ellepv2007

Hello! I am actually not sure about the daily fee per person for food and drink. My fiance's parents and some of their good friends are staying there (10 couples total), and I don't recall the exact prices they're paying. My fiance and I are staying at Dreams, and so are the rest of our guests (about 100 additional people). But I do know that the villa guests are not paying for 3 meals per day, each day -- because we have the rehearsal dinner one night (for all guests) at a restaurant in the Romantic Zone, and then we're having the wedding reception catered by an outside caterer, so they negotiated the villa price to account for the fact that they won't be eating there some nights. I think maybe they're paying for breakfasts and lunches only. It seemed easy to negotiate exactly what you wanted, and what you didn't. You are correct about the wedding rental fee though -- they charge the amount of one night's rental. It seems a bit steep, but we looked at several villas and none came close in terms of the huge space, the 3 seperate levels, and the amount of people who can be accomodated for the wedding. We will have about 125 guests total, and most villas were not large enough for that. We loved the staff as well, the impeccable grounds, stunning views, and overall romantic, elegant feel. We will be having the ceremony on the top level, the cocktail reception on the middle level, and then dinner and dancing on the bottom level -- so we're really getting good use of the entire villa. I don't think they require you to hire a wedding coordinator, but we have one. We were actually shown the villa first by Kristin of the Dazzling Details (who we loved), but when we finalized our wedding date, she was already booked for that date, so she recommended that we use Lucie & Tamara of Incredible Weddings & Events, who we hired. I have had great experiences with both Kristin and Lucie & Tamara. One bit of advice for anyone who is thinking that they'd like to get married at a villa but thinks a villa may be too small to accomodate all of their guests -- don't worry about having all your guests stay in one location. Most likely there will be a group of your friends or family (especially people with young children, or some older guests who like the personal service and tranquilness of a villa), etc. who would really like to stay in the villa (as opposed to a larger resort), while the rest of your guests can all stay at one of the resorts, and it works out well for everyone.

We're not having a at-home-reception because we're have a pretty large destination wedding -- we've invited 185 people and hopefully there will be about 100 (to 120 max) guests attending.

I visited Dreams in November and saw the gazebo area. It was very small, so I would estimate that it would only fit about 15 people? The gazebo itself could probably fit 10 standing, but if you're getting married at the gazebo I imgine that it would be you, your fiance, and the officiant only standing in the gazebo, and your guests would be outside of it, sitting in chairs (or standing if it was a very short ceremony). But there's not a lot of room, I would think maybe room for 15 guests sitting outside of the gazebo.

I will be having a destination wedding in Puerto Vallarta. The guest list is close to 200 now, and we expect about 100-120 guests. We are not paying for any of the guests' expenses, but we are providing a bit more than an at-home wedding. We will have the rehearsal dinner on Thursday night, and invite a majority of guests. That's in my fiance's mother's hands, but I am sure she'll invite a lot of the guests. Then on Friday we are hosting a welcome reception (cocktails, open bar, appetizers) at our resort, for all guests. Then on Saturday we will get married and have a reception with cocktail hour and appetizers, seated dinner, dancing, open bar, etc. My fiance and I chose a location for our destination wedding that was close enough for the majority of our guests, as well as affordable. Most of the guests live in California, which is a 1.5-2.5 hour flight to PV, depending on where you start. And if you book in advance, the flights can definitely be cheaper than a flight to the east coast. Our wedding hotel is Dreams Resort, and we negotiated a great rate through a wholesaler. We are actually getting married at a private villa in the hills, and we are providing transportation (private vans, etc.) from the resort to the wedding location (about 4 minute away by car). One of my main priorities was to find a wedding hotel that was a good value and affordable for guests, and having visited Dreams, and loving it, and seeing the high quality of food and drinks and location and rooms....its a great deal for guests and I am very happy with the rates. Our wedding budget? Well.....I was hoping to do the wedding for under $20,000 but its looking more like $25,000-$32,000. Yes, that's a LOT. And we are paying for everything ourselves (no parental or family help). So we don't have the money in a savings account or anything, but we're trying to be very budget concious and pinch pennies and stick to a budget -- even though we don't technically have a budget, since there aren't any saved funds to budget! Anyway....we are choosing some elements that really matter to us, but we're by no means choosing the most expensive and extravegant options possible. We have a lot of guests, and that adds up quickly for the reception, welcome cocktail party, wedding ceremony, food, open bar, etc... But then again, if we tried to have everything we can have in Mexico in the U.S., we'd pay at least $50,000. So its still a good deal. Although I truly don't believe there are weddings that happen nowadays for $5,000 or so! I wish there were! PS: I will help defray my bridesmaids' costs, as possible. We haven't chosen a dress yet, but I'd like to pay $100 towards each dress or something like that. And of course I'll pay for hair and makeup for the wedding, if we all decide we want that, and other extras and gifts.

Hello! I am actually the person who wrote the very long (my apologies!) review of the Barcelo Mismaloya on the Yahoo group. So if any of you have further questions about my experience, I'm happy to help.

Hello everyone. I just thought I'd add my thoughts about Elizabeth Medina. Her work is amazing, and she is on our short list for photographers. I find her prices pretty reasonable, given the quality of her work. She's sent me her destination wedding prices, and I wanted to point one thing out to everyone -- travel costs are NOT included in the prices as of September 2007. She told me that after September 2007, travel costs are ADDITIONAL to the package prices. We're getting married in Puerto Vallarta, so this would mean paying for her plane ticket from Cancun (she said it would be about $500, and I looked into it a little and its about that amount), plus her hotel. I didn't ask specifics about meals or a per diem fee though, that may be additional. We are still considering other photographers at this point, because her fee plus travel costs is a lot above our budget. But in the end we may up going with her anyway because we really love her work and she is able to capture the feeling of Mexico in her pictures. I know there's a Puerto Vallarta bride who is flying her in for her wedding, I've spoken to the other bride on the Yahoo list. The price this bride paid is less than the 2007 package prices, and travel is included, so I think she got an amazing deal.

Hello again, and thanks for the welcomes! We are getting married at the villa Quinta del Mar, in the Conchas Chinas area of Puerto Vallarta. We will have between 100-120 people. I hope its closer to 100 though! The villa holds 120 people max for weddings/events. It has 10 bedrooms, and there will be 8 couples staying there during the weekend week/weekend. It is very large, which is great for our group. Here is a link to info about the villa -- are links allowed on this forum? Puerto Vallarta Rentals: Villas and Condominiums

Hello! I just activated my membership and thought I'd introduce myself. I am EllePV2007. I am getting married in Puerto Vallarta in October, 2007. We are having the ceremony and reception at a private villa. We've chosen the villa, and the hotel for accomodations. We have hired our wedding coordinators also. Other than that, we've got a lot of work to do. We need to get a photographer, find a caterer, choose entertainment, etc. I'm looking forward to talking to other Destination brides!