hls140

Stephanie, you are so sweet!!! I know that had to take some time b/c those files are huge--at least they seemed that way trying to transmit them to you!!

I really appreciate it and no worries about the order--I'm just happy to share them : )

Oh my goodness--I feel horrible about the let down!!! The thing is, I have them all (1200+) just uploaded into two snapfish files--I've had a few of you offer to do the uploading for me, so I need to pick out a few to send you for posting. I'll work on that now : )

Hi girls,

I received my pro pics from our wedding using Beth Fladung/Elizabeth Lloyd. She did an amazing job--captured everything that I imagined from start to finish and more! I'm no expert in this forum and don't know how to post photos within my posts, but I'd love to share with any of you who are considering using her or have plans to (or if you are just interested in seeing all 1200 of them!)--just send me a PM or email me at hls140 at yahoo. Best of luck with the planning!

Heather

Everything looked amazing--congratulations--these pictures are beautiful and they aren't even the pros? Wow!! Can't wait to see those!

We rented equipment from the Sheraton and used our ipod for the ceremony, then had a friend play Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole's Somewhere Over the Rainbow on his ukulele.

For the reception, we again used our ipod--the rental fee for the equipment we had included a sound person who would run the ipod for us. Worked out perfectly and we had our guests submit requests a few months before we left, so everyone got to hear a song that was special to them. We got a lot of compliments on the mix, and I'm so happy that we went with the ipod!

P.S. my brother-in-law was our MC, which worked out really well too.

Absolutely beautiful--it looks so special and I love how everyone looks like they were living it up!! Love the pics of the whole wedding party on the rocks, you and hubby with the small band and the amazing one near the statue in downtown PV. Love that statue and you two look so sweet!!

Thanks, girls! Its nice to be able to tell about it : )

Already, one thing that I forgot--our honeymoon--

We were married on Saturday, and left PV on Monday for Guadalajara (I lived there for 6 months during school)--it was great to be back and we stayed at the amazing Quinta Real. If any of you want to see Mexico's second largest and beautifully historic city, I'd recommend staying at this hotel. Its just gorgeous. Also, while there, we went to a great restaurant called La fonda de San Miguel. Definitely worth checking out. We stayed there until Thursday.

On Thursday, we took the bus back to PV and stayed at the Barcelo La Jolla hotel. We weren't quite aware of how far away this hotel is from the malecon and downtown area--its at least 15 minutes by cab to downtown. This was a bit too far for us. Also, they are doing MAJOR construction (which I think was discussed on here) and the room that they first put us in was right next to a room that they were working on. We unpacked nothing and asked to be switched to another room--they did, it was about 3 down from this one. Let me just say--during the hours of 8 and 6 p.m., you can hear all of this construction in your room and down in the pool and restaurant areas. I understand that they need to renovate--the timing just wasn't great for us. We've never been an AI couple but decided to try it out to see if it was more "relaxing"-- based on the food and quality of the hotel, we kind of ended up wishing that we would have just gone back to the Sheraton. But--we were adventuring--so it was nice to discover another part of Puerto Vallarta : ) And, I will say, the beaches are nicer and less rocky then in the downtown area.

My last comment--is about a great place that we went for our thank you brunch on Sunday--mi Querencia--right across from the malecon. Delicious food--many of our guests (including us) went back for dinner. Super affordable and they gave us our own private section--we prearranged through Fernanda, the Sheraton coordinator.

Hi girls, after 13 amazing days in Mexico and 8 ridiculously busy/horrible days back to work and school, I wanted to take some time to post some thoughts on our wedding.

We were married at the Sheraton Buganvilias--and as much as I scoured this website I couldn’t' find anyone who had been married there....so, I was a little nervous. We didn't have the time to break away for a site visit, and so I chose it based on the photos online and the package that they offered. It was down to there and the Westin and the Sheraton gave us more flexibility with bringing in outside vendors, so.... that's how that went : )

The Ceremony & Reception Site:

The Sheraton Buganvilias in Puerto Vallarta--loved it! My husband, Jace, and I are already planning a return trip and so are many of our guests. Like I said, I was nervous and was wondering why I was the only bride on here that was getting married there, so I wasn't expecting anything amazing when we arrived. I was so surprised! The hotel is gorgeous inside--modern mexican architecture and feel--which I love! The grounds are nice and green, and the pools there are wonderful!! Swim up bar and a section of one of the huge pools which only comes up to your knees--perfect for my nephews and for us ladies who can't stand to lay out in the hot sun!!

As for our room--they upgraded us to one of their junior suites on the club level—gorgeous, clean, white-walled room with its own sundeck and a gorgeous oval window when you enter that shows the gorgeous PV sunset. Couldn't have asked for more.

They have a gorgeous little house on this pier that I knew was just going to be amazing, and it was—this is where we had our ceremony. The reception was held in this beautiful little heart shaped garden area overlooking the ocean. Perfect as well.

Reception Food and Drink—pretty amazing. We went with the surf and turf: Prime Rib and Shrimp. It was really delicious—we heard from a few people that it was the best meal they had ever had—so, that’s good : ) Drinks—not skimping on any alcohol there!

Sheraton Spa— a bridesmaid and I had manis and pedis there and lets just say, while they were very nice, I’d say the money would be better spent (and they were expensive) at an outside salon. Reason being only that I was expecting the spa to have those big massage chairs with the motorized foot tubs and what we got was just a regular chair and a foot tub. I feel so snobby now….sorry, I just expected the Sheraton to have that!!!

Jace and I had a couples massage though that was pretty good, so perhaps for those types of services this spa is better.

Sheraton Coordinator:

Fernanda was great! At first a bit slow to respond, but once she and I got our acts together, she was quick, competent, knowledgeable and sweet! All in all, I'd say there were only a few things that weren't "as planned", but nothing that put any sort of damper on anything. The ceremony itself was gorgeous and she did a great job with the reception, placing all of our wedding "knick knacks"--I don't know what to call them--programs, palm fans, favors, etc., helped us with our ipod the entire ceremony, and handled everything day of so that I didn’t need to stress-- just wonderful. She made me feel comfortable in that if I asked for something, she would provide--and she did. She also was very accommodating to all of our guests (my mom and her thousands of questions).

Photographer:

We had Beth Fladung/Elizabeth Lloyd photograph for us. We are so excited to see our photographs!! She was a pleasure to work with and really was invisible most of the time—but I saw her photographing a lot of our guests too, which I’m really happy about. She came from the tail end of my getting ready (I was pretty much strapped into the dress and had my make-up on, just some finishing touches with my mom messing with my hair) and stayed until after the bouquet toss—which was longer than I had asked her to stay and we had agreed upon—so that was from about 4 p.m. until 10 maybe? Either way, she was wonderful, and I just KNOW she got some amazing shots!!!

Rehearsal Dinner: Barcelona Tapas

Much like everyone else who has been there, we just loved it, and so did our guests. The food was amazing and the ambiance was wonderful!! I’d only give two caveats— my father in law had planned to give a little toast/speech, and we had wanted everyone to go around and introduce themselves, and this was NOT possible here—way too loud. We had about 38 guests and were on the top level. Perhaps we should have asked if it was possible to have the whole level for ourselves and the music turned off…. oh yea, and the second caveat is—it was soo hot there. It seemed to be at least 10 degrees warmer than down by the ocean—and that’s being conservative. But, well, we winged those parts and I know everyone loved the place!! We’d do it there again in a heartbeat.

I think that’s it. I would totally recommend going with this hotel as the reception and ceremony spot. We and all of our guests just loved it! Everything turned out so much better than I could have hoped for and I know that we were successful in giving everyone some beautiful memories of their own. I’ll post photos whenever we get them. For now though, if anyone is curious as to how the Sheraton looks or the ceremony/reception site is, I have tons of photos from friends and family that I can share. Thanks for reading and happy planning : )

Thanks for the well wishes--will post photos as soon as I get them...and figure out how to do that : )

Okay, great, thank you!! So the minister doesn't have to sign it or anything. I'll be making a photocopy right now : )

Yep, leaving at 2 a.m. with like a million suitcases....here's to getting the green light : )

Hi girls--important last minute question here....

We had our civil ceremony last week and leave at the wee hours of the morning tomorrow for our wedding (yay!) this Saturday in Puerto Vallarta. We did the ceremony first here in the states so we could avoid the stress and running around down in Mexico.

Anyway.....we're having a spiritual ceremony by the beach down in PV with a minister and everything, but I just wasn't sure if we needed to have our marriage license for any reason. Did any of you go this route--civil ceremony in the states followed by marriage/spiritual ceremony in Mexico? Did you need the license for anything?

Thanks so much!

Also, something fun that we did--and I think our guests were excited about--was to take requests before hand and have everyone submit their favorite song. (We won't be able to take any requests there b/c we're going to clear everything else except the playlists off)

However....this led to some randoms on the playlist....like some country songs (we're not into it) and "Who Let The Dogs Out"--I've got four nephews and a mother : ) who love that song!! And then there's Islands in the Stream....you know, some real random ones, but I figure it will get at least those people up to dance--and who doesn't love to dance to who let the dogs out?

We just finished our playlist, complete with notes--if you think that would be helpful, let me know and I'll pass it on to you--email me at heathers7 at gmail.com

Right around the corner....

We're getting married at the Sheraton on November 3--leaving on Wednesday, October 31 and staying until November 13. CANNOT WAIT!!

We'll be staying at a few places--the Sheraton before the wedding, the Quinta Real in Guadalajara for three nights and then back to Puerto Vallarta at the Bacelo La Jolla hotel. Yowza!! Lots of moving around : )

No, we actually all just booked on our own. I did contact the hotel and the concierge is going to set something up for them, so thanks for the suggestion : )

Hi there,

My Future in-laws are asking about some sort of pre-arranged shuttle or limo from the airport to the Sheraton--I'd like to help them, but I'm not sure of how/where to start.

They don't want to take a cab, b/c there will be about 10 of them coming into the airport at about the sametime and they don't want to get separated with cabs (some of them have never been to a foreign country) : )

Do any of you have any reputable suggestions before I turn to the hotel concierge?

Thanks!!

Just heard this from Arturo--although you may have already received the info too:

"For weddings groups & events please feel free to contact Ms Fabiola she´s our Groups Manager her mail is [email protected]"

They seem to be pretty responsive there--hope you can get the help you need quickly!

Hey there, you could try this guy....

[email protected]

When I went to their general website--we're staying there for part of our honeymoon, they forwarded it to him--based on his email signature, he's the lead for reservations. His name is Arturo Contreras Pelayo. Let us know if he can help you!! Good luck : )

So, I just found this on Frommer's and I'm going to refer guests to it: Mexico : Planning a Trip : Money | Frommers.com

Thought I'd pass it along!

Hi girls,

Just wondering, what are you advising your guests to do about money. I've advised on upcharges on credit cards (I experienced these on my AMEX), but didn't think to advise about traveling with traveler's cheques, converting money, etc.

Anyone have any opinions or information that I can pass along to my guests.

The reason that I ask is b/c one of them just wrote about it and I was responding in the way that I usually handle my money down there..... bring US currency, exchange at airport or nearby bank that isn't charging an outrageous fee, and then hit the ATM as needed (I spent 6 months there so I was comfortable using the currency and exchanging), however, I'm not sure what most people are comfortable doing or what is ADVISED for travelers.

Anyone want to chime in with some good advice?

Thanks!

I don't know why that attachment was so small up there--its supposed to be 8.5 by 11!!

Ours is:

Friday:

a.m. optional group canopy tour

5:30 rehearsal

6:30 rehearsal dinner at B. Tapas (everyone's invited)

Saturday:

5:30--6 p.m.

6--7:10 cocktail hour with Mariachis

7:15--8:30 dinner

8:30--whenever they kick us out---Dancing!!

Sunday:

11 a.m.

Join the newlyweds for a thank you brunch at Mi Querencia Restaurante

I created this timeline thing with our itinerary....

Hey there, I've talked to Elizabeth this week over email--she's usually pretty responsive, although sometimes has a busy travel schedule (back to the states for photo shoots, I think) that permits her from responding asap sometimes.

Here are the email addresses that I use for her:

info@elfoto dot org and mosbef@gmail dot com

I think they are slightly different than what you tried?

HTH!

Wow, great info, so detailed--thanks for putting it out there for everyone still deciding.

All my decisions are made, but I'm so glad I read it--I loved reading about and seeing the turtles. What an amazing experience that was and to share it with your niece. So wonderful!!