Kate's Reviews of Wedding Vendors & Sheraton Resort (Cabo)

[KateNCabo]

Hi all,

 

This site was so helpful during my wedding planning, so I wanted to make sure I returned the favor by sharing my experiences with the different vendors I worked with. But I have to tell you, that my wedding surpassed anything I ever dreamed of. I actually couldn't believe how amazing it turned out. All of my guests are still raving about how it was the best wedding they've been to (the fact that it was in Cabo probably had alot to do with that)

 

WELCOME EVENT & DINNER:

Various locations; dinner at Mi Casa

Mi Casa Rating: B-

Me and my now husband had an idea to have an "Amazing Race" type challenge as a welcome event where the guests were split up to be guys against girls. We did this so they were forced to get to know other guests and not just the person they came with. The MOH led the guys and the BM led the girls. They raced all over Cabo, doing tasks that engaged them in the culture (history of tequila with tasting, guacamole-making class, find a buried treasure, etc.) with the goal of finding me and my fiance at Mi Casa (welcome dinner location). Maye set up and managed the whole event and it went off without a hitch. Mi Casa was a fun atmosphere, but the food was not worth the price. And when the bill came, they tried to tell us they didn't receive the 50% deposit we sent them 3 months earlier. If you have a group here, bring your payment record.

 

WEDDING SITE AND ACCOMIDATIONS:

Sheraton Hacienda Del Mar

sheratonloscabos.com

Rating: A

Beautiful resort, great value and service. We got married in the chapel on the resort which was so gorgeous that we used very little décor (just chivalry chairs, candles and minimal flowers. In the planning stages I got a little frustrated because I would have to email my on-site coordinator each question I had 2-3 times before I would get a response, but when we arrived, they always made themselves available and treated us like VIPs. We loved the place so much we hope to buy a timeshare there and visit each year on our anniversary. We had the reception on the DeCortez restaurant terrace and it was truly magical. Again, we needed very little as far as décor because the venue itself was gorgeous.

 

The food was fantastic! Hands down the best dinner we’ve ever had at a wedding.

 

PHOTOGRAPHER:

Manuel Burgoin

www.weddingsinloscabos.com

Rating: A+++++

I work in advertising, so I have high expectations for photographers. I definitely wanted an photographer that had a unique, artistic eye that inspired his shots, and the only one I found in Cabo that I felt had this was Manuel. Yes, he is pricey, but sooooooo worth it. Looking back, this was the best money we spent. He captured the most beautiful moments in such a magical way. A couple of our friends are even considering flying him up to the states to do their weddings after they saw the photographs.

 

FLORIST:

Fleur de Liz

Rating: C+

I’m not sure what exactly happened with the flowers because my mother went to great lengths to keep my day as free from stress as possible, but apparently they brought a bunch of flowers that hadn’t bloomed, causing a last minute change of floral décor, which was the only thing I saw and it was beautiful. I wasn’t thrilled with my bouquet either. It wilted 1 hour after arrival, was smaller than the MOH bouquet and was 3 times as much ($200).

 

CAKE:

Sweet Dreams Cakes

Rating: A+

The cake was breath taking and so delicious! I wish I could have preserved the top so we could eat more of it! My main concern was finding a vendor that had a steady hand since my cake had a lot of detail work. They did such an amazing job and it wasn’t that pricy either.

 

VIDEOGRAPHER:

Dino Gomez

Rating: C

I just realized that me review of the videographer, Dino, was not complete. I guess you loose the ability to edit posts after they've been posted for 1 hour.

 

That being said, I hope to clarify the rating for Dino as I'm sure that it does not reflect his work in general, but just the experience I had.

 

In the end, Dino's did a nice job with the video, but there were three matters that influenced the lower rating for me.

 

The first is that it took almost 2 months to receive the video. There was a good excuse for why it was late, but no one let me or Maye know that it would be delayed until after it was sent to me. Which was a bummer because there were family members that couldn't attend that I promised to share the video with at Christmas.

 

The second reason is that the intro to the video (menu screen) had a completely different couple featured (names and imagery). He must have forgotten to do that part, however I’m sure he would have fixed it if I had asked him to.

 

The third reason is that he didn’t talk to any of our guests on camera, which was a key element I told him I wanted when we initially met. He said he would bring a list of questions to ask guests that would help them if they didn’t know what to say, but there was none of that in the video.

 

In the end, I felt like I didn’t get my money’s worth. However, Maye stands by him completely and has worked with him several times where I have only worked with him once.

 

A “C” rating may look harsh, but it is considered “average”. Because of the 3 reasons above, that’s the level of service I feel I received.

 

Looking back, the best advice I can give you is to meet with him, or any other key vendor the week of your wedding to recap what you’re looking to get from the video/photography/etc. Had I done this with Dino, I’m sure the third issue would have never happened.

TRANSPORTATION:

Cora(?)

Rating: F

Horrible, horrible service. This was one of Maye’s vendors so we thought they would be buttoned up. They were late picking up 75% of the guests from the airport (sometimes over an hour late), and when they were on time, they were chatting with their transportation buddies at the airport and didn’t even hold up the sign with my parties name on it so they could be identified. A lot of guests ended up taking cabs instead. They forgot to pick up my great grandmother who ended up sitting on a bench at the airport for 3 hours until my mom finally drove to the airport to see if she could find her.

 

HAIR/MAKE-UP:

Suzanne Morel

Cabo SPA - Suzanne Morel Face and Body Care

Rating: A+

She is really expensive, but worth every penny. Honestly, her staff is so talented and did an amazing job with my hair and makeup. My husband asked that they don’t make me look like a clown (he likes the natural look). She did an amazing job achieving the balance of looking natural in real life and in the photographs. I’ve never seen my husband cry, but he teared up when he first saw me and couldn’t stop telling my how gorgeous I looked.

 

That's about it. Hopefully this helps you in your planning. In short, the wedding was magical. I highly recommend Cabo to anyone considering a destination wedding.

[Erika J]

Thanks for taking the time to write all these reviews.

[TammyB]

Great review and thank you for sharing. I was also married at the Sheraton, had Maye as my WC and used Sweet Dreams for our cake vendor. And I totally agree with all your comments there. Congrats and wishing you a long, happy marriage.

[farrahla]

Hi. I actually am having Dino do my wedding photography in PV. The pictures on his website are gorgeous, and his videos look great too. He also gets back to you fast and will talk to me about what I want, etc. Why did you have a so, so experience?

 

Thanks.

[mich999]

Congrats and thanks for sharing!

[Soon To Be Mrs. Gomez]

Thanks for the review. It's appreciated.

[*Heather*]

Wow, thanks so much for this detailed vendor review - it's definitely very helpful!!

[deefalvey]

great review - thanks for sharing all of your wonderful details!

[dinogomez.com]

Dearest Forum Members,

 

It's with great surprise that I found today some not very pleasant news for me from one of our fellow forum members: Kate. I had the great opportunity to cover her wedding last November and today I realise from her review that she wasn't entirely happy with her video for some reason, I've contacted her and her WC to find out what was the reason and see if we can workout a solution together.

 

What we do here is art and as such it is a matter of perspective, unfortunately our line of work once in a blue moon presents us with a situation like this where our reputation, quality and professionalism is put to the test, I can assure all future and present brides that I personally, along with the hundreds of already satisfied brides, families, friends, companies and WCs as witnesses that it's been and will be my sole intention every minute, every wedding, every tiny or huge job to do just one thing: give my very best, always get an AAA++++++++ and a : ) from you!!!

 

I strive for excellence in life and work and I expect my art to live up to it.

 

Best to all,

 

 

d!no

[michelle08]

Great review of the vendors...can I just say that the "amazing race" idea to find you and hubby at the welcome dinner is so cool!!! what a unique and fun idea!!! I love it!!!