Real SUNLOVER WEDDINGS: DREAMS SANDS (MeXICO)
THE WHEELERS EST 2024
Wedding Date: December 12, 2024
Resort: Dreams Sands Cancun
Ceremony Location: Beach
Reception Location: Beach
Photographer: Jim & Christy Photography
Sunlover Travel Agent: Kerri Logan Shirk
Beach reception at Dreams Sands Cancun
Why did you choose to have a destination wedding?
We wanted to spend more time with our guests other than the ceremony and this gave us the opportunity. In addition, there was significantly less stress in planning for the resort is the vendor for everything - the ceremony (including flowers, set up) and the reception (including the dance floor, food, DJ). I also wanted a smaller wedding and this way I still invited all the people but knew significantly less people would attend a destination wedding. I do have to mention cost as well.. our entire wedding was less then some local venues.
Why did you choose Dreams Sands for your destination wedding? What were the deciding factors?
In looking at a few resorts in Cancun Dreams Sands stood out with the beach - it has sand like sugar and crystal clear waters! The wedding coordinator, Rubi who was very quick to respond throughout all the planning and replanning (and it’s a hurricane changing our plans). I liked that the resort was smaller so people did not have to take golf carts to get around and could easily navigate the grounds. Lastly, Dreams Sands has one wedding a day so I knew staff would not be juggling my wedding with another one on the same day.
What was your most memorable moment during your destination wedding?
The reception! Everyone was out of there seats dancing and enjoying themselves!
What was your experience working with Kerri and Sunlover Travel?
I cannot say enough wonderful things about Kerri! I initially wasn’t sure I even needed a travel agent and it turned out to be the best decision because she made the rescheduling an inconvenience when it could have been a nightmare! Kerri was organized and always responded promptly! She communicated the arrival and departure of all our guests so we could greet them. In addition she went above and beyond to make sure an accessible room was obtained for guests with mobility issues and even had a referral for renting mobility equipment while we were there!
What would you do differently? What advice would you give to other couples who are considering a destination wedding?
Honestly, I am not sure I would do anything differently! Advice I would give to others who are interested in a destination wedding would be to inquire how many weddings are held daily at the venue, inquire how long the wedding planner has been with the company and this location, inquire if they may be any other events happing (such as daily entertainment) during your wedding, vacuum seal your wedding dress for travel and lastly purchase the travel insurance!!!
What was the best part about having a destination wedding?
Hands down it was spending quality time with our guests! We were able to spend individual time with all of our guests outside of the actual wedding and arrange not only for our rehearsal dinner but an additional guest dinner (for no extra cost). I always wanted a beach wedding and Cancun delivered with sand and ocean … it was a dream!
Link to our Knot.com review page: https://www.theknot.com/review-wedding-vendors/542403
Notes from Sunlover:
Rani and Travis were refererred to me by a dear friend and former destination wedding bride. They already knew which resort they wanted and just needed help with the group travel piece so I jumped into action! Their wedding was set for July and everything was running so smoothly until a few days before the group was set to depart. Then a worst case scenario happened: Hurricane Beryl. The storm was set to hit Cancun directly on their wedding day. After speaking with the wedding planner at Dreams Sands who agreed to move the wedding date and then speaking with the groups department who agreed to move the entire group to a new date in the future, Rani and Travis made the decision to postpone the wedding. There were tears shed and my heart broke for them both. It took a few weeks until a new date could be set and then I started the task of moving all of the resevrations.
While the situation is something no bride or groom wants to experience, we did have a happy ending. Our partners at Dreams Sands were so accomodating. They found a new wedding date that would accomodate the number of rooms needed even making sure to include the honeymoon suite the bride and groom really wanted. The wedding went off without a hitch on 12/12 with absolutely perfect weather. Congrats to our Sunlovers Rani and Travis for finally making it to their big day. This is one wedding no one will ever forget!
xoxo,
Kerri
