karahmia

Here's the link to my wedding planning post. Included are pics and info on Hacienda San Angel. Hope it helps!
http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...&postid=395774

Yeah it should be pretty cool. I'll be sure to post it once complete.

Welcome to the forum Shayna. You've come to the right place these girls know everything!!

Thanks for the great feedback ladies! Here are some pics of the rooms. The hacienda is comprised of four homes all of which are uniquely decorated with Mexican antiques. I think it will be a very romantic and moving place for us to exchange our vows. When I go down for the site visit I'll be sure to share pics. Enjoy!

Also, if your interested in seeing more of the property, there are links to the site within my posting.

Welcome from one relatively newbie to another. The women on here have so much advice and experience, your in good hands.

Welcome to the forum Weddingchick!

That's crazy! Did they discuss the origin of her last name? I'm dying to know how a person ends up with a name like that!

 

Sapphire, have you tried Banana on the Rum from Ben & Jerry's? I haven't been able to find it at the grocery store so it's lessened my addiction. The shop is a bit of drive so I have to be really craving it to drive the distance. Haven't decided if that's a good or a bad thing

Though I'm emphatic to the seller, I think she should have found a more tasteful way to explain herself without going into the gory details. Regardless of the situation she should have just been apologetic and accommodating as possible. It kind of give me the creeps that she has all of that going on in her home and shared that information with you.

I think Sarah makes a good point. How about creating luggage tags to label the bags instead? Then our guests can use them on their luggage when they head home.

I haven't decided yet. I like the idea but my dress is silk charmeuse so I'm nervous it will show through my dress.

Gotta love the Dollar Store. I like th palm tree bag best!

Welcome to the forum Danielle!

Your hair and makeup look great Lorilou. I'd love to see more pics as I'm looking for a salon to come to my hotel to do my hair and makeup. Post more pics when you can! We'd all love to see them! By the way, did you communicate with them via email prior to your arrival? If you have their email address I'd love to receive it.

My fiancé and I are marrying on October 14, 2008 in Puerto Vallarta. Upon the suggestion of our planner Lisa Vorce (who is absolutely fab, but more on that later) we decided on the Hacienda San Angel in the Romantic Zone of PV. This place is exquisite and the perfect place for our "elopement". Why the quotes? Well, all of our friends and family know our plans, so no secret there! And, we're not planning the traditional elopment. I'm working with my planner to create an event that is intimate and stunning as it is memorable. Check out the details and let me know what you think!

Wedding Location: Hacienda San Angel

It's rich in history as well as full of old Hollywood romance. It's former owner Richard Burton gave it as a Valentine's gift to his wife Susan Hunt. Yet, she wasn't this first to receive a home from him in PV. Estranged wife Elizabeth Taylor has that honor! We will have our ceremony in the newly built chapel and dine on the private patio of our wedding suite overlooking the bay. It also provides perfect viewing of the nightly fireworks!

 

 

 

Wedding Planner: Oh! How Charming by Lisa Vorce

From the moment we spoke I knew she would be a friend for life but after getting into her immensely creative brain I knew she had to be my planner! Check out her site, it's absolutely beautiful!

 

Wedding Photography: Aaron Delessie. A good friend and peer of Lisa's, I love his style. While you're there, check out his blog.

 

Wedding Website: Blogger

Via my blog I'm able to keep my family and friends abreast of my planning process but we will also use it to share pictures and stories with them during our honeymoon. Also, via my blog I've met a lot of great brides and have helped a few with wedding ideas.

*I chose to create a blog because I wasn't happy with the personal wedding websites available. I did all of the creative myself in Photoshop and use the tutorials on blogger to get myself up and going. I had very little Photoshop experience prior to doing this and taught myself along the way, so it can definitely be done. Feel free to PM me for assistance with starting your own blog!

Hair& Makeup: Franc Gole Salon

Affordable and accommodating and go figure, they actually have a gallery of brides on their website. Can anyone say "Hallelujah"?

*Makeup Inspiration: I really love the new Bronzed Pink & Nude looks from Bobbi Brown. Chat live with an artist to tailor the look to your complexion.

*Hair Inspiration: Not sure yet how I'll wear my hair, but I have my inspiration. I think something soft and romantic will work well back to my dress.

 

 

Wedding Gown: The Bridal Garden, located in Kirkland, WA. I purchased my Monique Lhuillier gown off the rack at their annual sample sale and I couldn't be any more happier with my purchase. It's really not as "Solid Gold" as it looks here. It's a very faint champagne color.

 

 

Honeymoon: Hacienda De San Antonio

Some go to the beach, we're going to a volcano, sort of! An absolutely stunning property, it sits within the valley of a live (non-eruptive) volcano. We're going during their "green" (nice word for rainy) season to save on cost. Fortunately for us it's the very end so rain is unlikely!

*Money saving tip: When booking I noticed we'd be arriving on the day the special expired so I contacted the hotel to see if the dates were flexible. After providing them with our dates they were willing to extend the lower rate to us since we are arriving on a weekday and staying into the next week.

 

Here's my actual (a)/tentative (t) budget:

Wedding dress: $600 (a) Gotta love a sample sale...

 

ABOVE ITEMS NOT INCL IN BUDGET

Wedding shoes: $40.00 (a)...and friends with GREAT discounts!

Wedding planner: Free of charge*(a)

Photographer: Free of charge*(a)

Travel (incl planner & photographer): $1700(t)

Accommodations: $3000(t)

Hair & Markeup, FI Grooming: $300

Flowers: $600(t)

Dinner: $400(t) We are eloping so we saved a ton of money here

Honeymoon: $4000(t)

Total: 10,000.00

Hi Spicygirl!

 

Welcome to the forum! Wow! What a wonderful idea. I'm sure there are many brides on the forum who will want to take you up on this. You mentioned that you are working on your site. In the meantime, I think you should post photos so people can see your work. I have to say it's the one thing I wish more of the salons in Mexico provided. Or, you could even start a blog for your self and place your link in your sigi for easy reference. See my sigi below to see what I mean. Setting up a blog on Blogger is free and pretty quick to do. I'm a sucker for a great love affair so let me know if you need help! I did all of the graphics and setup for mine. Oh, one more thing. Be sure to post your services in the correct forum. I'm pretty sure there's one for vendors and I think you have to PM (private msg) the host first.

 

Welcome again and keep in touch!

Congrats on your new addition. He's absolutely beautiful!

Welcome to the forum! There's a wealth of information available to help with your planning process. As a fellow noobie I can say everyone on here is super nice and more than willing to help! Good luck and if you need help, just pm me!

I've attached my wedding ring instead since we did things a little different. He gave me a diamond eternity band as my engagement ring and then on my business trip to Hong Kong I custom designed my wedding band to match my engagement ring, sent him the pic, he loved it, we bought it!

Here's my gown. I purchased it at a sample sale in early January. I always wanted a Monique Lhuillier but also knew she was not in my price range. Anywho...it was the most expensive dress in the stack but I was looking at the original retail and not the sale price. In the end I ended paying only $600+tax. How fab is that? It perfectly suits our venue, Hacienda San Angel - Puerto Vallarta hotel, Puerto Vallarta boutique hotel, Puerto Vallarta Bed and Breakfast. Enough on that, here's my dress!

More info ladies, I've been communicating with the Fran Gole salon for about a week now and I've been very impressed. They've been very thorough in their responses and they have a gallery of the brides they've worked with which for me is a BIG win! Check out their gallery here: Franc Gole Gallery

Here's the pricing they sent me:
Trial: makeup and hair $600pesos each ($58US each service)
Day of: makeup and hair $800pesos each ($77US each service)
manicure spa $200pesos($20US)
pedicure spa $220pesos ($22US)
Nails $350-400pesos (I think this is for a full set of tips/acrylic nails) ($34-38US)

I'll keep you guys abreast of how things proceed. I'm really excited because I've been looking high and low for someone that I know will be able to meet my expectations.

PS...As an African-American bride having someone do my hair and do it well has been one of my biggest missions for my destination wedding. The salon has confirmed they have experience with women on color for both hair and makeup. So far the other salons I've checked out are willing but do not profess to have experience. So we shall see. My WC will be meeting with them when she's in town. Hopefully she'll bring me good news!

Has anyone used Franc Gole in PV? Any feedback? The brides on their site look great but just wanted to receive feedback first hand before booking. Or, have pictures of Sebastians' work?

Hi Ladies,

I searched "African+American" in hopes of finding a thread on here that spoke to this very issue. I've getting married in Puerto Vallarta, so finding someone to do my hair is slightly easier for one reason and one reason only, I wear mean extensions! Can I just say that if you can find someone who knows what they're doing they can lay your hair and have your straight for months! I wear a sew in as I'm not a big fan of glue-ins or fusion. Glue-ins are too messy for my taste and fusions are horribly damaging to our hair. Though, I have to disagree with BillysBride. You can use glue in your hair if you know what you are doing and how to get it out. Also, lace fronts if done by a professional are nice but they can and do (as I've seen first hand) pull out your baby hair at your hair line, which is NOT sexy! Quick weaves are a great option for something like a wedding as they are temporary and if you have naturally curly hair you can wash it out the night of your wedding and be back to normal in no time. Getting my sewn-in's costs me about $400 plus an additional $100-300 depending on the quality of hair. It's a lot but it lasts me for 4 months going back twice for tightening (which is super cheap). If your braids are done nice and flat your scalp will breath, you can wash your hair and scalp properly and your hair will grow like a weed.

Additionally, really good hair can run anywhere from $100-$275 per 4 oz. About 4oz will do a half weave or thinner full head, 8oz a full head with maybe a little left over. Though most of this hair must be special ordered. Another idea is a great wig. Don't be scared. If you buy from someone who knows what they are doing it will look great. When I go the cheap route on my hair I usually by textured Remy which looks like relaxed hair and it runs about $80 bucks a pack, try Hairsisters.com. If I'm going for long lasting quality I buy from NatureGirl.net. Their hair is excellent and can be reused for years to come...and I mean years!

Needless to say I'm a loyal weave wearer and my natural hair is past my shoulders. I wear it out of convenience and also it keeps my hair healthy as I use some sort of a hot tool everyday. The best advice I can give is that if you are wanting a weave of any sort, commit to doing it right and finding the right people to do it. Do the leg work, seek out consultations and check out their portfolio, any great stylist will have one. Check out Black Hair Forum for more advise. I joined a while ago when I was first starting out and it was a wealth of knowledge for me. One, final note: choosing a quality of hair that matches your own in the first step in a great weave!

I will post pics of my hair with extensions soon!

I think I have you ALL beat!!! My FI (and high school sweetheart) and I have been together for 12.5 years. We are marrying on our 13th anniversary. PS...I've yet to hit my 30th b-day! Crazy huh?

Welcome from one fellow noobie to another!