RSL2010

Glad I could help! I know how hard it is to try and cut down on things...

Hi Ladies -

I haven't been on this board in a while, I got married in October and have been crazy with work, holidays, etc... since then. I did just recommend someone to the site who is thinking of getting married in Cabo, so I thought I would come take a quick look around....

I used these same people at my wedding and posted the review that I would not have them again. No one noticed the cigar roller at all, and he did have a special set up. My entire group was very big on cigars and had been smoking them all weekend, so I thought they would love this. Well, the cigars that are included, are actually a box of cigars they give you at the end, the cigars they roll you had to pay for. The box of cigars was awful, especially in comparison to the cubans they had been smoking all weekend. The cigar roller was a waste of money to me because he basically got ignored and then we threw away the bad cigars!

I would recommend buying some cuban cigars when you get there and putting them in a bowl/dish by the tequila tasting or some how passing them out to the guys. This could give you some "wow" factor, probably cost less, and be much appreciated by the cigar smokers. I wish I would have done this!

It may work out better with your group(s). I just wanted to share my experience!

I just used Jennifer and she was great. The cake was delicious and looked exactly like the picture I sent her, plus, I thought it her prices were really reasonable.

I think we had The Twins from 8:00 - 11:00. We had dinner from 6:30 - 8:00 (which also included the firedancers and was supposed to include our first dance) and just made a play list that we plugged into their equipment (or someone did, it wasn't me)!

To be honest, I can't really remember what all kinds of music they played.... But, I am told they played everything and have just been hearing again from my coworkers about how great "The Twins" were! I told them things we didn't want to hear and then I think they just kind of read the crowd and what everyone was liking. I had told them we weren't going to be a big dancing group and I think every single person was dancing the ENTIRE time they played. I had to beg to get someone to sit down with me!

I think our $650 included tip and everything, which I didn't think was bad, so I didn't even attempt to negotiate.....

Sorry for the delay in my response, I have had computer issues and haven't been online in a while!

We ended up having the mariachis for the ceremony and cocktail hour and then had our ipod for dinner and The Twins for dancing - just to kind of mix it up a bit and to save money. The other benefit of having The Twins was we were able to use all of their equipment, etc.. to plug our ipod into so it sounded really great!

Do you know who it is?

Tammy - Would you mind sending me the link so I can view your album? I guess I know what I'm going to be doing with all of my free time now that the plannings over! How long did it take you to get your album? I was hoping these could be Christmas gifts for our parents...

I know, I feel bad, I have been meaning to post this for the last two months!

I was a little skeptical when I first hired Blanca as she is the second recommendation from Cabo Surf Hotel and then I couldn't find information on her any where else. I ended up hiring her based on an email I received back from one of the three references she gave me (who also, incidentally recommended I use The Twins).

Blanca was very inexpensive, she only charged $800 to answer my emails and do research for the 8 months leading up to my wedding, coordinate a welcome dinner, rehearsal, our official wedding (which took place the day before), a rehearsal dinner, and then the actual wedding! I know realize the markups the coordinators charge are really what they refer to as their "comission", which, for the amount of work Blanca did for me is fair - I just wish they would call it their comission since we all compare prices and know what everyone else is paying for things. Having said this - Blanca did not mark up most items and actually was less expensive than most of the other quotes I had seen on this board. She worked with me on everything and when I told her things were too expensive, she found it for less or gave me alternative options. If I went on my own with vendors, she was fine with that and still did all of the coordinating with them - I would just tell her, for example, Jennifer Hatton is doing my cake for $375, and she took care of the rest.

On the day of my wedding, I didn't see Blanca too much, that is because she was downstairs making sure everything was set up perfectly for her detail oriented and obsessed bride (that would be me). All of the details from the perfectly raked sand, to the placement and set up of the extra tables, bar, lounge area, band, you name it was perfectly coordinated and ready to go, so as the ceremony began - all of the work was done and there wasn't any transitioning.

At the end of the night, she made sure my Tiffany's cake knife and server were back in their blue box and waiting in my room (I was a little nervous the kitchen might just wash them and put them away)!

Blanca was amazing and at the end of it all, if I hadn't spent my entire wedding budget (and then some) I was going to give her a bonus for the amazing job she did. She definitely does not get the credit she deserves!

Her email is [email protected] and her website is www.weddingsbyheart.com. Let me know if you have any questions, etc...

Raina

Cabomax/The Twins are a fun band that play everything from Gypsy Kings and salsa to pop. We ended up using The Twins because we had 50 people and it was perfect. The Twins are literally twins, one plays the keyboard and the other plays the guitar. I thought they were going to show up with just their instruments, so I was very impressed when they were set up with an entire stage with equipment, lights, the whole nine yards. They were set up before the ceremony even started, so even though they didn't play until about 3 hours in, they were ready to go so the transition was seamless.

Not only were The Twins great, but they were affordable at $650 an hour with a 3 hour minimum. Cabomax is a full band, I think they add another guitarist and drums, and they are only $850 an hour with a 3 hour minimum. I have heard that Cabomax would be great for 100 or more people, but thought they might overwhelm my group of 50, which is why we ended up just doing The Twins.

They have a website at www.cabomax.com that has some demos and their playlist. I will say the demos don't really do them justice - my hubby was afraid they were going to be cheesy - which they weren't at all - they totally read the crowd and played what we wanted to hear and had everyone dancing - even the non-dancers!

Still in the process of writing my review, but I will say The Twins are an A+

We just had the firedancers and I would say go for it! Their are several different groups and the group that is more expensive (not sure what their actual name is, but I referred to them as "Omar's group" and got the right people) is the one you want to get. Their are about 7 of them and they have three people on drums and are on stilts. They amazed all of my guests - my fiance thought I was crazy and over the top for having them and it was nice for me to have my "told you so" moment! We actually only paid $1,225 for them and got them though our coordinator Blanca Casteneda, her email is [email protected] - I am in the process of posting all of her info!

I have been meaning to post my invites and all of that other good stuff. Now that the wedding is over, I will finally have some free time to get it all done! On our invitations, we asked people to wear "Elegant Summer Attire in Shades of White and Khaki" If you do decide to go with all white, I would advise going with chocolate brown instead of black on any stationary items, it looks softer. The person who did my invites advised me on this and I used it for everything from out guest book, to menus, to cocktail napkins, matches, etc... It really helped tie my theme together and looked great and was super easy to do!

The Twins were awesome, the website is www.cabomax.com. I'm going to post their information....

I just carried it on using the huge bag from the store. It is a great conversation piece (it helped us get upgraded) and everyone is really nice to you! They hung my dress and my hubby's suit in the front closet and both were perfect and didn't need to be pressed when we got to Cabo.

They play everything, we didn't actually get a chance to meet with them before, so didn't ever get to tell them what we did or didn't want to hear and they just read the crowd. They played a lot of Gypsy Kings which is actually about all I can remember because it was so fun. We had a mariachi band for the ceremony and cocktail hour and then had The Twins for the reception and it pretty much blew everyone away. They were kind of expecting cheesy Mexican wedding band and The Twins were actually really good!

My coordinator actually used a lot of vendors that aren't on this board (or at least wanted to, I ended up going around her on a few), but my flowers were exactly what I wanted and at a fraction of what every one else wanted. I was very skeptical that the florist she used didn't have a website, so I had no pictures or any idea of her work, but I was pleasantly suprised, so .... maybe her son is an amazing baker! j/k Hopefully it will be an amazingly great find and you can put them on the map!

Oops, I think I get a little excited and started posting everyhing together! The Twins are the amazing band we had for our reception! And yes, they rock the house! Bag the cigar roller and get The Twins!

We just got married at the Pacifica and even though it is far away and secluded, it is still less than a 10 minute cab ride to Cabo, although I doubt you will want to leave the hotel. We had such a great time there with all of our guests and there are fire pits and a great, huge hot tub and beds out on the beach. It also has the most amazing sunsets in Cabo because it is on the Pacific side, which is where the sun actually sets, so you actually see it go down in the water.

I would agree, it is the best deal in Cabo. When we first booked our wedding there you could get rooms online for $188 a night.

Love your pictures, it looks so beautiful! We had dinner in San Jose and saw the chapel and thought it must have been beautiful for your wedding!

Of course. I will see if I can figure out how to put some of my other pictures in the picture folder too!

Have fun at your bday bash!

Congrats to you too! I have been meaning to tell you, I am originally from Dallas and I had some folks coming in from Dallas who said they thought there was a bride on their flight and I was wondering if it was you!

Bradley is amazing - you won't be disappointed! Three of my friends got married within the last year and had very high end photographers and ended up not happy with their pictures. I love just about every single picture he took! He just really captures the moment and blends right in! I wanted him to stay and have drinks with us when he was finished! He got the cds with our pictures to us before we left and actually sent me a picture the next day!

I actually used Hive and was told I was going to get Bambi and then the day of I ended up getting someone else. It is $35 for them to come to you, no matter how far away you are, I was at the Pacifica, so it probably took them about 45 minutes each way!

She did a good job, but for me, it just wasn't worth the money. It was windy and humid, so my hair lost all of the curl within about 5 minutes of being outside. I would have rather saved the $300 it ended up costing me and just had my sister and a friend do my hair and makeup (but obviously this is easier for me to say after the fact)!

Also, I booked mine the week before and paid right before we left for Cabo, so I wouldn't stress out about it too much!

If I had been closer to the salon, I totally would have gone for the party there with all of my girls - that would have been worth it!