Dreams Riviera Cancun - Brides post here (new thread)

[Savs1027]

I think there might be some newer people on here since I posted all my links so I'll post again! Sorry if you've already seen it all  

 

My husband and I got married on 12/17/12

 

Here's a link to my planning thread: 

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/84658/savanahs-planning-thread-12-17-12-dreams-riviera-cancun

 

Here's a link to my review: 

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/dreams-rivera-cancun-resorts-and-spa/reviews/6785

 

Here's a link to our wedding and TTD slideshow: 

http://171212ryan.dreamsriveriacancun.adventurephotos.com.mx/#/ryan/

 

Here's a link to our wedding video from the resort videographer that we uploaded to vimeo: 

 

Here's a link to our wedding video trailer that we did through StoryMix:

 

I also have a blog where I posted a BUNCH of wedding stuff - our OOT bags, BM gifts, invites... pretty much everything wedding related is on there. Here's a link to all my wedding related posts. There's also a bunch of pics of the resort (not just wedding) on there as well! 

http://www.savanahsmiles.com/p/my-love.html

 

If y'all have any questions don't hesitate to ask!

[Savs1027]

Originally Posted by AnaSteele58 

 

 

Thanks for the breakdown! This is helpful. 

 

I was searching the thread for something like this or an invoice someone uploaded.  I know someone uploaded their invoice in the NowJade thread and one other place so I guess it isn't THAT taboo...lol.

Also, if you ask the wedding coordinator for a breakdown, she will send you an invoice. Lorena sent me one with no problems and that's your chance to look and see if they have everything you've discussed and make sure there are no discrepancies! 

[Savs1027]

Originally Posted by loripanori 

 

We just had our wedding recently, so I have a lot of the prices handy.  It was one thing I struggled with in the planning, so I'll put all the info here in case it helps anyone.  We had 24 adults, 1 child over 6, and 5 children under 6 (infants).

 

Ultimate wedding package was $2,999 (no extra tax or fees)

(Anything I list as included below was included in the ultimate package but may not be included in the other packages)

 

Photographer - We had package #3, this included 6 hours of coverage and 100 pictures (+50 from the ultimate package, so 150 pictures total) = $999 + 11% tax = $1,108.89.  

 

Flowers:

• Brides bouquet - included
• Groom's boutonniere - included
• Additional boutonnieres for groomsmen, parents, etc. - 2 are included, extras were $20 each
• Coursages - 2 are included, extras were $35 each
• Bridesmaids bouquets - $80 each
• Flower girl baskets with petals - $25 each
• Centerpieces - 2 are included, additional were $80 each
• Decoration of cake with flowers - $40 

*  Prices of the bridesmaids bouquets and centerpieces will vary depending on which you choose.

*  All flowers have 11% tax on top of these prices.

 

Food & Beverage: 

• Dinner - Included for 20 people, additional adults are $48 each.  Children over 6 are $24 each, children under 6 are no charge.
• Champagne - included for 20 people, each additional bottle is $40 (I'm not sure how they determine how many people per bottle, but we had 4 extra adults and paid for one extra bottle).
• Cake - Included for 20 people, extra is $4 per person.  We were charged for 30 people, so they included the children/infants here.
• Extra hour of reception - $15 per person, adults only.
• Credit received for not having an official cocktail hour - $400

*  All charges in this category have a 11% tax and a 15% service fee (e.g. For the $48 per person dinner charge you will pay $60.48).

 

Music:

• Mexican Trio - included
• Sound system to play Ipod, CDs, etc. - $180 per hour (You will be charged for 1 hour to have the sound system for your ceremony, even if it is used for less than an hour).  
• DJ - $300 per hour (minimum is 2 hours, you can use the sound system for the first hour of your reception during the dinner, and then hire the DJ for 2 hours if you like) 

* All prices in this category will have 11% tax added.

 

Additional Decor: 

• Paper lanterns - $10 each
• Tiki torches - $15 each
• Bamboo poles with 12 lanterns hanging - $150
• Lights under tables - $30 each
• Light-up dance floor - $580

* All will have 11% tax added

 

Legal ceremony

There was a charge of $500 + 11% tax (so $555) for the extra items required for the legal ceremony (blood test, translation of the marriage certificate, etc).

 

** One thing to note is that the resort gives you your final prices/bill for the wedding in US Dollars, but then actually bills your credit card in pesos.  Either the conversion rate of the hotel and our bank was different, or there was a foreign transaction fee or something of the sort worked in, but the amount billed to our card was about $300 higher than what we signed and agreed to at the hotel.

Yes, credit cards charge a foreign transaction fee so everyone watch out for this! My husband found a deal on the southwest airlines credit card before we left that charged no foreign transaction fee, we got bonus miles, plus all the miles for spending $8000 on the wedding! We just booked 2 round trip tickets to NYC for september FOR FREE thanks to our wedding and had no foreign transaction fees! I would highly recommend you look for CC's like this before you leave because that fee can be costly!

[buttasteph]

rlauri36, My date is May 23 2013 so i'll see you there;-) From what I hear its hiiiiigh wedding season so should be fun.

[loripanori]

Originally Posted by BettyT 

 

Hi Lori,

 

Do you think I could get away with no music for the dinner on the beach since we're so close to the ocean? I'm having the mirachi band play the first 45 min of the dinner than no music planned afterwards.  My thoughts were that the ocean waves would be so loud the music wouldn't be that audible.  What do you think?

 

Hi Betty,

The noise on the beach from waves etc definitely wasn't loud enough to drown out the music...  they play the music on a large sound system, so that it ends up being plenty loud to sing and dance along to, but not so loud that you can't talk to people.  The music would more likely drown out the sound of the waves than the other way around, so I think it depends on whether you'd prefer the sound of music or the sound of waves.  My husband and I are both very into music, and probably would have found it too quiet if there wasn't music playing at all times.  We're the sort of people who immediately notice if we're in a restaurant and there's no background music playing.  But it's kind of a personal preference I guess - I've heard of other brides with smallish groups not having music at all for dinner, and just having dinner and then drinks and mingling afterwards.  One thing to consider is that if there are other weddings at the same time, you may end up overhearing their music since you're not playing any.  We had our reception on the North Beach, and there was one on the pool deck that started later and went half an hour longer than ours, and we didn't notice or hear their reception at all until our reception ended and the music stopped.  Without our music we could hear their music and the hooting/hollering/etc from their wedding, but while we had music playing we didn't notice it at all.    

[TaraLynn770]

HI Ladies

can anyone explain what the difference between the pool deck and pool terrace are? i was told i had to have at least 60 people for the pool deck which i think i will but since i didnt know my total headcount when reserving they placed me at the pool terrace. from looking at a lot of your pictures it looks like the pool deck is more of a hit. is the pool terrace by the seaside grill? i was trying to figure this out from pictures but could not.

thanks!

[TaraLynn770]

Originally Posted by Savs1027 

 

I think there might be some newer people on here since I posted all my links so I'll post again! Sorry if you've already seen it all  

 

My husband and I got married on 12/17/12

 

Here's a link to my planning thread: 

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/t/84658/savanahs-planning-thread-12-17-12-dreams-riviera-cancun

 

Here's a link to my review: 

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/dreams-rivera-cancun-resorts-and-spa/reviews/6785

 

Here's a link to our wedding and TTD slideshow: 

http://171212ryan.dreamsriveriacancun.adventurephotos.com.mx/#/ryan/

 

Here's a link to our wedding video from the resort videographer that we uploaded to vimeo: 

 

Here's a link to our wedding video trailer that we did through StoryMix:

 

I also have a blog where I posted a BUNCH of wedding stuff - our OOT bags, BM gifts, invites... pretty much everything wedding related is on there. Here's a link to all my wedding related posts. There's also a bunch of pics of the resort (not just wedding) on there as well! 

http://www.savanahsmiles.com/p/my-love.html

 

If y'all have any questions don't hesitate to ask!

Savanah,

this is great! i love all your ideas and you do not miss a single detail, i will definitely be utilizing this to help with everything especially all the vendors you used from Etsy, i love Etsy and have been marking things as favorites for a while now. thanks so much

[loripanori]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TaraLynn770 

HI Ladies

can anyone explain what the difference between the pool deck and pool terrace are? i was told i had to have at least 60 people for the pool deck which i think i will but since i didnt know my total headcount when reserving they placed me at the pool terrace. from looking at a lot of your pictures it looks like the pool deck is more of a hit. is the pool terrace by the seaside grill? i was trying to figure this out from pictures but could not.

thanks!

 

The pool terrace is a concrete area located between the pools. All of the receptions I've seen on the pool terrace are held where there is a square of concrete jutting into one of the pools.  You can see a reception set up on the pool terrace here:

 

The pool at the very top of the picture above is the infinity pool. The pool deck is on the other side of the infinity pool, between that pool and the beach.  You can see it a bit better in this picture (the wooden deck area):

 

I also labelled the locations on a copy of the resort map, in case that helps!  It's a slow day at work today, lol.

[kellynnrose]

just wondering what everyone else plans on doing... is anyone taking a separate honeymoon or a few days extra at the resort after the wedding?

[AnaSteele58]

Did any past brides benefit from the "book 5 rooms, get one night free"? How does this work? Is the money refunded after the wedding OR is it a true credit where we wouldn't have to pay anything for our 3 nights if 15 rooms are booked?