Ms. Havasu

I've tried and I can't seem to upload the pictures. I'll be happy to e-mail them to anyone that wants to upload them for me. I have resized them several times and now I just get a fetal error message when I try to upload them.

I'm Back! Wow! It was even more beautiful than I had expected. I knew it was going to be the perfect place. Everyone treats you so nice. I did things a little different so I'll try and recall the details as best as I can for future brides choosing to do the cruise wedding dealio. THE CRUISE: We wanted to take a family cruise (and friends too) to get married. We thought about a destination wedding and figured it would be more affordable to do a cruise out of Los Angeles since most of our family live in Calif. we wouldn't have airfare and most meals would be included. Guests could attend and have a one week vacation for as little as 450.00 if they booked an inside room. We thought about getting married on the ship but when we learned that you had to get married in port before we sail (The whole county license thing), we just didn't want to get married on such a strict timeline in Long beach. I decided to try and find a beach wedding at one of the ports. I had never been to any of the ports (P.V., Mazatlan, Cabo) before so I just googled Puerto Vallarta Wedding (First port) and Las Celetas was the first site that I clicked on. It looked awesome. What appealed to me the most was that it didn't seem commercialized. I had been to friend’s destination weddings and I hated how people were walking past staring at the wedding and allot of commercial activity going on in the back round (jet skis, para sailing etc.). I immediately booked the day our ship was in port (wed 2/24/2010) and then booked our cruise. When I told my Finance' daughter she told me she had read about Las Celetas on this site and I should visit here for more info. So basically I dumb lucked into the best place on the Mexican Rivera to get married. We had 30 friends and family sail with us. Each booked their own cruise through Carnival. I had each one link their booking number to ours so we would all have dinner at the same time and seated near each other. Well that didn't work very well at all. My advices if I were to do it all again is call carnival and go directly to group sales so they can coordinate it better. The mater dai (SP) did get most of us together after the second night. I didn't get anything from Carnival and we booked 17 staterooms (perhaps if I had gone through group sales I may have gotten a reduced fare or at least a bottle of wine. We went on the Carnival Splendor from Long Beach which is one of their newest ships. All my guest had a great time (probably enjoyed themselves more than I did because I had to keep track of my 3 handicapped brothers and my 84 year old dad who doesn't get around too good and I was constantly worried that I might not be spending enough time with each guest.) We booked the steakhouse for the night before the wedding (Tuesday) for our rehearsal dinner/ bachelor party. It was nice to have everyone together in a smaller room so we could make sure everyone was at the right place at the right time the next day. The cost was 30.00 per person and with drinks, and tip (optional) it ran approx 1400.00. The food was exceptional at the steakhouse (this would be a 100.00 pp meal at a 5 star restaurant). Several of my guests went back one or two more nights on their own. I booked it about 3 weeks in advance through carnivals website. They said it was the largest group they have ever served and could only serve one table at a time (So some tables were having desert while other tables were having their appetizer.) No big deal we just socialized a little longer. All and all the cruise experience was great. Las Celetas: We pulled into port at 9:00, our kids sent up champagne and chocolate covered strawberries to our room so we started the day quite on our balcony. (We booked the balconies on the 8th deck at the back of the ship which was two or three times the size of a normal balcony). Then I met Kelley at 10:00 on the dock. I took my Maid of Honor and my Camera man & his wife with me. We went to las caletas on the normal excursion boat with tourist doing the day trip. Saw a school of whales on the way, music and drinks were provided. Brad (the officiate) was also on board and helped carry our bags. Once we arrived at las caletas we went straight to the bridal suit. It's a pretty steep walk up the hill carrying bags. There was Champagne waiting for us. We had a little lunch and then took showers to start getting ready. The Hair & Makeup guy came about 1 hour after we got there so it was time to start getting ready. I'm 50 and I got to tell you this guy took 15 years off my face. I actually felt pretty for the first time in several years. I'm so glad I spent the extra money to have a professional do the hair and makeup. When he finished, Kelley came by to let us know they were leaving to go get our guest (and my groom) I think it was approx 2:30. We relaxed for about 30 min. (had another drink) and then we got into our dresses. We were ready 30 min later when they arrived. My daughter came up to the bridal suite with my granddaughter (the flower girl) to get her freshened up. She commented that I looked so calm like I was ready to go. She said she was a nervous wreck before her wedding and felt like she was rushed and not ready. The whole experience was very relaxing and I was totally ready. Then Kelley came and said the guests are all getting seated and we would be going down in a few minutes. The path way down is a little steep and with a long dress on I was focused on not eating it on the way down. I wore sandals that I kicked off just before I turned the corner where the wedding was. OMG, it was stunning! Right on the water’s edge. The waves were crashing just a few feet away (one actually caught my camera man a little). Brad did a very nice ceremony, I loved everything about it (He photographs well too). After the ceremony we took a few pictures of the wedding party on the beach while the other guest went to the reception area and had a cocktail. This is where I really messed up. I didn't realize how fast the reception time would go and how fast we would lose our light. John and I went to the reception and had a drink or two. Than we had dinner, cut the cake and BAM it was dark and we had decided to go to the rhythm of the night show to end the evening. We never got any family pictures. I had our 4 children & their spouses all dressed in aqua blue dresses and the guys in black Mexican wedding shirts and so we would all look great in the photos and never got one group wedding picture. After the show we basically went straight to the boat to return to the cruise ship with the other guest for the rhythm of the night show. It went very fast. The guest enjoyed the show but I think I would have rather spent the extra 45 minutes just enjoying my guest with a couple more cocktails and take more pictures of our family and friends. It just went by way too fast. They actually do the rhythm of the night show earlier to accommodate the cruise ships departure time. All and all everything was perfect. Kelly and her staff go above and beyond. They take care of everything so you can just relax and enjoy your day. John & I want to return and just enjoy las caletas together sometime soon. I'll try and post some pics next. Michele

Quote: Originally Posted by Alohachik3 Michele! Thank you so much for the information! I am so excited you are leaving in two weeks!! You could be starting a trend here! I can't wait to see how everything works out! Your review will help Jamie + Brandon and Jason and I so much! I have a few questions for you, like Jaime I would love to know who your photographer is (I'm in the Seal Beach area so your photographer is probably local to me too), and it would be great to book him, since he will know what he is doing! Is he going to take pictures the whole 7 days?? On the ship, wedding, and excursions?? That would be so amazing! How did you go about booking that restaurant on the cruise ship for your activities? Did a travel agent do it? Did you call the actual cruise ship and request it? I have been asking Jaime about excursions... are you doing any in Cabo or Matazlan? Are you going to tell your guests so you all can do them together? Or are you doing them in secret (kind of like a honeymoon) or are you just hanging out on the boat? Have you talked to the cruise ship about carrying on extra bags or items (like your glass vases or cake topper)? Do they have a bag limit? I've been on 2 cruises but I am totally spacing the luggage requirements. Sorry for all the questions! You are going to be a God-send! Congrats on your upcoming wedding! I'm so excited for you! Rachelle Hi Rachelle; I'll try and answer all your questions here. My photograper is local here in Lake Havasu City, Az. But hey, He might be up for another cruise or two. Yes he will be taking pictures of the entire week, I'll have everything from boarding the ship, the dinners and shows, kareoke bars, Excursions , wedding, matzalan and cabo etc. I'll see if he would be interested in doing it again and pass along his number. The restrurant is easy to book. I did it through the carnival web site. I'm not sure where exactly it was, I just clicked around until I found gourmet dining and there is a link to make reservations. It actually sends an e-mail to the restrurant with your request. I requested a party of 32 for a certain date. They wrote back the next day and said they could accomodate us at 6:00 PM and please come by earlier in the week to look over seating arrangements. I haven't planed any excursions, been too busy with the other stuff. I might just hang on the boat and relax. The cruise line suggest 2 fifty lbs bags per person. I'm bringing about 8 bags! I'll just bring tip money for the porters. It's really no big deal. I figured I got them 32 passangers They made approx 25,000 in bookings) they better not complain about extra luggage for a wedding party.(I'm sure they wont.) Got to go, Michele

Quote: Originally Posted by Jaime+Brandon Michele! Thank you so much... that is so helpful!! Was it not an option to have the fire dancers come to your reception because of the time constraints?? I might end up doing the same thing. Who is your photographer? THanks again! You're almost there!! Jaime I think you can do the fire dancers, I'm just not sure if you can do the fire dancer and do the show(We are a little restricted on time). The show was free (which I think it's 95.00 pp through the cruise line) for us to attend. I've heard it's an amazing show so I figured it would be a great way to end the evening. I bought those glow stick necklaces and bracets for all of my guests to wear to the show so our group can keep tract of each other. (Not that I will be hard to find....I'll be the one in a wedding dress.) I'll see if my Photographer want to do another wedding or two.

Hi Everyone, I've been MIA for awhile and our wedding date is just 2 weeks away so I thought I would do an update. Everyone here has been so helpful I feel I need to share our plans as well so it may benefit new brides just starting to plan. We are doing something a little different and I know there are one or two brides following after us doing the same thing. We booked the Carnival Splendor leaving out of long beach, CA (since most of our family and friends are from Calif they don't need air fare). Inside Cabins started as low as 379 pp for an all inclusive week. So someone on a budget could come for a total cost with tax, tip, everything for approx 500.00. We booked balcony suites for approx 800.00 pp. We have 30 confirmed cruising with us. I booked an inside cabin for my photographer and his wife right across the hall from us. I found a local photographer and offered to pay for a weeks vacation/cruise if they take the pictures (It took him about 15 seconds to accept). Total was approx 1100.00 and we will have pictures of the entire cruise and all the ports. We depart Long Beach Sunday 2/21/10 and we are at sea all day Monday and Tuesday. I booked the Goumet Steak house on the cruise ship for all 32 of us to have our dinner rehersal/ bachelor /ette party the night before we arrive in Puerta Vallarta at 30.00 pp. We arrive in P.V. at 9:00 AM on Wednesday 2/24/2010 and kelley is picking me and my MOH and Photographer up at 11:00 am to go to L.C. I'm bringing silk flowers for table decorations and some heavy glass vases. A blown glass cake topper, and silk flower petals for the tables. The rest of our guests and the groom will meet the boat at 3:30. The Carnival cruise ship docks at the same dock that Kelley will pick us up at so I didn't need to arrange to get anyone to the dock. Our guest can enjoy P.V. for half the day than meet at the doc, dressed and ready to go at 3:30. Wedding at 5:00, Dinner at 6:30, then we are all going to the rythem of the night show to end the day. They do the rythem of the night show a little earlier to accomodate the Cruise ship. We will then leave L.C. after the show with the rest of the cruise ship passengers and be back to the ship when it departs P.V. at 10:00 PM. We felt going to the show would be much more exciting then having a longer reception since we didn't feel any of our family or friend would dance much. We have just a best man and a MOH. We both have 2 kids and all 4 of them are married. I asked each of our daughters to ware a aqua blue dress and all of the men are wearing black mexican wedding shirts. I'll post a review when we return. Michele

Quote: Originally Posted by matcek So we have opted to do our music iPod style, but I am having a hard time breaking down the timeframe such as how long for dinner music, how long for reception music, etc...anyone able to help me break the time frame into music segments? I wrote Kelley about this last week and here is a copy of our correspondence.: Just 2 weeks away from our sailing date. Thinking about final music selections and I have a quick question. I’m planning to bring my ipod and looking for a bit of information regarding how much music to bring. – OK, SOUNDS GOOD TO ME…… 1.- Do I need to worry about the boat ride over for my guest or does your staff already have that covered? (I heard they are pretty intertaining) – NO, I CAN TAKE CARE OF THE MUSIC FOR THIS ONE…… 2.- Approx how many minutes of music do I need (if any) before the actual ceremony (like while guest are getting seated and waiting for the ceremony to begin). – JUST PLAN ON 20 TO 25 MINUTES HONESTLY…. HALF THE TIME PEOPLE ARE IN THE BATHROOM AND FRESHENING UP, SO THEY ARE NOT EVEN PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS UNTIL IT IS CLOSER TO THE START TIME……. 3.- Approx how many minutes of music after the ceremony (Cocktail hour) - LETS GO WITH 45 MINUTES HERE…. 4.- Should I have music planned during dinner? (how many minutes) – SURE, ANOTHER 45 MINUTES AND THEN I ALWAYS HAVE BACK UP CD´S IF WE NEED MORE……. Hope this helps. Michele

OMG Erin your slide show is awesome, what a beautiful day it must have been. Can I ask which package you went with? Can anyone explain to me the different two packages? (we are 30 guests so barefoot package is out). Kelley has suggested the Paradise package for our wedding, we are arriving by cruise ship so they are doing an earlier Rythem of the Night show to accomodate the cruise ship leaving by 10:00 PM. With the "paradise" we basically have the ceremony, eat dinner , cut the cake, have a first dance,then go to the show , then go home. I'm wondering what other options I have. ie: if we don't go to the show do we get to have a longer reception with free booze(Or do we need to upgrade to the highest package)? We might not have time to have a longer reception, I think we have to leave to catch the ship by 8:30 to 8:45 at the latest. Does the show cost extra? Alot of these questions I have e-mailed Kelley but I haven't heard back yet. I'm just wondering if I should upgrade the package. If anyone has done the Paradise can you let me know what to expect as far as timelines go for reception etc. Thanks for all of your help, Michele

Well I booked my day 1 year in advance. Just sent Kelley an e-mail letting her know we are 2.5 months out and she sent me a questioneer so we can start planning the details. Questions like: Where is everyone staying final head count color scheme music choices, flowers, cake, wedding vows etc. So now the fun begins. Lets start with Music; I was thinking of just bringing my Ipod. I started catogorizing songs we like into, Before wedding, during wedding march, right after, and reception(First dance etc.). Does anyone know how the DJ works? does he use your ipod or do you need CD's. Does he have his own music, whats the approx. cost involved. Anyone hire live musicians? what is the cost for that. Any insight is much appreciated. Michele

very cool! thanks for sharing. Everything looks so beautiful.

O.K. I think I found a way to post pictures. This is the front view of my dress This is the back: I'm having it made in a light silver just like this dress: I'm an older bride and this is the second time around for both of us. I just couldn't see myself in a white wedding dress for some reason I would have felt silly. I think this silver is beautifull. John will be wearing silver grey pants with a black mexican wedding shirt with silver braiding. My maidren of honor and flower girl (grand daughter) will be in a teal blue with silver highlights. O.k. I just finished my first major planing with 4 months to spare!

I ordered my dress yesterday...OMG, I'm getting so excited! I can't wait to see it. If I can figure out how to post a picture I will. Michele

Thanks for sharing the wedding Blog Andi! I get so excited everytime I start thinking about our upcoming wedding. Just 4 months away and I still haven't done a thing except book it and start my diet. I think the wedding blog will really help me planning.

Quote: Originally Posted by Brooklyn Carolina Duchess, I was wondering about the Las Caletas photographers...good to know about the 100 shots and the other details. 100 pictures is really nothing and it would be so hard to choose. That 2500.00 for 100 pictures kinda took me back a little. That's 25.00 a picture and There probably not 8 x 10's. That's almost as much as the whole cost of the gold wedding package. I don't think that is in my budget. I'm really thinking of finding someone local that wants to take a free cruise vacation in exchange for their photog services. I figure I could put them and their assistant (spouse whatever) in an ocean view room for 500.00 each (total 1000.00) and get pictures from the entire week. I really think I'm going to work on that idea.

Very cute save the date post card (I love it). If you go with the passport idea you could use a picture of you and Brandon where the normal mugshot goes. I wish I would have started a little earlier, I think I'm way behind. At least the price of the cruise is still low for my friends who haven't committed yet.

so who is the next bride to go?

Quote: Originally Posted by Jaime+Brandon It's me!! Hi Michele! I'm doing the same exact thing... getting married at Las Caletas while in port. I'm not going until Oct. 2010 though. I'm assuming you're doing the 7-day Mexican Riviera Cruise... what have you done so far? Do you have a photographer? Did you send out your invitations? Feel free to PM me! Jaime Hi Jaime; Guess it looks like I'll be going before you. I'm doing a carnival cruise...Carnival Splendor departing Los Angeles 2/21/2010. First port is P.V! I'm glad we go there first so I can relax and enjoy the rest of the cruise after the wedding. I haven't sent invitations yet. I just sent out a mass e-mail to family and friends with the cruise info, so guests could book early if they were able to. I did get an invitation from a friend who is doing a wedding cruise to Cabo next weekend. They are getting married in port on the ship in san diego (I'll get to see the wedding I turned down - getting married on the ship seemed like getting married on a time line because the guest that are not sailing have to get off the boat before it sails) Anyway; her invitations looked like a ticket book like you use to get from the airlines. I don't know if Carnival printed them since they had all the booking info on them or if she had them printed. I thinking of doing something along those lines for invitations. I'll decide after I return from her wedding. Havent even started looking at photographers yet ( I'm almost thinking of seeing if I can find a local one that will do the wedding if I pay for their cruise. That might be less expensive in the long run.). Can anyone tell me about the music options? ie: DJ (good or bad) live music etc.

Hi girls; O.k., I've been MIA as well. I booked a wedding cruise and when I found out you can only get married in port I realized I don't want to get married in Long Beach. SO I decided I would try and do a beach wedding at one of the ports. First port ....Puerta Villarta...so I did a scheach for weddings in P.L. and found the Las Calentas adventure wedding website. It looked exactly like everything I had always imagined a beach wedding should be like. So I booked my date with Kelly on Feb. 24, 2010 (that's the day the cruise ship is in port). That was a couple months ago, I haven't heard a word from anyone yet and at approx 5 months out I'm thinking I should start tying up the loose ends. Has anyone else done the cruise ship/ las calentas combo yet? When I first signed up I got a PM from a bride to be that was going to do the same thing but I don't remember her name. I'm thinking she might have already had her wedding and would love to find out what kind of other plans I might need to take care of. Can anyone tell me what I need to do next? I feel like I should be doing something other then watching the days tick away. Where do I start? Thanks for the help. Michele

I'm not a lurker, I just got here. How do I get that title removed?

We are planning a family cruise in Feb of 2010 and planing to get married on the beach while in port at Puarta Villarta. I found Las calentas on the internet and it looks beautiful so we gave them a deposit to hold feb 24, 2010 for us. My daughter-in-law (to be) suggested this sight to get info on all the details to plan our day so I will be busy searching all the forums for info on las calentas and what to expect. I'm sure I will have questions along the way and appreciate any help and advise I can get. Michele