paulastuart

This website has been so helpful to me over the year that we have been planning our wedding!! We have planned everything from London and had never been to Cabo before we arrived 5 days before the wedding.. it was a huge gamble, but one that paid off hugely!  But I must say I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the help of this website, all of the contributors and the wonderful residents of Cabo who have replied to my many trip advisor posts trying to work out how we were going to make this happen with just me planning it!  We were lucky as all of the vendors we had were INCREDIBLE!!!  I cannot speak highly enough about all of them and would recommend 100%.  If anybody has any questions or would like additional information on anything to do with the vendors below, I am more than happy to send you anything you need.  Anyway… here goes!

Rehearsal Dinner – Desperados – A+++++++

We were really struggling to decide on a place to have our Rehearsal Dinner, and so I took to the tripadvisor forum’s to ask for a casual but fun and reasonably priced restaurant in Cabo that would suit our needs.  We had more than 30 responses and over half all said Desperados!! So we went with this option and were not disappointed. 

Tyler was fantastic and sent us an incredible set menu option that ended up being less than $15pp before tip.  This is amazing value, and they had a resident guitarist who was excellent.   Every other restaurant I contacted tried to make me commit to a 3 course meal and we knew that we wanted something more simple, and Desperados was perfect.

The food, location and staff were all fabulous, I seriously cannot fault it in any way.

Florist – Cabo Flowers & Cakes – A+++++++

We were referred to Cabo Flowers & Cakes by Beth Dalton, who I found on pinterest randomly and who I will also give a review on later.  Although Beth was not our wedding planner (as we were too far into the process by the time we were in contact and we were trying to be strict with our budget), I could not have done it without her.  More on Beth later!!... 

Cabo Flowers and Cakes worked with me over email as I live in London with my (now!) husband Alex.  I changed my mind a lot on what sort of look I wanted and they were always fantastic at getting back to me quickly and always with helpful suggestions and always happy to change anything that needed changed.  I sent pictures on exactly what I wanted when I finally settled on what that was, and the flowers on the day were exactly as I had hoped.  We had a huge amount of comments and compliments on the flowers on the day. 

Francine and Donna supplied us with canning jars for our centrepieces and also as drinking jars for our cocktails.  They also supplied fairy lights for the trees and supplied our canopy flowers.  Everything was as perfect as I had hoped and I think that they were exceptional value for money.  I would recommend them 100%.

Contact Details - [email protected]

Hair & Manicures/Pedicures – Senza Spa – A+++++++++

I dealt with Leslie who is the manager I think of Senza Spa over the email many times before arriving in London.  I had only found limited reviews of Senza Spa on the internet and the Best Destination Wedding Website, but I felt confident they would be a good choice, and their price was unbeatable. 

The hair trial went well, I had decided to wear my hair up, and although the lady that did my hair could not speak English, Leslie asked me to explain what I wanted and I had photos of exactly what I wanted from all angles and she was able to explain clearly to my hair stylist what I wanted.  I didn’t really believe the language barrier was an issue as Leslie was a great interpreter.  However, after seeing my hair up, I decided that it looked too formal for a beach wedding so I changed my mind to wearing my hair out.  I didn’t change my mind until later that night, therefore no chance to get a hair trial for my hair out! 

I think this is my only regret of our whole day, is that I chose to wear my hair out on an exceptionally hot day without having had my hair trial done with my hair out.  If I had trialed the hair out look I would have realized after having it done, that what it looked like while I was in the salon, wouldn’t be what it looked like 6 hours later in the very hot Mexican sun!!! I don’t think this was the salon’s fault though.  I was sure about what I wanted and Leslie did say she thought it might be a bit of an issue.  So although I wasn’t happy with my hair, I don’t think it was their fault. 

We also got manicures and pedicures at the salon (myself, my mother and the 3 bridesmaids) and they did a fabulous job and again, the price was very reasonable, I think it was $52 for both the manicure and the pedicure. 

I also forgot to mention that I had my hair cut and coloured on the day of my hair trial and I was really happy with both the cut and colour. 

Prices for Senza Salon were:

• Bridal Hair $750 pesos or $62.50usd
• Formal Hair Style $650 pesos or $54.17usd
• Blow Dry $285 pesos or $23.75usd

Contact Details – Leslie – [email protected]

Co-ordination of Legal Ceremony – Kenia Quiroz of Beso Weddings – A++++++++++

Again, faultless.  Kenia organized the following for us:

• Justice of the Peace
• Blood Tests
• Paperwork & Marriage License

I was liaising with Kenia for a few months before our wedding and she organized everything in relation to the legal side of our wedding. 

It was incredibly easy from our point of view, we just sent the information we needed to send (copies of passports, information of our witnesses etc) and she got everything done!  Kenia also organised 2 lovely people to come from the hospital to do our bloodtests.  This was really easy and we just met them in the lobby of the Sheraton and 5 minutes later, it was done! 

Unfortunately my fiancé forgot to get the right $$ out for Kenia and we didn’t have the money on the day she was due to come out to receive it, but it was not a problem and she was incredibly understanding.  She was incredible and again, would recommend her in a heartbeat. 

Contact Details – [email protected]

Makeup – Blanc Salon – A++++

I booked Blanc Salon as a bit of a last minute thing as I was intending to do my own makeup, however I got nervous and decided I would rather have someone do it for myself and the bridesmaids on the day, less stress and the reviews were fantastic for Neysa Berman who owns Blanc Salon.

However when I was into the first few emails with Neysa, she mentioned that she would not be doing the makeup, that she was away that weekend and that two girls from her salon would be doing it.  If I’m honest, the girls did a good job, so I was happy, however when I was quoted the price I believed that it would be Neysa herself who would be doing that makeup as that is who I had my heart set on. So it was disappointing that she wasn’t available. 

I was also a little anxious at her reply time for emails.  She took sometimes up to a week to reply to emails and I found this a bit stressful, especially as it was so close to the wedding.  However, much of this fault is my own as I shouldn’t have been doing it last minute!! However, replying to my emails a bit quicker would have been much appreciated.

The makeup trial went well, although I am very fussy about the way I have my makeup done, to the point where I have never liked the way anybody has done it before, so I was nervous about what she would be like.  However, I was really honest and I checked the makeup every few minutes to make sure it was on track to how I wanted it, and whenever there was something I didn’t like, she corrected it and I was happy. 

On the day, the two girls who came (including the girl who did my makeup trial) were excellent.  Really well presented, and they did a great job of my bridesmaids, my mother and myself.  I was really pleased with the result.

Also, thought I would point out that the reason I only engaged Neysa to do our makeup and not hair as well, as I thought the prices for hair were really expensive, and Senza were so much cheaper. 

Prices for Blanc Salon to come to the Sheraton were:

• Make Up Trial with Lashes - $85usd
• Bridal Make Up with Lashes - $105usd
• 3 Bridesmaids Makeup - $195usd
• 2 Mothers Makeup - $130usd
• Travel x 2 - $70usd
• IVA & Gratuity - $152.10

TOTAL - $737.10 for 6 ladies all up plus my makeup trial.  Pretty good value I thought.

Contact Details – [email protected]

Photographer – Fiona Andersen Photography – A++++++++++++++++++++++++

Fiona is from New Zealand (where I am from) and when I attended a wedding 2 years ago in which she was the photographer and I was a bridesmaid, I knew as soon as I spent the day with her,  that no doubt in my mind should I get married, no matter where in the world, this amazing woman would be my photographer.  It only cemented the deal when I saw her photos, this woman is an incredible talent and I literally would have flown her from anywhere for her to be our photographer for our wedding. 

Fiona has the most incredibly warm, bubbly and sweet personality, just having her around made the day more special for us.  We had so many comments on what an incredible photographer she was, she was so easy to work with, she really captured special moments and her photography will blow your mind. 

Fiona was amazing throughout the whole organizing process, we were on the same wavelength and she helped us out hugely with what could have been a really expensive process bringing her over from New Zealand.  She was by far the best money we spent on our wedding.

I am aware it is probably a lot of American based brides who use this website, but Fiona travels and ladies, she is WORTH it!  She was a huge highlight for us on the day, and her lasting memories will be treasured.  And I actually priced her to what some of the top Cabo photographers were charging and she came out cheaper, including what we paid for her flights and accommodation.   She is a total winner and I cannot rate her highly enough.

http://www.fionaandersenphotography.com

Contact Details - [email protected]

Sound – Cesar Sanchez – A++++++++++

Cesar was brilliant.  We needed sound for both on the beach during our ceremony (speakers and microphones) and then again for the reception (speakers and microphones).  We were quoted an extortionate price via the vendor who the Sheraton use, so I contacted Beth Dalton again and she gave me Cesar’s details.  He was almost half the price and proved to be an excellent choice.

Cesar was there throughout the whole day making sure the sound was good, and although I don’t really remember him being there (I was in a bit of a dream!) the fact that everything went without a hitch means he did his job well.  The price for Cesar to provide the sound at the two locations and for his presence for the entire time was $400 inclusive of all taxes and his assistance.  I think he also does DJ services as well, but we used our ipod so didn’t need his services for this.

Contact Details – [email protected]

Mariachi Band – Mariachi Internacional de Los Cabos– A++++++++

The Mariachi Band were awesome!!  This was the one aspect of the wedding that my fiancé organised and he did a great job - They wore beautiful white outfits and played for 2 hours.  There were 8 members of the band and the total cost was $800usd all up.  For an 8 piece band, I think this is great value and they were excellent in my opinion and our guests loved them!!  Unfortunately we were away getting photos taken when the band played so we missed a lot of their performance but the feedback we received was great.

Contact Details – Jose Luis Gonzalez – [email protected]

Venue – The Sheraton Hacienda Golf Resort & Spa – A+++++++++++

The Sheraton was our dream venue.  Planning this from such a distance, we went through a huge number of options for our wedding and the Sheraton was by far the best deal for us.  Firstly, we didn’t have to commit to all inclusive for all of our guests, which gave them the freedom to stay where they chose and also kept the costs down.  We also could pick and choose what we wanted to include in our wedding package, rather than picking a package we couldn’t alter.  We also negotiated a fantastic deal for our food and beverage.  I think the only reason we got such a good deal for this was because of the time of year, but we were grateful for it all the same. 

We dealt with Fabiola Diaz who is the Events and Wedding co-ordinator at the Sheraton.  I cannot speak highly enough about Fabiola, she was brilliant from the outset, answering a million emails from me with loads of questions and always responding in a timely manner.  She made the process easy for us.  When we arrived at the Sheraton, we were blown away by how beautiful the resort was.  Everything was perfect.  The grounds are so beautifully maintained, and the staff are all incredibly polite and friendly.   We had a cake testing a few days before the wedding.  We were sent a list of cake types, fillings and icings and had to pick 3 combinations to try before we chose our wedding cake.  When we turned up to the cake tasting (with 6 other people in tow!!) we really only expected a forkful to taste each.  However, we were treated like VIP’s and there was a large sample cake of each for us to try, we were all stuffed by the end, but it was a great experience and my mum in particular loved it. The chef also came out to discuss the cakes and the presentation of them and we decided to have 2 different types of cake, with two layers and the chef made it happen.  She was brilliant. 

The setup at the wedding was gorgeous.  The linen/chairs/bar/buffet/Japanese lanterns all looked superb and I couldn’t have been happier.  It looked magical, just how I had hoped.

We had many comments from our guests at the wedding, that the food was incredible.  We had a huge buffet selection and meat on a grill, along with a large selection of Mexican sweets.  Every single dish I tried was delicious and our guests loved it.  The drinks were fantastic and nobody ever had an empty glass.  We even had our own personal bug sprayer!! He sprayed everyone who needed it and this was much appreciated, as the bugs seem to love me!

There was only one slight negative, in that we had an afterparty in the Sports Bar and we were told we could have our ipod playing there for 2 hours, but the sound system was broken and the music only played every now and then, so that was a real disappointment in that everybody was really getting into the swing of things and we had just started dancing, only to be moved from where our reception was, to the Sports Bar where there was no music.  It was unfortunate and a bit annoying, but overall, that was the only thing that went wrong on the day.

I only have two negative comments to make about the Sheraton in general, and this has nothing to do with our wedding, but just as a guest of the Sheraton.  Firstly, one of our guests who stayed at the Sheraton had $400usd stolen from his wallet in his room the day after the wedding.  This was incredibly disappointing, and I felt that the Sheraton didn’t really do enough to fully investigate this. 

The other negative comment would be in relation to the prices in general at the Sheraton.  I felt like the food and beverages were really expensive.  Especially once you add the tip to the bill.  I suppose this is what you get when you stay at a resort that isn’t close to town, and I cannot fault the food, however, it did feel like you were held at ransom a bit!!  Also, paying for the internet was a bit of a sore point, especially for us trying to arrange so much in the days leading up to the wedding, paying $16usd a day for internet felt a bit insulting considering how much we paid in total to stay there!

However, I don’t want these negative comments to reflect badly on how the Sheraton was for our wedding as they were perfect.  We stayed at the ME Melia in town after the Sheraton and we missed the Sheraton so much!!! Now we are at Bahia and miss the Sheraton even more!! You could not pick a more amazing place to get married and it exceeded our expectations. 

Contact Details – Fabiola Diaz – [email protected]
 

We are having our rehearsal dinner at a place called Desperado's. They have 2 menus to chose from that are both under $20pp. It comes highly recommended on trip advisor and the food and venue look amazing!!

Hi everyone!

We are getting married at the Sheraton on 3rd of August 2012.  We are super excited about it and we are trying to sort out how the day will run.  I would really like to have the ceremony at say 4.00pm so that we can then go straight to cocktail hour before having the dinner starting at 6.30-7.00pm, but as the venue suggested 5.00pm for the ceremony I wonder whether the temperature will be far too hot for us to have it at 4.00pm.  Can anybody help me with this?

I've never been to Mexico so I've been relying so heavily on this forum and appreciate you advice so much!  Can anybody else give me their plans as to how their day ran? i.e. when hair/makeup was done, when photographs were done (because I'm thinking of getting ours done before the ceremony so that we can enjoy the time with our guests without being away from them between the ceremony and the dinner. 

Thanks again!

Paula

WOW Thank you all so much for your help and tips!! I have honestly found this website invaluable for our wedding planning!!

We have changed our minds on a few things in relation to our wedding now.. because we are coming from London and will only be in Mexico the week before the wedding we decided to get married at a resort - Sheraton Hacienda Cabo!  We signed the contract last week and Viviana has been fantastic with my many questions about the package and the hotel itself.  I feel really confident from all the reviews of the Sheraton on this website that we have made the right choice. 

The photographs of the day are really important to me also so we are flying our photographer over from New Zealand to take the pictures for the day!  She is amazing and I so look forward to her joining us in Mexico.  I was wondering if anyone on this site would be able to give us some tips on great places to get photographs taken on the day?  We will obviously utilise the venue for some photographs but thought it would be worth checking if there are any other places worth getting photos done in Cabo!

I am thinking about booking quite a few of the vendors I require myself and wonder if anyone out there has any tips or recommendations for the following:

- car rental in Cabo

- florist

- hair stylists

- best Mariachi band in Cabo?

Thanks all, you have been SO helpful!!!!

ooh Hello!!!  We are in the process of sorting out our Contract for the Sheraton Hacienda!!  I heard amazing things about Cabo Del Sol but I think it was going to be a bit too pricey for us in the end. When are you getting married?  We are getting married on the 3rd of August 2012.  I'm a little worried about that time of year being so hot but at least I hear the humidity isn't that bad and if it is a dry heat, we will definitely cope!

Originally Posted by Lfav219 

Hello Cabo Brides! 

 

My fiance and I are looking into the Sheraton Hacienda and Cabo Del Sol.  We are undecided on which one to go with. We love the look of the Sheraton but hear that the food at Cabo Del Sol is amazing.  Need your help! Any input is greatly appreciated. Also any suggestions on other places would love to hear. Thanks!!! 

Hi everyone!

I am in the middle of planning our wedding on the 3rd of August 2012 in Cabo!  It is such an exciting time and am loving this website for all sorts of fab tips and info! 

Any brides who are also getting married in Cabo, please shout out! Would love to hear how you are getting on

Paula

Sorry I have taken so long to reply! I didn't realise you had even replied! (is there a box or something I need to tick to get emails when someone replies to something I have written?)

Thanks so much Brynn, I am feeling a bit lost at the moment given we are doing this from such a distance (London..!!)  Sounds like you are totally up with the play, and have lots of info from your visit. I will definitely visit your blog.  We are close to receiving our contract for the Sheraton and are really happy with everything they have offered so far.  We wanted to do it at a Villa but I felt being so far away it was too much to organise and too much could go wrong.  I don't think I would be a bridezilla, but who knows!

Thanks for your help, will check out your blog now...

x Paula

YAY! This makes me happy, you are the first bride who is getting married in July 2012 in Cabo that I can see! it makes me less nervous as we are thinking of having our wedding on the 3rd of August 2012 in Cabo somewhere.  I have no idea where to start!!!  My fiance and I live in London and I am a New Zealander and he is American.  We picked Mexico as we feel it's somewhere sort of 'in between' where our families still live in NZ and America.  This forum has been a godsend, I don't know how you would plan a destination wedding without it!!

We have narrowed down our sites to the Sheraton and Sunset da Mona Lisa (I think....!  I keep seeing posts on here that make me change my mind!) and really want somewhere with a great onsite WP so that I can be less nervous about organising something so far away (I have never even been to Cabo and won't go there until a week before the weekend!)

Any help and advice would be so much appreciated.

Thanks

Paula

Originally Posted by brynnmarietx 

I am a 2012 bride! Date is not set yet but June or July! I know that is considered the hottest months but I am from Texas so heat doesnt scare me : ) I am not doing a resort wedding but rather at a Villa in Pedregal! I have a lot planned so far because I am a wedding coordinator so shoot me any questions or thoughts you have!! LOve these forums! I am going down to Cabo in September too to meet with my vendors and start getting things rolling!!

I can't see pics either! I was wondering if anyone knows how to get on to view these on Kodak? 

Thanks so much!

Hi everyone! I didn't really know how to word this message but I'll just put it out there!

My fiance and I (I am a New Zealander, my fiance is from St Louis, Missouri) are in the early stages of booking our wedding in Cabo, most likely in the first week of August but we are flexible at this stage. 

I am dead set on having a photographer who took the pictures at my best friends wedding two years ago when I was bridesmaid.  She is absolutely incredible, the pictures are breathtaking.  My fiance suggested that I put this option out there, that if there is anyone looking for a photographer for any date in August 2012 who is keen to share the photographer's flight costs in order for us to both have her take pictures, i.e. I will work my wedding day around yours (we are keen on a Friday wedding anyway!).

Please check out her website and message me for details.  She would do a full day of shots and prices include all orginals and an album.  For this, I believe its fantastic value for such an incredible photographer... flown in especially from New Zealand! 

www.fionaandersenaphotography.com

Please let me know if anybody is interested in talking more about this!  PM me for pricing details.

Thanks heaps!

Paula

I would love some pricing information on SDML please!! We are undecided on a venue and this one looks amazing! Thanks

Hi everyone!

My name is Paula and I am newly engaged.  My fiance (I just typed boyfriend and then remembered thats not quite the right term anymore!)   I am from New Zealand originally and Alex is from St Louis, Missouri.  We wanted to get married somewhere in the middle as a compromise for our families and I have always wanted to go to Mexico! 

I would so love any help/advice/guidance from you all.  I have quickly skimmed through the posts on here and everyone is just so helpful with great tips.  Its also especially important as we won't be able to get to the venue or to Mexico until the week before we marry, so recommendations are crucial for us.

We would like between 60-70 guests and we are thinking about a beach front ceremony.  We would then like to have the reception and party afterwards in a villa, unless anyone has recommendations for other ideas!! We are trying to keep costs down by bringing in our own caterers and buying our own booze, and I think we thought that hiring a villa would allow us to do this.  However, I have seen some amazing venues and just want to get some ideas from you all really!

Thanks so much and I hope you can help me out, I can't say enough how much I would appreciate it!

Thanks

Paula