lorijfletcher

Yes, those are the only items sold. Everything else is still available. Except I did just sell all of the bookmarks, as well. Please PM me if there is something you are interested in because I don't check the thread regularly Thanks Lori

Anel took our reception photo's and they were amazing!!  I would have no concerns if she is your photographer
 

Originally Posted by brookeh68 

FYI - One of the brides that blogged not too long ago said she is excellent - that is the person I am going to reserve for our photos
 

 

 

The following items have SOLD!

 

12 INDIVIDUAL BUG REPELLENT WIPES

3 BAGS OF TUMS

3 BAGS OF PEPTO-BISMOL

3 BAGS OF IMMODIUM

2 BAGS OF BANDAIDS AND NEOSPORIN

ALL SEWING KIT'S

ALL STARFISH BOTTLE OPENER'S 

ALL RAFIA FANS

THE ZIPLOC BAGS

THE ALOE VERA GEL'S

1 ORANGE JUTE BAG

 

EVERYTHING ELSE IS STILL AVAILABLE!  PM ME!!

I ordered the starfish from e-bay from this link

http://cgi.ebay.com/45-Tibetan-Silver-Starfish-Charms-Pendants-C020_W0QQitemZ350274775678QQcategoryZ146290QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D10%26pmod%3D350281602113%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D6284157578593013923#ht_3473wt_907

 

They are actually pendants, but I just broke off the metal loop and then glued the starfish to the ribbon.

Yes, I would say that is correct.  Though, it was named "teal" and if you put it next to a true blue it does have a green look to it.  But, I would say it is definitely more on the blue side of teal rather than the green side.

PM me if you are still interested, with your zip code so I can figure out shipping for you.

Thanks!

 

The following items have SOLD!

 

12 INDIVIDUAL BUG REPELLENT WIPES

3 BAGS OF TUMS

3 BAGS OF PEPTO-BISMOL

3 BAGS OF IMMODIUM

2 BAGS OF BANDAIDS AND NEOSPORIN

ALL SEWING KIT'S

ALL STARFISH BOTTLE OPENER'S 

ALL RAFIA FANS

 

Doing bags for the kids was my favorite part!  Very fun to do  I still have several of the canvas drawstring bags I used for the kids if you are interested, PM me.  Or, I have a "Lori's post wedding sale" thread if you want to see pics.

I know with Doremixx you pay the resort, and they pay Ivan.  That is what we did. 

 

Based on one bag, 2 people to a room, this is how the cost's broke down

 

1. Large Jute beach bag personalized "Jason and Lori's Fiesta, November 29th, 2010" (got from discountmugs.com) -$4.60/BAG (1)

2. Personalized insulated mugs "eat, drink and be married" - BIG HIT!! (got from discountmugs.com) - $5.12/MUG (2)

3. Personalized koozies "To have and to hold and too keep your drink cold" + our names and date - From Barry Promos-  $1.18/KOOZIE (2)

4. Hangover kit - breath mints (.50) -1 , ibuprofen (.45) - 1, and emergen-c drink mix (.33) - 2

5. "Oh Sh*t kit" which included - shout wipes ($.25 x 4), bug repellent wipes (.33 x 4)), sewing kit ($1 x 1), nail file ($.10x1), ear plugs ($.50x2), propel packets ($.33x2), Immodium (.92), pepto tablets (.75), travel size aloe ($1 x 1) vera and hand sanitizer ($1x1), band aids($1), neosporin (.28)

6. Pashmina's for the ladies - $4 EACH (1)

7.  Footballs for the guys - $1 (1)

8.  Flip flop note pads ($.25x1)and palm tree shaped pen ($.42x1)- oriental trading co.

9.  Squirt guns - $.50 EACH (2)

10. Starfish shaped bottle openers - [email protected] on e-bay.  $2 EACH (2)

11. Starfish shaped bookmarks - $.93 (2)

 

12. Air freshener -$.50 (1)

13.  Beach safe's (little holders for money on the beach - oriental trading co.) = $.50 (1)

14.  Crossword and Sudoku books - $1 each (2)

15. 15 SPF chapstick - from dollar days international inc (online): $.96 each (2)

 

Total per bag = $38.44

Guess I was WAY off on my original guess!

Hello ladies!  I can't believe I am having a post wedding sale!  It all went by so fast!  There are a lot of great things here, so please check it out.  Make me an offer!!!!   These prices don't include shipping.  If you are interested in anything please PM me!  Happy Shopping!

Thanks!

Lori

 

Teal Chiffon:  12.9 yards

Orange Chiffon: 6.6 yards

(I used these to decorate our chuppah)

I paid $3/yd, I will sell for $2/yard.  

 

CRYSTAL ORGANZA CHAIR SASHES:

ORANGE = 26

"PEACOCK" (teal) = 20

$0.80 each

GOT FROM WEDDING LINENS DIRECT IF YOU NEED A PICTURE

 

CRYSTAL ORGANZA TABLE OVERLAYS:

2 ORANGE

2 "PEACOCK" (TEAL)

$7 EACH

FROM WEDDING LINENS DIRECT

 

11 ORANGE JUTE BAGS:

6"X 10" 

(The drinking glass is just so you can gage size)

$1 EACH

 

4 ORANGE ORGANZA GIFT BAGS:

10"X12"

$1 EACH

 

4 NATURAL COLOR JUTE BAGS

10"X12"

$1 EACH

 

RAFIA FANS: $.50 EACH

4 WITH TEAL RIBBON

2 WITH ORANGE RIBBON

(the ribbons can be removed)

12 PLAIN

 

1 "SOAKER" FOOTBALL

$1.00

 

4X6 PLAIN ZIP CLEAR BAGS:

IT WAS A PACKAGE OF 100 AND I AM ESTIMATING THERE ARE ABOUT 60 LEFT

$2.00

 

STARFISH & SHELLS:

1 LARGE SUGAR STARFISH - 7.5" IN DIAMETER - $1

4 LARGE FINGER STARFISH - 5.5 IN DIAMETER - $1 EACH

1 SMALL FINGER STARFISH - 2.5" IN DIAMETER - $.50

BAG OF RANDOM SHELLS - $2

BLUE "BEACH GLASS" FOR DECORATING = $2

 

 

MORE SHELLS.....

LARGER, MORE COLORFUL - $3

MINI SHELS (MAYBE 6MM OR SO) - $2

MINI STARFISH (DON'T KNOW HOW MANY, BUT LOTS!) - $4

 

RIBBON:

"MUD PIE" (BROWN SATIN) - 1 TOTALLY NEW, ONE BARELY USED - $4 FOR BOTH

TEAL SATIN; 7/8" X 50 YARDS (I HAVE USED ABOUT HALF) - $4

TEAL ORGANZA: 1.5"X25 YARDS = 1 BRAND NEW ROLL, ONE SLIGHTLY USED - $5 FOR BOTH

TEAL ORGANZA: 3/8" X 25 YARDS (I HAVE USED HALF) - $1

DARK ORANGE SATIN: 1/8'X 10 YARDS - THERE IS STILL PROBABLY 90% LEFT - $1

LIGHTER ORANGE SATIN: 3/8" X10 YARDS - USED ABOUT 1/3 - $1

LARGE NETTING: 12"X24" PIECE - $1

SMALL NETTING: 12"X18" PIECE (PLUS A LITTLE EXTRA) - $1

 

 

3 VASES:

7" TALL

$1 EACH

 

OOT BAG STUFF:

CHAPTSTICK X 7

$1 EACH

 

FIRST AID KITS X 4

.75 EACH

 

STARFISH BOOKMARKS X 13

.75 EACH

 

STARFISH BOTTLE OPENERS X 4

$1 each

 

TRAVEL SIZE HAND SANITIZER AND ALOVERA = 5 OF EACH

THEY ALREADY HAVE LABELS BUT YOU COULD REMOVE OR COVER UP IF NEEDED

$.75 EACH

 

BLUE NON-WOVEN DRAWSTRING BACKPACKS - $1 EACH, 2 AVAILABLE

12"X13"

 

CANVAS DRAWSTRING BACKPACKS: $1.50 EACH

ORIGINALLY FROM ORIENTAL TRADING COMPANY

2 RED

1 PURPLE

2 YELLOW

2 ORANGE

 

LOVE CHARMS:

$1

 

 

GLITTER GLUE: BRAND NEW (I ONLY USED A TINY BIT, ONE TIME)

$1

 

 

BRAND NEW, SET OF FOUR BACKPACK CLIPS.  I USED THEM TO DECORATE THE RING BEARERS BAG (JUST HAD EXTRAS).  THEY COULD BE A KEY CHAIN TOO.  = $3.00

 

 

MARACAS X 5

$1 EACH

THE TEAL ONE IS A LITTLE MORE ON THE GREEN SIDE OF COLOR VS. HOW IT LOOKS IN THIS PIC

 

SEWING KIT X 3

.75 EACH

 

 

5 MARACA PENS

1 PALM TREE PEN

$.50 EACH

 

 

 

AIR FRESHENER (I GAVE IN OOT BAGS TO FRESHEN THEIR ROOMS)

$.25 EACH

5 AVAILABLE

4 LEMON, 1 ORANGE

 

 

PLAYING CARDS.  BOTH ALREADY HAVE THIS LABEL BUT YOU COULD COVER WITH YOUR OWN

$.50 FOR BOTH

 

 

"FLYBOY FREEZE DRIED ROSE PETALS"  (FOR MY FLOWER GIRL)

I PAID $43 FOR 15 CUPS OF PETALS.  I ONLY USED ABOUT 1/3 OF THE BAG. ASKING $25.

THEY SMELL WONDERFUL AND ARE REALLY PRETTY.  IT WAS CHEAPER THAN GETTING THEM AT THE RESORT AND THE FLOWER GIRLS CAN'T THROW SILK FLOWERS (ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE)

 

THESE ARE ITEMS I PUT IN PEOPLES "OH SHI*T!" KITS.  I PURCHASED THE MEDS IN BULK AND THEN DIVIDED INTO LITTLE BAGS AND LABELED.  

3 BAGS OF TUMS

3 BAGS OF PEPTO-BISMOL

3 BAGS OF IMMODIUM

2 BAGS OF BANDAIDS AND NEOSPORIN

 

$3.00 FOR ALL OF IT

 

 

STARFISH BOBBY PIN FOR HAIR: I BOUGHT THIS AND FORGOT TO TAKE IT WITH ME

NEVER USED! $13.00

 

 

 

12 INDIVIDUAL BUG REPELLENT WIPES

$5 FOR ALL

 

 

 

COUPLE OF LITTLE TIDITS:

3 NAIL FILES - $.10 EACH

1 FLIP FLOP NOTE PAD - .25

1 "BEACH SAFE" TO OUT VALUABLE IN ON THE BEACH - .50

 

 

 

FLOWERS:

I TOOK ALL MY OWN FLOWERS.  I USED "REAL TOUCH" FLOWERS BY ANGEL'S ACCENTS - THEY ARE AMAZING!  BUT I HAVE EXTRAS OF THE ORCHIDS AND GREENERY.  HERE IS A PICK OF MY BOUQUET SO YOU CAN GET AN IDEA OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN A BOUQUET.  BELOW ARE THE EXTRA'S THAT I HAVE:

 

 

RUST/BROWN CYMBIDIUM.  THEY COME ON A LARGE STEM AND I HAVE 9 FLOWERS AVAILABLE.

$4 / individual flower

 

OFF-WHITE CYMBIDIUM. 23 FLOWERS AVAILABLE

$4/individual flower

 

 

GREENERY: I ORDERED THIS FROM ANGELS ACCENTS ALSO.  YOU CAN SEE HOW I USED IT IN MY BOUQUET ABOVE.  I HAVE 2.5 "BUNDLES" OF THIS.  THERE ARE 2 BUNDLES PICTURED IN THE FIRST PICTURE.  THE SECOND PIC IS JUST A CLOSE UP SO YOU CAN SEE THE DETAIL OF THE LEAF.

$10 for all  (I paid $10 a piece)

 

 

HERE ARE 2 PICS OF SOME OTHER GREENERY - JUST GOT IT AT MICHAELS.  IT IS MORE ON THE "PLASTIC-Y" SIDE OF THINGS BUT I USED JUST A SMALL AMOUNT IN A LITTLE DECORATING AND IT LOOKED GREAT.

$2

 

 

 

 

 

I would start trying...it takes a while to get answers.  But, like other brides have said, the 2 weeks before your wedding the communication improves immensely!  Mine was daily at that point.  But you might just get an e-mail out there with some questions so they get you on the "radar". 

I haven't sat down and figured out the per bag cost yet.  I think it will be around $20/bag - I will do some math and get back to you!

We took down 20 bags.  If it were 2 people/room I did 1 bag, 2 mugs, 2 koozies, 2 bookmarks, 1 bottle opener, 2 game books, 1 pen/paper, 2 chapstick, 1 pashmina, 1 football, 1 hangover kit, 1 oh sh*t kit.

A couple of the ladies shared a room and I gave them each their own bag of stuff.  But, I did this only because I had to order so many of several of the items to get the best price.  So, I had several "extra's". 

The other nice thing about having extra stuff is that you can give it to some of the people that couldn't make it to mexico.  It has been fun coming home and giving people a couple of Koozies, or a couple of mugs, or even a bag. 

I will see what I can figure out for you on the pricing

 

Ok ladies, here are the items I put in my OOT bags. These were a HUGE hit and it was SO much fun giving them to everyone as they arrived. I would highly recommend giving OOT bags.  I transported everything down with us on the plane in sterylite tubs.  It worked great. I put asterisk's next to the items that I KNOW were a hit. 

1. Large Jute beach bag personalized "Jason and Lori's Fiesta, November 29th, 2010" (got from discountmugs.com) *

2. Personalized insulated mugs "eat, drink and be married" - BIG HIT!! (got from discountmugs.com) *

3. Personalized koozies "To have and to hold and too keep your drink cold" + our names and date - etsy.com I think  *

4. Hangover kit - breath mints, ibuprofen and emergen-c drink mix *

5. "Oh Sh*t kit" which included - shout wipes, bug repellent wipes, sewing kit, nail file, ear plugs, propel packets, immodium, pepto tablets, travel size aloe vera and hand sanitizer, band aids, neosporin - most everything came from the $ store.  The "drugs" I ordered in bulk from firstaidmonster.com and then divided them up. *

6. Pashmina's for the ladies - bay *

7.  Footballs for the guys - $ store

8.  Flip flop note pads and palm tree shaped pen - oriental trading co.

9.  Squirt guns - $ store *

10. Starfish shaped bottle openers - ebay

11. Starfish shaped bookmarks - ebay

12. Air freshener -$ store

13.  Beach safe's (little holders for money on the beach - oriental trading co.)

14.  Crossword and Sudoku books - $ store *

15. 15 SPF chapstick - internet somewhere *

Everything had personalized labels with our monogram and some kind of cute saying (if I could come up with one!)

 

I don't have any pics of everything all "done up" but here are a few to give you an idea. 

 

  

 

  

 

 

 

 

Flower girl and ring bearer bags:

The drawstring back pack came from oriental trading company.

The letters are iron on letters from Michaels

All the other fun stuff mostly came from Michaels or from online shopping. 

I filled them with sand toys, glow sticks, water toys, and temporary tattoo's. Everything came from the dollar store.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure what time the beach bar closes.  I want to say 6 or 7 and it might depend on the time of year.  In November, sunset was at 5:00 so it was pretty dead by then, but I think still open until 6-7.  Maybe later other months? That would be a good question for the wedding coordinator.

 

For the fabric, I got it off of bay.  It was chiffon and only $3/yard.  waheedullah ebad was the name of who I bought from on ebay. I bought WAY too much fabric (orange and teal if you are interested).  You can get the measurements of the chuppah.  I had  20 yards of both orange and teal chiffon. I bet you only need about 15 yards (or less).  I over bought because I didn't want to be short It depends on how you want it draped on the chuppah.  Here is a picture of how mine was done.

 

 

Sorry my numbering is all messed up!  
 

Originally Posted by lorijfletcher 

 

Ok ladies, here it is! I was married on November 29th at the Dreams. We did the “Ultimate Wedding Package†and here is my review.

 

1. The rooms.  We only paid for a garden view room but were upgraded to the the “preferred club ocean viewâ€.  The room was amazing but honestly, we were never in it.  I am glad we didn’t pay the extra money for it, but it was beautiful.  However, the “preferred club†portion of the upgrade is something we would definitely consider upgrading.  This gave us access to the bar with top shelf booze, and a more private breakfast and dinner area.  It was nice and depending on the price, it may be well worth the extra money   Andrea was our favorite bartender!

 

** One thing to note on the rooms. It did not affect us, but it did affect several of our guests.  The rooms on the south most side of the resort are right next to their sewage plant/area and there is a VERY strong sewer smell outside of their rooms - not inside though.  Just FYI you might try and not get rooms on that far south side if possible.

 

1. The resort - AMAZING!!  Simply beautiful, well maintained, friendly employee’s, beautiful beach (which they groom twice a day), always lots of chair available by the pool and on the beach.  Fast friendly pool and beach service.  In general, all of the food was amazing.  There were a few things here and there that I wouldn’t try twice but all in all - great food.  The room service cheese burger was a favorite in our crowd!  All the restaurants were great but our favorites were the Oceana (seafood) - try their shrimp/jalapeno cream cheese stuffed wonton’s - OMG! And the Japanese restaurant is wonderful!
2. Wedding Coordinator.  We were lucky enough to have still have Gaby.  Her last day of work there was our last day of vacation.  She was really great, very sweet and everything was beautiful!  Everyone on the wedding event department was very nice and I am sure Gaby has trained everyone well.  All the other brides have said it, but it is true....don’t stress too much, it will all come together beautifully in the end. I tipped Gaby $100 at our initial visit
3. Chuppah & chairs- I took my own fabric for the Chuppah and chair sashes, showed Gaby a couple of pictures and it looked great.
4. We did have a short rehearsal the day before and I’m glad we did.  It was very casual and short but it was nice to get an idea of where everyone should start and stand. It was at 12:00 noon and we all were in our swim suits and cocktails in hand.  It was perfect!
5. We did not due an organized rehearsal dinner (because I didn’t want to have to pay for it).  We all just met at the buffet and then went up to the lobby bar for a “meet & greet†cocktail party.  Here is where we gave out all the bridesmaid/groomsman gifts. It all worked out perfect.
6. OOT bags. We did give awesome OOT bags (if I do say so myself) to all our guests.  They LOVED them!  Hy hubby told me he thought I was crazy for going to so much work and lugging all that stuff down there, but when we started giving them out he got really excited!  It was SUPER fun and I would go to all the work and effort again. 
7. Our wedding was at 2:00.  I think it started a little late, like maybe 2:20 ish?  Ceremony was over by 2:45 ish? Then we did pictures with Juan Navarro until 4:00.  We traded in our mariachi band and cocktail hour to cover more people for the reception.  I was kind of bummed when we made this decision but I am so glad we did in the end.  It saved us about $1000.00.  Everyone just met at the Barracuda (swing) bar and hung out until we could join them at 4:00 for cocktails.  We hung out, took lots of pictures and before you know it, it was 5:00 and time to start the reception.  It flew by.  I was worried about the “flow†of it all with such a big gap of time between the wedding and the reception.  But it was NO issue at all.  A lot of people went back and changed into something more comfortable.  All of the wedding party stayed in their wedding clothes. Everyone felt like it flowed perfectly. 
8. We had our reception on the pool deck - hands down, THE best place for a reception!  It was beautiful!  We had menu option #3 that offered Lamb and Sea Bass as the main entree’s.  It was good, not amazing and very small portions.  We didn’t get a chance to eat it all anyway.  If I had it to do over, I might choose a different menu option, but it was not horrible by any means. 

** I did not have this issue but another bride did.  Apparently at the end of her reception she could tell the wait staff was standing around waiting for a tip.  YOU DO NOT NEED TO TIP THE WAIT STAFF AT THE RECEPTION  - unless you want to!  I had checked with Gaby prior to the reception and you have already paid the gratuity in that 15% “service charge†you are paying PER head!  That other bride was pretty annoyed and I don’t blame her. I do think a lot of our guests left tips at the bar as they got drinks.

 

1. We hired Doremixx and this was THE best decision I could have made.  We extended our reception/DJ an hour (I had planned to do this ahead of time).  I was kind of stressed because the DJ is $300 + we had to pay for the extended reception time to cover wait staff and the bar ($15/hd + 11% tax + 15% service charge).  Our reception was SOOOOO much fun the night of the event, I extended it ANOTHER hour. TOTALLY worth it.  He made our party.  Once he brought out the balloons and party masks it “turned into a rave†as my brother likes to say-LOL!  I just can’t say enough about this. We tipped him $100.

**We saw some other receptions while we were there that had a different DJ or did the ipod thing.  They definitely didn’t have as much fun as we did.  But, that all depends on your crowd.

 

1. Juan Navarro - He is the best!  Such a kind man and very professional.  We loved working with him and his pictures are amazing and the price is GREAT! He only did our getting ready, wedding and post wedding (posed) photo’s.
2. Resort photographer - did our reception and TTD pics.  They did an awesome job!  Great photographers.  You will not be disappointed if you choose them as your photographer.  We couldn’t pick just 50 pics (that we got free with the Ultimate package) so we ended up buying all 224 pictures that they took and we paid $900.00- totally worth it!
3. Tipping - We did ALOT of tipping.  It was getting pretty annoying at the end.  It started to feel like it was “expectedâ€.  I actually did have one room service guy roll his eyes at me when I only tipped him 2 dollars for bringing the room service (for the 3rd time the day of the wedding).  That kind of ticked me off but this was an isolated incident.  Most were nice about it but there certainly is a “feeling†that you should tip - even though you have already paid in advance for gratuity.  But, those people only make about $4/day in wages, sooooo, it makes you not feel so bad about extra tipping. 
4. The Spa.  The spa is beautiful.  I LOVED me hair.  It was gorgeous.  I took in some pictures and she just made it happen.  However, I did have several issues with them not having the correct times down for me.  This happened on 3 different occasions.  I made of my appointments before I left, one for my hair and one for our couples salt body scrub.  They didn’t have my hair appointment down at all - though she did find the e-mail with the confirmation #.- so I had to wait for an hour to get my hair done.  Which wasn’t the end of the world but it certainly turned everything into a bit of a rush once my hair was done! 

      

      They had my salt scrub time down 1/2 hour later than what I had confirmed. They    

      still got us in (with some cajoling) but it was a joke!  They gave us the 50 minute 

      treatment in 30 minutes - it was very disappointing

 

      Then we bought our maid of honor and best man couples massages and planned   

      some spa time with them.  They had those appointments all confused and messed 

      up too.  

 

      So, my advice, get confirmation #’s and double check appointment times the day 

      before your appointments!

 

I am sure I am forgetting something so please PM me if I can help you at all. This forum was SO much help to me and I want to give back if I can.

 

It was all an amazing experience.  You won’t be disappointed.  

 

Thanks ladies!

Mrs. Mercer!! 

 

Ok ladies, here it is! I was married on November 29th at the Dreams. We did the “Ultimate Wedding Package†and here is my review.

 

1. The rooms.  We only paid for a garden view room but were upgraded to the the “preferred club ocean viewâ€.  The room was amazing but honestly, we were never in it.  I am glad we didn’t pay the extra money for it, but it was beautiful.  However, the “preferred club†portion of the upgrade is something we would definitely consider upgrading.  This gave us access to the bar with top shelf booze, and a more private breakfast and dinner area.  It was nice and depending on the price, it may be well worth the extra money   Andrea was our favorite bartender!

 

** One thing to note on the rooms. It did not affect us, but it did affect several of our guests.  The rooms on the south most side of the resort are right next to their sewage plant/area and there is a VERY strong sewer smell outside of their rooms - not inside though.  Just FYI you might try and not get rooms on that far south side if possible.

 

1. The resort - AMAZING!!  Simply beautiful, well maintained, friendly employee’s, beautiful beach (which they groom twice a day), always lots of chair available by the pool and on the beach.  Fast friendly pool and beach service.  In general, all of the food was amazing.  There were a few things here and there that I wouldn’t try twice but all in all - great food.  The room service cheese burger was a favorite in our crowd!  All the restaurants were great but our favorites were the Oceana (seafood) - try their shrimp/jalapeno cream cheese stuffed wonton’s - OMG! And the Japanese restaurant is wonderful!
2. Wedding Coordinator.  We were lucky enough to have still have Gaby.  Her last day of work there was our last day of vacation.  She was really great, very sweet and everything was beautiful!  Everyone on the wedding event department was very nice and I am sure Gaby has trained everyone well.  All the other brides have said it, but it is true....don’t stress too much, it will all come together beautifully in the end. I tipped Gaby $100 at our initial visit
3. Chuppah & chairs- I took my own fabric for the Chuppah and chair sashes, showed Gaby a couple of pictures and it looked great.
4. We did have a short rehearsal the day before and I’m glad we did.  It was very casual and short but it was nice to get an idea of where everyone should start and stand. It was at 12:00 noon and we all were in our swim suits and cocktails in hand.  It was perfect!
5. We did not due an organized rehearsal dinner (because I didn’t want to have to pay for it).  We all just met at the buffet and then went up to the lobby bar for a “meet & greet†cocktail party.  Here is where we gave out all the bridesmaid/groomsman gifts. It all worked out perfect.
6. OOT bags. We did give awesome OOT bags (if I do say so myself) to all our guests.  They LOVED them!  Hy hubby told me he thought I was crazy for going to so much work and lugging all that stuff down there, but when we started giving them out he got really excited!  It was SUPER fun and I would go to all the work and effort again. 
7. Our wedding was at 2:00.  I think it started a little late, like maybe 2:20 ish?  Ceremony was over by 2:45 ish? Then we did pictures with Juan Navarro until 4:00.  We traded in our mariachi band and cocktail hour to cover more people for the reception.  I was kind of bummed when we made this decision but I am so glad we did in the end.  It saved us about $1000.00.  Everyone just met at the Barracuda (swing) bar and hung out until we could join them at 4:00 for cocktails.  We hung out, took lots of pictures and before you know it, it was 5:00 and time to start the reception.  It flew by.  I was worried about the “flow†of it all with such a big gap of time between the wedding and the reception.  But it was NO issue at all.  A lot of people went back and changed into something more comfortable.  All of the wedding party stayed in their wedding clothes. Everyone felt like it flowed perfectly. 
8. We had our reception on the pool deck - hands down, THE best place for a reception!  It was beautiful!  We had menu option #3 that offered Lamb and Sea Bass as the main entree’s.  It was good, not amazing and very small portions.  We didn’t get a chance to eat it all anyway.  If I had it to do over, I might choose a different menu option, but it was not horrible by any means. 

** I did not have this issue but another bride did.  Apparently at the end of her reception she could tell the wait staff was standing around waiting for a tip.  YOU DO NOT NEED TO TIP THE WAIT STAFF AT THE RECEPTION  - unless you want to!  I had checked with Gaby prior to the reception and you have already paid the gratuity in that 15% “service charge†you are paying PER head!  That other bride was pretty annoyed and I don’t blame her. I do think a lot of our guests left tips at the bar as they got drinks.

 

1. We hired Doremixx and this was THE best decision I could have made.  We extended our reception/DJ an hour (I had planned to do this ahead of time).  I was kind of stressed because the DJ is $300 + we had to pay for the extended reception time to cover wait staff and the bar ($15/hd + 11% tax + 15% service charge).  Our reception was SOOOOO much fun the night of the event, I extended it ANOTHER hour. TOTALLY worth it.  He made our party.  Once he brought out the balloons and party masks it “turned into a rave†as my brother likes to say-LOL!  I just can’t say enough about this. We tipped him $100.

**We saw some other receptions while we were there that had a different DJ or did the ipod thing.  They definitely didn’t have as much fun as we did.  But, that all depends on your crowd.

 

1. Juan Navarro - He is the best!  Such a kind man and very professional.  We loved working with him and his pictures are amazing and the price is GREAT! He only did our getting ready, wedding and post wedding (posed) photo’s.
2. Resort photographer - did our reception and TTD pics.  They did an awesome job!  Great photographers.  You will not be disappointed if you choose them as your photographer.  We couldn’t pick just 50 pics (that we got free with the Ultimate package) so we ended up buying all 224 pictures that they took and we paid $900.00- totally worth it!
3. Tipping - We did ALOT of tipping.  It was getting pretty annoying at the end.  It started to feel like it was “expectedâ€.  I actually did have one room service guy roll his eyes at me when I only tipped him 2 dollars for bringing the room service (for the 3rd time the day of the wedding).  That kind of ticked me off but this was an isolated incident.  Most were nice about it but there certainly is a “feeling†that you should tip - even though you have already paid in advance for gratuity.  But, those people only make about $4/day in wages, sooooo, it makes you not feel so bad about extra tipping. 
4. The Spa.  The spa is beautiful.  I LOVED me hair.  It was gorgeous.  I took in some pictures and she just made it happen.  However, I did have several issues with them not having the correct times down for me.  This happened on 3 different occasions.  I made of my appointments before I left, one for my hair and one for our couples salt body scrub.  They didn’t have my hair appointment down at all - though she did find the e-mail with the confirmation #.- so I had to wait for an hour to get my hair done.  Which wasn’t the end of the world but it certainly turned everything into a bit of a rush once my hair was done! 

      

      They had my salt scrub time down 1/2 hour later than what I had confirmed. They    

      still got us in (with some cajoling) but it was a joke!  They gave us the 50 minute 

      treatment in 30 minutes - it was very disappointing

 

      Then we bought our maid of honor and best man couples massages and planned   

      some spa time with them.  They had those appointments all confused and messed 

      up too.  

 

      So, my advice, get confirmation #’s and double check appointment times the day 

      before your appointments!

 

I am sure I am forgetting something so please PM me if I can help you at all. This forum was SO much help to me and I want to give back if I can.

 

It was all an amazing experience.  You won’t be disappointed.  

 

Thanks ladies!

Mrs. Mercer!! 

I've never used the travelers check card, so I don't know.  I just used my debit card and it worked perfect. We took very little total cash.   Just $200 in 1 dollar bills for tipping and about $300 more for travel and odds and ends.  Everything at the resort gets charged to your room and you pay at the end.  There is a cash machine at the resort also (though it was broke when we were there).
 

Originally Posted by brookeh68 

Ladies- When you get to the resort, and they want you to pay for the wedding, what is the best currency to use?  Credit Card, Travelers checks...etc.  It seems ridiculous to bring a lot of cash to Mexico.   I have also heard that AAA has a travelers check CARD which you load... Has anyone ever used this? 

That did not happen to us - not sure if it is because we were in the preferred club, or not?  It did happen to several our guests and it was annoying.  I would just "demand" a second key.  Don't let them talk you out of it!
 

Originally Posted by BethAnne 

Ladies..for thoses recently married here..wondering if you can tell all of girls if this happened on your trip--

I heard that you're only given one room key at DRC- which would be really inconvenient since me and FH will be coming and going at different times and such...

 

Let us know if you can! <3

leaving in 25 days!!

 

 

Originally Posted by LindsayMichelle 

 

For those of you that have gotten married at DRC, I need your advice on something. I'm trying to decide if we should have our cocktail party the night before the wedding, so that we can enjoy it with our guests, and it's a fun added activity on another day. Is there a bar on the beach that they'd be able to go to after the ceremony? I feel like we're at all all-inclusive resort, so it shouldn't be hard to find something to do while we are taking pictures, but I also don't want them to bored. What do you all think? Thanks so much!

 

We didn't do the cocktail hour at all.  We all just me up at the Barracuda bar (the beach bar with swings as stools) after the wedding.  It worked out perfectly!

We used Doremixx and they were AMAZING!  I really can't say enough about them.  They totally made our party.  We even extended their play time because everyone was having so much fun!

 

Originally Posted by sarcrook 

lorijfletcher..thank you for the information!!  Good to know - I really love them!  I can't wait for your review and pics!  Congrats!!  Who was your DJ?

We got married before we went, just for this reason. It cost about $400 to do it there and we had to mess with blood tests.  It was just simpler and less expensive to do it here first.

 

Originally Posted by sarcrook 

Is/has everybody did/done a legal ceremony??  I'm just wondering..it's quite pricey and saves a LOT of money to do it here first..???  Any thoughts??

It's a different Ana (I am pretty sure!)

 

Originally Posted by sarcrook 

Looks like Ana is back on as the WC..I just received an email from her..

Ladies,

The originaly wedding coordinator, Ana, was all alone with no help and made quite a mess for the wedding department at the dreams.  I think she just had too much to handle by herself and she became extremely unorganized and WAY overbooked the resort for weddings.  The following wedding coordinators have been trying to play "catch up" and it has been extremely stressful for them.  Gaby told me she gets there at 7:30 in the morning and doesn't get home until 9:00 at night - 7 days a week!  Due to personal reasons and the extreme hours and high stress of this job (just imagine all the crazy brides!), she resigned. 

There are still 3 wedding coordinators there, that have been working with Gaby.  Luckily there is more than one person.  Gaby told me that they have 2-3 weddings/day until June 2011.  From that point forward, they are only going to have one wedding a day. - This is a good thing!-

 

However, with all of this being said, my wedding and all others that I have read about,  turned out amazing!  So, I have faith that if they can do such an amazing job with the weddings while being so busy, that they will continue to do an amazing job as they get more organized and have fewer weddings.

 

Don't panic!  Just be patient and your communication with them will get better and more frequent as you get closer.  Honestly, just tell them what you want, and they will make it happen.  Pictures are very helpful for them!

 

Still working on my review but it will be soon!

Lori

 

 

Originally Posted by sarcrook 

 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the foot jewelry as well but I kind of worry about the sand/cement being hot...and people going to the bathroom barefoot...any suggestions?  I was thinking about putting the foot jewelry in the bags I give my bm's...?  Leaving it optional??  Hmmm...any idea's??

 

The sand there is not hot, nor was the cement now that I think about it.  I think the breeze keeps the cement cool.  Some of us went barefoot even to the bathroom.  I did decorate flip flops and give to the bm's and Mom's as gifts and I think they did wear them to the reception.  I made myself some flip flops and took them to the reception, but never wore them.  Danced all night long!!

 

 

Originally Posted by lorijfletcher 

 

Hello ladies!

Just got back from our wedding at the Dreams and will be posting a review soon!  For all that are worried about anything - DON'T!!  It is amazing and beautiful and all the details will be handled.

One bit of sad news, yesterday was Gaby's last day   Our last day at the resort, was also hers!  So, I know you may be panicking about this, but don't.  She was amazing but she has been working with 3 other wedding coordinators and I have confidence that you will all be well taken care of!

I will be posting more information and photo's in the next few days.  Our day really was a "dream"!

Jason and Lori

11/29/10

37 guests