chipotle99

Hi Future Dreams brides! I got married there in Nov 2010, and it was a beautiful experience. Just got a preview to my wedding "film" back (my videographer is amazing, but takes 6 months to deliver), and wanted to share it, video does the place more justice than pics. It's so gorgeous! See it here: http://vimeo.com/21451419 Good luck to all!

Kids do count! Under 12 count as half a person. I don't know the lower limit (ie...does a 6mo old or 1yo count?) but I do know our 2 and 3year olds counted.

Ouvrm, You did have beautiful centerpieces! I am so happy it worked out for you. Perhaps my mistake was using her for more than just flowers (though looking at just the flowers, she still did a horrific job for my wedding). I also had a meeting with her at my venue before the wedding, and she showed up with a man who she called her "setup engineer" who I understood was taking measurements to plan for the final execution. I was impressed...I mean, he seemed professional. Who knows where she found him, no engineer would have ever done such a crappy job...I mean, look through my pics! I'm just saying...be weary. I also got PMd from 3 other brides with similar experiences who didn't feel comfortable posting about them on a public forum. One bride had her BM bouquets done, half of which fell apart before even reaching the ceremony site. I know it takes a lot to put yourself out there and post your pics with your username, and if you're one of those brides that PM'd, I urge you to share your story for the benefit of others.

Thanks! And I love the dress in your avatar pic, so I'm sure we do hehehe

Robe and Tank are sold, everything else is still available

PMs sent!

I just PMd you

I can prob fit both in a priority flat rate box for $5

Have a few things I actually brought back with me to sell. All items used once for hours at a time: Victoria's Secret Robe (L): $35 (note: this is size large, I wear a size 6 and it was fine. The print is white rhinestones, though it looks kind of blue in my pic) Victoria's Secret Bride Hoodie (Size Medium): $35 Bride Tank from VS (Size M): $15 Hear Shaped Sunglasses $10 (used only for pics) I have a pair of white ones and a pair of baby pink ones

I love Fernando! He did my wedding a few weeks ago, I felt like a princess. And he sprayed some thing on my face, my makeup looked like this ALLL night, and I sweat the night away dancing for 6hrs too He's funny and fantastic. I gave him zero direction, he knew just what would look good. Here are 2 pics with him in them.

Hey Rachel, here are the answers: 1. Duration reception: We have a LOT of dancers in my group, and 3hrs even wasn't enough. In the end, my reception was 6-1 (7hrs) and it did NOT feel like enough! Nobody wanted to leave, and they kept dancing WITHOUT music and with the lights on, until 2am when they officially kicked us out. We then moved to the jacuzzi and didn't hit our bed until 5am. It FLEW by, I didn't have a chance to dance with everyone I wanted, and it was satisfying but still not long enough. That being said, I paid $$$. Initially I did not want to spend, I have no money to spend. Once I was there, it kind of just clicked that this was once in my life, and I was in Cancun with family and friends from all over the world that I hadn't seen in years (Guatemala, New Zealand, Ireland, UK, US, Mexico, etc). So maybe it was a unique situation to me, but I suddenly didn't care about going into debt for a few more months in turn for the best party ever. So I paid up. You are forced to either pay for open bar, which includes the space and waiters, for $15 per person, plus tax and tip (comes out to ~$17 per person). Or, you can rent the space, for the ballroom that's $500 an hour and includes the space, and waiters. It seemed fair per USA prices which all resorts happen to have. For my $85 guests, that came out to $1200 per hour or so for open bar, which I paid 2 hrs of, then the rest I just paid for the space. Note that all you get is water if that's the case, they take all plates and juices, etc. In the end, I spent about $9,000 with Dreams. Not including my DJ and live band which were separate, and cake which was also separate. In retrospect, this was the best money I ever spent. Also keep in mind, the only place you're allowed to go past 11pm is the ballroom. 2. The rules say only buffet after 40 guests, but Cecilia hooked me up with sit down for 85 guests! I think it was more formal this way and guests loved the food. Everyone posted facebook pics of their dishes, it was great. Think that was all that was asked of me. I love this forum and it helped me out so much, please feel free to gimme all your Q's, I had a ton before my wedding too!

Wow....talk about speaking too soon! Julieta was my worst nightmare. Everything she promised fell through, all lies. Yes, she did have the best prices, but you get what you pay for. In my case, I paid for a whole lot of stuff I never even got, so maybe that's not even so true either. Click here for details:

None of my guests knew I hadn't shelled out extra $ for cocktails. The new terrace and tower lobby are so beautiful that there are no additional decorations I could even think of putting up. The furniture is all new and classic style. By skipping out on the cocktail hour, I did get 10 more guests for dinner. You should just look at what hour you will be there, I think snacks get placed at 4pm, so it was perfect timing for us. The appetizers are warm and cold (we had egg rolls, empanadas, and shrimp with cheese, pastries, fruit) and they put a ton of them out. Also, what we did was tip the tower bartender $100 before the ceremony. If you pay for cocktail hour, there is 1 bartender for every 10 guests. So essentially, you are screwing over the poor 1 bartender that happens to be there that night. Ours was one man for 85 guests. The tip helped him feel like he was getting compensated for his hard work, and he did a fantastic job. Everyone tipped him on their own too, so he was happy to make $$$, I was happy to only spend $100, and everyone was happy in the end.

Hi Jana, well it's still before your wedding so you have time! Did you pay with paypal? I would try to get a paypal refund, which they offer for fraudulent transactions which this is. If you decide to go with her, make sure you use credit cards instead of your checking account on paypal in case she doesn't pull through like she did to me, then at least you can try to get refunded through your credit card as well. She did such a crappy job at gazebo decor and charged me only like $50 then what dreams would have charged. Dreams did an amazing job at everything I contracted them to do. Cecilia and Claudia are really on it, and if it's not too late for you, I would go with them for everything. I still managed to have the most amazing wedding ever! But this Julieta lady really gave it her best shot to ruin it. Most of all, nobody seemed to care about the decorations and we still had a great time, but it's that feeling of feeling straight out robbed that bothers me the most. In the end, she's just a small detail in the big picture, there is no way I'm giving this woman more credit than that. Thanks everyone for your comments, your time at Dreams will be amazing! After visiting 3 other 5 star resorts in the area, I still feel that Dreams had the best service, beach, food, and definitely wedding gazebo hands down! Sure, the rooms do need updating, but I spent 8hrs there max and 99% of that time was fast asleep

I had a horrible experience with Julieta. Here's a link to my post and pictures of her work, including my centerpieces and ceremony flowers. http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/66071/do-not-use-julieta-wedding-florist#post_1493630

DANCEFLOOR What she promised: What I got for $420: (unfinished wood that left splinters in those that went barefoot, unfinished corners, and an odd thin shape where 3 guests fell off, 1 badly injured her ankle after falling off.) Oh, and I also got her apologies: "Sorry, I forgot to mention what kind of dancefloor, I only said white. Sorry, I'll give you $100 back." That was her answer. As a wedding coordinator/decor company, you expect her to figure out this is wrong BEFORE your event. CENTERPIECES What she promised (this pic still available on her website) What I got for $50 x 11 tables: This is the best one. Most were just 4 calla lilies in a vase and I don't even have pictures!

DECORATIONS She showed me pictures like this: What I got for $800 for drapes on "ceiling and walls" like above picture + $400 for "romantic pink and purple" lighting: (The following mummy like scraps were on the wall behind us only).

This woman is a real crook. Here is my nightmare story with her: I hired Julieta wedding florist, for multiple things with my wedding, including airport transfers, tours, and ceremony and reception decor, musicians, and flowers. Initially, I raved about her amazing prices and great communication skills on this board, everything she quoted me was half price than what the hotel was asking. Her decorations were half of what Zuniga or DecoCancun wanted. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that you get what you paid for. Had I been a little more uptight about things, she would have ruined my wedding! She failed on EVERY front. TRANSFERS her price was $12 round trip, which I found fantastic. You get what you pay for however. They only showed up half the time, and people had to pay $$$ for taxis after hours of waiting. For some people, they did show up, but then made them wait in the van 2hrs for more arrivals. For me, bride&groom, they arrived on time in a scraggly old van, then my then-fiance had to get out and push the van when the motor stopped, that didn't work and we had to wait for a rescue van. All to save a few dollars, definitely go with USA transfers who I've used in the past without a glitch, or someone else well known. GAZEBO DECOR: I had paid her to decorate the gazebo, FAIL. I was promised tall calla lilies surrounding each column, and romantic drapes on the gazebo. Her sorry job looked like crap, it would have looked better with nothing at all. What she promised me: What I got for $350: MUSICIANS Paid for a 12 piece mariachi. FAIL. Only 8 showed up and played for 2hrs instead of the contracted 3hrs. cont'd on next post

I just got married and got an amazing cake done by Zaida from Dolcet Cakes in Playa del Carmen. She delivered it to my hotel in Cancun. She made me a coconut cake with raspberry lime filling that was delicious, and the cake was so gorgeous! Dolcet works with Fondant, and she is really an artist! My cake was the talk of the party, it was sooo cute! I had the figurines made by mudcards on Etsy, and Zaida came to the hotel 3 days prior to pick up the figurines. She made the firetruck and cake out of fondant. I loved it! Here's her site: http://www.dolcetcakes.com/home Here's my cake (he's a firefighter, I'm an ER doctor) ):

I have to say I agree with this sooo much! I used Julieta Wedding Florist for my transfers, her price was $12 round trip, which I found fantastic. You get what you pay for however. They only showed up half the time, and people had to pay $$$ for taxis after hours of waiting. For some people, they did show up, but then made them wait in the van 2hrs for more arrivals. For me, bride&groom, they arrived on time in a scraggly old van, then my then-fiance had to get out and push the van when the motor stopped, that didn't work and we had to wait for a rescue van. All to save a few dollars, definitely go with USA transfers who I've used in the past without a glitch, or someone else well known.

I just had the best band ever for my wedding 2 wks ago! Banda Balance. Here's the cut and paste from the Dreams Cancun thread where I just posted about them: They were SOOO FANTASTIC!!!! I was worried no one would dance since they play a lot of salsa and not everyone is into that (I am though..hehehe). We had a DJ the first 2 hrs and then 3hrs of the band. Both were sooo great! The DJ had everyone on the dancefloor the entire time! Then the band came on and played Black Eyed peas, Beyonce, Salsa, they took requests from the crowd, had us doing conga lines and other dances, no one was sitting down at ALL until they stopped playing at 1am. They sound so good, they could be famous rockstars, I'm so serious, you guys have to check them out, it really made the party something to talk about. The main singer also MC'd the wedding (toss bouquet time, cake cutting time, etc) http://www.balancelabanda.com/

Ok, never mind, I obviously don't know how to insert pictures. Anyway, to continue with the review: Music/DJ: I had Balance Band. They were SOOO FANTASTIC!!!! I was worried no one would dance since they play a lot of salsa and not everyone is into that (I am though..hehehe). We had a DJ the first 2 hrs and then 3hrs of the band. Both were sooo great! The DJ had everyone on the dancefloor the entire time! Then the band came on and played Black Eyed peas, Beyonce, Salsa, they took requests from the crowd, had us doing conga lines and other dances, no one was sitting down at ALL until they stopped playing at 1am. They sound so good, they could be famous rockstars, I'm so serious, you guys have to check them out, it really made the party something to talk about. http://www.balancelabanda.com/ Cake: I used Dolcet, and I am so glad I did! Zaida, the owner, made me a coconut cake with raspberry lime filling that was delicious, and the cake was so gorgeous! We ate the 3milk cake Dreams provided the next day, and it was yummy too, but I don't think Dreams could have pulled off the cake we wanted. Dolcet works with Fondant, and she is really an artist! My cake was the talk of the party, it was sooo cute! I had the figurines made by mudcards on Etsy, and Zaida came to the hotel 3 days prior to pick up the figurines. She made the firetruck and cake out of fondant. I loved it! Her prices were a little higher than Dreams, but well worth it ($7/person instead of $5 at Dreams). Here's her site: http://www.dolcetcakes.com/home Here's a link to see my cake (since I obviously can't figure out the imbed thing): http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vyOV17g6aRA/TPIFAl1t6cI/AAAAAAAACoM/DP9BONy8UAQ/s720/Screen%20shot%202010-11-27%20at%2011.28.48%20PM.png Makeup: I used Fernando. He did a kick ass job as all the previous raves say. His hair guy was amazing too and did all of my girls' hair. I wouldn't have used anyone else. Food: How could I forget, the best part! We had a creamy soup in a breadbowl which was delicious, the Dreams salad, which looked cool but not everyone liked (had beets), and a Dreams trilogy of steak, shrimp and fish. It was off the hook and everyone loved it! Hard to please a crowd with meat too, we chose it 3/4 done. Then we asked them to bring out the churros at midnight as a snack since we had cake for dessert. It was great, everyone enjoyed them. They were filled with cream, the most delicious thing ever! When you're in Mexico, do Mexican! Churros instead of chocolate cake was great. Also, one of my guests has a gluten allergy, and I brought over gluten free cake mix, which they made and decorated with chocolate covered strawberries and the like. It was so nice of them to do that, and they made an entire special menu for her, she was a happy camper. I think that's it for now, feel free to ask Q's, again my photog's site is: http://jessiechophotos.com/

Let's try again: The horrible dancefloor by Julieta Wedding Florist: <IMG>http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vyOV17g6aRA/TPH-822AIlI/AAAAAAAACoA/XJlbxD2byBY/149000_10150327731060104_718000103_15740696_5709786_n_2.jpg </IMG> Shotglasses as placecards <IMG>http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vyOV17g6aRA/TPH-9O4qmTI/AAAAAAAACoE/yhDG87SrQlc/s640/149656_965962985280_916948_52082073_2992183_n.jpg </IMG>

oops, sorry, I didn't insert the images correctly, gotta look that up again, but I think the links should work. More on the next post.

Rachel, yes, it's the ballroom! I had wanted the ballroom because I wanted to party till 1 in the morning...and this wasn't allowed anywhere else. 11pm is too early for my crew. And in the end, the ballroom was perfect because it started to rain, about 30mins after my ceremony! So here's my review little by little, or else it'll never get done! Overall: Dreams was the perfect place! My family had a blast, I had 85 total guests, including 9 kids under 12 years old. The Seaside Grill had the best steak we had EVER tasted, I mean, better than Ruth & Chris', def high quality. The service was phenomenal, which I thought was the norm in Mexico, but turns out it's only Dreams! On honeymoon, we went to Tulum and then to Excellence Riviera Maya, which was 5 star all inclusive. We felt the restaurants were better at Dreams hands down! We heard so much about breakfast at Excellence, and when we got there, all we could think about was how much we missed Dreams and world cafe. Oceana was fabulous too and a family favorite. I also loved Himitsu, though don't go in there expecting authentic sushi...it's def the mexican version. Delicous nonetheless. It was laid back and the beach was by far the best we saw! We went to Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Riviera Maya. None had a nicer beach than Dreams! Only Tulum came close, near the ruins, but still not so much a wading type of beach, more like a ride the waves beach there. Wedding coordinator: I had Cecilia, who happened to do my wedding on her birthday! She was FANTASTIC!!!! I mean, I cannot rave enough! She was dealing with all 85 guests, my demanding parents, and trying to organize our large wedding party along with many vendors. She pulled through in every way. She kept checking in on me and I saw her behind the scenes the whole day making sure everything ran smoothly. She did an A+++++++++ job all the way. Wedding vendor: I had Julieta wedding florist, who I raved about in the past for her amazing prices and great communication skills. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that you get what you paid for. Had I been a little more uptight about things, she would have ruined my wedding! She failed on EVERY front. I had paid her to decorate the gazebo, FAIL. Her sorry job looked like crap, it would have looked better with nothing at all. Paid for a 12 piece mariachi. FAIL. Only 8 showed up and played for 2hrs instead of the contracted 3hrs. Paid for the ballroom to be decorated. She showed me professional pictures of ballrooms she had done. All lies, I do not believe for one second any of those photos were hers! She charged me $400 for lighting that she never put up, $800 for draping that she never put up, and $400 for a white shiny dancefloor. This was the absolute worse! She put up these blocks of white painted unfinished wood with raw sharp edges, in a long skinny formation that looked like a landing strip! It was so horrible that I would have rather kept the rug, but by the time I saw it, the guests were already seated! I'll post pictures soon, but it was sooooo horrible. Had this happened here in the USA, I would have sued her for lying and straight out robbery and deception. On top of everything, after the wedding, she "lost" her cellphone and "went out of town" so she could never communicate with me regarding what she had done. Anyway, I wish I could delete previous messages where I recommended her. Good communication definitely does not mean good work in the end. I should have paid Dreams' high prices, everything they did for me was quality work in the end. Here's a pic of the horrid dancefloor: Bouquet: By Dreams. Better than anything I could have imagined! I was really vague and asked for a "colorful bouquet with calla lilies". Cecilia pulled through and gave me this gorgeous bouquet with calla lilies and fuschia and blue flowers, my wedding colors! It was so amazing! Same for the boutonnieres and corsages, all fantastic! We also got the sweetheart table centerpiece included in the package, here's a pic: Ceremony: We were running late because my makeup got there late, and I really wanted to do the first look on the pier. We ran back from that and the ceremony started 1hr later than we had stated! It was fine because our guests were hanging out in the terrace with drinks and taking pics. We had mariachi live for music, and it was great! We had the sound system and my brother officiated. We wrote our own thing since it was symbolic. It was perfect (see pics on my prev post) and lasted about 30mins. After that, everyone just went to the terrace and had drinks, and the Tower provided free evening snacks every night so we didn't even pay for cocktail hour. With 85 guests, it would have cost me another $2k to do cocktail so we skipped it and I'm glad we did! We all got free drinks and food anyway and people thought that it was a real cocktail hour! lol. Here's a pic of our place cards, custom made shot glasses! Reception: We had the mariachi lead the wedding party into the reception hall, it was quite a scene, everyone loved this detail. I had given Cecilia a million details to do: chair sashes, napkins, table numbers, seating charts, guestbook table with framed pics. It was a ton of work and she pulled through with everything! Even put our seating chart on this really nice stand. The ballroom was pretty bare and not the prettiest place, but we had a blast and partied until we got kicked out at 2am! There was 1 waiter per table, and they were great, they even danced with us! They kept coming around the dancefloor with trays of shots which kept the party going, and our guests kept choo-choo training around in a conga line, at one point there were 60+ people in a conga line and 2 waiters were shooting shots into the mouths of each person in the conga line! (there's a pic of this on my photog's website). It was great!