Dreams Riviera Cancun - Brides post here (new thread)

[ursula]

Hi Ladies!  I'm also getting married in May.  May 7th, 2011.  I havent been on BDW in a while.  I have a lot of posts to catch up on! and I need to check out the May 2011 thread too. 

 

Originally Posted by Nan 

 

 

Icraney:

 

We are both getting married in May next year!!! Have you checked the May 2011 thread?  It´s helped me a lot! Congrats on all your progress!

[ursula]

Lily, can you send me your power oint of your table set up. i'm using the deck too but fromt he random pics i've seen i cant really get a good idea of how the whole spacer looks or how it would be set up.  Thanks!  ulochiel@gmail.com
 

Originally Posted by lilly129 

Hey girl, I just sent you an email...but also...

 

I drew out a diagram for my table set up in power point.  I had our table at the top of the dance floor and then tables around it.  The dance floor is in the middle of the pool deck and the dj is going to off to the far right (when facing the ocean) which is the skinnier part of the deck.  The bar and food are at the far left over by the trees.  

 

RDSJCR - that is legit - they had a film crew there when we were there - they asked a group of 16 of us to be extras for a day and offered each couple 3 nights stay.  We declined because we didn't want to give up a day at the resort to do what they needed us to do...however if I were you - I'd absolutely take that deal! that's awesome because it won't disrupt your day at all!

 

 

[Stoff]

That's exciting!  I'm a little nervous though,  we are way behind here!

[reaganlane]

Ok ladies...I'm leaving in exactly one week to head to Dreams to have my wedding in 9 days! OH MY! Did anyone ever figure out the whole petal thing? Ana needs to know if I want to purchase rose petals from her and I was wondering if anyone ever went to the local Walmart there and bought roses to use for petals? I am not having a large wedding but I do want the isle covered in petals and I have petal cones for my guest which will run around $330+ just for the bags of rose petals from Dreams. Decisions...decisions

[mindylcarter]

We chose the "Paradise" (complimentary) package. 

 

Resort: Beautiful, and the rooms are just like the photos. We were given a free upgrade to one of the best rooms on the resort - oceanfront with a jacuzzi on the deck.  The king size beds are very comfortable.  Nice minibar and maid service was very good, although they forgot to leave me coffee twice. 

 

Food:  Fabulous!  Soooo much better than what I expected for resort food.  Our favorites were the french and japanese restaurants.  The only restaurant we did not eat at was the mexican.  We ate breakfast at the World Cafe every morning but one, and it was so god and the choices are so numerous.  We ate lunch at the World Cafe on our last day, and realized we had cheated ourselves all week, as the food was also delicious there for lunch, and again, numerous choices. 

 

Drinks:  Average to below average.  If we didn't ask for a double, we could not even taste the alchohol. I found the best way was to order a shot of top shelf liquor along with my drink of choice.  The same drink was served 5 different ways depending on the bar you went to.  My after dinner drink of choice was Baileys and Frangelica, which was excellent.  I found most of the other liquors seemed to be watered down.

 

Wedding Flowers:  Beautiful and just like the photos.  I could not have been more pleased.

 

Decorations:  I was under the impression that some type of floral arrangement was provided on the center table at the gazebo, or some type of fabric draping, etc.  There was nothing.  I was disappointed in myself that I let the pictures on the site and in the brochure cloud my understanding.  I wished I would have brought some fabrics or artificial flowers with me

 

Sound System/Music:  Terrible.  Such a disappointment.  This was the only item we spent the extra money for.  It was $200 for 1 hour but we only used it for maybe 30 minutes before we dispersed.  I recorded a song with other musicians that I wanted played while I walked down the isle, and I selected a song for my bridesmaid to walk down the isle to as well.  I made 2 seperate CD's - the first contained music to play while the guests were being seated, and the other was to be put in when they were ready to start the ceremony and my bridesmaid was walking down the isle (I only had 1 bridesmaid).  The next sone on the 2nd CD was the song I recorded for my husband and the song I wanted to walk down the isle to.  It was a suprise for him and all the guests, and took months of planning to practice and record.  The tech stopped playing the song for my bridesmaid as soon as she finished walking down the isle, and forwarded directly to my song, which was also abruptly stopped as soon as I made it down the isle...only ahout 20% of the song was played.  I was sick and very upset. Maria was our coordinator, and I told her how unhappy I was with the way they butchered my music and ruined my special suprise, and I told her they would never cut off a solosit or live musician in that manner.  Of course, no concessions were made.

 

Minister:  she was very nice, but her English was very broken, and she stumbled through the ceremony.  I was not happy with her at all.  I wrote the ceremony myself, and even I could not understand most of what she said, so I am sure my guests had no idea what she was saying.  Very disappointing, considering the hours I spent researching and writing the ceremony.

 

As soon as the ceremony was finished, a waiter brought us a tray of champagne which was very nice.

 

We had our reception at the Bourdoux french restaurant, and they did a beautiful job.  We only had 6 guests so we ate off the menu. The table was decorated beautifully and rose petals were scattered on the table.  We had at least 2 waiters attention all night. The service was wonderful.  The wedding cake was DELICIOUS!  It was the best dessert we had all week!

 

Our wedding ceremony was definitely rushed...both myself and my bridesmaid felt the coordinator just wanted to get me down the isle and go do something else.  I felt that because we did not purchase a lot of extras or have a private reception/cocktail hour, that we were not given adequate time or attention during the ceremony.  If I had to do it again, I would not rely on the discretion of the coordinator, but I would go over everything in advance with regard to timing, etc., and be very stern with exactly what I wanted.  I thought that I did that with my music, but it did not come out that way.

 

One other thing:  DO NOT RENT A CAR!  We rented a car from the AVIS counter to go on a couple excursions to Playa Del Carmen, and we were pulled over by a police officer at a road stop, and the police took $80 of our money before he would let us go.  This is a very common thing but we did not know it at the time.  We were doing nothing wrong, but there is an AVIS sticker on the cars, and they will pull you over and take your money.  They have machine guns and speak no English (or act like they don't) and we were very scared.  Everyone at the resort were very sorry, but of course there was nothing they could do.  The AVIS rep will not tell you what to do if this happens (obviously if they told you there is a good chance the police will pull you over and take your money, you may not rent a car.) 

 

Everyone in our group was very happy with the resort, and there were absolutely no complaints. They take excellent care of the guests, and the staff are very laid back.   

[mindylcarter]

A couple other things I wanted to add:  the website says our group would receive a cocktail reception when we arrived, but we did not get one, unless they just meant we could go to the lobby bar and get drinks, which anyone could do.  They also advertise a champagne breakfast in bed...it's not.  There is no champagne, and it's not breakfast in bed.  It's just plain old room service.  YOu have to go to the conciere's desk to ask for the breakfast, and she has you fill out a menu.  But you may as well just order room service, it's the exact same thing.  They just bring the trays to your room.  Also, if you want to take advantage of the 'free aniversary nights' you have to go to the wedding coordinator desk and ask for the certificate.  They don't automatically give it to you.  Also, the 'special turn down service' that was advertised as part of the honeymoon package was just some rose petals sprinkled on the bed and a 'honeymoon banner' on the door.  A nice touch.  So just be sure to ASK ASK ASK because if you don't, you won't get a lot of the extras advertised.

[pbjwed]

Boo,

Im with you!..  Although I sent  so many emails my questions were never getting answered. Finally MY TA called and Maria finally called me to apologize..  I actually SPOKE to her.  She was very nice. ..  but I must say that all the things I discussed 7 months ago had to be RE DISCUSSED.  She tried telling me additional prices that were never discussed with me.  Its very fustrating. she even apparently wanted DRC to make a profit on the Dance Floor. The DJ quoted me one price and she told me another. Its fustrating just because its less than a month away and they are changing locations of my events.  VentinG!!!   Anyway I will see you at DRC!!!

 

I cant wait..  Finally packing my welcome bags...  made my guest book!  Love it!!!  ..  made my  Bling table placecards to coordinate with the guest book..  ie.. Love .. ..and so on.  ...  bringing only a few glass candy jars already with our Monograms  ( going to use the candy bar for our Welcome Party)  Raffia fans with programs..  glass votives with our monogram on them.. bling for tables..  hot pink and orange starfish for the tables...  Oh  I can leave you the orange  and pink parasols.. I will have 4 orange and i pink...  let me know... 

 

Did you decide on flowers?  I think I am going to use Casey's flower arrangement.  They did a great job on it...  I wont use the green flowers tho.  just hot pink and orange.. ( She posted in an earlier post)

 

Going with Deco Cancun for pretty much everything!  I am so excited that I am using them and wont have to stress.... getting from them..

runner for ceremony.. orange and hot pink sheer linen for ceremony..  2 white couches for 20 with hot pink and orange pillows..  large candles surrounding wedding reception..  hot pink table overlays..bamboo stands with hot pink and orange lanterns..  they are providing the hot pink chair ties for both reception and  ceremony.  Anita is  AWESOME!  She responds immediately.

 

I bought these wedding cameras for the table at michaels.  Used a 50% off coupon. got 5 for 15. ( Have 10 total)  bought bling and decorated them with crystals..  they look great!!  I will put one on each table... 

 

Made my girls bathing suit bottoms from VS that are hot pink and orange that say "bridesmaids and maid of honor!"  they are so CUTE!!

Also made them tank tops with their names on it.  One of my friends is my stylist and I made her one that says "Stylista"  lol  name of her company and on the back I wrote Madi Rocks!  Its sooo  cute...

 

What are you doing for placecards?  i was orginally going to use the starfish.. but dont want to take a chance if they take them from me!!

So I am not sure if I am just making a large seating chart and put the names.  ( I saw a template on here.)  Are you doing those maracas?

 

Sorry this is so long!!!!  LOL

 

ok going to bed... but let me know .. I can leave anything I have for you..........  I cant believe we are getting married in LESS THAN A MONTH!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Janine!!

[pbjwed]

[pbjwed]

i love that cake..  a girl on BDW had it!  So amazinG!!!

[beachykeen]

I got married 10-8-10 and had a similiar experience to Mindy.  I'll leave a wedding recap with pictures and if anyone has any questions I will be more than happy to answer them.  We chose the Dreams of Love Package and had 40 guests.  We had the wedding on the beach and the reception around the pool area--not the pool deck.

 

EMAIL COMMUNICATION:  I think everyone knows that this is terrible.  Especially for those of us that started with Ana.  I got several conflicting emails concerning prices and ceremony/reception locations.  I would suggest printing out all of your emails and bringing them with you so you have proof of everything that was promised to you.  Just be VERY adamant about what you want and what you were quoted and bring your emails with you.

 

MEETING WITH COORDINATOR:  This was a little stressful.  Everything that I had confirmed in email several times before the wedding changed when we got there.  I had quotes for the bridesmaids bouquets, they were long stem calla lillies for $45 each.  Then when we got there Magdalena changed it to $60 each.  I had to talk her back down to $45 after showing her the emails she sent me less than a week before we got there.  She also tried to tell me that the only boutonir that was included was for the groom and that we would have to pay $12 each for additional ones.  I had to show her the Dreams of Love package that's on their website to show her that it includes the groom's and 2 additional boutinirs.  She also had no idea that we were using the sound system for the reception even though it was written in my contract and confirmed by email the week before.  And we used EW Cancun for our ceremony set up and she tried to make me pay day passes at $55 each for the whole crew so they could set it up.  I eventually contacted EW Cancun and they talked to Gabriela so I wouldn't have to pay it.  The biggest upset for me was the reception location though.  We confirmed through email 4 times that it would take place at El Patio.  Then when we got there she said it wasn't available and that we had to have it at Oceana which is the smaller covered dining area by the pool.  This was really upsetting because I didn't bring any decorations thinking that the restaurant is so beautiful by itself we wouldn't need any.  They weren't even going to put tablecloths on the tables for us without paying extra and it definitely needed something.  Then, when we did the rehearsal she changed it again saying that the restaurant was too small and too close to another reception going on at the same time on the pool deck.  We ended up having it around the pool and it turned out perfect but the whole process was so stressful.  Unfortunately your at their mercy when you get there unless you want to spend a lot more money that you budgeted for to get what you want.  I met a bride that was getting married there 2 days later and found out why El Patio was unavailable.  They booked it for their rehearsal dinner the night of our wedding and paid $30 per person so the resort pushed us out since the other couple was paying.......very dissappointing.  My suggestion is to get EVERYTHING in writing and be prepared to pay extra to get the locations/services you want.

 

REHEARSAL:  The rehearsal was very quick but pretty easy and stress free.  We met Magdalena at the pool and she showed us how to walk down and went through it 2 times for practice.  For the rehearsal dinner, we went to Portofino which was excellent.  The food was great and it had a really cool atmosphere.  We just paid the restaurant manager $100 that night and he seated us all together and even had rose petals on the table, it was much easier than doing it through the wedding coordinator.  There were other people in the restaurant too but it didn't bother us at all.  It worked out perfectly!

 

 

GETTING READY:  To have your wedding clothes pressed you leave them on the bed the day before the wedding and the cleaners will pick them up and deliver them back to you later that day.  This was a little stressful because they didn't bring them back until about 9am the day of the wedding and I had to call Magdalena to ask her where they were that morning.  They came back pressed and ready to go though.  We got ready in my room and ordered room service which worked out great for us girls.   We had guacamole, pico de gallo, fruit, cheese, and chocolate cakes.  We also ordered a bottle of champagne.  I had a friend do my hair and makeup so I can't comment on that but my mother in law and sister in law had theirs done at the salon and they looked great.

 

CEREMONY:  The ceremony was perfect and it was everything I wanted it to be.  We used EW Cancun for the ceremony decorations and they did a FANTASTIC job!  I posted a longer vendor review for them if anyone is interested.  The area where we were on the beach was more private and to the far left of the resort property.  They moved all the water sport equipment like the trampoline and kayaks so they were out of sight--you might want to remind them to do that.  We were late getting started due to an accident on the highway so the music tech and minister were late but it gave us plenty of time to get pictures with the wedding party and our guests relaxed around the pool together.  We had a friend pass out programs and I actually wrote the whole ceremony and gave it to Magdalena the day before to give to the minister.  I kept a copy for myself too just in case it was lost.  I also had my mother in law take the sand ceremony stuff down to the altar.  I gave my ipod to Magdalena that morning for the music tech and showed her the playlist for the ceremony.  I just put all the songs in order and wrote the name of each song by the time that I wanted it played.( Prelude:, Bridal Party Processional:, Bridal Entrance:, Recessional:).  They played everything exactly when it needed to be played and did a great job.  The minister definitely had broken English and struggled with some of the words but it didn't bother us at all.  We could still understand her and it didn't take anything away from our ceremony.  We did the symbolic ceremony but you still get a certificate of marriage to keep that you sign during the ceremony.  Right afterwards, they passed out glasses of champagne to everyone and it was the perfect way to mingle with all our guests right after the ceremony.  Oh and it was really windy so be prepared for a crazy veil and hair.

 

FLOWERS:  The flowers were delivered to my room the morning of the wedding and they were exactly what I wanted.  Mine was long stem white calla lilles and the girls were smaller versions of mine.  They were akk wrapped in satin around the stems so I was able to attach my grandmas brooch and the mini photo charms I brought.  They were gorgeous!  Mine was included and the girls were $45 each. 

 

RECEPTION:  Even with all the changes, Magdalena really pulled through.  We didn't pay extra for any of the decor that was set up.  The reception was set up around the pool.  We had a sweetheart table and everyone else sat at round tables.  They had white chair covers and white tablecloths and a candle for a centerpiece.  I just used my bouquet as a decoration for our small table and it looked fine.  If I would have known it would be outside I would've hired EW Cancun for the reception decor as well but it ended up just fine.  We chose the Carribbean Buffet and it was AMAZING!  We got a lot of compliments on the food and the buffet had pretty paper lanterns strung above it too.  The Ribs and Kabobs were delish!  We used the sound system for dinner music and the dancing and it was a little frustrating.  I had to start the playlist myself for the dinner music because the tech didn't speak English and couldn't understand what I was telling him.  Then there was no introduction for the first dance or cake cutting or anything.  He would just start playing the music and we would have to get out to the dance floor very quickly.  Then he mixed in some of his own music which was like Cypress Hill--not joking--and other rap.  We had some rap on our playlist but I wish he just would've stuck to ours.  This is another area that I would have spent the extra money on for a DJ in hindsight.  Luckliy we had a pretty fun group so we danced the night away and had a blast.  The cake was delicious!  We chose the tres leches cake and they set up the cake knife and server on the table and set out all of our favors at each place setting.  We did can koozies for the favors and everyone loved them and used them for the rest of the trip.  Make sure someone takes your toasting flutes and cake knife/server back to your room for you.  They took our cake knife and server saying they would clean them and bring them to our room and we never got them back.  I went to the wedding coordinators 3 times on 2 different days after the wedding and they never found them.  I left my address so they could ship them to me but I'm sure they're gone for good.  I don't have a lot of pictures of the reception set up but when I get my professional pics back I'll post some better ones.  Oh and there was another reception going on at the pool deck at the same time but we didn't see or hear them and they kept us separated very well.  We actually met the other bride and groom later at Desires and they were really sweet and fun.

 

We used Playa Weddings for our photography so I can't comment on the resort photots but I HIGHLY recommend Playa Weddings, Rachel and Paul were so great to work with and they even had paypal so the contract and payments were really easy and trustworthy.

 

We all went to Desires, the resort's night club after the wedding and continued the dance party.  It was a blast and everyone had a great time!  We had some bumps in the planning and communication areas but all in all it was a BEAUTIFUL and PERFECT day and we got so many compliments on the resort and the wedding.  You won't be dissappointed in the resort just be prepared for changes and to pay extra for what you want if you have a specific vision in mind.  Let me know if you have any questions!