June 2010 in Los Angeles, but (to make a long story short) as of last week we decided on Feb. 13 at Dreams PV. Well, that is suddenly unavailable. So we have booked Feb. 13 at the Riu Palace Pacifico. But I honestly know NOTHING about the place. Is the coordinate there any good? Shall I spring on a private planner instead? Is the beach wedding better than gazebo? Where the heck is their gazebo? Can you offer any advice on who to work with at the resort? Another idea: I have seen reference to Kristin of Dazzling Details. Shall we use her? How much does she charge? Does she basically take over and make sure everything is handled? Sounds great, but not sure if I can afford her. I will take any and all advice you can provide. I never thought it would be this "last minute", but it is what it is and we just feel blessed that we can even plan a wedding there and are looking forward to enjoying it. Thank you for reading this and any help you can give us. Some details follow: Wedding Date: Currently 13 February 2010 Guests: Currently 50-75, but 100 is also possible. Better than the 400 we were planning for the local wedding. Details: We prefer the wedding to be at around 5:00pm in the evening, but it looks like it's going to have to be at 3:00pm. We understand that there will be a 1 hour cocktail hour following the wedding ceremony, and then a dinner and fiesta. So we need to add significantly to the package (we will need a banquet type of reception; i.e. seated dinner for all guests, with centerpieces for each table, assuming each table seats 8-10 people, etc.) We will need a sound system to play our own music and an outdoor area where we can have our private wedding fiesta. Is all of this possible? We prefer this to be outdoors and not in a banquet hall. All our guests will be staying at the resort. So far I have chosen the Caprice package as follows: Optional wedding services (additional charge): Bag of Rose Petals 28,00 x 6 uds. = 168,00 USD Boutonniere 11,00 x 7 uds. = 77,00 USD Bride's Bouquet 70,00 x 1 uds. = 70,00 USD Bridesmaid bouquet 30,00 x 4 uds. = 120,00 USD Corsage 23,00 x 2 uds. = 46,00 USD Table Centerpiece 50,00 x 8 uds. = 400,00 USD Tropical flowers for arch 95,00 x 1 uds. = 95,00 USD Bar Bahia Rental per hour 180,00 x 7 uds. = 1.260,00 USD Bottle of Sparkling Wine 25,00 x 10 uds. = 250,00 USD DVD (Ceremony and photosession) 350,00 x 1 uds. = 350,00 USD DJ (per hour) 150,00 x 6 uds. = 900,00 USD Does this make any sense?

Great. Looks like my date is not available all of a sudden . . . February 13 is understandably popular, but come on. I am looking into the Riu chain now. Thanks for all of your help ladies! If things change and I move back to Dreams, I will pop in for sure. Good luck!

Update: Rebecca responded. She is as nice as you all have said. I am comparing her proposal to Kristin's. Rebecca's is nice and organized, but leaves some questions and additional legwork to be done, which I do not mind. But Kristin kind of does it all for you. Considering my time crunch and work schedule, if we can pull of affording Kristin, that is what I will go with. But if you have some time to plan (which would be so nice, but my June wedding is not happening any more . . .), then save the money and work with Rebecca. That's my 2 cents. Have a good one everyone!

Hi Merve. Looking forward to hearing the updated scoop on Dreams. Speaking of which, do most of you communicate with Rebecca via email? She still has not responded. Thank God for Kristin of Dazzling Details. She got back to me with available dates and a detailed (and I mean detailed) quote that broke down everything! It looks as if using Kristin for Dreams is a worthwhile investment (and not all that expensive to boot, in the grand schekem of things).

Thanks Lauren!

My 2 cents? A bonfire rehearsal sounds great! I don't think it is rude at all. Activities are nice, but maybe not every day so people can "enjoy" their vacation.