JustNoelle
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Posts posted by JustNoelle
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Hello Brides!!
First, let me say that if it wasn't’t for BDW I don’t know how I would’ve managed. Everyone on here has been such a great aid in helping me plan our ‘Peacock Beach Wedding’ Lol. (P.S. Planning Thread coming soon…)
Anywhoo, I’ve been searching through BDW for unique Thank You Card ideas for a while now but not many people have posted. So I figured I’d start a thread. Please post your Thank Cards and/or ideas here! Also, please include the vendor you used to create them.
Looking forward to seeing all of your creative ideas!!
Here are a few ideas I got from BDW, Pinterest and Google search:
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Wow! I love these... Great idea! Ginger designed our passport save the dates and she was amazing... everyone loved them.
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Great Thread! I also created my logo using PowerPoint. It was a trial & error process but I got it done. Lol. Wish I had found this thread.
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We had the Ultimate package so we had more flexibility with choosing our menu options. We had a sit-down dinner and gave our guests (3) options. We chose the Beef Tenderloin and Chicken Breast from the Gold Menu and the Sea Bass Fillet from the Silver Menu.
I'm attaching both menus as well as our menu card template.
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Hi DRC brides!! Its me again.
I finally finished my very DETAILED review. I think I covered about everything. Hopefully, my review helps other brides as previous reviews has helped me.
Here's is the link:
http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/dreams-rivera-cancun-resorts-and-spa/reviews/7593
Pros: Wedding coordinator; Stunning resort; Great food; Great Staff
Cons: Try to “nickel and dime†for everything; Beach is not that great
First, let me say that our wedding at Dreams was absolutely AMAZING!!
Email Communication:
Our wedding coordinator was Lorena and to be honest with you, I did not have any issues with not getting email responses like the other brides. Maybe it’s because I only emailed her 5-6 times. But when I did email her, I would email her a long list of questions/comments that I’d accumulate over weeks/months. The longest response time was about 3 weeks which was expected because she does have to speak to different vendors. I rather her do research, then for her to answer my questions with, “I’ll have to get back to you†or “I’ll send you a quote when I get itâ€. So, the email communication was fine for me. I also took about 4 months to complete my ‘Wedding Planning Form’ to make sure I was sure about everything and included tons of photo examples.
Travel/Airport:
About 2 years ago, a bride on the site recommended Jill Demers for a travel agent. She was amazing and very patient. Jill organized all of our guests travel arrangements. My guests had a bumpy start with her response time but we squared that up immediately. Most of my procrastinating family booked at the very (and I mean very) last minute. And she definitely handled it well and was very attentive to their every need. We all received travel packets in the mail a few weeks before with a cute little travel pouch and a booklet with every information we needed. Our transportation was very well organized and we definitely felt safe and secure as soon as we stepped outside the airport.
My BIL took a photo of this airport sign that she arranged for us… I thought this was pretty neat!! J
Arrival (Wednesday):
I was disappointed with the preferred club (VIP) check-in. We had to wait quite awhile to be seen and during that time, we were not greeted with champagne or anything. We actually saw the waiter hand family champagne (they came in after us) and I asked my husband to go to the bar and order us some. Our room was not ready until after 3:00 pm; which was disappointing because I had planned to make our welcome bags as soon as we got there, so we could hand them out at our welcome dinner. Anyway, we had booked the Preferred Club Master suite and it was amazing. I realize that the next upgrade is the Presidential Suite but we had 42 guests stay at the resort, they could’ve at least offered us an upgrade.
Meetings (still Wednesday):
We met with our officiant Linda first. She is such a doll; very prepared and professional. We confirmed all of our ceremony script pretty swiftly and easily.
Our next meeting was with DJ Mauricio. That was also pretty easy. He SEEMED to know what we wanted and expected (I’ll get to that later).
Lastly, we met with our wedding coordinator, Lorena. She is so efficient! She had all of our emails already printed and ready to go. We had our suitcase filled with wedding décor ready for her as well. The flowers were ridiculously priced. So we ended up putting up a little bit of a haggle for that. As well as, our photographer. We booked Melissa from Del Sol and Debora was her assistant. They wanted to charge us for (2) external vendor fees + (2) dinners. Crazy… I know! Anyway, we ended having to cut our meeting short (which was already 2 hours long) to get ready for the Welcome Dinner.
Welcome Dinner:
We had our Welcome Dinner at Portofino’s Restaurant at 6:00 pm. It was a bit of confusion and miscommunication because all of my guests were already informed that the dinner will be at 7:00 pm. During our meeting with Lorena, she informed us that we had to move it up to 6:00 pm in order to reserve the restaurant. I thought that was B.S. because we actually paid for our guests (28 of us) and we could at least have been able to pick our time. For all that, I should’ve just told my guests to meet at the restaurant before it opened… It would’ve definitely saved us $$$. Anyway, by the time we left her office and attempted to spread the word (we literally had to pull some of our guests out of the pool/beach to tell them to get ready); I already knew that this was not going to be a good night. Majority of my guests got there an hour late. However, the manager was very accommodating and understanding but after 7 he told us he had to pull apart one of the long tables. So, as my tardy guests were strolling in, they had to be seated elsewhere because there was no room for them at our tables. The food was not that good to me there either. It could’ve been my nerves or the whole crazy situation but we definitely did not go back to Portofino’s our entire stay. Also, because we were using Del Sol, we requested to have photos taken at the dinner. Anel from Adventure Photos came to take our photos. She also asked Phil and I to step outside to take some intimate couple shots I thought that was neat J. I looked tried as heck in the photos with huge bags under my eyes but I definitely LOVED the photographs.
Wedding Day (Getting Ready):
My hair appointment was at 2:00 pm at the spa. It went pretty well. The only thing I didn’t like was that I had to come to the spa with my hair washed and blown. Apparently, they only style the hair. I wanted loose curls but by the time I arrived at the ceremony, all of my curls dropped (that dawn humidity). My cousin/bridesmaid is a makeup artist so she did mine and my mother’s makeup. She did an AMAZING job J.
Lorena and another wedding coordinator came into my room to drop off our bouquets. They both had huge smiles on their faces and she explained that everyone was going crazy over our bouquets (we had a peacock themed wedding). I was uber excited when I saw that she got me the flowers that I wanted… I actually jumped up and gave her a hug (I guess the fighting I explained earlier really worked lol).
Ceremony (North Beach):
Our ceremony was at North Beach at 6:00 pm. Of course, due to my tardy family, the ceremony didn’t start until about 6:20. I definitely had about 3 breakdowns on the way to the ceremony because of that. Anyway, I was in awe with how BEAUTIFUL the ceremony set up was!! I had brought the fabric for the chuppah, the program cards and had our maracas delivered and everything was placed perfectly. The ceremony went off without a hitch. We did not have a rehearsal but Linda and Lorena was there to very discreetly tell us what to do. It did help that we had PERFECT weather (40% chance of thunderstorms my butt lol). It was not too hot and not too cloudy. I am so grateful. The next day it poured on someone’s wedding on the beach… I was so sad for them L.
Cocktail Hour (North Jacuzzi):
We had our cocktail hour at North Jacuzzi. We missed most of it taking photos and wrapping up our video but we got to enjoy the last 10 minutes. Our guests seemed to enjoy it and also the mariachi band. I also requested to have a signature drink, our “Something Blueâ€. Everyone said that was the best drink at the resort lol. We didn’t get to try any of the food but I also heard they were good.
Reception (Pool Deck):
We had our reception on the Pool Deck. My mouth nearly dropped when we saw the space. Everything was PERFECT!! They did everything and more that we had asked for. We brought our own table overlays, napkins, table numbers, tented menu cards and escort cards (thanks Rebecca from Rebecca Allurements), sand tray, Map guestbook, peacock feathers, lanterns… Etsy was definitely my best friend. The set up was beyond our expectations. Everyone can’t stop complementing us on the décor and creativeness. Lol It’s funny because when we told our guests that our reception was on the pool deck, they looked at us like we had two heads and were crazy. It showed them huh?! Lol.
Any who, we went right into our first dance after being announced. We danced to Adorn by Miguel J. The only thing that I am kicking myself for, is forgetting to ask for the fireworks around our dance floor during our first dance. That is something I really wanted so I can’t believe I forgot to ask. Oh well… I hope all the brides reading this put that on their checklist if they want it.
The wait staff was amazing. I was very clear that I did not want the dinner take up the majority of our party time (especially being that we were a ½ hour behind schedule. They really worked hard to have all courses out and taken back swiftly. The food was great! I think it was the best food at the resort. We chose the stuffed ravioli for our appetizer… So tasty. And we gave our guests (3) options of chicken, beef or fish. I had the chicken which was finger-licking good and my husband had the fish which was also good. The strawberry tulip ice cream desert was so good. I was disappointed that they took it away so quickly when we stepped away from our table. (Oh well… we did asked them to rush the dinner lol). We had a 3-tier tres leche wedding cake… Also good. We had one whole layer left and I was also disappointed they did not send any of it back to our room. Yes… I am a greedy! JLol
P.S.
We got back to our room with a trail of rose petals leading up to our bed and on our bed. There was also roses, candles and in scents surrounding our Jacuzzi. Yes… Very romantic!! We loved it!
DJ:
As stated above, DJ Mauricio sat with us to discuss our expectations and music choices. I actually had my sisters/MOHs create a detail song and playlist of the type of music we wanted to hear and dance to.
Side note: My family is of Jamaican decent. You may be wondering… Why’d we choose Mexico? Because two of my cousins already had destination weddings in Jamaica and we wanted to be “differentâ€. Besides, we have always wanted to visit Mexico and so did our families.
Any who, so we had very specific genre of music requests (i.e. Reggae, Dancehall, Soca, Hip Hop, R&B, Pop, Dance). He definitely got the Pop, Dance and some Hip Hop correct but definitely did not know how to mix the reggae and dancehall. He played a Bob Marley in the middle of the dance segment. Disappointed was not even the word. Our guests kept sitting back down so he will play something like the Cha Cha Slide to get everyone back up. I had guests tell me that they kept on going up to him to requests songs but he did not take their requests. Of course, my biggest critics aka my sisters were frustrated. Anyway, we made the best of it and continued to dance even though it was not the best. I definitely did not let that stress me or ruin my night.
Day After Wedding:
We scheduled our “romantic breakfast in bed†(which came with our wedding package but was the same as regular room service). Oh well… the thought that count.
After we ate, we headed to the spa for our 80 min Swedish massage and a 25 min exfoliating treatment. OMG amazing!!!... The most relaxed and refreshed I’ve been in about a year and a half (since wedding planning). We definitely enjoyed our spa treatments. The spa itself is gorgeous. We did not want to go back to the “general population†lol.
Later, we were scheduled to have our “romantic dinner on the beachâ€. We arrived at Oceana and were seated by our personal hostess. We literally sat down, got 3 photos together and next thing you know is that we heard loud thunder. Then in a split second, it poured down on us…no fair warning (Again… I felt so bad for that other wedding). Our hostess ran back to help us get off the beach. But it was too late… We were soaked in a matter of seconds. So everyone was crammed in Oceana waiting for the rain to let up. Our hostess asked if we wanted to be moved to the lounge chair area (they also set up private dinners there at night); we said okay and it worked out perfectly. We were dry and we still had our romantic private dinner. It also helped that our waiter was hilarious.
The Resort:
We definitely had an amazing 11 days at the resort. We visited every restaurant (Himitsu, Oceana and Bordeaux were our favorites). Housekeeping was great and the turn-down service was also good. Room service was also very good. Hubby and I were definitely taking advantage of the 24-hour room service. The nightly entertainment was pretty good. We especially loved the drum/fire show. The beach is not the best. There were plenty of seaweed but the resort really made an effort to try to clean it up every few hours.
P.S.
I ended up meeting the General Manager of the hotel and he was so nice. He kissed and hugged us goodbye when we were leaving.
Excursions:
We rented a van to go shopping in Playa Del Carmen for 3 hours on Sunday ($180… I know, ridiculous!) but we had a blast on the 5th avenue strip. Monday, we booked a group excursion to Tulum (Mayan Ruins) & Xel-Ha. It was blazing hot but everyone enjoyed themselves. Tuesday, we met with our Del Sol photographer, Debora, to shoot our Cenote + Beach TTD. The cenote they took us to was amazing! And we had a ball with Debora, Ruben and Duncan (the assistants) and Alberto (the driver). Definitely a great experience! Hubby and I also booked Xplor Fuego (Its Xplor but at night… 5:30 – 11:00 pm) and Dolphin Discovery in Isla Mujeres. Both were excellent!
We think we had the best honeymoon ever… We just can’t stop talking about all that we did and experienced.
*Overall, we had a FANTASTIC wedding and the best time of our lives at Dreams Riviera. I call it our Dreams dream wedding and honeymoon! We don’t regret anything and would do it again in a heartbeat. I’ll definitely recommend Dreams Riviera Cancun resort to anyone.
4 THUMBS US FROM US!! J
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It was great meeting you too Jessica!! As I told you when we met, we actually watched your ceremony (absolutely beautiful) and saw/heard your reception at Seaside Grill from our balcony. You guys can really party!!
Lol. I am actually in the process of writing our review and you are definitely right on the money... Dreams was AMAZING!!! Stay tuned for our looooong Peacock Beach Wedding Planning Thread as well. Originally Posted by ZachJess2013
Hi everyone! We just had our wedding at Dreams last Thursday, August 1 and it was absolutely amazing! We literally had ZERO issues. I am so happy we chose not to get married on a weekend, we were the only wedding that day which made me completely relax. We could pick any of the venues and did not have to worry about any other weddings or minimum number of guests. We were also the only wedding getting hair and make up so we didn't have to worry about running behind schedule (and there were 14 of us!). I had the trial run for my hair which I am glad I did, I ended up making some adjustments and it turned out fabulous day of the wedding. Piece of advice if you are picky like me, I had them use my own makeup mainly for foundation, powder, and mascara. I also brought my own hairspray.
If you are not sure on the ceremony location, 100% for sure go with North beach. The Saturday we arrived there were three weddings lined up on the beach so we got to see our options. The south beach in my opinion is not the best choice, it is right next to the children's play ground and the swing bar so there were people and children everywhere, you literally walk right down the middle of all the chaos! This is not to take anything away from any of the weddings, every single one we saw was absolutely gorgeous. We made a lot of friends around the hotel and they ended up all coming to the ceremony, they actually created a wall with their beach chairs blocking us from the rest of the beach, it felt incredibly private. After that first night we almost changed our reception to the beach terrace bc the set up was stunning (I am not a fan of the pool terrace). However we stayed with our original plan which was seaside grill and I was so so so happy with that location. We did not have to pay anything extra, I was prepared to fight that but it never even came up. I made them include seaside grill in our original contract before we even paid the deposit. We also hired outside vendors for photo and for video and did not pay any fees, I was also prepared to fight that, never came up.
We used the photo and video from the ultimate package Adventure Photo for the rehearsal which was great. Claudia was our coordinator, she was our third coordinator. When we arrived we were taken right to VIP checkin, we were upgraded to a master suite, we had booked an ocean room. The master suite was perfect, plenty of space, we had so much stuff !! my very large bridal party hung out there and got ready there. They would not let us use the presidential suite to get ready (we asked) but they did let us walk out from there which was nice because we were all able to stay inside. For the rehearsal we went to oceana grill which is close to the north beach. I had let the hostess know we would be coming earlier that day, they of course don't take reservations but she said for us to arrive 15 min prior to opening and we would be the first seating, worked out perfectly.
We did have some issues with our guests getting sick, seemed to hit everyone in our group at one point or another, not sure if it was the food or the water or the alcohol (might have been all the crazy shots we took). The layout and size of the resort I thought was great, never really had any trouble finding one another. Desires nightclub was our hang out spot pretty much every night. I have learned that the riviera maya is basically a swamp, so there are no waves, the water is bath warm, and I have a million bug bites even with tons of bug spray. We are up at Live Aqua now in cancun area and not one bite, the water is much cooler, and the ocean has clear blue waves. Also on a side note we booked a group excursion on the Dancer Cruise (instead of paying for a rehearsal dinner) and that was a ton of fun. Anyway I could go on for days! All I can really say which is what every bride says after a wedding at DREAMS is AMAZING, it was absolutely perfect, best decision EVER. Dreams really does cater to weddings, the service during our reception was above my expectations. The DJ which we had Mauricio was spectacular, I am glad he was there to keep us on schedule bc once our group hit the dance floor that was it LOL. Enjoy your day, it will be perfect, like a DREAM honestly.
Jess and Zach -> P.S. Great meeting you Noelle :-)
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The BEST bags I've see on BDW yet!!! Great Job!!
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Great thread! Love your OOT bag
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Originally Posted by London5872
HELP!!
I am getting married in October 2013 at Dreams Riviera Cancun and am so excited. We are using the Ultimate Package and they sent the menu options which sound amazing. Can someone please answer this question...they told me to pick one of each (appetizier, salad, soup, entree and dessert). So does that mean I pick one of each and my guests only get a choice of one thing to eat for dinner? Are these their options and they choose which one they want to eat?
I don't like the idea of choosing one dinner for everyone...makes me think about considering a buffet.
Thanks for all the help!
London5872
Did you get an answer yet? If not, I believe you can request that you have three entree options. The stipulations is that you have to send the WC your seating chart and every guests' meal choice 30 days in advance. Another bride told me that there is no real Ultimate package menu but you pretty much are able to customize and requests certain meals.
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Originally Posted by rykell
Im so sorry but they are sold , the bride was getting married on May 23 of this year so maybe she will repost everything that she bought from me in the near future.
Good luck in your quest
No worries! I found a similar one online at a good price.
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Poor thing! I can't imagine the ordeal you had to go through. I hope you still managed to enjoy your wedding and honeymoon.
Originally Posted by KimDillon
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Hi Ladies,
I need your help!!
I am completely stumped as to what gift to give both parents. As well as our grandmothers (we only have 1 left from both sides).
My Bridesmaids are getting a whole bunch of things (most have to do with their attire the day of wedding). Is that fair?
This what they'll be receiving:
- Peacock hair pin
- Swarvoski crystal earrings
- Beautiful custom barefoot sandals
- Bridesmaids' tank top
Should I get them something that is non-related to the wedding?
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Hi,
Are these table overlays still available?
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Very nice! What color is that? I was thinking about going to Le Chateau but the store iss too far for everyone to travel to. So we ended up purchasing from JCrew (which broke our bank
)Originally Posted by csho
My FI is wearing a suit from Le Chateau. He's just wearing the vest and pants with a tie. The groomsmen will be wearing the same pants and their own white shirts, brown belt, and brown shoes! I think they are going to look so handsome!
Here's my FI attire.
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Originally Posted by JHo2013
Hey. Did you end up getting these suits? I couldn't really justify the price tag. So I got these cute linen Grey pants and white linen shirt from old Navy. Then I bought suspenders and bows ties off ebay and a hay from Zara and all that came up to the same cost of 1 etsy suit ( I dressed 2 boys) and got them baby toms to wear. Their mom loves the whole look!
I ended up not purchasing the linen suit from etsy. I too could not justify spending that much money on a baby's suit that he'll probably only wear once. So I ended up purchasing a cotton/linen pants from gymbooree's and suspender and bow tie from etsy (the bow tie was $20 which sucks but oh well). I haven't received the packages yet but hopefully it all fits and everything goes together because that will save me almost $100.
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@Happyme:
How were you able to style/manage your hair after getting in the pool/beach?
Here are examples of the look I am going for:
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Originally Posted by happyme2013
I was married on April 25, 2013. I got a sew in for the wedding with the deep wave Brazilian hair. The Spa curled it and pinned it up. For the reception, we took the pins down on one side of my hair so it seemed as though I had two different styles. The hair was perfect with the weather. I did not have to do anything to it.
I'm planning on getting a Brazilian body wave. I am so worried about how it will get styled for my wedding and the length of hair I should get (I don't wear weaves).
Did the hair hold curls? Without adding additional products? I hear that adding products ruins the hair. The hair alone is probably going to cost around $600 and I don't want my money to go to waste :/
What lengths did you get?
Can you please email me too? My email is [email protected].
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I'm still thinking about whether or not to do OOT bags but this list is making me really tempted. Great ideas! Quick question: how was it traveling and going through customs with all of that?
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Originally Posted by SarahPoliachik
Just sent the wedding ceremony script to your email...hope this helps. Sarah
Thanks Sarah!! I received your email
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Hello Brides,
How many songs should I have for our prelude? We have 3. Do you think 3 songs is too much? I hear the wedding coordinators at our resort are very punctual. Also, should I pick another song for the recessional? We are only having 40 guests. I think 1 song is plenty of time for all to exit. What do you all think? I apologize for all the questions. Our wedding is almost 2 months away and I'm getting a little antsy.
Here is our ceremony play-list:
CEREMONY MUSIC
Prelude:
Norah Jones – Come Away With Me
Musiq Soulchild – Love
India Arie – Ready For Love
Processional:
Groom/Groomsman: Maxwell – Whenever Wherever Whatever
Bridesmaids: CeCe Winans – I Promise (Wedding Song)
Bride: Train – Marry Me
Sand Ceremony: Beyoncé – Ave Maria
Bride & Groom Exit: James Brown – I Got You (I Feel Good)
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1
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Originally Posted by hezmshaw
Getting married in Mexico in November
Hi Hez,
Sorry for the late response. I decided to rent from the event designer I am hiring. Too much of a hassle to bring them down myself + the extra luggage fees are killing me. Sorry again.
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Originally Posted by MCree
Could someone pretty please attach the ceremony script from Linda? Trying to make programs since my date is getting so close, and I seem to have misplaced this. Thank you so much in advance!
Hi Ladies,
I have been strolling the forum looking for ceremony script. I too am having my programs made and need to finalize our script.
Does anyone have the ceremony script templates? Also, does anyone have Linda's direct email?
Please email at [email protected].
Thanks so much in advance!
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Originally Posted by JHo2013
Oops I sent you that adorable kids link assuming you were going for the same colors as me. I don't think this one comes in the beige. But they have other really cute options
Yeah, I was wondering if you posted the wrong link when I clicked on it. Then I read this. Lol. Unfortunately, they do not have the color I'm looking for. I think I'm just going to end up purchasing from etsy :/
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Wow, great Idea! That looked like so much fun! You two look like a good time. I am glad you enjoyed your TTD.
Dreams Riviera Cancun - Brides post here (new thread)
in Destination Wedding in Riviera Maya, Cancun & surrounding areas
Posted
Hi Everyone,
so I have a bit of a personal question, I have gone with the ultimate package, but I'm wondering how much everyone else ended up paying in 'extras' when they got there, I have a price list but just want to make sure I have the right sort of price in mind, as it seems I will only get this price right before the wedding... these are the main extras I want -
-LED dance floor
-fire dancers (has anyone else had these)?
-bridesmaid/arch/centerpieces flowers etc
-some lighting
-Music I was thinking of just going for the I pod dock to keep costs down? and then using the trio from the package for the ceremony rather than the cocktail hour? (has anyone done this)
- Photographer it says on the form I can add hours on for $99 Has anyone done this?
anyway for all the extras I am budgeting for about $3500 am I being to optimistic?
any help would be great with this? x
You are being VERY optimistic for budgeting $3500. I was too until I got there and saw our tentative invoice. I was like OMG! Lol. We had the 'Ultimate Package' and ended up paying close to $8K - not including the resort's photographer (we booked Del Sol), additional decor we brought with us and of course, our room/travel expenses. Yeah... We were shocked how "exact" they are. Also, keep in mind we had 46 guests and EACH guest over the 20 included in the package were accounted for (ie. champagne, cocktail hour, dinner, cake). They make sure of that!
This is the extras we had (that I can remember):