mich999

My wedding was over a year ago sorry, but I did mani/pedis the day before my wedding. They did a very good job, though there wasn't a huge color selection (instead of 20 pinks to choose from, maybe 5-10). My flower girl and DH's sisters had their hair done at Hilton spa. Wasn't overly impressed with DH sister updos, but I don't know what they requested and if that's what they wanted. Generally, the Hilton has a very nice spa, was just there again this past May and had a great massage, but I ran into the same issue when I was planning my wedding - not enough reviews or info to feel comfortable going with them for hair/make-up. Good luck!

Great review, I'm sure many brides will find it helpful. Congrats - can't wait to see Juan Carlos' pics, though it will take more than a couple months (at least based on my experience). But they are absolutely worth the wait in my opinion.

Thanks for the review - nice to have from someone who successfully went the villa route. Congrats!

You will love, love, love the Hyatt in Kauai - we were there for our honeymoon last May! We took an all day Zodiac boat tour of the Napali coast that was awesome - I think there's only one company that does that. As for food - highly recommend Tropical Taco on the North Shore. Also for some of the best pizza I've ever had, Brick Oven Pizza in Kalaheo. And Roy's for chocolate lava cake.

Quote: Originally Posted by peterpanpixiedust After reading this I guess I'm the only crazy person. I really wanted to have my E ring polished just before going and tuck it in the box until pics. I am a perfectionist and I don't want any smudges on it. But now after reading this maybe I should just suck it up and wear it. Grrr! FI and I usually don't have a problem with me not wearing it all the time because I don't wear mine to work already. I just love how it looks when it comes back from a polish and that sheen goes away so quickly (my fiance's loves to hold my hand OVER the ring, and even when I remind him, he forgets. So it's gets oils on it pretty quickly. God bless him). I brought a new container of that jewelry liquid polish you can buy at any drugstore or from a jewelry store (so it wouldn't leak in my luggage) and cleaned my rings the day of ceremony. If you get your rings polished before you go and just give them a refresh the day of, they should look perfect.

We wore our rings when traveling (even wedding bands because I once had a friend that had her bands stolen going through security when going to her wedding in NY) and put the bands in the room safe. Otherwise, I agree bring your rings with you - I wouldn't want to get married with a fake ring either.

There are several really good photographers in Cabo. I think if you find one you love locally it is usually easier and less expensive. I would only look to bring someone if I couldn't find someone locally, but others (as posted above) have had success and sometimes save money bringing in someone they love.

I did not use them for me or my bridesmaids but the flower girl and DH's sisters did use them for hair. Updos were fine. No one I know got make up done there. When I got married I couldn't find wedding reviews of hair/make-up at Hilton anywhere so I didn't want to take the chance and went with recommendations from the forum.

tlseege - that is an excellent explanation. I found out in Illinois that the County has no idea what you're talking about either when you ask about getting married in a foreign country, but that's because they don't issue the license and you don't have to do anything with them to make it legal. That being said, we did have our certificate translated and recorded a copy of the original certificate, along with the translation with our local county Recorder. That way it's of public record and if we ever lose our original, I can get a copy (or a certified copy I suppose) from the Recorder's office. I know there are lots of people who get married locally first to avoid any hassles, but I did not find getting legally married in Mexico to be difficult if you plan ahead - so if it's important to you, do it!

Quote: Originally Posted by tinalv That's a great deal! Did you book it directly off American Airlines website aa.com? Yes. I've been checking orbitz everyday and then just booked directly on aa.com.

Hi ladies - I just booked non-stop flights on American in May (our one year anniversary) from Chicago to Cabo for $416 each!! Not going to get any cheaper than that, 2 days ago they were $813 each. Just thought I'd let anyone know still shopping for flights for this spring.

Sounds like maybe a larger restaurant would work and be more budget friendly. I'll try to do some brainstorming! We was soooo lucky to have my friend's amazing house - I don't think we could have done an AHR otherwise.

It really depends on your size and budget. We used a friend's house and yard in the city with catered food, bartenders, etc., but no DJ or sit down dinner because otherwise it would have been just as costly as having the wedding in Chicago. But a lot of brides do plan on that and if so, there are tons of places in Chicago that work.

No problem! I checked the Men's Wearhouse site and they still have my DH's suit - Calvin Klein tan linen. The pants are cheap but the jacket isnt. I would make friends with your local Men's Wearhouse manager and if you are buying several suits maybe they can give you a discount or let you know when the suit you want will go on sale. I'm pretty sure we bought ours in March and everything was 50% off. Also, Formally Modern Tuxedo (Formally Modern Tuxedo Styles) has a tan suit for rental like a tux, but my DH liked the linen suits better - he had very strong opinions on this topic! Have fun! Oops - I just realize FMT is a Chicago area store - but Milwaukee isn't that far away : ) That store might know of others nearer to you that carry the same suit for rental too.

We had a solo violinist for the ceremony and a Mexican Trio (Los Mosquitos - I think they were all guitars, but I'm not 100% sure) for the cocktail hour, then a DJ for dinner/dancing. I didn't hear the trio much (was taking pictures) but guests loved them. Generally I have only seen positive things on the forum about trios for ceremony/cocktail hour, but I think people don't usually use them for the dancing portion - I would definitely use the ipod or have a DJ for that portion. Hope that helps - good luck!

I don't like the idea at all, sorry. I think it would look like a big yoga class waiting to start and no one is going to want to sit on the sand, even with a mat. If you don't like the look of 20 chairs, set up more. We had 44 people (10 of whom were standing the whole ceremony, but set up 60 chairs because I liked the number and symmetry. My thought was if you are at a church it's not like every chair is taken and more people always want to sit bythe aisle anyways, so I had 6 rows of 5 chairs on each side of the aisle so people could choose where they want to sit. Had to make a few more programs and order a few more fans so each seat had one, but it was worth it, I loved the look (chairs were free).

I too looked for suit rentals in Cabo but didn't really have any luck. We ended up having our groomsmen buy tan linen suits at Men's Wearhouse (they were buy one get one free basically) and they all loved the idea of keeping the suit - several have already worn them again. Also note that Men's Wearhouse gets spring/summer suits in sometime in March so check with the manager to see what styles they will be getting in - you still have plenty of time. Good luck.

I didn't realize I didn't have to do anything really either when I got back. However, we did get the certificate translated and recorded the spanish/english versions with the County we lived in so there is an official record of it in the states if we need it. Again, this wasn't to make the marriage legal in IL, it already was, but we did it just to have it on record and in case we ever lost ours!

I assume you are bringing your photographer from the states? Our photographer was from Cabo so I can't speak to that specifically, but it seems like some sort of per diem per day would be fair - after all the photographer is only there because of your wedding but others on the forum who brought photogs with them could answer this better (or other photogs that travel!). For those who hire photographer on-site, I think brides should remember that even though it's a DW, they are still your vendors and if you would have fed them at home, why wouldn't you feed them there. The hilton had a vendor meal price for the reception and we fed our photographer and his assistant as well as the DJ and his assistant. Our DJ thanked us multiple times - the goodwill was beyond worth it.

Great pictures - love JC! Congrats.

I'm not from Canada, but we got legally married and just paid to have the certificate translated by a certified translator in the states so we could record it with the county and use it for any other legal purposes we need - there are several reuptable companies online and you can just email a copy of your certificate. If your resort would do it for free, I would leave it there - 4 months will pass before you know it. 'm surprised mwcfarm's friend was able to get all that done with a spanish certificate, but maybe Canada is different.

Hi Yuri - congrats on your engagement, you will find endless info here to help you plan! I am biased towards the Hilton, because I got married there and I think you have already found my review. The Hilton does not charge a day pass - those are only for AIs, so if guests are staying elsewhere, they don't have to pay to come in. I had one guest stay next door at the Melia Cabo Real. I didn't visit the Melia Cabo Real but overlooked it from my room - looked nice, a younger vibe, one night they had club music blaring by the pool, not as nice as the Hilton (IMO). I saw someone having a wedding reception right on the sand while we were there which looked pretty cool. We had another guests stay at the RIU Santa Fe for a few days before joining us at the Hilton. They loved it there, though they loved the Hilton more. As for ocean, when we were there in May, the flag never changed from red saying it was safe to swim in ocean - but I think the hotel does that to protect themselves. Many of my guests swam in the ocean, though you do have to be careful. The food is amazing at the Hilton. Everyone still raves about the meals there and we could not have been happier with our wedding meal. Choosing between an AI and non-AI, I think you've summed up the pros and cons nicely. Many brides on this forum love Dreams and RIU - I just wasn't interested in an AI. I figured we were taking care of dinner and drinks for people for Friday and Saturday night and all the guests got rooms which included breakfast, so they really only needed to plan for some snacks and dinner 1 or 2 nights repending on how long they came for. We had many in our group in which an AI would have been a waste because they don't drink much. For those that do, I think an AI would have been a better deal because the Hilton poolside drinks are expensive. But then I felt that it was up to each individual to decide how much they wanted to spend. That being said, there are a lot of package deals out there for AIs including airfare, so if you can find a good package deal an AI may end up being a better deal. Ultimately, we picked the Hilton because of the reviews on trip advisor, which were consistently excellent (I didn't find this forum until after I booked the HIlton), we just fell in love with it through pictures, it fit within our budget, we felt the rooms rates were reasonable compared to most other hotels (non-AIs) for the first class hotel experience in Cabo, and the Whale Watching Terrace at the Hilton. Like I said, I didn't really look at AIs, and I always experienced sticker shock when I looked at room rates. However, like I said, if you shop around and do your homework on them (which I did not), I definitely think AIs are more economical for the bride and groom and they don't have to break the bank for guests either. Good luck!!

Great review - loved your flowers! Everything looked and sounded amazing. Looking forward to JC's slideshow - he's the best!

Quote: Originally Posted by bnbrmy I'm a little more at ease with the florists. I'm only a bridezilla when it comes to the photography lol, but I do need to get in contact with them to see if they can have the flowers I am wanting. I need Black calla lilies and the only lady I've talked to that could get them doesn't work with the Hilton. So if anybody could help me out with emails or websites. I really really need to talk to some people. Thanks again for the help! Check with Martha at Mazarte Floral - she works with the Hilton and was our florist and got us amazing hydrangeas the exact color we wanted. I would be really surprised if she couldn't get what you wanted.

I think it depends on your personality and what is important to you. The Hilton staff does a great job coordinating the day of, but I would not rely on them to remind you when and what to book and keep track of all your details like a personal coordinator would (see my review). For me, I had initially planned on hiring an outside coordinator but once I picked the venue and found this forum I forged ahead myself. I was very hands on and handled all the planning details, including researching and negotiating with vendors personally. If you are not good at that or just don't want to do it, a coordinator may be the way to go. Others on the forum really loved having an outside coodinator. Good luck!