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ChristinaH

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Everything posted by ChristinaH

  1. Here's my LC Review: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...747#post593783
  2. This is very long, and I got tired towards the end, so I apologize if my detailing trails off. After the review, I've included a link to my other post which has pics from Puerto Vallarta before/after the wedding (still trying to get wedding pics up) as well as honeymoon pics in Puerto Rico. ***** Las Caletas was everything I expected and more. We couldn’t have asked for a better wedding day for us or our guests. On Friday morning, Nicole came to the Marriott to meet with me & my fiancé, Chris to go over all the last details as well as to hand over to her all of the stuff in a large suitcase – toasting glasses, votive holders, program fans, guest book, Polaroid camera for guest book, table seating, place cards, favors, Terrible Towels, etc. Everything went smooth in our meeting and I even included an inventory of everything I was giving to her. I had also given a copy to my pregnant sister-in-law (because I knew she’d be sober) so that she could help at the end of the night to make sure we got everything back that we had wanted to keep. My day started off leaving the Marriott with my girls: my 15-year-old daughter, Audrey, and girlfriends, Amanda, Danielle and Jackie. When we arrived at the marina, we waited merely minutes outside the gate before I saw Nicole. (I was fortunate enough to have done my site visit with her in April and had an idea of what to expect at the marina.) Nicole helped us through the turnstile since she already had our tickets and then got us through security. No issues there fortunately, and we had a lot of bags amongst us. Nicole helped me carry my dress and bags over to the waiting area while some of the girls grabbed some coffee. We then worked our way over to the main area to wait for the Vallarta Adventures boat to head to Las Caletas. Nicole had told me on Friday that she would not be coming over in the morning, but that Kelley would be on the boat with us and Nicole would come over later during the day. Kelley helped us with all of our stuff and once on the boat, we got settled in and had a lovely, light breakfast of drinks and pastries. The boat ride was smooth and delightful – but I don’t get seasick – no idea what that feels like, but none of the girls felt bad either. Got some great pictures and site-seeing along the way; went along the coast and went through Los Arcos. Once we arrived at Las Caletas, Kelley took us straight away to the bridal suite. For some reason, I thought it had been air conditioned – obviously not the case, but was very warm from just walking up the hill to get there. It really wasn’t that bad once I had calmed down from the excitement in me and the walk. However, because the boat was slightly late coming from NV to pick us up in the PV marina, I almost had to leave immediately to get my massage at 11 am. Now I should have known better not to get a massage. I don’t find them to be relaxing at all and this one was no exception. I got into the room, took off my cover-up and bikini top and as I was going to lie down (topless, of course) on the massage table, I noticed a man had been watching me the whole time. The same guy I had sat next to on the boat ride. I was mortified! I remember his wife making her massage appointment on the boat, and he must have been waiting for her. Wasn’t expecting that. Anyway, the massage was just like any other massage. While, yes they are good for you and relaxing – they stress me out. I’m not big on people touching my body, let alone use oil and get it in my hair. I had asked Nicole earlier if I could wash my hair before the hair dresser, Fernando, came to do my hair and make-up; which I knew her answer would be to not wash it. Well, with all that oil everywhere which got in my hair and then she gave me a head rub with the oil, I knew I had to wash my hair. Which of course stressed me out thinking my hair would turn out a mess. The most relaxing part of the massage was the music – which basically sounded like a sound machine of the ocean waves – that I liked. I tried to relax, but I think I would rather have been spending time on the beach with the girls. The morning seemed to be really rushed. After the massage, I stopped off at the bridal suite which I had to myself for a moment. I took a shower to get all the oil off of me before heading down to the beach to see the girls. Not long after that we were called to lunch and the five of us were seated right by the water. On the way to lunch, however, we ran into Fernando & his assistant being lead up to the bridal suite to get set-up for my hair and make-up. In order to try to relax a little more, I started with a little cerveza at lunch. The food was fantastic, but being a vegetarian is sometimes difficult – especially on a buffet. The veggie lasagna was particularly good and the potatoes were good enough for seconds. I think the whole time in PV, I lived off cheese and potato dishes. After lunch, we all started to head back up to the bridal suite to relax but took a side trip to see the little monkey and the birds. The girls loved this – I, on the other hand, had no desire to hold either of them. They’re absolutely beautiful birds and the monkey was super cute, so I just took pictures. We were warned that the monkey does not like sunglasses – which my daughter witnessed when we were leaving, he reached for her and then he freaked out because o fher sunglasses. Kinda funny actually. So once we reached the bridal suite, I thought I’d be able to relax and we’d hit the little hot tub (which we filled with cold water in an effort to cool off), however, there really wasn’t much time for that because I had to get started on my hair and make-up – I think it was already after 2 o’clock. So off I went for another shower just to freshen up. The girls just hung out in the water and my daughter took a nap in the hammock. Fernando was fantastic! He was truly a professional and very good at what he does. I had brought a picture of what I had envisioned for my hair – which was inspired by Heidi Klum at the Oscars with her huge bun. Not knowing how to accomplish this feat, I had brought a big clip with hair attached as well as Jessica Simpson hair extensions. I had previously had a trial with the hair clip, but my hairdresser in Dallas thought that the extensions would work better, so he even went with me to Ulta to pick out the right color and length. Unfortunately, Fernando felt that the clip would work best – and it did. It took some time getting it right and honestly, I didn’t watch the process. I just couldn’t – I know myself too well and would probably be trying to tell him what to do. The girls kept coming over and checking on me and got me another beer while I just sit and listened to all of them getting ready. Now, I was just listening and not really sure what was going down, but a few of them headed over to the spa area to get showered there while another of them showered in the bridal suite. They also were doing their hair and makeup over there too since Fernando, his assistant and I took over the whole area designated with mirrors and counterspace. There was make-up and hair stuff everywhere – just for me. You’d think he was doing a whole slew of models with all that stuff. Anyway, once my hair got done, (which was just perfect!) I had to take a break – just stand up and breathe. I think during this time, the other girls were getting ready and were helping Audrey (my daughter) get ready, too. I really wanted to do her hair, but ended up not having time. Fernando was kind enough to do her make-up too – very light for a teen – looked pretty. Also, had him put eyelashes on my friend, Jackie. She loved every time I would go to MAC and get them done, so it was a little surprise for her that day. Fernando uses a lot of MAC make-up and I had brought some of the colors I wanted to use and he had no problem mixing uses. Here’s where it gets a little fuzzy because everything felt so rushed. The photographer arrived and we started to get some pics – one in particular was great of the dress hanging in the doorway with the girls, including me, peaking around the sides. My photographer, Roberto Aeceves, was fantastic! He was everywhere to get the shots – I had given him a list of must-have shots and he fulfilled my list through the whole evening. He was so energetic and so much fun! Even that morning, he had gone over to Vista Vallarta to get pics of the guys at their golf tournament, as well as did my trash the dress on Monday night at the hotel pool and beach. Once the boat arrived and the guests were filtering onto the beach, the girls started to leave to join their respective husbands with the rest of the group. I was beginning to feel a little flustered having them leave me and I wasn’t even dressed yet. Fortunately, Amanda was tuned into my feeling (which I hadn’t even truly recognized) and offered to stay to help me & Audrey – even if it was just for a little while. I’m really glad she did – it was an odd feeling of abandonment leaving me in the bridal suite undressed. Now, I didn’t have bridesmaids for a reason – small wedding and all – but having my girlfriends spend the day with me was just what I needed and was grateful to have such good friends to help. And then there were two… and Nicole. Audrey and I were the last ones to head down. Nicole kept tabs on what was going on down on the beach and then sent Audrey down. My bustle was having a few issues in which Nicole remedied rather quickly. I could barely hear the music from up on the stairs, but a faint sound of the bagpipes were playing Amazing Grace – my processional song. By the time I got to the bottom of the stairs to meet my dad, he was in tears. The ceremony itself is somewhat of a blur. Started off with Brad handing over the microphone to Audrey after the welcome. Audrey immediately started to cry and had difficulty making it through her poem. It was a surprise for me, and I am still not sure what she read because of all the tears. The rest of the ceremony was beautiful – but went by so fast. We laughed a little, I cried a little. By the time it was over, I was ready to have some fun, however, that got cut short when he went into picture-taking mode. My new husband stepped on the bustle of my dress and it broke a few of the ties/buttons. A couple of the girls did their best to try to re-secure them, but it would never be the same. Four months of visits to the seamstress, busted in a matter of seconds. Got some great photos of us on the rocks, sand, and then went into having the group shots. Now the theme of our wedding was the fleur-de-lis – a classic French symbol, as well as the symbol for the Saints football team, which my husband is from New Orleans, therefore, very appropriate. I, on the other hand, am from Pittsburgh and a die-hard Steelers fan. The group shots went smooth, however, when Nicole came down the stairs with a pile of Terrible Towels, the group went crazy (minus the few Cowboys fans in the bunch). Pictures went pretty well from there out. I did have to spend some time attempting to get the bustle fixed after that, but eventually Nicole just grabbed the fleur-de-lis pin from my bouquet and pinned up my dress to my butt. Worked for me. Dinner was a blur. It went so fast and I was still kind of stressed out over the bustle incident and couldn’t relax for some reason. So I had a beer brought to me and immediately felt better; things were much more easier to deal with after getting a few drinks into me. Now I had previously requested on a couple of occasions to have my dad do a prayer before dinner, unfortunately, that never happened. I brought this to Nicole’s attention and she apologized because she had forgotten. My dad seemed disappointed, so she asked him if he would like to say anything when it was time for the toasts. I still think he was really disappointed because he didn’t want to say anything. Unfortunately, that left my father-in-law to do a toast after dinner. It was horrible – it was the longest, most pointless toast. I honestly think he never did a toast to the bride and groom. Just kept mentioning some random stuff – really irritated me, to be honest. Anyway, after that it was time for the cake cutting. I was all about the cake, which Nicole picked up on. To the point, that she had to outsource the cake. It was well worth it! I even had sent in advance some almond flavoring to make sure they could put it in the cake and the icing. It was so good – the cake itself had finely chopped almonds throughout and the butter ream icing was just bursting with almond flavoring. I had hand-drawn a picture of what I envisioned for the look of the cake and it was even better than I could have imagined. However, after the cutting of the cake, I noticed an odd smell in the air – almost like burnt hair. I turned around looking for the culprit and noticed that there was something on the train of my dress, something that looked like leaves. However, there were no leaves in the area. They were burn marks – my dress had caught on fire in several spots, some as big as an apple! Oh well… I was one hot bride that spontaneously burst into flames. While everyone was enjoying their cake, I noticed the fire dancers off to the side and mentioned it to Nicole. She had suggested getting everyone down to the dance floor, skip the first dance and move right into the show. At the time, I thought this was a great idea, but later when we did have our first dance, we had to follow the fire dancers – quite a downer following that act. Anyway, the fire dancers were a fantastic surprise for our guests. They all loved it and were in awe of the show. Fortunately I didn’t catch on fire. No, that would happen again later in the evening. So once the little show ended, we went into our first dance, Better When We’re Together by Jack Johnson – really love the song and all, but kind of was a downer after the high beat of the fire dancers. Dancing was great – everyone had a good time, however, I started to notice that none of the songs playing were from our iPod playlist. Chris and I both went up to the guy running the sound board and mentioned this to him, he said he would play from it. Few songs later, same thing – they weren’t our songs. We spent several hours and many dollars on iTunes getting just the right mix of songs we wanted and the guy kept playing Mexican music. So we went over again and he said he was playing from the iPod. Then why was it on Pause So he immediately hit play from the iPod. A few songs later, noticed again, NOT our music. I was livid at this point. I picked up the skirt of my dress and marched over to the guy and started yelling at him. He tried to convince me that he was playing from the iPod, which I had to point out again that it was on Pause. Finally said, “What is the matter? Is there a problem?” He had no response and never had another issue with the music the rest of the night. However, when I marched over to yell at him, I apparently put my dress down over another candle and caught on fire again. The same smell permeated the air and I noticed the burn mark on the bottom of my dress. It was only a small hole this time though. I did tell Nicole that I had yelled at the sound-guy - I felt bad. However, she was glad I said something to him. Why did I spend all that time downloading songs, just to have him play his own playlist?? Dancing continued until we were called up for our piñata. It turned out great! Nicole had a local lady make it in the shape of a fleur de lis in purple and gold. Only four people got a chance to hit it – Audrey went first, Danielle, then Jackie. I was the last to give a whack at it until it broke. Apparently I was hitting the thing really hard, too! Definitely was a fun time and a good way to end the evening. Of course, I had lost track of time, but it was time to make it back to the boat. By the time we all made it there, I was exhausted from a long day and laid down for a minute. Couldn’t see anything though because of the wind (and alcohol) had dried out my contacts. But trusty Nicole came through with eye drops that rocked my world at that moment. Everyone was chilling out on the boat ride back, a few more drinks and a few more dances. Overall, everything was spectacular. A few glitches, but nothing that was going to get in my way of a beautiful wedding day and marrying my best friend. ******** Here's the link from my post that includes pics: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...121#post593743
  3. Quote: Originally Posted by AnnR I can't see it, it's too small ... I wanna see! lol Check out the link for the pics from PV... it's bigger in there : ) You'll be able to see the dress, Ann
  4. I'm sorry, but I am the worst at posting pics, so I have links attached. Non-wedding photos in Puerto Vallarta: Kodakgallery.com*Join now and receive beautiful photographic prints from your camera Hotel: CasaMagna Marriott Resort and Spa Thursday night dinner: Cucamonga or something - right next to Krystal hotel Welcome Dinner: Barcelona Tapas Wedding: Las Caletas (of course, but not in these pics - sorry - soon, I hope) Day After Wedding Brunch: Marina Vallarta Club de Golf Monday Night Dinner: CC's - near La Palapa Tuesday Night Dinner: Friend's house Wednesday Night Dinner: Vista Grill (just the two of us for our last night) Honeymoon pics in San Juan, Puerto Rico: Kodakgallery.com*Join now and receive beautiful photographic prints from your camera Hotel: La Concha Resort in Condado Beach (saw Jeff Bridges in lobby while checking out - he & Kevin Spacey were staying there while filming the Clooney movie) Rented a Jeep and drove to El Yunque Rain Forest Visited Old San Juan for dinner only - ran out of time for full tourist experience Restaurants: Wasabi (sushi), Marmalade (eclectic), Waiters (sports bar) and Yerba Buena (PR food) - all were really good! Casino visited: San Juan Stellaris Marriott And I should have removed it and owe an apology up front, there is a pic of my toe. I tripped one night while walking around and had no idea why it hurt so bad until we got back to the room. So gross. Sorry. Both trips were more fun and spectacular - couldn't have been better! Hope to go back to PR some day. This was my fifth trip to PV and love it more each time. Will be posting full LC review real soon... Trying to finish it up. Already it's three pages long in Word. Plus need to post my LC wedding and TTD photos from my photographer - one of my TTD pics is my new siggy pic. (Ann - do you recognize the dress? ) Enjoy the pics!
  5. The sunset for my 10/18 wedding was well after 6pm - more like 6:30 and lasted probably around 15 minutes, if I had to guess. Then again, I could be wrong. Things were such a blur during the night.
  6. I am also working on my LC review. Hopefully will get it done for tomorrow. It was a beautiful day, no matter how you slice it!
  7. I will concur - our wedding was October 18 in PV at Las Caletas. We melted. But I love PV all the same! A little heat couldn't ruin anything.
  8. Quote: Originally Posted by HolleyC Rachel, did you eat at PePe's while you were in PV? We are trying to decide on Fajita Republic or PePe's for a welcome dinner. What is the atmosphere like at Fajita Republic? Our families have never met before and we are looking for a fun and relaxing place to do our meet and greet! I know you directed your question at Rachel, but I have eaten at Pipi's and it's really good! The atmosphere is really lively and fun. However, depending on the night you go, the noise level could be a bit much. But that also depends on your families - that may be just what you want to break the ice No idea how it measures up to Fajita Republic. On another note, I get married at LC in 10 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  9. We'll be a week in PV for the wedding and then going to Puerto Rico for 5 days for a honeymoon. Personally, I felt like I had to have a true "honeymoon" away from our guests. A lot of our friends are staying in PV with us through Wednesday after the wedding, leaving us with one day by ourselves. Basically I felt gipped out of a honeymoon, so we booked another trip. I want to spend time with my friends in PV while they're there. They came all that way to be with us - besides, it'll be fun! So we're getting the best of both worlds.
  10. The location is far from town - south of the malecon. It's great though - good food and views! Have been there for lunch. There are tons of pictures of weddings on their website: puerto vallarta restaurants, puerto vallarta weddings, puerto vallarta tours
  11. No, I won't be doing a trial. Just going to bring a lot of pictures of what I want it to look like. I had done a trial with L'occocco back in April, but for good reasons, Nicole will no longer work with them. The trial went well and at least I have an idea of what will look good.
  12. I don't have any experience with him, but it's who I will also be using for my wedding - in exactly 30 days : ) When I spoke with Nicole last week, she highly recommended Fernando and a few of the brides in June and one in July had used him. He uses MAC make-up, too.
  13. I'm getting married in exactly one month from today at Las Caletas!!!! WOOHOO!
  14. Quote: Originally Posted by beach_knot Hi I'm a Newbie and have been searching for info on La Palapa (restaurant), El Dorado and The Beach House. I have not been able to find many pictures of these places on the web and I have never been to PV. Do you happen to have any photos of El Dorado? What's the pp price for your RD package? Are you having it on the Beach? Thanks so much in advance!! Rach Here's the site for La Palapa: . : La Palapa - Puerto Vallarta : . Lots of pics and their menu. I've already booked our dinner there for our last night in PV after our wedding - dinner on the beach.
  15. Quote: Originally Posted by K&Rwedding Thanks for the info on The Beach House. Marco and Zac are coming to NYC next week so I am going to sit down and discuss details with Marco. I want to have my Welcome Reception at the Beach House so it will just be 2 hours of open bar. NO food! Just long enough for sunset then we can all go out for dinner after or just on the town. Did you get any more info on The Beach House? I'm getting closer to my wedding and researching new places to go while there next month. Just from the few pics I've seen online, it looks pretty kickin' and I want to go. Just curious what you found out. Do they have a website?
  16. The Ohtli Spa has a website: Ohtli Spa : CasaMagna Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa
  17. Quote: Originally Posted by tvt no final decision on a WD either. Los Burros came back with 50 bucks a person and we said a big fat no to that. I'm not sure what we're planning now. We'll see if los burros comes back uner 25 and if so then we have a deal. mainly because i just want to have it decided!! What all is included in that $50 per person? Does that include alcohol or just food? If you have big drinkers, it may work out in your benefit.
  18. We went to the courthouse today to apply for our marriage license! We'll be getting legally married in three weeks from today! We're also going along with another couple that cannot make it to PV for our wedding. They're renewing their vows along with us. Very romantic.
  19. Quote: Originally Posted by tvt Here are my wedding day timeline, and a rough draft of my brochure. shoot my brochure won't attach Very cute, indeed : )
  20. As much as I would love to give credit, I'm not sure from whom I got the attachments. Another great Las Caletas Q&A document as well as hotel suggestions for the area. Could be very helpful for future LC Brides. Things to Consider for Las Caletas.doc PV Hotels.doc
  21. Quote: Originally Posted by tvt I am making a wedding day time line flyer type deal to throw in everyones OOT bags. my brochure doesn't have any specific wedding details, just general info on getting to mexico. i can post them tonight. Oh yes - would love to see it!
  22. Yari, I was reading in another thread that you had created a program for your wedding. What all did you (or any LC Bride) include? I'm having difficulty trying to figure out how much or how little I should include. I was thinking of having my program cover the whole evening - from processional to cocktail hour to reception to back on the boat. Any ideas or other posts I should look at? I've done a search which helped, but of course I'm curious in particular what other LC Brides have done or will be doing.
  23. I don't know much about this property but I think it's not on the water. Their Beach Club is, however, which you do have access to from the hotel. It's in the Marina area, near Marina Vallarta Club de Golf. Looks really pretty!
  24. I checked this out and it's $99 per person per night. Very good for an AI!
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