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Coordinator Reviews
The Perfect Wedding with Helpful Advice in Review!
This is a review of:

Adventure Weddings Las Caletas

Detailed Ratings
Communication:
4.0
Performance:
5.0
Value:
5.0
lkatepetterson

By lkatepetterson, · 1,611 Views · 8 Comments

Pros: Beautiful scenery, easy planning, delicious food/drink, fun party
Cons: Open flames, no railings on stairs

Judging by the other reviews I want to give Vallarta Adventure the same credit as many other brides and I also want to give future brides some very helpful advice. Yes, the wedding was absolutely perfect in almost every way. From my wonderful wedding coordinator, Fernanda, to the spunky videographer, Freddy, to all of the staff and everyone who helped to make our day the most incredible ever - THANK YOU! The day of the wedding was perfect, the bridal suite was relaxing and fun, the ceremony was beautiful, the food was delicious, the dancing was crazy, and the boat ride back was a fun end to the party. So I'll share some advice I have for anyone who has already booked their wedding or is thinking about going to Las Caletas for her big day.

 

  • If you haven't booked yet, just go ahead and do it. I promise you won't have a wedding anywhere else quite as special as at Las Caletas and your guests will walk away thinking it was the coolest and most unique wedding they've ever attended.
  • Make sure to check the weather when you're planning your dress, the wedding party outfits, and attire for your guests. We had perfect weather (luckily) but I've heard some brides saying they were sweating the whole time. So you may want to have your guys wearing short-sleeved linen shirts rather than making them wear those suits with heavy jackets. Your call!
  • Check the time for sunset and make any last-minute schedule changes if you need to!! I planned to do all of my pictures after the ceremony since I didn't want my husband to see my dress beforehand, but now I kind of wish we had done the pictures before. We even timed the sunset the night before the wedding and knew we would be cutting it close. The sun started setting right when the ceremony ended and we were scrambling with my photographer to get all of the pictures in. Our pictures are beautiful, but the ones with my entire wedding party are pitch black in the background. 
  • My wedding dress did, indeed, catch on fire at the wedding. Note: No one was hurt but my dress has a fairly large burn mark in the back. There's no electric lighting on the beach during the reception so there are candles EVERYWHERE, including next to the dance floor. I would suggest talking to your wedding coordinator about this and making sure they don't put candles anywhere people could be walking. I was standing next to the dance floor and one of the candles ignited the back of my dress. Luckily this didn't happen to anyone else, but if you're wearing a long dress, be very very careful.
  • Ask for the wedding planner spreadsheet once you book the date. I got this spreadsheet which includes prices of all of the extras as well as what's included in the overall fee of the wedding and it was really helpful for budgeting purposes even before we started nailing down the details closer to the wedding. This way you can see everything from how much a guitarist will cost to how much each bag of petals costs. 
  • Use the DJ! If you have the money and you want live musicians then that's understandable, but for this wedding, the DJ is really incredible. He caters to the crowd and is really good at determining what people like and don't like. Plus you won't be spending an arm and a leg to use a mariachi band for an hour.
  • We didn't book Vallarta Adventure transportation to/from the port. We got the guests together before the wedding and called taxis instead. The local taxis are super cheap and they're not hard to find for a group of people. Just talk to the hotel you're staying at and let them know how many you'll need and then plan ahead and the taxis can even make more than 1 trip. We had no problems with this and it saved us quite a bit.
  • Stay on top of your coordinator. It is true that the coordinators really don't like planning things until 3 months before your wedding and this is because Las Caletas has a wedding almost every day. Those planners are busy! So be patient and realize that you may not get all of your answers right away. But stay on top of your coordinators and don't be afraid to send 2-3 emails if that's what it takes. Fernanda was really good about communicating with me but sometimes I would have to remind her of certain questions I asked that she never answered. You're not nagging them and they don't mind! They're there to help make your day as seamless as possible so use them for just that.
  • Don't worry about anything. Those planners know what they're doing and they'll make your day perfect if you'll just let them. Don't be afraid to ask for help for whatever you need and don't try to do too much yourself. A destination wedding should be low stress and it doesn't have to be Pinterest perfect. So make some guest favors and a few decorations but then leave the rest up to Vallarta Adventures. It'll be the best wedding you've ever been to :)

8 Comments


Hi Great review I have just booked my wedding there and am curious to know which photography package you choose for your wedding? Also which hotel did you have your guest stay at?

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Hello! I am very interested in having my wedding at Las Caletas but I am having a hard time finding pictures. Would you mind posting some of your pictures? Also, where did you have your reception? Was it directly on the beach? Thanks! Staci

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Hey everyone! Thanks for the positive feedback! I actually used my own photographer (from San Antonio, TX). We flew him to PV and he was there to take pictures the entire weekend. Honestly, that was the best decision I ever made. Not only did I know him and trust him already, but I was able to get my pictures quick and they were absolutely beautiful. I DID get my video done by Vallarta Adventures and I would highly recommend their video service. Freddy, the main videographer, was incredible to work with and I'm in love with my highlight video.

 

 

 

Also, if you'd like to see any of the pictures from my wedding, go to the link below. So if anyone wants to use this photographer - even if you're out-of-state - I would highly recommend him!

 

http://www.orderhilmy.com/Weddings/Petterson-Wedding/

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Forgot to add this! We all stayed at the CasaMagna Marriott which was the best decision ever. My husband and I are kind of snobby when it comes to food and drinks so we didn't want to stay at an all-inclusive and be forced to eat certain food. And I think my guests appreciated that flexibility too. We got a $99/night room rate and then people got to choose to eat at the hotel or go out. Advice: Don't stay at the Westin! My husband and I had a bad experience when we went to go visit last year before choosing our wedding spot.

 

Also, the reception is at Las Caletas on the beach and on a deck patio where they serve dinner. And then we did our "rehearsal dinner/cocktail party" the night before on the Marriott's beach patio. Things could not have gone more smoothly with the entire weekend. The Marriott and Vallarta Adventures gave me a once-in-a-lifetime wedding.

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Hi ladies! Kate I'm glad you had such a great time! I'm struggling a little bit with finalizing the details as I though since they said they wanted to work that our 3 months in advance then the prices would be the same as when I booked my date - did you come across anything like that? Now they are trying to charge me double for some items :(! Also, did you have to pay the balance a month before the wedding? That makes me super nervous!! Thank you for your help!

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Hey Ashley! To address your concerns, I'll start with a question. When did you sign the contract to book your wedding? They tried to charge me $350 for the fire dancers but I told them that when I signed, they were only $300 so they reduced the cost. If you remember the prices being different and can even prove it somehow with paperwork, that's your best option. We did have to pay the balance the month before but don't be scared about that. My wedding coordinator was super flexible so we ended up even adding a couple of things at the last minute and they billed us for the extra. It seemed like they were okay with working with me to reduce costs too - like we ended up having about 6 less people show up then we paid for, so she let me add an extra girl to get her hair done without having to pay more. Just communicate and stand your ground. My husband is originally from Mexico and he said everyone there is super cooperative if you just stay positive and confident in your plans. Hope that helps!

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Beautiful wedding!Can you share who did your hair and makeup? I'm really nervous about that part.Also, are you allowed to take any wedding favors for guests or folding hand fans?

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