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Hello Ladies!!! I am very new to this and am looking for help. I have never been to a destination wedding but have had lots of advice from other friends who have. My question is... is there any way of getting my hands on the extras that the RIU Palace in Cabo has before I speak with my wedding coordinator. We are just trying to make up a budget and I only can access the package pricing for their 3 packages that they offer. If anyone could please help me out. Even if you are a bride that could forward me the email that would be great. Thanks a million ladies
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- 2014 Brides
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Hi! Can anyone lend any information regarding pricing/vendors/coordination for a wedding at Fiesta Americana Grand Los Cabos Golf and Spa Resort? From online research, I really like their Casa del Mar Imperial Suite, but I have found very little information on same. Any information would be appreciated. Thank you!
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I was married on 1/18/15 and used Neysa Berman (Blanc Bridal Salon) for myself and my bridesmaids/family of 13 others. She and her team were truly amazing. Neysa is easy to talk to and it helps that she is American (born and raised in Denver) so there is nothing lost in translation when you are trying to explain the type of style you are going for. She also personally trains all of her staff so they are great! All of my girls looked so beautiful and she and her team did a great job of making everyone look glamorous but also natural. I would definitely recommend her! I am happy to talk offline if anyone would like more details!
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Brides to be: My husband and I recently got married in Cabo at the Esperanza and our experience was nothing less than a fairytale. Our wedding coordinator Rachel and Infinity Weddings handpicked the best vendors that Cabo possibly had to offer. Here is our review of our wedding weekend to help assist future brides in planning: Coordinator: Infinity Weddings- Rachel was and continues to be a godsend. We were not a couple that had every detail of our wedding planned out. We had a budget and a desire to have our close loved ones join us in Cabo for a fun and memorable experience. Rachel was helpful every step of the way. The second that I spoke with her on the phone, I knew she was the perfect coordinator for us. I interviewed several other coordinators in Cabo and Rachel is in a league of her own. She is one of the most detail oriented, organized and professional people that we have ever encountered- which is exactly what you need when planning a wedding from afar. Rachel had great suggestions and guidance every step of the way from hotel room blocks, to venue selection, to hand picking vendors and every step in between. She even helped me pick out my wedding dress! Having Rachel plan your wedding is like having your best friend plan your wedding. She has exquisite taste and you can trust her through every step of the way. We planned everything over email and two phone conversations. I never met Rachel, had never been to my venue, did not meet any of my vendors and had no idea what my food would even taste like. Rachel did EVERYTHING for us. She has such phenomenal taste and class that you do not even need to be there to know that she is handling everything. She is extremely well connected and has the best vendors lined up in Cabo. She stuck to our budget, understood what we wanted and went above and beyond EVERY SINGLE step of the way. While coordinating several weddings at once, we felt that we were her only clients. We cannot be more grateful and blessed to have worked with Rachel. She created a wedding and experience that we could not even have dreamt of. We are forever indebted to her. Room Block: Sheraton Hacienda Del Mar – Once we picked our venue of the Esperanza, we knew that not everyone of our guests would choose to stay there. We will get more into that below. We knew that we wanted our room block to be somewhere that was safe, fun and family friendly. Most importantly, we wanted the rooms to be cost friendly as everyone was traveling to Cabo. When Rachel suggested the Sheraton and explained to us that this not only met each item of our criteria, but provided an amazing atmosphere for our guests, we were sold. Each person that we worked with at the Sheraton was amazing- especially Jose! The rooms were well worth the price and were HUGE. The food and drinks at each one of the venues there was amazing. We did not have the pleasure of going to the spa, but our guests that did RAVED about it. When we go back to Cabo we will certainly go back to the Sheraton! We had a welcome cocktail at the terrace of the Sheraton’s Tequila Restaurant and it was absolutely lovely. We had an open bar and a station with chips, guacamole, salsa and ceviche and everything was incredible. There were so many bartenders, servers and people who were making all of our guests welcome. I can safely say that the cost of having our forty guests for a cocktail party at the Sheraton was half of what it should have been and everyone had the time of their lives! Rehearsal Dinner: Ecocat Sunset Cruise- Rachel suggested that instead of a traditional rehearsal dinner since we were having a more intimate wedding we should consider something alternative like a sunset cruise. Enter the EcoCat. We chartered a private Catamaran with an open bar, hamburger style meal and cruise around Cabo. The captain was amazing as was the staff. The whole time was a nonstop party and the staff of the EcoCat took pictures the entire time. Some of the best pictures of the entire weekend were taken by the EcoCat staff. If you are looking for a fun night or excursion the EcoCat should be at the very top of your list! Wedding Venue: Esperanza- There is no venue quite like the Esperanza. It is luxury at its finest. It is absolutely breathtaking, the staff is amazing, the food is incredible and the views are incredible. Looking at pictures of the Esperanza, you can tell that there is nowhere more lovely in all of Cabo. Although there are other people at the resort, you feel like you are the only people there. It is one of the only places in Cabo that has a private beach. It is also the most beautiful beach that we have ever been to. The landscape and the rocky coast of the beach cannot be beat. We opted to have a barefoot ceremony on the beach, a cocktail reception at the pool terraces overlooking the pool and ocean and our reception at the restaurant terraces that overlook the ocean. The beach was beautiful and immaculately manicured by the Esperanza staff. It was an incredibly romantic place to have a wedding ceremony. The pool terrace for the cocktail hour was perfect. Our guests were able to get a real feel for the resort while being able to soak in the scenery and enjoy the delicious beverages and horderves and the Esperanza had to offer. The restaurant terraces for the reception could not have been lovelier. There are four separate levels of terraces, which allow you to space out the event perfectly. We opted to have dancing at the lowest terrace and had everything else on the upper terraces, which provided for a beautiful and dramatic setup. Photography: Dennis Berti- If you want dramatic and beautiful images that look straight out of an editorial magazine and capture the real essence of your wedding and you as a couple Dennis and Chio are perfect for you. Dennis and Chio are journalistic photographers that truly capture the whole experience and emotions behind the wedding. They are extremely easy to work with and they make you comfortable every step of the way. If you are looking for staged pictures and a detailed timeline of what pictures to take at what minute, this is not the photographer for you. But if you want to capture your love and wedding with breathtaking images that truly encapsulate your wedding, you cannot get a better photographer. With Dennis’s style you do not even need a videographer because he puts forward the best you and memorializes EVERY little moment that happens. Not to mention, he somehow makes you look like a Victoria Secret model in a wedding dress and your groom straight out of the pages of GQ. Food and Beverage: Esperanza- Our guests were greeted at with freshly squeezed lemonade and delicious margaritas. The hand passed horderves at our cocktail hour were absolutely incredible and fresh. The food served at our wedding, seabass and filet mignon, was some of the freshest and best that I have ever had. Not to mention, the wine selection was paired perfectly with the dishes! We opted to have a two-tier cake with two flavors and brushed buttercream icing. Our wedding cake was absolutely beautiful and tasted even better. The icing was decadent while the cake was light and fluffy. The beverages at our wedding were amazing. The house wine was incredible and the mixed drinks could not have been better. The bartenders were not only professional and kind, but their charm and charisma added to the entire ambiance of the wedding. Florist: Elena Damy- My husband wanted a driftwood canopy/hoopah for our beach wedding. Knowing this Rachel suggested Elena Damy for our florist. Elena and Carlos have amazing taste and are very professional. They stayed within our budget and created arrangements that we could not have imagined. Every single detail of the flowers, hoopah and arrangements were carefully thought out. The flowers were fresh and vases were beautifully constructed. There is no wonder why they are the best in Cabo. With them you will get nothing less than exquisite. Rentals: Del Cabo- We rented cocktail tables and mirrored chargers from Del Cabo. Both were amazing quality and the price was more than fair. The delivery was seamless and we completely trusted them throughout the process Makeup: Suzanne Morel- Because we had an intimate wedding, I wanted to spend every possible moment with our guests. Therefore, I did not want to take away from our precious time with hair and makeup trials. With Suzanne Morel and her team this was not a problem at all. Jennifer was very professional through the whole process and encouraged me and those getting their hair and makeup done with me to send pictures ahead of time so that we could get the best service. I got so busy with work that I completely forgot to send them any guidance. However, when they came to my room the morning of my wedding and I showed them pictures, they were able to beautifully recreate every image and listen to my every request. I could not have looked any better on my wedding day, and they made everything as seamless as possible! Officiant: Diego Vidal- Diego was very professional and warm. We did not actually meet him until the ceremony, but he was absolutely lovely. Having him marry us was a great honor and it felt as if we had known him for a long time. And he is actually quite funny! He had several different customizable wedding ceremonies and was very open to our ideas and suggestions. Transportation: David Hernandez Transportation To shuttle guests to our rehearsal dinner and wedding, Rachel set us up with David Hernandez Transportation. The vehicles were clean and David and his employees were very professional and kind. They made sure our guests got home safely. DJ: Ricardo Patino Ricardo is an amazing and fun DJ. I really was not picky about music; I just wanted a good and fun DJ who did not play any tacky or super cheesy songs. Ricardo was not only fun, but he also had great taste in music and all of our guests were loving his choices. The dance floor was bustling the whole night. Guitar: Arturo Sotomayor During the ceremony we wanted to have an acoustic guitarist playing. Arturo was the first an only guitarist that we looked at. He has a true gift and it is impressive how many songs he knows. He has a list of songs for you to choose from and every single one of them is beautiful. Our guests could not stop talking about how amazing he was. Mariachi: Leobardo Mariachi We wanted to do something fun for the cocktail hour so we opted to have a mariachi band play. It was an incredible and very entertaining choice. The band was very enjoyable and it was a very nice surprise for our guests. Fireworks: Edson Herrera fireworks Speaking of surprises (and my obsession with fireworks) we wanted to have fireworks after our first dance. We opted to have a minute of fireworks and it was a great choice. At first I was afraid that the display would be too short, but it was the perfect amount of time. The fireworks were also incredible. We could not have imagined a better show. Cigars: Daniel Alonso cigar As a treat for the men at the wedding who I knew loved cigars, we decided to have hand rolled cigars at the reception for two hours. Not only was it a fun idea, but everyone really enjoyed having fresh cigars on hand. They even gave us the extra cigars in a personalized box to take home with us. This touch definitely added to the fun of the reception. Security: Icon private security- We were in unique situation where we required security for our rehearsal cruise and wedding at the Esperanza. Icon private security was not only professional and prompt before the wedding, but provided a top-notch security detail, Roger. Roger was everything you would want if you needed security. He was polite, professional, discrete and left all guests at ease at all time. Most importantly, there was not a moment where we did not feel completely safe. Overall: We could have not dreamt of a better wedding. Nor could we have had a better wedding without Rachel. She hand selected every aspect of our wedding and chose the best vendors for our personality, needs and budget. There is nobody quite like Rachel and Infinity Weddings. She made the process and coordination seamless. Our vendors were the best that Cabo had to offer. We cannot be happier with the way everything turned out and we owe that all to Rachel for making it happen.
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been searching every where, can't come up with any thing. I was initially looking for a family friendly all inclusive resort to have our wedding to keep costs down but then started looking at some of the off the resort options and fell in love with the Cabo Del Sol venue, the sunset de Mona Lisa, and the hacienda cocina y cantina. Initial budget was $15k, but we are willing to bump it up to $25k for the right place. If any one has any pointers on venues and realistic pricing I would be forever indebted to you! Also not sure if it is really necessary to hire a wedding planner but any advice on that would be helpful too!
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- 2016 Brides
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Planning a wedding at the Riu palace? I am willing to share my experiences in hopes to make your experience a little less stressful. Feel free to ask questions. Our WC was Lupita. Unfortunately, they switched WC on us half way through the planning. There is not a lot of communication. But don't be upset. As it gets closer, they'll reach out. In the meantime, email and be persistent. Upon check in, we were upgraded to a jacuzzi ocean front suite. It was absolutely stunning! We chose the Caprice Package. Total guest count including us was 68. The resort does not offer a rehearsal. Be prepared to conduct your own. I googled what to do, then personalized it. I strongly recommend arriving with a plan to do it yourself. Rehearsal dinner was at San jose Mexican restaurant. It was perfect. Great view! Great service! Highly recommended. They reserved the entire outside terrace for our party. We were allowed 40 ppl. Our ceremony was held at the San jose gazebo. It's very romantic and secluded. I will say though, off to the left, looking out, there is another property with cars and cement poles in view. It's ugly. Our photographer did a good job trying to capture the ceremony without the clutter. All in all, I wouldn't change my choice. I liked the gazebo location. We opted out of floral bouquets. I had 6 BM and 6 GM. My sister and I made our own artificial bouquets and boutineers. I loved them. No extra cost to bring your own. Be sure to plan ahead with your music selection and have it readily available on an iPhone or other device. Our officiant was great at communicating prior and giving us options for the readings. I personalized it and added our own vows. He was accommodating. The day of ceremony, he did good. But veered off what I wanted as romantic to something more funny. I personally didn't like that, but my guests did so I was ok with it. Our reception was held at the Baja Norte. Perfect spot!! Highly recommend! We chose the plated dinner. The resort was accommodating when we asked to have 3 choices. We provided a seating chart and our own decorations and center pieces. We weren't able to coordinate or communicate with the DJ prior. I was disappointed about that but came prepared with every song I wanted and printed out a timeline of special events I wanted to take place. (First dance, cake cutting, etc.) I arranged to have an MC, so the day of, they communicated and made it all happen. Weeks later, the DJ emailed me audio files of all the speeches and music and never chsrged us for his services. Can you believe that? We opted out of a photographer from the resort, but hired our own. Surprisingly, we were never charged a fee. Our wedding surpassed our expectations. I reccomend the Riu palace to you all. Please reach out if you have questions I might be able to help you with. I also have tons of pictures. I will personally email, if you'd like. Good luck planning your special day! Xoxo
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We booked DJ Ricardo about 5 months prior to our Cabo wedding and were immediately impressed with his prompt communication via email. We decided to visit Cabo a couple months before our July wedding to check out our venue and Ricardo was flexible enough to meet with us during our stay so we could tell him about our music style and expectations. He was friendly and patient with all my questions. He even demonstrated his MC style a little bit for me on the spot after I asked him to give me an idea of how he interacts with the crowd. We sent him all our song requests about two weeks before the wedding in an easy template he provided via email. Fast forward a few months to the wedding night and the music could not have been more SPOT ON. We received several compliments from guests about how awesome the music was. People danced for two hours straight! We also loved the way he handled the married couples dance that we chose to do instead of the bouquet toss. And we were impressed that he knew exactly how to handle it when country music came on and people stopped dancing. He transitioned the music into something more upbeat on our list to get people back on the dance floor -- just like he told us he would. I knew music could make or break the fun and Ricardo got every moment right, from start to finish!
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Hi Brides! I am getting married NEXT WEEK at Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach in Cabo San Lucas, and am in a bit of a panic over who to tip & how much! The resort is all-inclusive, and the wedding was booked as a package deal, so I'm not really sure what the protocol is. I assume I'll need to tip the bartender/waitstaff/DJ/coordinator - but have no clue how much! I regret not thinking about this earlier, or budgeting for it... What have other brides done in all-inclusive situations? -Kari
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This is a fairly new Resort, opening in 2013 but after the '14 Hurricane had to close and has now re-opened. We're considering moving our wedding to this resort as it will be considerably more affordable for us and guests..... Anyone have any feedback on this resort they can share?!?! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Hello my fellow brides! Planning my Cabo wedding has been a lot more than I ever expected or thought I'd signed up for. Though I’d been a long time lurker on this forum, I only originally posted back in December 2014 to share my heartbreak of having my wedding cancelled as a result of Hurricane Odile and then re-cancelled due to the venue not being ready when they promised to be. http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/topic/78505-cabo-wedding-cancelled-twice-advice-needed/ As everyone on this forum knows, having a destination wedding can be scary with so many things out of your control, and having to somewhat blindly trust whatever information you can find. I depended on many of the opinions and feedback I’d read on these forums (and a few times just blind luck) and ultimately it all worked out as the most perfect wedding I could have ever asked for. As a result, I wanted to pay it forward to all of the other brides out there in lurking mode. I based many of my decisions and choices on what other lovely brides have shared, and I couldn’t have been happier with the results. So here it is….My full reviews for my 2015 Cabo Wedding Location: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Date: May 9th, 2015 Number of guests: 75 people Accomodations: Grand Solmar Lands End, Playa Grande and Solmar All-Inclusive Ceremony/Reception Venue: Grand Solmar Lands End, Lands End Terrace, Playa Grande Beach Flowers / Decorations: Through the Grand Solmar Lands End Wedding Coordinator: Alana Duran and Erika Quiroz through the Grand Solmar Photographers & Videographer: Enrique Morales, EM Weddings DJ, Equipment and Lighting– Victor Daniel De Alba, Teeven Technology Event Entertainment Violinist – Violetta Poletek - www.caboviolin.com Hair & Makeup: Suzanne Morel Welcome Cruise: Cabo Mar Accomodations: Grand Solmar Lands End, Playa Grande and Solmar All-Inclusive (review on location, food, rooms, etc.) Solmar collection is actually 3 different resorts in the same area which all had very different price points, and flexible all-inclusive options, which are all easily accessible from one another either by walking or taking the countless shuttles available throughout the resorts. This meant by offering the choice of any of these accommodations to our guests, we could still be all together, but not have to burden any of our guests with hotel offerings that were completely out of their price range. My husband and I only stayed at the Playa Grande and the Grand Solmar, so I can only speak directly about those two, however our guests that stayed in the Solmar All-Inclusive said it was perfectly lovely, the rooms were large, the beds were clean and the food and alcohol was good. A few mentioned the bathrooms being a bit dated, but they certainly didn’t consider this a reason to not stay there. Also, anyone staying here was completely permitted on the other properties, so it didn’t prevent them from being able to spend time with all of our other guests. The vast majority of our guests stayed at the Playa Grande, and that tended to be the default meet up / hang out spot for everyone regardless of resort. It was an active, young and fun resort, with tequila volleyball among other poolside activities and music playing, though not so loud you couldn’t hear yourself think. It proved to be the best option for most of our guests so they could socialize by the pool without worrying being disruptive. The Playa Grande also offered an all-inclusive option that about half the guests took advantage of, though my sense is you probably end up breaking even either way you do it. They offer 2-for-1 happy hours by the pool starting at 2PM. The beds were incredible comfortable, the rooms were super clean and each room contained a full fridge, microwave, etc. so you were also able to buy your own groceries and prepare your own meals, if that’s what you wanted. I mainly only ate at the pool bar and at breakfast but the food at both was excellent. The drinks were delicious (I heard a few complaints of not enough alcohol but the staff was happy to remedy this if brought to their attention). There are also signs that explicitly prohibit ‘seat claiming’ by coming down and dropping towels on the chairs first thing in the morning, which I very much appreciated have been to so many other resorts where that is an on-going frustration. Even in May, there seemed to be an abundance of seating available, and so this was a non-issue. The Grand Solmar is most exclusive of the three, and the much more elegant. It was perfect for my bridesmaids and I to get ready in the day of and stay over our wedding night, the grounds are beautiful, it feels very private and quiet (despite ongoing construction to build a new lobby and fix some hurricane damage). The staff was excellent, so friendly, so helpful and just an absolute pleasure. In my opinion, all of the resorts would be worthy of 5 stars within the price points they are in. The kicker above all else that made this collection of resorts even better was that it is right next to downtown. A 5-minute walk from the Playa Grande puts you right in the Marina next to Senor Frogs. Our guests were extremely grateful for this, as it made Cabo much more accessible than it would have been had we had our wedding somewhere in the Corridor like where we original planned. Ceremony / Reception Venue: Grand Solmar Lands End, Lands End Terrace, Playa Grande Beach Possibly one of the greatest blessings in disguise in replanning this wedding was discovering the Grand Solmar Lands End as our venue. The Lands End Terrace where the ocean meets the lands end rocks jutting out of the sea is so unique and breathtaking. The location of it relative to the resort also is somewhat remote and extremely private, so you don’t run the risk of random resorts guests wandering through your wedding or voyeuristically sneaking a peak. The lighting, sound equipment and general set up are all critical to maximizing this amazing space (all of which was executed flawlessly, but I’ll get to that in later parts of the review) but there is so much natural beauty here, and along with the gazebo, there is very little that needs to be added to make this perfect. All catering, drinks and the wedding cake were handled through the resort, and it was all better than I expected. When the guests arrived at the cocktail hour on the stunning Don Luis terrace, servers were waiting with trays of drinks and hors d’oeurves and giant smiles on their faces. The one limitation of this space was you cannot play music after 10PM, which effectively meant our dance party / reception was over at 10PM. I knew we wouldn’t be ready to call it a night at that point, so I asked if we could possibly have a bonfire on the Playa Grande beach. Though I’m not sure if this was something they had done before or not, they were super amenable to making it happen, and the end result was one that blew my expectations completely out of the water. The resorts organized the shuttles to get our guests back over to where the bonfire was happening on the beach. They had laid out beach chairs in a perfect circle around the fire, with Mexican blankets to help people stay warm. There was a small s’mores station where people could pick up their marshmallows and the chocolate was pre-melted onto the graham crackers so once the toasted marshmallow was placed on it, you had a perfect, non-messy s’more. They also set up a small tiki bar to continue the drinks flowing until Midnight. It was the perfect way to wind down and end the night Flowers / Decorations: Through the Grand Solmar Lands End As I mentioned, the natural beauty of the space is so great, we needed very little in terms of decoration to complement the space. Something worth mentioning is the Grand Solmar is generally more restrictive about working with outside vendors that aren’t part of their approved set. Due to the extenuating circumstances I had faced, they were much more flexible with me, but when it came to flowers they insisted we go through them. For what it is worth, I don’t think this is as much them trying to maximize their profits, as it is them wanting to provide a truly immaculate wedding, and feeling more confident in their ability to do it versus a 3rd party vendor they have less control over. I gave them the proposal that I had from an earlier florist and they were able to replicate it completely to my vision at the exact same cost. As part of their standard set up, they provide beautiful tiffany chairs for the ceremony, white table linens were pinwheel table cloths (I believe that’s what they are called) which added a nice, understated touch of elegance and white draped material and a white runner for the gazebo. I brought light teal cloth napkins from home, and the look was perfect. As far as the bouquets and boutonnieres, they also arrived just as expected and were absolutely stunning. Wedding Coordinator: Alana Duran and Erika Quiroz through the Grand Solmar The vast majority of my experience was with Alana, who had helped me out through the beginning always, answering my emails thoroughly and promptly and giving me honest and direct answers so properly set my expectations. She never said “We can’t do that” or “That’s not allowed”. She always took time to develop some thoughtful alternatives and would talk them through with me. She was very professional and just truly lovely. Given we planned our wedding at the Grand Solmar, sight unseen, she had to work to make me feel very comfortable and confident that things would work out, and she successfully did that every step of the way. A few weeks before the actual wedding, she got another wedding coordinator role that offered her more international opportunities that was something she was interested in perusing. She seamlessly handed everything off to Erika, who I immediately felt at ease with, and who executed my entire vision to a tee. I think I hugged her about 15 times the night of our wedding. Photographers & Videographer: Enrique Morales, EM Weddings Since I’m writing this only days after our wedding I haven’t yet seen any of the photos or video Enrique shot, but I have no doubt the pictures are going to be amazing! Picking a photographer is always challenging and I looked at tons of online portfolios before selecting Enrique. Not only did his style of capturing candid moments really appeal to me, his videography samples had me getting emotional over strangers wedding videos. I also appreciated his super-quick response times and professionalism. His dedication to his work and creating a quality product is immediately apparent when you read other reviews of him on this site. And I experienced it firsthand in working with him. Months ago I created a pinterest board of some of my favorite wedding shots that I shared with Enrique to give him an idea of some things I’d like to capture. In the days before my wedding and on my wedding day, I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to hear him referencing those photos from my Pinterest board and how we were recreating them. Not only did he review that collection which I’d carefully curated but he had actively and thoughtfully considered how he could recreate each of them. He obviously takes his job of giving the bride exactly what she is after very seriously. The team we had included 2 photographers and 3 videographers, all mic’ed up to each other to ensure they are in the proper locations and capturing the most important moments. The fact that they are all in contact like that also worked well for coordinating our wedding party and getting everyone where they needed to be. Even though they were everywhere, I never even noticed them. They camouflaged right in! For the posed photos, Enrique gave great and explicit directions on body positioning to take the best photos and was incredibly efficient. He knew the exact time that we’d get the best light for some beach photos, which ended up allowing me to spend even more time with my guests during the cocktail hour and the reception. One thing I really learned from all of this is that all of the clichés are true – It is really the best day / weekend of your life and it goes by way too fast , like blink of an eye fast, so I am so excited I’ll soon be able to relive it through Enriques beautiful work. A consummate professional through and through, I’d recommend Enrique and his team to all Cabo brides. DJ, Equipment and Lighting– Victor Daniel De Alba, Teeven Technology Event Entertainment Victor and his team were excellent. And really on top of everything. When I mentioned the rocks at Grand Solmar and how Alana said they might need special lighting, he immediately set up an appointment with her to go visit the site and discuss their options, which he then followed up with me on. Besides just the lighting and the DJ equipment, he also provided the equipment for our ceremony and our violinist, asking us all the details we hadn’t even thought of, like if we needed a free standing mike, so our officiant wasn’t holding too many things during the ceremony. And the music at the reception was so good! Perhaps even a little too good! During dinner, one table got up and started dancing before we’d even been able to do speeches, because the music was so good. However Victor quickly corralled them back, and soon enough they were able to break it down for real. When I gave him our Play / Don’t Play list I explained that the ‘To Play’ list wasn’t an explicit ‘Must Play’ but more directional to help him get an idea of what we wanted, and he did just that. He was playing songs that I wouldn’t have even thought to add to the list or had never even heard of before, but they were just perfect and the dance floor was packed all night long. He did an excellent job of mashing up one song into another to transition them. Just really exceeded my expectations in every way. Violinist – Violetta Poletek - www.caboviolin.com Just lovely. We only had her for an hour for the ceremony and immediately before and following it, but she was a complete breeze to work with. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when I walked out to her version of 1000 years. Hair & Makeup: Suzanne Morel My decision to use Suzanne Morel was an easy one based on tons of excellent reviews, and photos upon photos of the beautiful brides and bridesmaids she or her team had worked on. I originally contacted her months in advance and she set up a phone call, asked for photos of what I had in mind, photos of my dress, etc. to get an idea of what would work the best. She was very through with scheduled check-in calls planned in the months and weeks leading up to the wedding. I worked primarily with Jennifer on her team, and she was great to work with. They were extremely flexible, accommodating new requests from my bridesmaids to also get their hair done only days before the wedding. They were also incredibly efficient. They planned start time was 9:30AM with the plan to be completely done by 3PM, and even with a few extra services thrown in, they were completely out of there by 2:30PM. All of my bridesmaids commented on the quality of their work as well as their speed. They asked how I was able to find them and I told them it was from these forums. J Welcome Cruise: Cabo Mar Many guests, including my husband, said this cruise was the best part of the weekend. We had a 3 hour dinner / sunset cruise with an open bar for all of our guests, and it was outstanding. The DJ was playing great music and had everyone dancing all night, the drinks were delicious as was the food. Several times the boat would stop and point out some of the landmarks, like the Arc de Cabo, and give the guests an opportunity to take photos in front of it. Even better, they kept a head count of how many people had gotten on so we knew we weren’t leaving anyone behind. This was also one of my favorite parts of the entire weekend because we got to spend even more time with all of our closest family and friends, and it required virtually no additional work on our part. Besides booking and paying for it, CaboMar handled absolutely everything else, and they did so exquisitely. The boat is a catamaran, so it was a very smooth ride, but I’d still recommend having some Dramamine on hand for the one or two folks that just might not do well on the water. If any brides-to-be have any specific questions about any of these vendors, feel free to ask! Best of luck with your planning!
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Hi I was looking to Book Riu Santa Fe in Cabo. Ive seen a lot of posts about Palace but I think that resort might be too expensive for my guests. Has anyone had a wedding in Riu Santa Fe? Any tips? Is it possible to o everything for under $10k? Ill prob. have close to 40 guests. Ive never done a destination wedding and need all the help I can get!!! Thanks Luna
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Hello everyone! I followed these forums religiously before I got married so I wanted to contribute since I found everything so helpful. First of all, our wedding was EPIC!! An epic fairytale to be exact, it was really perfection. We had 40 people total and everyone is STILL talking about what a wonderful time they had. We orginally choose the most expensive package, but then downgraded to the middle package and paid the per person fee. It worked out better for us that way. So here is my break down: Check-in- A breeze. We arrived the day before the majority of the guests arrived. We had a lovely ocean-front junior suite (but our friends later upgraded us to an ocean-front suite which I highly recommend). We provided welcome bags for all of our guests. They had the guests names on them and the staff set them out right behind the Reception Desk and handed them to guests as they checked in. *I had given the guests a heads up to make sure they got their bag when they checked in. This was no issue at all. Welcome Bags-Our welcome bags had a welcome note, agenda, Mad lib and I SPY sheets, lip balm, advil, toothpaste etc... Rooms-Perfection, a little loud in the hallways, but who cares? You will most likely not get upgraded. Our friends were nice enough to upgrade us to a Suite as a wedding present, which was great, but honestly, we didn't spend that much time in the room. There were a lot of mosquitos which I had never noticed before on my 3 previous trips to the resort, so bring lots of bug spray. Better yet....include them in your gift bags, your guest will love them! The rooms could be updated, but we didn't mind, they were very clean. Wedding Coordinator-We worked with Jazriti and she was a dream! She takes awhile to get back to you via email...but don't worry, as your wedding gets closer she will be on point. Trust me! We met with her the Thursday before the wedding. I showed her pictures of how I wanted the Ceremony space and the Reception space decorated. I also gave her all of my decorations and she set them up EXACTLY how I wanted them. I hope to be able to post pictures of both. She also arranged for our welcome reception and rehearsal dinner. We had to do a few follow up phone calls and she was very accomodating. Photographer/Vidographer-We used the resort's photographer/videographer. We also met with them during our meeting with Jazriti. I have not recieved the video yet, but the Wedding photographs are STUNNING!! AND you get them before you leave, so you can do all of your editing at home on your own computer. They were great. Welcome Reception-Most of our guests came in Thursday evening, so we had a welcome reception in the main bar. They sectioned off an area and we just got drinks from the bar. Rehearsal Dinner-We had the rehearsal dinner at the Steak House. It was lovely. We had two long tables and they served Surf and Turf. We were able to give speeches and hand out gifts. We then walked all the guests over to the ceremoney area so they knew where to go for the Wedding (this was great, no one was late)! Hair-I used Susan Morel and it was just ok. My hair was in a half up do with curls, but the curls totally fell by the time the ceremony took place. It stil looked great though. My makeup was ok. Ceremony- We had our ceremony at the San Jose Gazebo and it was the most beautiful location I could have imagined. I will say that it is a very loooong walk to get to the groom, but I got to really take it all in as I walked down. We were going to do a beach ceremony but it's difficult to walk in the sand and I wanted to wear heels. Reveren Marco Archiega officiated our ceremony and he was GREAT! He was funny and heartfelt! My mom read a passage and my husband and I also recited our own vows. You willl be able to choose the ceremony that you want and he will work with you to make sure that the ceremony is exactly the mood and the tone that you want. Our guests cried and laughed througout the whole thing. It was a LOT of fun. Flowers-We used the hotel Vendor, Alina, and the flowers were just what I wanted. I used the flowers that came with the package as well as 4 bouquets for my bridesmaids which I believe were $60 each. There were also two large arrangements on the gazebo and petals on the ground (which they will later use on the tables for your reception). Alina is very pleasant to work with and will get back to you via email right away. I changed my mind about a few things and she was very gracioius about it. Reception-We had the reception at the San Jose Mexican Restaurant Terrace. We rented the whole space out for $1200 for four hours. It was so beautiful!! And convenient! The guests went to the reception area while we took pictures. We had one long table and that worked out very well for us (we sat in the middle). We did toasts and speeches and the bouquet/garter toss, father/daughter dance, mother son/dance. The space fit our group very well! DJ-We used the Resort's DJ. I gave him a playlist and he mostly stuck to those songs but he added songs of his own too and kept all of our guests dancing ALL NIGHT. He was great! I forgot to mention that I also brought my IPOD, they have a music guy that will use your ipod to play the pre-ceremony music, precessional and recessional music. He didn't miss beat! Post wedding Brunch-we had a brunch the next day at the Main Buffett, we all gathered outside at the English Garden at 10:30, we all looked like a hot mess (most of us partied in a suite for the afterparty until 3 a.m.) but it's great way to bond afterwards and some of our guests were leaving that day. Post wedding dinner-We made reservations at "The Office" for our post wedding dinner that Sunday evening. What a fun place!! You eat right on the water, incredible views and great food and service. The resort itself is beautiful. Our guests all did different things but we all managed to spend a great amount of time together. It was just what I imagined...a vacation with our closest family and friends with no formalities. Let me know if anyone has any questions!
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Hello.....we are considering having our DW in Cabo San Lucas at the Sandos Finisterra Los Cabos Sept 2015. Has anyone used this place before and if so can you share some thoughts?? I have enclosed the link.... http://www.cabovillas.com/properties.asp?PID=448 Just as info....I am familiar with Earth, Sea, and Sky vacations services and it appears the wedding packages are through them using Sandos as the resort but I am waiting to here back to see how that all works. Thanks so much!!!
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Hello everyone, I am really looking for some support. The first time I was on this site I found amazing resources for helping me chose the Riu Palace in Cabo. Due to some crazy circumstances with the travel company our flights were cancelled and no long available making it almost near impossible to keep our same wedding date. The only way we can keep the date is if go with another travel company who doesnt offer the Riu and chose a different resort. They suggested Barcelo Grand Faro to me and the pictures look nice and the wedding packages look better then the Riu to me. I am hoping any brides with previous experience here can help a girl out. Can I see pictures, advise on where to have the reception, advise if your group is over the amount included in the package. At this point anything.... THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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hi everyone! i *did* have DJ Ricardo booked for my wedding last year until Odile hit and we had to postpone a year. Now Ricardo is booked on my date....looking for another replacement....nothing cheesy...no lasers or disco lights....certainly no conga line. just equipment for playing music during the ceremony and dinner, and then some dancing afterward. anyone have any reccos? have you used DJ Roca (Roberto Contreras) or DJ Mijares or DJ Alex? thanks for your help.
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Hi Ladies, My fiance and I are 95% sure we want to book our DW at Dreams Los Cabos next spring. Ive been communicating with a wedding coordinator for weeks and after reading what feels like HUNDREDS of posts, Im still confused. LOL! Someone please help.... I have a few issues: 1) I want my guests to get the best rate possible and even have the option to make monthly payments. From what Ive read so far, it seems that I would have to do a room block with the resort and my guests would have to reserve (and I assume pay) for their rooms DIRECTLY with the resort. OR I'd have to get a travel agent, and possibly pay more for the travel package (air + room). 2) What are the perks of using a travel agent? Are their rates comparible to Expedia or Priceline? Is this the only way I can get the "free room" perks? 3) What questions should I be asking the wedding coordinator . Im worried about hidden costs or things I havent forseen. 4) Has anyone used the resort approved photographer? My wedding photos are probably at the top of the list of things that are most important to me. I dont want to pay the $200 fee for bringing in a new photographer and at thousands to my budget. But having goregous pictures are vital. Ok. I'll stop rambling! Any info you can provide would be a HUGE help to me! It truly takes a village 8)
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Hello fellow brides to be! My name is Amanda and I have been engaged for 14 months and will be married on the 28th of April, 2015 at the RIU Palace Cabo San Lucas. I have so many stresses and so many questions and I am SO new to forums/boards that I don't really know where to start, so I hope I'm doing this right! (Please be patient with me!) I've been working with a complimentary wedding planner from Sunwing/Signature Vacations names Antoinette. She is very hard to get a hold of, but she's very knowledgeable when we communicate. So far, I have chosen the Royal Package (up to 20 guests, including the B&G), I have been in contact with the reverend and have planned out our ceremony (which will be on the beach). I'm now at the point where my wedding invitations have been sent and I'm waiting on the RSVPs to come in. We have a total of 32 confirmed, booked guests, with 28 maybes....so I really need those RSVPs to come back! My FI and I are set on the dinner location and reception location, but we were told that if we have over 40 guests, we have to pay for a private reception. We really don't want to do this, because according to their min/max capacity, the ONLY option we'd have for dinner is the Mexican Restaurant, and although we will be in Mexico, fajitas and bean burritos don't scream "wedding food"...we're wanting steak and lobster, which is why we initially chose the steakhouse....but this seems to be throwing a wrench in our plans. For the reception we're opting for renting out La Pascha, their discotheque. For $660USD it includes DJ and Open Bar, so we figured that's the best way to go....although, I can't seem to find any pictures or videos or anything posted from anyone who has had their reception at Pascha...so if any of you know where I can find this info or can speak of it first hand, I'd love to hear from you! I have a friend who got married last year at the Santa Fe and had her reception on the beach... I think that would be awesome! But kind of expensive, and we're trying not to go into too much debt from our wedding. There are so many little details to plan out and it's starting to stress me out! I opted for a DW to avoid having to make these little decisions...but it seems there's no escaping them, lol Anyway, I'll leave it at that, and hope to hear from you!
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I am so soo soooo excited to finally say that our save the dates have been emailed! I sent them out this morning and quickly had responses back. I wanted to share with everyone the site I used for them because it was great. Its https://www.paperlesspost.com. It was great free tool. All you do is design your save the date, add a message to your guests, plug in their emails and tweek a few options for personal preference and send away! This is all just so exciting im glad things are all coming together... now to pick wedding colors and I will breath a sigh of relief!
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Any former Hacienda Encantada Brides on here? Of even anyone who has done a site visit (and if you didn't decide to have your wedding here, why? Now that our wedding has been displaced twice from the Hilton, they are bringing us some options, and the Hacienda was one of them. Reading through the TripAdvisor reviews I had some concerns, and so I wanted to hear anyone elses experience with their wedding or their decision to book or not book this place. Unfortunately I won't have the luxury of going on a site visit like I did before prior to our wedding, so any place I actually haven't stayed at makes me nervous. I'm also looking at some of the Pueblo Bonito properties, so if you have any thoughts or experiences from there, please pass them along! Thank you!
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Hi Cabo Brides, I am wondering if you can give me insight on the photographers at the Riu Palace. Our wedding is in September 2015 and I am wondering what you thought about the local photographers. I have talked to a lot of brides who have mentioned their photos are priceless to them and to make sure to find a good photographer for the day. Did you use the photographer that's located at the Riu? Or did you use an outside vendor? Did you get what you were looking for in the images, if you did use the Riu photographers? Any suggestions would be greatly appropriated.
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Hi everyone! I'm an active reader of the forum but this is my first time posting for advice. My fiance and I are thinking about having our wedding at Cabo del Sol this December (2015) with 50 guests. We have interviewed tons of planners and are trying to decide between Asher at Karla Casillas or Gaby Cobian with Vivid Occasions. We need full planning and they are both similarly priced. I've read a few reviews about Karla Casillas that made me a little hesitant, but everything has been smooth thus far. She also has a lot more pictures on social media of her actual weddings. I haven't found as many for Gaby. Is anyone currently working with either of them? How are they different as planners? Any advice/feedback is greatly appreciated!
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Has anyone used Anna Gomes as their photographer? I love Amy Bennett's work and contacted her to shoot our wedding but she is moving back to the states. She recommended her second shooter, Anna, instead. I haven't been able to find any reviews and would love any and all feedback on her. Thanks!
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DJ Ricardo was wonderful. He DJ'ed at our 1/18/15 wedding at Cabo Del Sol and the dance floor was literally rocking all night long. He also was the DJ at our rehearsal dinner. He is so easy to work with, friendly, and fun. Beforehand, he asked us for a detailed list of songs for every moment (cake cutting, first dance, etc.) and then for a long list of songs to play at the wedding. I think some brides may not want to pick their own music, but I actually was happy to do so and in fact, felt that I could then control the vibe a little more. I provided a list of close to 100 songs and he improvised based on my style. He was really a joy to work with and I would recommend him to other cabo brides. I'm more than happy to chat offline if you have any questions about my experiences or would like to see a copy of my song list!
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Ana and Jerome were AMAZING! I just used them on my 1/18/15 wedding and they were perfect. I actually had a hard time finding wedding photography I liked. I felt like a lot of the Cabo photographers had a very different style than what I was going for. A lot of the photographers I looked at had very dark, dramatic photos (not bad photography, just not what I was going for). I really wanted my photographs to turn out light, bright, and fun (which was the vibe I was going for through my whole wedding). I really liked Amy Abbott, but she was unavailable.... I was feeling very discouraged but then I came across Ana and Jerome and I loved their gallery. The photos were so beautiful and I loved their style - both in terms of the setup and positioning of the bride/groom/etc but also the editing. They were just as great in person! They were responsive to emails throughout the process and once they arrived at the wedding, everyone really loved them. They speak fluent English so they knew how to tell everyone what to do and where to go, and they struck a perfect balance between blending into the background, but also inserting themselves when necessary to tell us what looks best and to position us best for shots (for instance, Ana kept reminding me not to slouch, which I appreciated ). We have already received some photos and they are stunning! The lighting, the frames, and the editing is all done so well. I would highly recommend working with them! Not only do they capture beautiful moments and edit the pictures beautifully, but they are just a really nice, enjoyable, fun couple that was a pleasure to work with personally. If anyone would like a reference on them, I would be happy to speak with you offline! Ashley
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Hello Cabo Brides: I was married in Cabo San Lucas on 1/18/15 and wanted to write a review of how amazing and wonderful our planner, Yarai (Memories Events and Planning) was! I interviewed many planners over Skype and even did reference checks on the planners I liked (I am a bit of a Type-A neurotic personality), and Yarai sounded the best by far. My fiancé, mom, and I then scheduled a trip down to Cabo to check out venues, and Yarai met us at our hotel and spent all day driving us around to 5 different venues. It was so wonderful to have someone who knew all the in's and outs and was able to seamlessly guide us through our options. She also clearly had a great relationship with all of the event planners at each of the locations. Throughout the rest of the process, she was truly amazing. She was responsive to emails at all hours of the day and night, would facetime with me pretty regularly, and set me up with all the right vendors (DJ, flowers, Hair/makeup, transportation, hotel, photo booth, cake, venue, etc.). She even worked with my mother in law to plan the entire rehearsal dinner and would facetime with her. Her style is very calm and laid back, but she is not afraid to voice her opinion when needed, which I really appreciated. She is also just a pleasant person to be around. She also went well above and beyond just the planning of the wedding! Yarai set up so many events for us and our 85 guests, including: Rehearsal walk through Friday at our hotel (Villa La Estancia) Rehearsal dinner at Hacienda Cocina Friday (Beautiful venue, highly recommended!) A table at Cabo Wabo Friday night Tables at Nowhere Bar Saturday night (as a side note, Sammy Hagar actually made a surprise appearance, which was really cool) The entire wedding Sunday at Cabo Del Sol (AMAZING location and food!) Brunch Monday at Villa La Estancia (also a fantastic hotel - close enough to town but still very classy, high end, and relaxing! you can also get great deals if you book through VRBO or private owners). Message me if you would like some contacts here. Yarai not only planned every event, but she personally came to everything and was on point - she did not pass us off to her staff. She even came over and spent a few hours with us in our hotel room Wednesday night (after we landed), and the next day, drove me to my 3 hour trial hair and makeup appointment and waited with me! Honestly, she was like a second mother to me (and my mom!) and we had a completely stress-free weekend. If there are any brides that are considering using Yarai, please don't hesitate to reach out to me and I can tell you all about my experiences! She really is the best and I already miss working with her!!! -Ashley
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