Kate G

Originally Posted by brownsugarbride 

 

 

I loved your video, all of the amazing emotions...everything! Your dress was like a dream!

Thank you very much!

Originally Posted by NJBride2014 

 

Congrats Kate! Your video was so beautiful and moving I loved the emotion you both had on your special day.  Your dress was also so whimsical you looked gorgeous.  I might have to steal some of your decorations I got some really good ideas. 

Aw thank you so much Yes steal away! Hahaha

Originally Posted by KK2013 

 

 

I got a tear in my eye when your groom saw you!  Very sweet!

Thank you!! Every time I watch it I cry hahaha.

Originally Posted by jandl2013 

 

Beautiful video Kate and congrats to you and the Mr on your gorgeous wedding.  It was so heartfelt!

 

That's why we're springing for photography and video also....i definitely want to have beautiful memories of everything that weekend.

Thank you! Yes you will definitely be happy you spend a little more on that, it is so worth it!

Originally Posted by Jessica Correa 

 

 

aww your wedding film was beautifully done! I absolutely loved it. 

I was questioning whether to get the videographer but after reading all these testimonies, I decided I will go the extra mile and get it! 

Thank you so much! You definitely should, you won't be sorry!

Just got married in May and have learned a lot through the process!

- I definitely agree with those that said people you thought would be there won't --- hardly any of my extended family came to my wedding and it was really hard. BUT I can honestly say on the day of the wedding, I wasn't thinking of any of them

- Don't expect things to go entirely smoothly the day of; they probably won't...but it's okay!

- Friendships might be challenged and you may feel that you aren't being made to feel as special for your wedding because a lot of people can't come, so they act like they don't care that much.

- SPRING FOR GOOD PHOTOGRAPHY. I can't stress enough how important this is. We hired a photographer from my home state and flew him to Mexico, but it was worth every penny. Same goes for video. The photographer and videographer gave us priceless works of art that we will have for the rest of our lives...we could have saved a lot using the vendors at the resort, but to us, it was so worth it to spring for the good stuff! Here's our wedding film: http://vimeo.com/70227492

- You will most likely have to hunt people down for their RSVPs!

Originally Posted by LaLa1116 

 

Kate, you look beautiful and I love your hair!  Your photographer did a great job!  I love the pictures of you and your husband strolling on the beach.  Congrats!!

Thanks so much! Our photographer was awesome, definitely worth the extra money to fly him down! 

Originally Posted by amysis 

 

Kate, you look stunning!  What a beautiful wedding!  

 

Fatima was our wedding coordinator.  I enjoyed working with her and found her to be extremely attentive.  But it was a surprise to have Eleane there during our actual wedding.  It was fine, just a surprise.

 

We ended up buying all of our photos from Adventure Photography.  It was $800 for about 500 photos (we had a lot more photos than that, but we went through and deleted duplicates and unflattering photos).  This also included an upgraded photo book with 100 photos.  

Thank you!! Haha I guess Fatima and Eleane switch places often...

Originally Posted by Jenny2014 

 

 

Beautiful!!! Awwww you looked stunning!!!

 

I like that you did the family style table! So cute

Thank you so much! Yeah I loved having the long table, it worked well for having a small group

Hey guys, here are some pictures from our wedding that our photographer posted on his site  

http://benchristensenphoto.com/category/weddings/

Originally Posted by brownsugarbride 

 

First off, I'm so sorry that the resort staff did not handle the details of your special day in the way in which you deserved.  How incredibly frustrating after so much planning!   However, I'm glad that the ceremony went well and that you ended up having a great time.

 

I definitely think that you should put this in the review section, so that brides will have full information about your experience at the resort.  Did you end up talking to the hotel manager and corporate about what happened? You deserve an apology and a partial refund at the very least!

Thanks for the kind words! I totally didn't see there was a whole review section, duh haha. Unfortunately I didn't end up talking to anyone in person about it but left them some lengthy comments when it was time to check out (they have you complete a survey before leaving). Haven't heard from anyone since, and don't expect to get any money back :/ It's unfortunate but what can ya do! It was still a great time

Originally Posted by amysis 

 

Hey Ladies!

 

I just returned from Dreams where we had our wedding this past weekend.  We are exhausted but had an absolutely amazing time.

 

Kate, my experience was eerily similar to yours!  I am so sorry you had the issues you did.  It's such an emotional day, and those hiccups are so stressful! (I also did not receive my flowers in water, the other wedding coordinator came to get us, everything seemed to be late, etc.)

 

I will be working on a full review, but for the time being, I will just say that our entire experience was great.  We had a few issues, but overall we were thrilled with everything.  My biggest take away is that everything seems to run on what we dubbed "Mexican time" which is about 15 minutes late.  I also want to mention that I was very happy with Adventure Photography after we arrived (as I had some frustrations prior to arrival).  Our photographer, Lili, found us the day after we arrived and sat down with us to discuss our timeline and shot lists.  She was extremely helpful throughout the wedding (she helped with my veil and bustle), our guests loved her, and she fit in perfectly with our group.  

 

Feel free to ask any questions that you all may think of while I work on my full review--it will likely take awhile

That is so weird, I can't believe the same happened to you! Did you have Eleane or Fatima as your main coordinator? Looking forward to reading your review, and congratulations!

Originally Posted by aschackart 

 

 

 Hey Kate!

 

Sorry things didn't go perfectly   What is unfortunate is you can spend all this time doing all this research and thinking your are prepared for everything, and then something you couldn't have expected happens. Nonetheless, I'm sure your wedding was still gorgeous and your guests had an awesome time. Post pictures when you get a chance!

So true, you plan and plan and plan and still it really is out of your hands when the big day arrives! I think everyone had fun though and didn't even notice what went 'wrong,' so in the end that's what's important!

Originally Posted by kristadawn 

 

SO sorry hun///I can see where that would be extremly frustrating!!

We spend so much time with these planners and going over everything, they should be there..Did they ever explain why Eleane wasnt there??The whole idea of the wedding planner is to be there the day of wedding as well for the bumps that may come up, bride should not be worried about minor details!

 

Im finding im frustrated with the whole process, some is my fault as when I spoke with Dreams Tulum they were so accomadating that I was assuming PV wouldbe same. Now we are booked and yet nothing can be modified or changed, very much unlike Tulum

 

Im sure your wedding was beautiful and amazing just the same!

It is frustrating You're right, the planner should be there! Never heard about why Eleane wasn't there. But I really did have a beautiful time, so I won't look back on the negative! Hope things go smoothly for you!!

Originally Posted by Jenny2014 

 

 

Hi Kate,

 

 Thanks for sharing your review. I'm sorry it didn't go as smoothly as it should have! Did you see Eleane at any point afterwards and get an explanation for why she left?

 

I am glad you enjoyed Dreams- it really was an incredible place for our vacation and I am so excited to go back there!

 

I really do hope that despite all the minor hiccups, that your wedding was truely beautiful, and that you all had a wonderful time!!! Hopefully when you have some time you can post some pictures

 

Congrats on your wedding!!!!! xoxoxo

Thanks Jenny! Unfortunately I never got a chance to talk to Eleane Oh well, we did have an amazing time despite it all. Congrats to you too! xo

Hey everyone! I posted a thread giving my review of my wedding experience at Dreams, but wanted to post it here too in case people are just checking this thread. 

----

Just got back from beautiful Puerto Vallarta and wanted to share my Dreams wedding experience with anyone interested. I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this thread so forgive me if it isn't. 

First off I just want to say Dreams is an AMAZING resort - it was absolutely breathtaking; more beautiful than I had imagined. The staff was super friendly, the rooms were nice and clean, the food was delicious. It was great. 

Now onto the bad :/ Unfortunately my bad part of the review concerns the most important reason for me being at Dreams: my wedding. 

I started working with Eleane at Dreams last May to plan my wedding there. I loved working with her; she always responded promptly and was very nice. When we got to Dreams we finally met with her in person to go over the details. I also met with the decorator, Tamara (offsite vendor but does many weddings at Dreams). 

Everything seemed to be going well and looked like it was all in line. The day of our wedding (5/18), I went to Eleane's office just to make sure I knew where I needed to be and at what time. Eleane told me that before my hair and makeup appt. to be in my room because they would be dropping off my flowers, and then after hair and makeup she would be there to help me get ready and walk me down to the ceremony at 5:30. Well, I waited for the flowers before hair and makeup and they never came. So I just figured they were running late and my maid of honor, mom, and I went to get our hair done.

After hair and makeup we came back to the room to start getting ready. The flowers were there, but they were not in water. We had to fill up little cups to put them in and they almost tilted over because they were too heavy for the cups. Anyway everything was fine, not a big deal, but I thought it was odd they didn't have the flowers in water because they were starting to wilt. 

We hung out in the room for a while and our videographer was there getting some footage (we used our own photog./videog.) At around 4:30 I thought it was strange that Eleane still hadn't come up to the room so I called down to see what was up. Fatima, the other wedding coordinator, answered the phone and told me SHE would be up to walk me to the ceremony at 5:20. Huh? This was news to me. She didn't tell me where Eleane was but just said she would be there, so I just went with it. at 4:45 my photographer got there to get some photos of me getting in my dress, so I finally started to get ready. They took photos and videos and then next thing I knew I was looking at the clock and saw it was 5:26. NO ONE came up to get me and the ceremony was scheduled to begin in 4 minutes. I started freaking out. 

My mom got on the phone and told them her daughter was getting married and no one came to our room to get us. Finally we decided to start walking ourselves. Well, on the way out, Fatima did come up as if nothing was wrong. I was just relieved to see someone so I kinda just smiled and asked her where Eleane was. She said Eleane left for the day. Again...WHAT? The wedding coordinator I worked with all year just left, and gave me absolutely no indication. I was kinda mad to say the least, but was about to get married so didn't worry about it. 

We got down to the ceremony area to line up. Fatima was doing her best but things just seemed a little off, like at the last minute she was being thrown into this situation and wasn't sure of all the details. Well, the ceremony went fine (everything looked beautiful) and then the guests made their way to the cocktail area while we got some photos done. We had hired the mariachi band to play til 6:30, and at 6:10 we started walking up to cocktails and the mariachis were leaving. So we didn't even get to hear them play except for a little bit at the ceremony. 

We went up to the terrace to be introduced and at that point I was pretty agitated, just very anxious feeling because I felt like nothing was being handled and it was suddenly my responsibility to make sure the timeline was going right. We had to tell them when we wanted them to start dinner, no one had it handled. 

Dinner took an extremely long time, far more than the hour it was scheduled to take, so we didn't have enough dinner music (we just used our iPod, no DJ), and had to keep playing the same songs over. Again, not a HUGE deal but given all that I was feeling was going wrong it was really bugging me. 

I didn't really see Fatima much, and at one point my dad had to get up and ask someone to start speeding things along. Finally after dinner we cut the cake (that wasn't supposed to happen til later on but they brought it out). The cake had no decoration on it, just our cake topper. I wanted it simple but asked for some small flowers. There were no flowers on it. Then we went into dancing, but that all went by SO fast because dinner took so long. We probably had an hour total of dancing and it just flew by. 

To top it off, we went up to our room after and it wasn't decorated (they are supposed to leave rose petals and champagne and stuff). We had to call and ask that they do that.

So I know I sound like a huge downer and am just focusing on the bad here. Overall I will remember my wedding as being a ton of fun and a beautiful day surrounded by loved ones. For the most part, it was. But those little details had me feeling so anxious that the first half of the wedding I couldn't even enjoy myself because NO ONE seemed to be handling it. I am really upset that Eleane bailed and gave me no explanation or heads up even. 

But Dreams was so awesome that overall I won't be focusing on any of this in the big picture - so that says something right?

Hi Brides!

Just got back from beautiful Puerto Vallarta and wanted to share my Dreams wedding experience with anyone interested. I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this thread so forgive me if it isn't. 

First off I just want to say Dreams is an AMAZING resort - it was absolutely breathtaking; more beautiful than I had imagined. The staff was super friendly, the rooms were nice and clean, the food was delicious. It was great. 

Now onto the bad :/ Unfortunately my bad part of the review concerns the most important reason for me being at Dreams: my wedding. 

I started working with Eleane at Dreams last May to plan my wedding there. I loved working with her; she always responded promptly and was very nice. When we got to Dreams we finally met with her in person to go over the details. I also met with the decorator, Tamara (offsite vendor but does many weddings at Dreams). 

Everything seemed to be going well and looked like it was all in line. The day of our wedding (5/18), I went to Eleane's office just to make sure I knew where I needed to be and at what time. Eleane told me that before my hair and makeup appt. to be in my room because they would be dropping off my flowers, and then after hair and makeup she would be there to help me get ready and walk me down to the ceremony at 5:30. Well, I waited for the flowers before hair and makeup and they never came. So I just figured they were running late and my maid of honor, mom, and I went to get our hair done.

After hair and makeup we came back to the room to start getting ready. The flowers were there, but they were not in water. We had to fill up little cups to put them in and they almost tilted over because they were too heavy for the cups. Anyway everything was fine, not a big deal, but I thought it was odd they didn't have the flowers in water because they were starting to wilt. 

We hung out in the room for a while and our videographer was there getting some footage (we used our own photog./videog.) At around 4:30 I thought it was strange that Eleane still hadn't come up to the room so I called down to see what was up. Fatima, the other wedding coordinator, answered the phone and told me SHE would be up to walk me to the ceremony at 5:20. Huh? This was news to me. She didn't tell me where Eleane was but just said she would be there, so I just went with it. at 4:45 my photographer got there to get some photos of me getting in my dress, so I finally started to get ready. They took photos and videos and then next thing I knew I was looking at the clock and saw it was 5:26. NO ONE came up to get me and the ceremony was scheduled to begin in 4 minutes. I started freaking out. 

My mom got on the phone and told them her daughter was getting married and no one came to our room to get us. Finally we decided to start walking ourselves. Well, on the way out, Fatima did come up as if nothing was wrong. I was just relieved to see someone so I kinda just smiled and asked her where Eleane was. She said Eleane left for the day. Again...WHAT? The wedding coordinator I worked with all year just left, and gave me absolutely no indication. I was kinda mad to say the least, but was about to get married so didn't worry about it. 

We got down to the ceremony area to line up. Fatima was doing her best but things just seemed a little off, like at the last minute she was being thrown into this situation and wasn't sure of all the details. Well, the ceremony went fine (everything looked beautiful) and then the guests made their way to the cocktail area while we got some photos done. We had hired the mariachi band to play til 6:30, and at 6:10 we started walking up to cocktails and the mariachis were leaving. So we didn't even get to hear them play except for a little bit at the ceremony. 

We went up to the terrace to be introduced and at that point I was pretty agitated, just very anxious feeling because I felt like nothing was being handled and it was suddenly my responsibility to make sure the timeline was going right. We had to tell them when we wanted them to start dinner, no one had it handled. 

Dinner took an extremely long time, far more than the hour it was scheduled to take, so we didn't have enough dinner music (we just used our iPod, no DJ), and had to keep playing the same songs over. Again, not a HUGE deal but given all that I was feeling was going wrong it was really bugging me. 

I didn't really see Fatima much, and at one point my dad had to get up and ask someone to start speeding things along. Finally after dinner we cut the cake (that wasn't supposed to happen til later on but they brought it out). The cake had no decoration on it, just our cake topper. I wanted it simple but asked for some small flowers. There were no flowers on it. Then we went into dancing, but that all went by SO fast because dinner took so long. We probably had an hour total of dancing and it just flew by. 

To top it off, we went up to our room after and it wasn't decorated (they are supposed to leave rose petals and champagne and stuff). We had to call and ask that they do that.

So I know I sound like a huge downer and am just focusing on the bad here. Overall I will remember my wedding as being a ton of fun and a beautiful day surrounded by loved ones. For the most part, it was. But those little details had me feeling so anxious that the first half of the wedding I couldn't even enjoy myself because NO ONE seemed to be handling it. I am really upset that Eleane bailed and gave me no explanation or heads up even. 

But Dreams was so awesome that overall I won't be focusing on any of this in the big picture - so that says something right?

Originally Posted by LaLa1116 

 

Haha, Kate, it seems as if we have all of the same concerns!  I wish I had the answer to this for you...and for myself!  My major concern is also the flow and energy of the event lacking without the presence of  a DJ, but I would LOVE to save the money for something else.  If we did hire the DJ, he would probably just be responsible for hitting play on our playlist, haha.  This article has some good tips for planning an iPod wedding: https://sites.google.com/site/jasonandkatieteamptarmigan/wedding-music-1 .  Also, there is an great app called "my wedding dj" that you can download to make navigating your playlists easier, eliminate time between songs to help flow, and many other useful features.  You can read more about it here. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-weddingdj/id383243064?mt=8 Good luck!

Haha how funny, we do totally do! Thank you soo much for that app...my fiance and I were just talking about how we need something to make the music flow well. We will check it out! Good luck to you too

Originally Posted by LaLa1116 

 

Hi Kate!

 

I am very curious about this, too.  I've read countless posts about this topic, but without a definitive answer.  I don't want to do the bonfire because we are getting married at Las Caletas and don't want to have a bonfire 2 nights in a row.  It seems crazy to me to spend money on an event that should be free at an all inclusive.  A lot of brides have said that you can just show up and take the chance that they will push some tables together for you.  I assume this is easier at some restaurants than others -We did our site visit at Dreams PV last November and I think El Patio & the World Café would be best, because they were less crowded.  I think it would be difficult to seat 20+ at Oceana and Portofino-they seem more restricted.  Also, service at Oceana was incredibly slow when we went, so serving more than 20 guests at a time would probably take FOREVER.  It would be easier to just walk into a restaurant with a big group on a slow night, so maybe email or call the concierge and see which nights are typically slower.  Or what about just doing welcome cocktails at one of the bars?

 

I think we are planning on having our rehearsal dinner at El Patio because only family and wedding party will be included so we will be easier to accommodate.  Then, thinking of using the Mexican Fiesta night (held on the beach every Friday) as a fun alternative to a Welcome Party.  I read a post about a few brides having people get together for Fiesta Night and the staff was happy to pull a few tables together for them.  Good luck and let me know if you receive any new helpful info on this topic.

 

Lauren

Thanks for the advice Lauren! We actually decided to bite the bullet and just spend the money to reserve at the Seaside Grill restaurant. My wedding coordinator told me that there is a 'wine consumption' charge they mandate to reserve for a rehearsal dinner, and there is then a set menu at the restaurant you choose. I think it ended up being like $300, which my fiance's dad is going to take care of since that would normally be the groom's side's duties anyway It does kind of suck since the food would be free anyway, but I just didn't want to take the chance of getting all 26 guests to a restaurant and not being able to sit together and have it seemed disorganized. So that's what we're doing now!

Originally Posted by Jenny2014 

 

I would make them feel as included as you could. Most photographers always get put out, and pushed to the side. Whoever I end up hiring, I will be sitting them with everyone, as they are just as important to me on this day as any of the guests there.

 

Just my two cents!

 

I agree! Gonna sit them with everyone.

Originally Posted by Jenny2014 

 

 

Hi Kate!

 

Congrats!!!!! Your wedding is soooo close! I am so excited to see activity on this thread- I was worried there weren't any Dreams brides out there and I was going to be going it alone!

 

We are going to be doing the bonfire, so I can't help you there. Well, the intention is to do the bonfire... however, we are sitting down with my parents and FI's parents in the next two weeks to discuss the guest list, and we are already at 29 invites ourselves without the people they will probably want to add in. I am expecting roughly another 15-20 people from them, which pushes us to the even more expensive bonfire package, so we will see.

 

With 30 guests, I think you can put together a spot in the buffet for everyone- I remember from the email from Eleane that the buffet can accommodate about 50 people- maybe put together a dinner there?

 

I will be making my own decorations- just going to bring some fake flowers from home, some stones and immersible lights, and buy some clear vases/ big glasses while in PV for the tables. The prices top get decorations from the resort was just too much.

 

We're just going with the sound system as well, and bringing our iPod. Save a couple hundred bucks, why not.

 

Congrats again! Close friends of ours are getting married on May 18th of next year! Excited to follow your plans and see your beautiful pictures!

Thanks Jenny!! I appreciate your suggestions  

Originally Posted by SLetendre 

 

Hi Ladies!

 

As of today we are officially tying the knot at Dreams PV May 19th 2014, I'm so excited! Kate G would you might letting me know how the weather turns out for you guys after your wedding this May? I've found mixed reviews on how the weather is during May in PV, I'm hoping the rainy season doesn't start that early! (although I'm sure anything will be better than what the weather will be here in Edmonton during May)

 

I thought I remembered reading in one of the emails from Fatima that they will accommodate a reservation in one of the restaurants for a rehearsal dinner for up to 30 people. But maybe you guys are having too many people attend to take advantage of that option? The bonfire sounds like a lot of fun as well though!

 

Can't wait to hear how your guys' weddings go this year!

Yeah I hear the rainy season starts in June and if there is any rain in May it is just a light sprinkling that doesn't really last long. So fingers crossed it all is okay! And we are only having 26 guests so sounds like we should be able to make the reservation!

Hi Brides,

For those of you who have gotten married at Dreams Puerto Vallarta or will be getting married there (my wedding is in May), what did you do/will you do about a rehearsal or welcome dinner? Since it's an all-inclusive resort it seems silly to spend hundreds of dollars to rent a restaurant out for dinner since the food will be included in the price to stay there anyway, but I am nervous about how it will work to gather everyone together and have us all be able to sit together at a restaurant. I will only have 26 guests so I don't have a huge party to worry about, but I am still wary of this. And I know about the bonfire, which sounds like a ton of fun, but we just don't want to spend the money on it. Any tips would be appreciated!

Hi Brides,

Getting married at Dreams PV in May and I was wondering, where do the wedding vendors eat? I will only have a photographer and two videographers and will obviously be feeding them, but wasn't sure if it's customary to just sit them with the rest of the guests. My wedding will be very small with only 26 guests, plus the three of them, and I am just going to do two really long banquet style tables. I feel like having a separate little table just for the three of them would be odd, but is it odd for them to sit with the guests? 

Thanks.

Originally Posted by jsums18 

 

Hi there,

 

I am planning on having these lanterns at my wedding too. I will have 80 to 90 people attending so was planning on each table releasing one or 2 lanterns. They are supposed to be wishing lanterns so I was thinking of leaving Sharpies on each table and asking the guests to each write a wedding wish on their lantern before sending it off. 

 

I'm just not sure if I can get the lanterns in Mexico or if I need to bring them from home. If I bring them from home, what fuels them and can that be brought onto a plane? I've read that some use candles which would be ok, but I think some use an actual fuel type gas, which might not be allowed on the plane. 

 

Am looking forward to hearing if they can be easily purchased in the Puerto Vallarta area.

Hey I have been doing a little research and it seems they use these things called fuel cells, which look to be just little squares of something. I think (from what I have seen) that those cells just get directly lit and then you release them. My decorator told me brides bring them from the US and Canada all the time. Hope that helps I still am not sure where to purchase them from though because some of the less expensive ones I've seen online have either gotten iffy reviews on them or don't have reviews at all. I just don't want them to be cheap and not do what they're supposed to :/