EricaMarie

I did my first three days before we left for the wedding. I had no problems at all, probably could have waited til the day before since I had no redness or ingrown hairs.

I don't think there was anything that I asked of Jimmy or Odette (our coordinator) that they weren't able to get for me at a reasonable price! We chose to have Mariachi's for our cocktail hour along with different flavors of Margaritas and passed appetizers (there is a picture of one on a blue plate). I had pashminas as one of our favors on every other chair for the female guests (almost every single person did use them) we also had maracas made to match our calla lily theme. We took photos on the beach during cocktail hour and right up until sunset. When it was time Odette came and got us and gathered the bridal party for our grand entrance. After that we all were seated and dinner was served we chose a plated dinner not buffet. It was truly amazing!! My husband has food allergies which they accommodated for and his food was also Delicious. During dinner we had fire dancers perform towards the end (definitely a nice surprise for our guests) Odette kept us on schedule for the cake cutting, first dances, garter toss, bouquet toss. Our guests raved about the service. The waiters were friendly and prompt. I don't think anyone had an empty glass all night. The waiters brought everyone their drinks instead of going up to a bar to get drinks. As our first dance ended we had fireworks go off. I was the only one who know this would be happening. Many people saw them being set up and caught on but it was still a great touch. We also had a late night taco stand brought out. The tacos were great and everyone was happy to get some more food. I truly had the wedding of my dreams. Every second was wonderful and I wish I could relive the day again. Odette made everything run smoothly. She came to my hotel two days before the wedding when I had my hair trial and supervised that (she even helped me vocalize what I didn't like about my hair when I couldn't put it into words) and also picked up everything I brought with me that would be used at the reception. As my items from home such as champagne glasses, cake and knife cutter, extra maracas, etc she packed everything back in the bag I gave her. At the end of the night all I had to do was grab the bag and I was ready to go. I sent Odette a picture of everything I wanted my wedding reception to be and see was able to send me prices and options for everything very quickly. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. I don't get back on here much anymore but I will try and respond. I really can't think of anything that we weren't happy with or would not do again. We were choosing between Martoca and Las Caletas and I am soo happy I chose Martoca. I did go visit las caletas when we were there so we I do know what it looks like in person.

Sorry for the large pics! Our guests were greeted with Margaritas as we walked in...also had our Mariachi band playing as they open the gates to let us in. It was breath taking

I loved, loved, loved Martoca. My breath was taken away when I walked into my wedding! and I am not easily impressed!! The staff and coordinator were great! The food was great and all vendors exceeded my expectations. It was private so no on lookers like at a resort. Any questions just let me know. Not one of my guests could come up with a complaint about the wedding. I was choosing between Martoca and Las Caletas and I went to Las Caletas with my group as a group excursion and I am soo glad I chose Martoca over Las Caletas!

I have been terrified for my Brazilian wax. I leave for my wedding on Saturday so I went last night for waxing. It was not awkward or uncomfortable as I thought and I did not have to get in any crazy positions. I would say it only really hurt maybe 3 times and the rest was not bad at all. I went to Bliss spa and it was great!! I had her leave a little as I did not want it all gone. Future hubby would never have asked me to do it so I hope he likes and is surprised wedding night!!

Yes, Martoca is also a private venue no one will be crashing your wedding. It is a garden right on the beach so you get the best of both worlds. For me it is was the sit down dinner that I could have at Martoca that won me over and not having to take a boat to get there (some of my guests were terrified at the thought of having to take a boat to get there). Good luck with your site visits!

Have you looked at her webiste there are lots of photos from weddings she has done on there?

Does anyone know if its OK to do rose petals along the pews in the church. This is what I am planning on doing and some gladiolas on every other pew. I just am not sure if the church allows the petals along the aisle. If anyone knows I would appreciate the info. Thanks.

We are having a rehearsal the day before the wedding. I was told we can choose readings at the rehersal with the priest. Did anyone have their readings picked before then? I would like to make programs.

In case anyone else needs to know, I did confirm with the church that a singer is not required. We hired a string quartet to play for our ceremony.

Kat, I aksed my wedding coordinator if she had any photos of a ceremony in the garden and she sent me these.

Here is a video the owner of this venue has created. It shows some great photos of how your wedding could look here. Martoca Beach Garden Weddings and Special Events http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XSXJpn1FlE&feature=feedu

I am not using but he was highly recommended by my wedding coordinator. He is on facebook if you search for him. He seems to do hair and make-up for tons of events. You can find a lot of photos on his facebook page to look at his work. He was just a little too expensive for me or I would have used him.

I am getting married in a catholic church and only having my reception there, but I am pretty sure they have done both on the grass and on the sand.

Here are a few pictures that show how beautiful it is at Martoca. It is great how they have an open space that allows for them to set up each wedding however the bride and groom wants. No need to worry about space constraints or anything. I just received a drawing plan of how everything will be set-up the day of my wedding. I am just at 3 months until wedding now and can't wait. I am working out final details with Odette and I couldn't be happier with how easy it is to correspond with her!

Odette is also my wedding coordinator and has been fantastic. I could not be happier with her assistance. If anyone is looking for a location that is private and on the beach you should definitely look at Martoca. I am 5 months away from my wedding!! Bonnie T when will your vow renewal take place?

Thank you for putting me in contact with her. She responded very quickly and has sent me some audio clips to listen to. My fiance is the music man so I am leaving this completely up to him since this is the only request he has made for the wedding. She was also able to confirm that she has played at Guadalupe without anyone singing. So I will have my dad call to confirm with the church before we hire anyone. They seem to respond well to him being from Mexico and his first language Spanish. Eva is also scheduled to be my photographer for our wedding. Will you be able to assist with creating a time line for photos and suggestions for locations to take pictures with us?

Thank you for the info. I am going to have one of my parents the church to confirm this then. You don't happen to have the information for the woman who plays the harp do you?

Anyone who has gotten married here were you told that you have to have a singer for the ceremony? My fiances only request was to have a string trio or quartet but my wedding coordinator is telling me that it is her understanding that we must have someone to sing during mass. If anyone has information about this that would be great.

My wedding will be here in December if anyone has any questions let me know since I am more than half way to my wedding now. So far the planning has been very easy and wedding coordinator Odette is great!!

That is a great tip msglave! Did they have the pashminas in a lot of colors? I am still trying to decide if I should just let me my wedding coordinator get them for me or bring them with from chicago.

I am getting married there on December 28th and there seems to be no problem with only one of us being Catholic. I am Catholic and my fiance is Lutheran. We went to my parish and filled out all paperwork, we had to give them a copy of both of our baptismal certificates, my communion and confirmation certificate, and take a precana class. My priest had no issue with us getting married in the Catholic church and had me sign a form that indicates that I intend to remain Catholic and raise my future children Catholic. He is sending all paperwork now to Our Lady of Guadalupe. We also spoke with Father Esteban and a women who works in the office there and explained groom is Lutheran and they did not say it would be a problem. The only thing that we need to still figure out is if it will be a full mass or not since he is not Catholic. I hope this helps

Also, the suits I saw at Macys were all light weight right now since its summer stock. Sales reps explained to me if you are going with a regular suit not linen make sure its 100% wool because other blends wont breath at all.

Macys has many slim fit suits. Just got a black kenneth cole suit for $145 original price $525. Keep your eye out for their big sales. I just saw online that Old Navy has linen blazers and pants in khaki and black for anyone looking for that.

I am getting married in Puerto Vallarta and my WC suggested that I use a fake cake the bakery will make a cake with two layers which are fake and one which is real for the cake cutting. No guest will ever know that it was fake. They will have a sheet cake in the kitchen that is cut for guests to eat. Going this route it will cost me much less!!! Technically you could even take your top tier home then to save if you wanted. I see nothing wrong with doing this.