robs4848

Hey Ladies, Just a note about getting in touch with Rocio…when I was in her office we were going through emails and she is literally bombarded with them. This is no excuse for her not answering; however she made it very clear that her priorities are those getting married immediately. So for those of you getting married in the fall, don’t be surprised if it takes her a while to get back to you. She is very sweet, but she is dealing with a lot since the resort just opened. I am sure once this busy season calms down she will be better with answering emails! She didn’t answer any of our emails the 3 weeks leading up to the wedding and needless to say when I got down there I wanted to rip her head off, but she is very competent and so sweet. She helps to mediate between the florist and photographer and attends all the meetings and her English is great! (she went to school in the states). About Fabian, we only told him on Monday when we met with him that we wanted him on Tuesday all day. He is through the resort and we paid him the total amount on the Monday after the meeting. He takes cheque or cash, but not credit card, which sucked. The interest rate to get a cash advance on a credit card is HUGE out there. But if you walk a few blocks there is an ATM and we took out the money and paid in Mexican currency, which was better than transferring it to American. Because he is the hotel photographer, you should not be charged his usual fee. I’m not sure if I am supposed to disclose how much we paid him, but it was $800 Canadian, so that was around 14,200 pesos or something? Just something to help you budget. That included him taking photographs of everyone getting ready, the ceremony, the reception, the dance, and 425 high resolution photographs and 3 copies of the cds (one of each of our mother’s and one for us). Also, I have been getting emails about the music. We put all our music on cd’s and had them backed up onto an ipod. Just give the music to Rocio and she will personally take care of it all, including the sound systems. Any other concerns just ask, I was a huge crying basket case the weeks leading up to it and I know how that feels!

Hey Ladies! I just got back from our wedding/vacation last night! It was perfect. For those of you brides stressing, don't. I had been very busy with school and work and had done little to no planning before I got down there and it all worked out. I am going to briefly go over a few things, and you can gladly email me (robs4848@hotmail.com) with questions or photo requests. Ok, so we got down there on last friday. Half my family is from manitoba and arrived earlier, and they met us at the lobby with drinks. We had 37 guests in total. Josh and I were upgraded to an ocean view suite, which was amazing! We hung out with our guests on friday night and set off on saturday morning to find Rocio. We just went to the concierge desk and asked for them to call her and she came and met us in the lobby immediately. She had our file with emails and we began to go over details. We went over menu choices (and special menu options as my husband's step father has every allergy under the sun). *A side note, if your guests have allergies or anything like that, just mention it to Rocio. She brought up the head chef who went down to the restaurants with Josh's parents to explain and discuss menu options for them. Next we met with the florist. He is a very sweet man, and the flowers were great. Although, I really wanted lilies and was talked into orchids. The orchids were pretty and went well with my dress, but looking back I would have been more pushy in demanding lilies. My bridesmaid's had lilies which were beautiful. They were brought to the room while we were getting ready and we were told to put them on the terrace 15 minutes before so they would open, which they did. I had 4 bridesmaids, and since the nail salon part of the spa wasn't open, we went to La Crocicita to get our nails done the day before. Rocio recommended the place and they were fabulous. Before leaving for the wedding, I went out and bought $300 of MAC make-up and hair extensions and had my maid of honor do trials on me. Totally unneccessary. Renee, from the spa in town, is actually the person included in the wedding package. He was amazing! He uses all MAC and NARS products. If you are uncertain, just slip into town for a few minutes and ask to see his album. He does an amazing job. I had to pay an additional $30 because he was putting in hair extensions on me, which is no big deal because I cannot stress how amazing my hair and makeup were. All 4 of my bridesmaids and myself got pedicures, and I also got a manicure. The whole thing at the spa in town cost $130 for all of us! Plus, there is a really cute shop in the square that sells beautiful dresses. I also met with the photographer the day before. Fabian is amazing! He is so passionate and sweet. Josh and I decided to have him for the entire day. So he started taking pictures of me getting my hair and makeup done, and ended after our last dance of our reception. It was well worth the money. He put all the wedding photos (425) on a disk and made 3 copies, so we could give one each to our mom's. I totally recommend doing this! It was really affordable and he took amazing photos. We got them the next day! The actual day of the wedding went well. I just have a few suggestions for the brides. 1. Make sure your bridesmaids stay out of the sun and watch what they drink. My maid of honor and one of my bridesmaids got drunk the first night down and they slipped on the marble floor and fell and my maid of honor ended up with a sprained foot. Luckily, 2 of our guests are massage therapists and they worked on her and she was able to walk the day of the wedding, although her foot was black and blue. Also, the other 2 bridesmaids had MAJOR tan lines. It was terrible. So at the risk of being the over controlling bride, maybe just mention to your wedding party to watch the tan lines and be careful. 2. Be very open minded. If you go down there with a very specific vision, I think you might be upset. You have to trust the vendors and they opinions. Don't panic if you don't have any or all details set when you get down there. It literally takes 3 hours of your time and Rocio is very capable. 3. Have a rehersal. We didn't, and the wedding went well, just a bunch of small things would have been nice to have been discussed beforehand. 4. Have fun. I was totally a stress case when getting ready and a lot of the pictures of me getting my hair and makeup done I have a frown on my face. I wasn't upset, just stressed with details. Take time to enjoy the moment! We got married on the beach. The wedding started a half hour late becuase a buddy of mine sent up some chapagne for the bridal party, so we were drinking that and lost track of time. We ended up actually starting the ceremony at 5:30, so the pictures were still at sunset. It was a short ceremony. The minister was super casual and funny and kept me from crying during the whole thing. We moved to the terrace for the cocktails. This is my only complaint with the entire wedding. We were charged $1700 for that hour. There wasn't enough food, or chairs, and the drink service was terrible. We had it on the terrace behind the lobby bar and a bunch of the guys had made friends with David the bartender, and usually just stepped out to get a drink from him since it was faster. It was a huge waste of money, and that is really my only complaint. Next we moved to the gazebo and had the dinner and program. The florist had decorated the tables and the floor of the gazebo and the dance floor with rose petals, it was beautiful! The meal was great. They serve the guests first, which is mexican tradition. So if you want the head table to be served first, you are going to have to mention that. There was a sound system set up. Music played in the background and when it was time for toasts and speeches there was a mic. We partied until a little past 11, then we went to the disco. It is on ground floor level and smoky and HOT, so we moved to the lobby bar and drank. I changed out of my dress, into a simple white sundress and partied with our friends until late. When we got back to our room they had decorated it with rose petals. It was beautiful. We had breakfast in bed the next day, had a private romantic dinner with lobster that night and massages in the afternoon. Overall it was amazing. They put all the guests in the same building on the ground floor and us in a suite in the same building but separate from the group. All 37 guests loved the resort. The food was great and the service was amazing. I know I am forgetting stuff, so just email and ask. You can also head onto my facebook page 'robin heppner' and creep on the wedding photos. That is probably a lot easier than me sending them out individually. Josh and I did almost no wedding planning before we headed down there and it was perfect. Just email Rocio a month before you come down with your menu choices and a confirmation on the date and time and everything will be great! Oh, one more thing. Josh and I got married in Canada a week before we went down there. Just a civil ceremony because we wanted to spend more time with our guests and the idea of leaving the resort for an afternoon to get a mexican blood test did not appeal to me. We didn't tell anyone and at the wedding in mexico, they had us sign a null document so no one would know. Just something to think about! I doubt I will be on the forum much from now on, as it is back to work and school and then my husband and I are off to Europe for our honeymoon. But feel free to email, I would love to answer questions! Robin Wilkinson

Have I scared everyone away? Lol. I have one more question. I am a little controlling when it comes to the reception and the tables and centerpieces. I am thinking about bringing down a bunch of stuff that I want. Is anyone else planning on doing a little decorating themselves? Thanks!

Hey Ladies! My fiancee are getting married on the beach, and if anyone has some pictures of the beach ceremony/reception that would be nice! March 10 is coming far too quick!

Hey Ladies! My fiancee are getting married on the beach, and if anyone has some pictures of the beach ceremony/reception that would be nice! March 10 is coming far too quickly!

Hello Ladies! So Fabian is the official hotel photographer. So that is all under control, thank goodness. I checked out the pics on trip advisor as well as some sent to me from the resort and we originally chose the gazebo, but our party is too large now, and we also decided that the beach is more our style. So that is another decision made! We are now just getting last minute stuff together. We want to do welcome bags but we are unsure what to put in them and time is seriously running out. Any ideas? Also, has anyone sent out an email or travel itinerary to their guests? We are getting one together and I just want to make sure I am not missing any details. So far we have information about the restaurants, climate, dress code, passport, wedding info, possible tours/day activites. Am I missing anything?

Cdnvb9-Can you send the pictures to me as well? my email is robs4848@hotmail.com. I would really appreciate it! So I contacted the photographer, Fabian (I think that's his name?) and he was totally reasonable and free on our date and I was ok with his portfolio. I am just waiting for Anel (or whoever at the resort) to get back to me on whether he is the official hotel photographer, and if not, what is the cost to having him onsite for the day. The package we chose also includes some photography, so I am not sure how the whole thing works. I know that once we get down there everything will be fine, but we are trying to keep our guests somewhat informed and not having any information is becoming frustrating!! augh!

Hello Ladies, I hope everyone is doing well. I am needing a little advice/help. My fiancee and I want to have our rehersal dinner off site. Has anyone been down there and knows any local restaurants that could fit a wedding party of 12? Also, I am not sure how this photographer thing works. Can anyone clarify this for me? Are we given a list of names when we get there and then we just choose one? We are not interested in finding one out here in Calgary and then flying them down because the hidden costs and small print of this wedding are starting to drive me insane (sorry, just needed to vent). Can anybody help me make sense of this photographer thing?

I am getting married March 10 at the resort. We finally got a response yesterday and we got the contract, although everything is TBA, so we are really signing a contract for the date and time and nothing else. I believe Anel was the one who responded to our email, however from what I understand the first couple of week in January they will have a more consistant planner. Cross your fingers! I am just really wanting some pictures from the resort so we can decide where we can the ceremony, reception, etc. Those have been impossible to get, and Anel promised those by December 1.

I am so happy that I found this forum! I am getting married March 10, 2009 and I am slowly turning into a stress case. The lack of information or contact from the Dreams Resort has totally freaked me out. I am mostly concerned about my guests enjoying their stay, and the photography from the day of. I know I am going to have a dozen questions, but for now reading through this forum has been extremly helpful! Thank you!

All I can say, is thank god I found this site. I am a super laid back bride and it just occured to me that I am getting married in under 3 months and I could really use some advice! I am looking forward to being part of this community! My name is Robin and the wedding date is March 10, 2009 in Huatulco at the Dreams Resort