604bride2be

Hey MrsRobinson: -The Gazebo wasn't as windy during the ceremony, as I thought it would be. Our day wasn't very windy anyway (however my long veil was blowing everywhere during photos). Isnt the Gazebo included in the packages???? ive read complaints that the Gazebo could be very loud during ceremonies, but we had microphone and Im pretty sure thats standard, and no one complained of that (and i didnt notice anything other than my husband!) -As for that person we spoke to that had a bad experience, apparently there was a wedding right before hers so she felt as though everyone was rushing to put together her wedding. They quickly changed the gazebo to her colours etc. She felt like she wasn't as important as the wedding that happened before hers.....And she just didnt like the hair/makeup people at the resort. Also, I guess because of the wedding before hers, she only had one photographer (from resort) and they were not happy with him/her. Wasn't being vocal and not directing them etc. Im not sure how the rest of her experience was in regards to the ceremony or reception but thats just what we heard from her family. I think she was pretty upset about a lot of it though. We were the only wedding on our day, so we had Jackis undivided attention and I didnt feel any of what that bride felt at all (then again, we didnt use resort hair/makeup or photographer either). Unfortunate that she had a bad experience. Thats one bad review I've heard in hundreds of positive ones. The resort overall was great. I really have no complaints..We've been to mexico about 6 different times, same side of mexico. We've stayed at Barcelo, Gran Bahia, Gran Oasis, Akumal, to name a few places......Dreams PA was great. It isn't your big huge resort, which is why i LOVED it. It was small, you felt like you were important to the hotel there, they get to know you(if you let them) and these are things I love. Those gigantic resorts are just too much, if you ask me. All of the restaurants were good, some better than others. Buffett is buffett, BUT it was one of the best selections in a buffett ive had in Mexico before. Portofino's was definitely everyone fav place to eat. But Oceana was good, and so was El Patio (ive read nasty reviews about the Mexican food at El Patio, and i loved it!) Im not picky or a big complainer, and during your wedding week you should be on cloud 9! Not complaining about food or the beach. It really is lovely, all of it!! Nothing to worry about. Jacki even threw in a couple of extra things here and there to make it perfect and we didnt pay for them. She was great.

Our meal was the voul au vant followed by grilled veggie salad, then steak and prawns. we used one song. It was just over 4 minute song. we wanted everyone to do a walk, so my husband walked from one spot, followed by the girls who did their own walk to meet a groomsmen, thenthey continue together. Then I walked with my parents. So there was 8 different "groups" walking to the alter, (groom/parents,5 bridal party,ring barer,bride/parents ) and timed perfectly to the 4 minute song. I didn't want my groom standing at the alter just waiting, I wanted him to have the walk experience too. Same with the groomsmen , we wanted them to have their moment As for the reception, its all about your mood and how you see your wedding. For what we envisioned, and we wanted a party, so el patio was perfect for us. W wouldn't have had the wedding we had, if we choose a different location or the beach.it just wouldn't have been the same. we wanted private. to each their own, do what you dream of doing that's for sure!!!

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/dreams-puerto-aventuras-resort-spa-all-inclusive/reviews/5706 here is a review i wrote and here are some photos of the day!

What we did for ours is our dinner right at 6pm. I took away the soup course, so we have appy, salad, main and basically once the desert was served we started our speeches. We had 6 people speak, including our Emcee. Took about 25 minutes. But everyone kept theirs pretty short too. As for room upgrades, we asked once we were there. Now, they told us we got a nice "upgrade" and it was a lovely room (we booked garden view room) we were on the 5th floor over looking the Marina Side..HOWEVER, 6 other couples were in the exact same room. Being the bride and groom I expected our upgrade would be a bit better than our friends rooms. And they told everyone in our group they got an upgrade lol. SOoo, They lied and didnt really give us an upgrade, but they made it seem like they had. The next morning a lot of people changed their rooms cause couples were in two bedded rooms etc, and I went down to ask about their honeymoon suite. First he said it wasnt available, then after 10 minutes it was available. Would cost us $55 extra a night, and it was lovely but TINY. the view and the patio were fabulous with a jacuzzi tub(but its right next to the patio of your neighbour so cant get too frisky in it) but wasnt worth it as i wanted the bigger suit just to get ready in, on the wedding day. I didnt care that we didnt have ocean view to sleep in. SO, What we did for the wedding day/night is booked their master suite for 24 hours. Its huge. It cost us about $250, but it had a huge living room, bedroom and bathroom so we could all get ready in comfortably. There was 13 of us total with girls/parents, hair/makeup and photographer. So we needed the space! The honeymoon suite we were shown wouldnt have accomodated us getting ready at all. As for centerpieces, we rented the vases from them at $5. And I did the floating flower/candle. Brought my own fake orchids from Michaels. Filled the vases with water and voila! (i actually left ll the fake flowers with Jacki so maybe one of you can use them! lol) The flowers were easy to pack, and lightweight. The floating candles were easy too. It was very inexpensive. They still put a huge real flower centerpiece on our head table as it comes with the Dreams of Love package. As for tours, Im against the dolphin swimming (super cruel - google The Cove and you'll never look at them the same way) so if youd like another friendly tour take your group snorkeling in the cenote! We went to Dos Ojos and I have been there twice. That or Grand Cenote. Its amazing. Google them both. They can accomodate big groups, and its about $35-40 per person. Our boys did the fishing trip, its fun but note theres only like 6 rods so not everyone really gets to fish. I too didnt do OOT bags. You can bring a note or something but I felt it was just an added cost, and I wanted to put any money towards the actual wedding day.

Helllo ladies!!!! I am just so excited for each and every one of you who are next..... It was a perfect day for us. We saw a lot of weddings happen too, and my family even talked to one brides family who didnt have the best experience - so I will tell you what we did and what we saw to hopefully help in any decision making! First off, Jacki is fantastic. She's an Aussie and is straight to the point, I loved her. If you want something else and want to change anything - shes totally flexible. We met her the morning after we arrived, sat down, went through the day or what we wanted - then did a walk through the site to see exactly where reception locations. We had the Dreams of Love Package. And it really was enough for us. We had 37 guests total at the wedding.Styling Trio did all our hair and makeup. They were efficient and did a great job. I did a hair trial two days before the wedding. Sascha Gluck was our photographer. He showed up an hour early and stayed a bit late too as we ran over our time with speeches. We did a walk through rehearsal the night before. I'd suggest doing this. WE timed the whole walk to one song, so i listened on my ipod while we all walked and then everyone know waht time to walk etc. Even if your group isnt walking to one song, id do rehearsal. It takes like 10 minutes. Ceremony was at 3pm at the Gazebo. (we originally wanted it on the beach, set up columns but it was $300 and when we got there we didnt really see the point since the Gazebo was free, and everyone LOVED the gazebo - but evvvvvvvveryone gets married there. we were luckily the first couple out of that week to get married so we got lots of cheers and claps when we walked out of th hotel) I wish we had the ceremony at 4 pm , only for the fact that we cut our photography session VERY short with the photographer because we were all sweating like pigs. In hindsight I wish we sucked it up, but my makeup was being wiped off and our hair was sweaty and it just wasnt pretty any more lol. SO i think if we had it at 4, with the sun setting and air cooling we could have lasted longer BUT oh well, we have lovely photos already and havent gotten any from our pro. We did the symbolic ceremony (non legal) but no one knew the difference. Its basically a ceremony we would have at home, we even got to sign something like in a legal ceremony. Alejandro Monroy was the minister(hes provided by Dreams) ,and he was great however he didnt say the vows we chose. He gave me a list of like 8 to choose from, and we wanted the one about friendship and love..but he spoke the traditional one "to have and to hold" bla bloa. It was super disappointing but not a deal breaker. It was still a lovely ceremony. We had requested a champagne toast on the beach, right after the ceremony but this didnt happen. I wasn't pleased about that. But again, in the moment you dont care! Then guests went to Baraccuda Swing Bar for cocktail hour. We had appies and they set them up, and guests loved that. *Note other guests at teh hotel will be at the swing bar too. This one couple sat there forever with us, and someone kindly asked them to leave. They werent happy about it, but eventually left so it was just our group at the location. But for a smaller group, id say people will be there. We ended up getting El Patio for the dinner. (and for those of you who have read my previous posts, i had requested it, then told we couldnt have it. But upon arriving Jacki told me they would do it for us). We paid the $750 and I'm telling you it was SOOOOOO worth it! The reception was amazing. I am so happy I didnt do it on the beach, It gets very windy at night and ALL of the weddingreceptions we saw (mind you this is february) that were on the beach didnt look that comfortable. Also, there are usualyl nightly shows. With music. And its loud, so some receptions had their music going and you can hear the music from the hotel going as well. If you want a slow song, the hotel might be playing dance music. So its not super private or intimate, (BUT, im not trying to talk anyone out of their dream just letting you know how it is!) Our other choice was Oceana Restaurant - which is the adult pool side. It too is gorgeous BUT be warned the adult pool side stays pretty rowdy till about 6pm. Those old people stay in the pool and just drnk and "woopp woop" all day. So had we chose Oceana (or the location next to Oceana wihich is near the hot tub at the adult pool) we would have had drunken people partying while we were eating out meal. It wouldnt have been a wise choice. At El Patio They have the windows wide open and fans going,. was it hot? Yeah a bit, but that's because we danced for hours. The service was fantastic and yhou really dont have to worry about a thing!!!! We used a DJ, Dj Doreemix. For anyone contemplating DJ or not, PLEASE go with a DJ. It makes the reception. If you have a crowd that likes to dance, and will dance - a DJ is what you need. They were $800 for 5 hours - and they were there at 4pm setting up and didnt start till 6pm. They have the mic for the speeches too. They brought balloons, masks, glow sticks and set up lights and smoke machine and it just made the dance party even better. Our friends and family couldnt stop talking about how fun the reception was - and it was all thanks to the DJ's. They even had a fire show display that went off at the very end, right outside the reception location. It was AWESOME. Put your money into reception location and a dj. you will not regret it! One of the girls my family talked to said the hair and makeup crew from the hotel weren't very good, and they were not happy about it. But some people are pickier than others, so I'd do a trail and get out any reservations about your "look". Hmm, what else.../: I brought down my own fake flowers for the centerpieces and candles etc. They turned out fabulous and looked great. They assembled them all with our name tags, table tags and maracas. They did a great job! Also, my bouquet was exactly what I wanted. We got the cake for 20 people. and didnt get the bigger cake - and for anyone who has guests more than 20 people you dont need a bigger cake. they just want the $! the cake size was plenty big. Not sure if anyone has any specific questions or not, but seriously any thing I had worried about before - was not necessary. It was awesome.

Hello ladies, everything was perfect. Dream come true.... A few minor glitches but can't really complain. The biggest was the minister didn't say the vows we chose, which sucked but no one else knew. I will put up more info when i'm back home, got free wifi at or honeymoon so thought id pop in to say it was fantastic. Got to watch a few other weddings too, wonder if any of the brides are on here!?! happy Valentines day

Someone calm me down, lol.... the weather forecast looks like crap next week and onward.... Usually this time of year forecast calls for showers off and on but I keep checking and all seem to saythere's a lot of rain, minimal sun. Not just the odd rain shower.. I wish I never looked. We all know its a risk and a possibility, no guarantees of perfect weather....but as my date gets closer i'm less willing to be okay with it. Lol. Fingers crossed ladies! Still have 5 days till we depart so here's hoping things will change (thanks for letting me vent,heheh)

i will definitely post a review - but it looks like they are no longer needed ;everyone has such nice things to say:)

does anyone have an email address for someone at the hotel, that I can have? we are going to Seaside suites, for our honeymoon, and NONE of the email addresses I find online work. Not even then ones from their website. :S I wanted to contact Royale and see if they could give me someones contact info at Seaside. thank you!!

does anyone have an email address for someone at the hotel, that I can have? we are going to Seaside suites, for our honeymoon, and NONE of the email addresses I find online work. Not even then ones from their website. :S I wanted to contact Royale and see if they could give me someones contact info at Seaside. thank you!!

Hey Ladies! We leave in 6 days! EEEEE! Allie, You can change any of those bouquets to whatever colour arrangement you want. Can even request to change the type of flower. I wanted all white basically, and asked for specific flowers. Be aware though, i was told ONE orchid was $25 extra (i wanted them in my centerpieces, before deciding to go with silk flowers) so if you want those in your bouquet, itll be pricier. Also, we order my finacee's suit from Studio Suits. We procrastinated for a long time, and my guy is 6'5" so we had a very hard time finding a nice suit, that would fit him, that wasn't $500 plus. Anyway, we decided to just go with the online place, and risk it, and it was PERFECT. It fits him SO well, its amazing. and it was only $199, linen, shipped to the door. the BEST PART is we got it in ONE WEEK! lol. We told them it was for a wedding, we needed it rushed (cause if it didnt fit, we had to buy the expensive suit and get it ordered etc so we needed at least 4 weeks) and it was at our door in 6 days. It was unbelievable!!!! AND, we couldn't be happier with the quality and workmanship. We are going to order him more suits from there, just to have! Now, this is our experience - so hopefully yours will be the same!

Message intended for allie

Hey there , I have the flower guide, if you still need it I will email it to ya. Email me at [email protected]

Yes were doing it outside as well... What I am doing is leaving about an inch and a half,at the top the vase (don't fill water to absolute top) which protects the candle from wind and my tea lights are in holders that are deep so they won't getblown out... But I've seen the centerpieces done with led water candles at the bottom, and it lights up the flower inside.also gorgeous But if your putting the flowers inside a vase, they don't have to be real,lol. Since its not a bouquet on display, people can't touch it or smell it...saves so much money!!!

Hey! I am doing the same centerpiece at our wedding. Ipurchased fake flowers from Michaels, and am going toput them in cylinder vases , water filled and floating candle. I tested the flower at home to see if my vision would work ..the fake flower held up for 24 hours. The stem started to peel after like 12 hours, but the flower itself never disintegrated or bleed in the water.it was perfect. Its also saving me about $500!! I am renting the vases from dpa at $5 a vase. The flower, once in water, looks real..no one will ever know our notice. I'm doing 3 on each table with tea lights in holders surrounding them. For 16 centerpieces, the flowers, floating candles, tea lights and holders its going to cost total of $160.( with vase rental) Their pricing is ridiculous, so save any way you can! It all fits in a carry on suit case too-nothing crazy.

I will look through what photos she has sent me and email you....but i remember not getting exactly what I was looking for when I asked her...They are kind of generic photographs. But i will look anyway! If i were you I'd email this person : [email protected], His name is Hagen Sommer, their supervisor I believe. Just tell him you are not getting a response back and its been 2 months.Tell him your a frustrated, that you understand your wedding is a few months away but that you shouldn't have to wait 2 months to get a reply back. Wait to see what he says to you, but I'd bet you'll get an answer pretty quick...... I asked to speak with him when I was having an issue a few months back when they kept changing the WC's on me, that's why i have his email. Sandra took about a month to get back to me, a few weeks ago, so I emailed her saying I was getting impatient with the lack of responding, and I CC'd Hagen in that email and I got a response that day from her, LOL. Sometimes you gotta light fire under their butts. SO in the FUTURE, if it something urgent, i'd do the same. They are SUPER busy, and have people messaging everyday, AND weddings -- but thats ridiculous to wait that long. I too am only paying a day pass for my Photographer and DJ. I just straight up said im not paying the over night pass, and she said okay. It seems like they will TRY anything just to get more money from you, but its okay to negotiate and ask for it cheaper or even not pay at all (depending on how ridiculous the cost is!) Question: are confirmed for your wedding date??

Hey Allie! We are getting married in 2 months! Woop woop! time is flying by,..... Anyone else out there getting married the week of February 5-12??? I am being patient and even though Sandra as slowed down with her process time, she has given me almost everything I have asked for. They really are accommodating. If you ask for it, demand it (in a nice way), they usually give in! Breakdown of our day: 40 guests. Ceremony is at 3 (i really wanted it at 5, until i realized the sun sets at 530 and there wont be enough light for photos afterwards. I am a wedding photographer myself, so the photos are kind of important to me lol. So our only other option was 3pm.) Then after the ceremony we will take formal photos with family and guests, mingle have champagne on the beach - then at 4:00 we will head off to do wedding group photos. Cocktail hour 4:15-5:15, for the guests. then Reception starts at 530 (find your table, sit down, get a drink), Dinner starts at 5:45/6pm, Speeches/Toasts etc 7:15, first dance 730. Party gets started till 1130 *we are paying extra to dance away. i didnt want to go to a club on my wedding day, and figured ill be beat by 1130! lol I am not doing the legal ceremony, as I didnt want to get the blood work, and pay $400 for the judge then the paper work afterwards> just seemed like a lot of hoops. Im not letting Canada decide when my anniversary is! A piece of paper doesnt make it legal in my eyes, just in my countries...So, Sandra put me in touch with the minister that will be doing the ceremony, and hes been great. Asked me what tone i wanted the ceremony to be etc. Hair/Makeup: Styling Trio (I am still worried about my hair, cause im really picky about hair styles...But Adrian (who does the makeup) has been AMAZING at corresponding with me. Gave me amazing deals, and has put me at ease. I trust his work in makeup, hes great. I just need to stop worrying about the hair do Dj:Doreemix Photographer:Sascha Gluck To answer your questions: - I am not 100% sure about other cocktail hour locations. I too requested for Barracuda Bar, and have not been told that is extra. I believe other guests of the hotel can be there at that time thought, its not private. This might be the only place they HAVE their cocktail hour too, not 100% sure.... -I believe you have the choice of tables. I told her i wanted rounds, and she said they seat up to 10. I have seen photos of rectangle tables, from DPA as well, so im sure its up to you. -We are having our reception by the adult pool as well, and NO kids are allowed there. We chose that location, because we dont have any kids joining us. She has mentioned this a few times to me. -About 4 months before my wedding date, Sandra sent me a pdf with stuff to fill out and she told me what stuff she needed by when. Example: what food, etc. They really dont NEED things until pretty close to your date, im gathering. Ive read that when you get there and you have your sit down meeting with your coordinator, they go through everything. You go look at locations too, to make your final decisions. they get it done, dont worry. (at least, this is what im told too! lol) Ive read somewhere on this forum that you actually get to look through a book of flowers when you get there, if you havent already decided. I sent her photos of my bouquet and what I want exactly. Hope this helps. Any other questions I can answer, let me know!!!!

HI Allie, I have a feeling your date/time shouldn't be a problem to get - as I am told i am still the only bride booked for my wedding date - and its 6 months away! We wanted our reception at El Patio as well, however a few things to note : 1: if the hotel is busy (at high capacity) they will NOT reserve it for you. We were told first we could have it as an option, later to find out its not even an option since in February the hotel will have too many other guests, so they want to keep it open to everyone. They wouldn't even tell me if i could have a non private reception there either.... 2: WE REALLY wanted to be near the water..we thought El patio was a perfect happy medium. its "covered" so youre not in the open on the beach for a reception - but youre close enough to see the water...but then someone pointed out to me that at night you dont even SEE the water cause its so black. which is completely true to another wedding i attended in Mexico -i rememeber us being close to the water, but when it gets dark not being able to really see it that well anyway.... We decided to book the Poolside instead. A: because i didnt want to lose the option of booking if another bride did before me. And B: I did NOT want my reception inside, in air conditioned room. So your options start to dwindle quite fast! I'm not too keen on our grandparents walking on sand all night for the reception either, if we went the beach route.. We were told the sun sets on the other side of the hotel, and with te lights and pool lit up - its quite nice. BUT AGAIN, its not going to be 100% private because the restaurant attached to it, has to stay open SO, having said that -- since your wedding is in May, im not sure what the capacity at the hotel will be like , but id assume much lower than February - So im sure they may even give it to you as a private option and allow you to book it! but if they DONT, don't worry as there are still other options to choose from 3:I was told that YES, they create a dance floor area, inside El Patio so thats not a problem. I am not sure if they move tables around, or have a section thats designated for the dancing part. Hope that helps out somewhat!

(i tried to quote this before but ti didnt work so ill try again) You look amazing!!!!! Fantastic photos...I am using Sascha as well Your dance party looks fantastic! Did Dj Doreemix bring those party favors to dress up in? How long did you have the Dj, and what was the total for it all? I see you have lighting too! AWESOME!

Unreal photos...love it! YOu look fantastic!!!!!!! Im using Sascha as well I see you have some party favors for the reception...was that provided by the DJ? how long did you have their services for and what was the total cost? (I assume they charge you for the dress up gear)

Hi ladies, Question about DJ/music for reception... I was thinking about going with an outside vendor for a DJ, since theirs says it costs about $220 an hour. We will be needing services from about 7-11pm. It would cost $900 from resort DJ, or about $800 from outside vendor plus day pass. My friends brother is also a DJ, so he was thinking he'd join and we'd pay him a few bucks to play music off his laptop system - BUT we would need to rent speakers/sound equipment...then i saw the cost for the sound system................................ It says on their website :Sound system equipment for Reception : $300 per hour SO, just to rent sound system, for 4 hours is $1200??? lol.....but its only $900 for 4 hours, for the actual DJ..Does that mean the DJ comes without sound system?? Id sooner bring my own friend, and rent equipment but it would cost us about $1400 if we pay him $200 for the night! Anyone have any answers to this? I'm also having a difficult time with them right now as I was told we could use the Patio for our reception dinner - unless is was already reserved. So, I said I wanted to book it before another bride does.....THEN they say they can't book it until 2 weeks prior to the wedding date. When I made a fuss and said I don't want to wait, if its not already booked I should be allowed to book it....So then they tell me if the hotel has a high occupancy that month its unavailable for reservations...THENNN they tell me its impossible to be booked in my month due to the hotel being too high of capacity.. And i wasn't told any of this until we paid deposit/guests started booking. Months before we even paid money, I was speaking with Jacy about EL Patio, and she never warned me that due to the month of our wedding-it wouldn't even be available or an option. I'm definitely hesitant now as to what other things we "wont be allowed"

I was told they give you round tables that seat 8/9 guests for reception. Do they accomodate a big long table for a head table? Any one here have a head table? Originally I just wanted our own table facing guests and allow wedding party to sit with their significat others - but i might still want the whole head table vibe...- just curious how it work for some of your receptions. I dont want a round table for a head table, lol. Thanks

Ladies, A FEW QUESTIONS ! -For the reception, (el patio is where we want ours) do they cover the tables with linens as apart of the cost? or is it extra for table linens? -What chairs do they use for the reception? -How much extra are chairs for ceremony/reception? (I have heard they give you 20 chairs for ceremony then you pay extra on top of that, per chair? is this true? Ill have about 35 guests) I am not planning on covering the chairs - Ive seen photos of the white chairs in photos and they seem in good shape. I'll add a sash/bow on the back for colour but dont want the chair cover. ANY advice on the tables/chairs for reception would be helpful. I am not wanting super traditional reception style with white chair covers etc - but if the chairs are wooden, and the tables are white pastics, i'll have to have them covered in linens and then i'll have to match up the chairs too. I am just unsure of what that looks like. I have NO idea what kind of tables they use for reception too, round/square - can you request which ones you want? I am wanting about 6 tables of 6 - and then a head table of just myself and groom because I didnt think El Patio could fit a big long head table with 12 ppl, but for those who have been there - can they accomodate a head table with 10 bridal party members? - I'd ask jacy but Im low on her priority list at this point and am hoping to get a faster response here from those who used El Patio? ALSO! - for those who have either seen or HAD a beach ceremony - do you get to choose your location on the beach? or do they have designated spots for this? We want ours with a decorated canopy and the photos Jacy sent me of beach weddings did NOT look very nicely located. One was right next to the gazebo, another was next to a palapa - im just unsure if people CHOSE those locations or if the choices are limited by the resort. I just want sand, not a lot of "stuff" nearby. I know since its a public beach, we can't have it TOO private, and we probably ARE in fact limited - which scares me a bit. Thank you to anyone who has a response to any of my questions! Much appreciated

Hello fellow brides to be or past DPA brides... First post here.! Yahoo! Im slowly getting myself in wedding mode. We are getting married NEXT February, so I have plenty of time but since things happen on Mexico time - I figured I'd get slowly started now and start asking questions/inquiring. I've sent a big long message to a fellow poster for some advice and questions but I am wondering does anyone have photos from a beach ceremony a DPA? I see lots from the Gazebo, but can't find any beach ones. Also, any brides who had their dinner/reception at El Patio - do they make a dance floor area for you? How long do you get the restaurant for until they kick you out? Thanks ladies!