Mexico Destination Wedding Details
Wedding Date: March 23rd, 2022
All-Inclusive Wedding Resort: Dreams Tulum Resort & Spa
Wedding Location: Riviera Maya, Mexico
Wedding Venues: Sunset Terrace & Dreams Garden
Wedding Photographer: Dana Dufek Photography
Destination Wedding Travel Agent: EverAfter Travel
Dreams Tulum Wedding Resort Highlights
Family-friendly, all-inclusive resort with an adults-only room section
Located only 15 minutes from the trendy, seaside town of Tulum
Beachfront property on a long stretch of powdery white-sand beach
Eco-friendly resort with 44 acres of garden landscape and 5000 indigenous plants
Located about an hour and 30 minutes south of the Cancun International Airport (CUN) or about an hour north of the Tulum International Airport (TQO)
Nine dining options with Italian to French to Asian and more
Seven bars/lounges including a swim-up bar and sports bar
Two pools plus two swim out pools for Preferred Club guests staying in those room types
Daily activities and entertainment including live shows and theme nights
Unique traditional Spanish-style wedding chapel for Catholic ceremonies
Dreams Tulum Wedding Review With Maya & Austin
Why did you decide to have a destination wedding?
We decided to have a destination wedding because we both love to travel. My husband's mom used to work for an airline, so he grew up traveling abroad often, and my own mom got married in Mexico when I was 10. It was an automatic desire on both of our ends as soon as we got engaged. We also knew that we wanted our wedding to be a celebration between our closest friends and family, and that a destination wedding could be a nice setting for that.
What were your biggest concerns about planning a destination wedding? What were you struggling with the most before reaching out to EverAfter Travel?
Our biggest concerns were costs for guests, and not being able to see the venues ahead of time.
What were your "must haves" for your destination wedding? What were the deciding factors for choosing your resort?
An affordable stay for our guests, a family friendly resort, a beach, activities nearby.
Tell me about your wedding e.g. events, venues, special touches, etc.
WEDDING PACKAGE: Beyond Memorable. We opted out of the 2 hour rehearsal dinner, and used 1 hour for a post-rehearsal cocktail hour, & the 2nd hour to extend our reception.
REHEARSAL: We rehearsed at our venue (Sunset Terrace) with our coordinator's help. Then per her suggestion during our planning stages, we had a “post-rehearsal cocktail hour” on the LOBBY terrace. It wasn’t totally private, but it was very pretty and we got some nice pictures! We opted for flavored margaritas as our cocktail. They were yummy. The food we picked ended up not being so great… I’m pretty sure it was the some of the same items they serve at the buffet restaurant. Pretty bland.
CEREMONY: Sunset Terrace (above Seaside Grill). 9/10 recommend. You have to pay extra for it, and I do not regret it. It was SO beautiful. “1 point” taken away because it is not the most private of the locations, as it is right above the activities pool. However, they close down the pool bar around 5:00 each night, which helps clear out the crowd around the area. Also, during the ceremony, it felt private because we couldn’t really see or hear much of what was happening below. We had a symbolic ceremony. My cousin was our officiant.
RECEPTION: Dreams Garden (larger of the two gardens). 10/10 recommend. The location was super private and again… BEAUTIFUL. Definitely splurge on string lights or overhead lighting if you are doing a garden for your reception. We also asked our coordinator to arrange for a few golf carts to bring our older guests from the ceremony to the reception, because the Garden is very far away from the Sunset Terrace. The Garden is located right by the Convention Center and the Gym. We had our cocktail hour in the Garden as well, which I thought was nice for guests who wouldn’t want to do additional walking. We paid to upgrade our sweetheart table, to get gold charger plates, & for our centerpieces. Reception food was SOOOO good!! I had to stop myself from overeating. We had the Taste of Tulum menu. Our cake was a pretty standard-tasting vanilla cake. It was beautifully decorated according to the photo I provided during planning.
Dreams Tulum is a beautiful resort. They work so hard to keep it lush and photo-ready. When my photographer arrived, she couldn’t stop gushing about all the spots she wanted to photograph us. Whether you want beach photos, tropical photos, terracotta/desert-y photos, there are great spots for all of them!
Was there anything you splurged on for your destination wedding and if so, did you feel like it was worth it?
We splurged on an extra hour tacked on to the end of our reception, and it was worth it.
Was there anything you tried to save on for your destination wedding and if so, did you feel like it was worth it?
We tried to save on reception table decor items by bringing our own, and it was worth it.
What were your favorite parts about your destination wedding?
Celebrating with friends and family for an entire week rather than just 1 night!
Is there anything you would change about your destination wedding?
I wish we would have picked a nice venue for our rehearsal dinner. We ended up eating in a private room at the resort buffet.
What were the most helpful online websites/social media groups/content creators/YouTube links that helped you during the planning process?
The number one most helpful online group I used during the planning process was a private Facebook group exclusively for brides that have been married at the resort we were married at. I did so much digging through that page and found a bunch of useful information. I also was able to post my own questions and always found answers from past brides.
What advice do you have for other couples planning a destination wedding?
Create a big-picture vision of what you want your wedding to look like and feel like. Then, work backwards to find the venue and elements that fit that vision.
What kind of feedback did you hear from your guests? This could be about the resort, the wedding, and/or EverAfter Travel.
All of my guests thought that booking through EverAfter Travel was smooth and easy. They really liked that Jodi was personable with them through email. One of my guests even ended up booking her honeymoon through EverAfter Travel a year later.
How did working with EverAfter Travel make planning your Dreams Tulum wedding easier/better/less stressful? Would you recommend EverAfter Travel to other couples planning a destination wedding?
Working with EverAfter Travel made planning our destination wedding easy because we were able to describe what we wanted, and receive recommendations that fit our must-haves. There were many small details along the way that would have been stressful or taken me by surprise if we hadn't worked with EverAfter Travel, like room blocks, and coordinating guests' bookings.
Anything else you'd like to add?
We LOVED our wedding and wedding week! PLEASE keep recommending Dreams Tulum to brides...they have it down! :)
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