NYJen

We may have found a loop hole around the touring fee with Suncabo. American Express is affiliated with a property management company called Villas of Distinction. They have the villa we want to see. We have a call into Amex to see if they can set up the tour with no fee. As long as Villas of Distinction is not affiliated with Suncabo, it may work. Then again, Villas of Distinction may have their own touring fee. Hopefully Amex can help us out. I'll let you know what I find out. I also just found out we have to pay a $75 tasting fee to The Lazy Gourmet. It never ends! I know these fees get applied to whatever we order (so you could look at it as a deposit.) But what if I end up doing a resort wedding instead. Then I'm out the villa touring fee and the Lazy Gourmet tasting fee. This STINKS!!

Hey Jill - Thanks for the heads up on the Twin Dolphin. I had mentioned it to my WC and she said that their rooms were in need of remolding. Looks like they think so too. HA!

OH MY GOODNESS!! These pictures of Fiesta Americana Imperial Suite are AMAZING!! I'm getting very excited about this now. We are using Varinia from Baja Weddings as our WC. So far she has been really great. We have been to Cabo once before (family vacation back in Dec 2005) which is what made us decide to have our wedding here. During that vacation, we rented a villa and thought that would definitely be the way to go with this wedding. But now I can't wait to see Fiesta Americana Imperial Suite. OH, and we're DEFINITELY doing fireworks!! Thank you so much ladies - this REALLY helps a lot!!

Hey KM and Michelle, I am planning to have a villa wedding. I like the idea of having a private pool, hot tub and being able to party into the night without getting "kicked out" when it's over. Because of the VERY pricey cost of just renting the space, my WC was trying to stear me towards Fiesta Americana Imperial Suites, but I said no. One of the things that had turned me off was that I thought it didn't have a private pool. Michelle - you mentioned it does have a private pool. That's good to know. I'm going to Cabo this weekend to meet my WC and do site inspections. She's actually taking me to two villas and two resorts - Fiesta Americana is one of them. (I gave her to "ok" to revisit the idea of having the wedding in a resort - as long as it has a private space.) Whatever you ladies can tell me about this place would be very helpful. Thanks,

Thanks for your help everyone. I decided to go with Jennifer. I'll let you know what happens.

Thanks for your suggestions. I have argued the fees. My WC has even helped me argue the fees. Apparently there's no way around them. I had been in contact with Cabovillas and ended up having a HUGE fight with them over something else. So in return, they offered to wave their $200 touring fee. However, one of the villas I want to see is not in their inventory. So they can't help me there. So it looks like I'm stuck paying Suncabo the $250. I may make them just take me around and show me every villa they can - to get my money's worth. HA! Thanks for your help.

I was planning on getting my WC a gift, rather than giving her a tip. I work across the street from Tiffany's on 5th Avenue in Manhattan so I was thinking about getting her a bracelet or something from there. As for the other vendors, it makes sense to have some extra cash on you for tips if you end up wanting to give them one.

Hey TammyB, Did you do a tasting with Sweet Dreams? Did they charge you? Is it worth it for me to check out Jennifer Hatton (the cake Diva lady) or should I just go with Sweet Dreams? I'm trying to avoid paying all these tasting fees. Let me know what you think please. Thanks!

Hi Mel, Just welcoming you to the Forum. I'm looking at Villas for my wedding location, so I don't think I can be of much help with the AI resorts. But according to some of the girls on here - Dreams is the place to be. According to my WC, Fiesta Americana is also great - although I'm not sure if that's an AI resort or not. Have you seen Janet's pic of Cabo Surf Hotel? Again, I don't think that's an AI - but you should probably check it out - her wedding was beautiful. I also found another hotel (just by doing some searches in Google) called Hotel Twin Dolphin. I know nothing about it, but it looks beautiful. You may want to check that one out too. You'll get some great info here. It's also really nice to see what others have experienced first hand (and what research they can share with you.) Best of luck with your search.

GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS!!!! Sarah - Your pics are UNBELIEVABLE!!! Juan - Can't wait to meet you on Monday.

TammyB, Screw your MIL about still being on the forum - DON'T GO ANYWHERE!!! It's great having you married girls still here. It's not just about the planning. It's also about the relationships you've formed here. (And besides, we still need your help.) WHERE ARE YOUR PICS FROM JUAN ALREADY?? I'M DYING OVER HERE!!

Sorry I've been MIA lately - work has been CRAZY!!! So I'm going down to Cabo this weekend to do site inspections and meet my planner. I also have a few appointments to do some tastings. And I just found out there are fees that go along with the tastings. (I'm not happy about that.) Anyone else have that problem and maybe got out of it somehow? Deena from Sweet Dreams is charging me a $50 cake tasting fee. Jennifer Hatton is charging me a $25 cake tasting fee. Not sure if The Lazy Gourmet is charging me anything. And my planner hasn't mentioned it so I'm assuming they won't. Does this sound right to you? Do you think I even need to do these tastings? And get a load of this. . . Suncabo is charging me a $250 "touring fee" to look at villas I want to use for my wedding. They say they would apply the fee to the cost of the villa I end up renting, but what if I change my mind and have my wedding at Dreams or somewhere else? Anyone else have this problem and maybe found a loop hole. Thanks for your help,

TammyB - I have looked all over the forum for pics of your cake and I can't find it. Please send it to me or add it here. I would LOVE to see it. Thanks!

I am heading to Cabo next weekend for site inspections and to meet my planner, Varinia. So far, she has been great. Especially since I can be a bit of a bridezilla when it comes to details. I also have a HUGE pet peeve if I have to repeat myself or if emails have grammatical and/or spelling errors. She has done none of that, so I'm very happy. I'll let you know how things went with her when I return from my trip.

I am heading to Cabo next weekend for site inspections and to meet my planner, Varinia. So far, she has been great. Especially since I can be a bit of a bridezilla when it comes to details. I also have a HUGE pet peeve if I have to repeat myself or if emails have grammatical and/or spelling errors. She has done none of that, so I'm very happy. I'll let you know how things went with her when I return from my trip.

Can anyone tell me what DJ Ricardo's rates are? Thanks!

Amy, Yes, Lazy Gourmet sounds wonderful!!! Can't wait to meet with them. I've seen pictures of Villa Grande - it's BEAUTIFUL!!! I considered getting married there as well. Just be careful in Pedregal - they have strict noise policies after 10:00PM. From what I've heard, the police WILL show up and ask you to leave if you're too loud (not something you want on your wedding day.) But if you move the party inside by 10PM, you should be fine.

Thanks for the heads up - since I haven't heard back from them yet.

Great, I'll PM both Tammy and Janet. And I'll check with Armando too. Thanks ladies!

For those of you that got married (or are getting married) at Cabo Surf Hotel, what's the deal? Are you able to rent out the entire place for your guests to stay? Or is it just like any other resort? I was originally looking to rent a villa for my 60 guest wedding (only my hubby to be and I would be staying there, everyone else is staying in a hotel.) But now I'm wondering if the Cabo Surf Hotel would work. Any info you can provide would be appreciated. Thanks!

WC - Thanks for your help. I'm definitely going to look into it.

Yeah, I thought of that too - table on the beach. I'll check with my WC and see what suggestions she has. Thanks for your help.

Tammy, You look AMAZING!!! Those pics are great and they're not even the ones from Juan yet. I'm DYING to see those. Looks like you had a beautiful day too. Congrats and yes, start using your married name now.

Amy - What villa did you end up renting? How many people are you having at your wedding? Leigh - Saw those pictures at the Villa Maria - FANTASTIC!!! I'm considering calling you to do my wedding!!! Villa Maria is in Pedregal which is GORGEOUS but . . . there are noise restrictions after 10:00PM (party will need to be moved inside) and you can't swim in the water there (too rough.) I have decided to book a villa in the Corridor (private beaches for the reception as well as noise is not a problem after 10:00PM.) We're just not sure which villa yet. Any suggestions anyone?

I am working with Varinia from Baja Weddings. My guess is that she has probably worked with Elena before or is a friend of hers. Varinia also told me she's very hands-on when it comes to flowers and decorating. I trust her with this, but if Elena is going to be a problem, I would rather we just go somewhere else. No need to add additional stress for no reason. You do still have some time before your wedding. My guess is that they will probably talk to you again about 2 months before your wedding. But definitely have a "Plan B" in case Elena ends up MIA. Good luck and let us know what happens.