sac22999

Quote: Originally Posted by angiel I am still trying to decide on which photographer to go with or fly one down. the photographer here gave me a tip re: the negatives or CD . were you able to get good pictures off of the cd that you recieved? Considering the bad weather and poor lighting for the day, we got pretty good pictures from the CD. There are no film negatives, all negatives are on CD. Hope it helps. Well if you can afford it you should fly your own photographer as a guest in your wedding, that way you will get more coverage and also more special moments. The local photographer only covers about 5 hours. Our party lasted longer than that and unfortunately no guest took any picture of our crazy pool party after midnight and we really hoped we had some nice picutures or films for our memory.

Well I purchased mine because I want my deco to be red - red lanterns and red candles. If you want white, the planners should be able to provide them. They have a package for all the deco needed, and they are very nice. I only brought red lanterns and red candles with me because I got them on very good post Christmas sale. They only took up half of the luggage. Hope it helps Quote: Originally Posted by Pixley THank you so much Cynthia, the extra advice helps and is comforting. ONe last questions (I hope). You mentioned in your review that you purchased decor and brought it with you. How much of it? I'd like white lanterns and lights. Do you suggest I let the WC's handle this or would I save a substantial amount if I bring lighting stuff with me? IF so, how did you travel with your stuff, suitcase or checked box, or did you send it ahead of time? Thanks for taking time on all of this!

Hi Kathy I might be a little harsh. I guess what I meant is Dazzling details is more expensive and also not as flexible. According to Kristin $10000 with 50 guests could only afford us a cocktail-style reception which means no main meal. For my wedding, we spent $10000 for the wedding of 52 guests which included a Mexican buffet dinner, full cocktail, open bar and 2 live bands. Kristin is a very good wedding designer, but when it comes to competative pricing, it's a little lacking. As for the wedding design, it will also save bride quite a lot of money if she gets to shop around, but it seems harder with dazzling details than Vallarta. If Kristin designs the wedding for me, I need to send pictures of what I want to her first. Imagine if I am on a trip abroad and find some beautiful ornaments that I like as favors, I have to take a picture and then send it to her for suggestion. I feel if the brides are too dependent on the planners, they really end up paying a lot more than they needed. I am not a designer, but at the end whatever I brought over, my wedding planner put them together quite nicely without much fuss over what I should or I shouldn't bring. That I think is what a good planner should be. Cynthia Quote: Originally Posted by K&Rwedding Great Review and lots of helpful information. I love how you broke everything down. Made for easy reading. I do have to make a comment though, and yes I am using Dazzling Details and I am not rich nor am I a celebrity. But I have to defend DD, I don't feel at all that they are snobs. Kristin is very direct and doesn't bullshit, she respects your time and does a great job setting a clear expecation of what her role is in your wedding design and what role you will play in the design. She does an amazing job partnering iwth you and getting your input on design ideas and suggestions. She also won't lead you into spending money either you don't have or don't want to spend. So far with my planning she has been very forward about pricing and what I should expect. She has also been sensitive to where I would like to spend my budget on things important to me and gives me advise on where I can save money without sacrificing the wedding design. My fiance and I are paying for our own wedding and again Kristin has been very respectful of our budget. I do see where Kristin isn't for everyone. She is a designer who is very talented and takes the time to get to know you so she can WOW you by making your wedding day look like something out of a fairy tale. I know other brides who have used her and didn't have a single regret. I do feel if you want to be hands on, pick everything and take the time to plan your destination wedding from, decor, chairs, flowers, favors, etc there may be someone who would fit you better. I am very happy that you loved your wedding planners. But again I just wanted to defend Dazzling Details, because I myself appreciate all the hard work Kristin & Michelle have dedicated to my wedding. I hope whomever anyone chooses loves their planners and has a positive experience like I have had with DD. Best Kathy

Here are some more advise I can think of: - If you need to reach them right away, try calling them. I was able to reach Michael once that way. - Villa payment should be due about 1 month before your departure. Don't forget to settle final payment before you leave. - Best way to do payment with them is via Bank of America transfer. - If you need to add something or take out something, feel free to let them know at any time. They are very flexible. I changed my menu option, added videographer and live band all 1 month before our departure. - My goal is to stay within my wedding budget. I have an excel sheet with all the cost breakdown to keep track of. You can also use it to verify with the planners. - Be very thorough on things you will bring with so that they know what they are for and where you want them to be. - Depend on the weather, the final decoration stuff can be discussed in PV. They can always add some last minute deco stuff for you like candles by the pool, so don't need to have everything perfectly set. - Bring a lap top with you to PV since villa has internet connection. Some guests had problem getting to the villa or through the immigration. I was able to use skype to do international calls and take care last minute business. - Don't be stressed espeically the last minute. They will reply your emails. Hope it helps. I was afraid my guest list will be more than 50 people, and that's the major reason I didn't pick casa cosmos. It's a very beautiful villa and I am sure you will have a wonderful wedding there. Cynthia Quote: Originally Posted by Pixley That's a great review Cynthia, thank you! I'm getting married at Casa cosmos on Oct. 12 and have been working with Michael and Eva from Vallarta weddings. Your review of them sounds spot on. They do take a little while getting back, but they know it. When they do get back to me they've taken cared of whatever it is I've inquired about. So far so good. Beautiful wedding! Let me know if there's anything you can think off the top of your head that you would suggest but forgot to include. Thanks again!

Like you I received so many comments from friends and family members regards to the remote location, but at the end all of them had so much fun and memoriable moments. They not only had a lots of fun in our wedding but also had a great vacation. There are so many things to do in PV. Whenever there is a travel deal, I usually keep everyone updated, so quite a few of them had a reason for vacation that they hadn't for years. However it does require a lot of time from your end on the travel plan and preparation, and hardest is to rely everything on the planner without seeing the vendors yourself. That's why I think planner is the most important part for the destination wedding. There is no perfect planner, you have to weight the pro against con and pick the one that suits your need. In my case I decided to come up with my own wedding desgin but rely on the planners for all the vendor selection as well as the final execution. Cynthia Quote: Originally Posted by brittbrowne THANKS SO MUCH! It is so nice to hear that you were happy with the overall choice to do a destination event. I feel like I have been getting a lot of flack recently from people about the wedding be in Mexico, and I feel like I'm always defending my choice. In the end I know that the people who are there will love the event, and I know they and I will be happy. It is great to hear you had a such a wonderful experience and felt it was a good value (that was part of the reason we chose a destination wedding, and PV as our destination). Your pictures look great. The reception looked beautiful! I'm so glad you had such a successful event! I'll definitely keep your contacts in mind!

I ended up having the bridesmaids go to Cuquita's Hair Salon and me going to Franc Gole Salon. All of us like the service. You can check out my reviews for the vendors at http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t26500

Cuban band name is Coco Ache. You can go to the following link http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...zZMnGw&notag=1 to view some of wedding pictures. Cheers Cynthia

Hi all We had a wonderful wedding on 6/14/2008, and here are my reviews for various vendors that might be helpful for all the PV brides: 1. Location: I was debating between hotel and villa, and I decided to pick the villa. Hotel is not as private and not much freedom on the wedding planning. Villa is definitely the best choice we made. We not only had private wedding and rehearsal dinner hosted in the villa but also had a wonderful private family vacation. Many of our friends came to visit us, and our villa became the center point for everyone to meet. We also allowed our guests to choose their own hotels based on their budget instead of forcing them stay in a hotel they might not want to stay. We did spend a little more but it's really worth the money. Three villas were on our final list: a)Villa Cosmos (http://www.casacosmos.com/description.htm): Pro: all rooms have an ocean view, directly on a private beach, pool has direct view of the ocean, outdoor Jacuzzi, huge Palapa Con: too small, private beach disappears during high tide, ceremony and reception has to be at the same place when it rains, pool is not big, max. 50 guests, owner won't allow noise after 11. Conclusion: It's a great villa for vacation but not as good for a wedding. b)Casa Macumba (http://rentalo.com/109143/casamacumba.html): Pro: Wheel chair friendly, big enough for 100 people, right on the beach, huge yard for reception and ceremony, more rooms to accommodate guests, every room has an ocean view Con: Beach is very small not big enough for the wedding, villa name means witchcraft in Portuguese (not good for wedding), ceremony and wedding are hosted at the same area, need tent if rains Conclusion: Due to the name and no beach ceremony we ruled this one out. c)Villa Celeste (http://www.sunworx.com/board/chinas/celeste/info.htm): Pro: Big pool, ocean front, large beach for wedding, one can choose cocktail, reception and ceremony hosted at three different places rain or shine, master bedroom is a real treat for the bride and groom. Con: The beach is not private and is a short walk from the villa, not wheel chair friendly Conclusion: We chose this villa because of the authentic Mexican deco and details throughout the villa, its uniqueness and breathtaking view. My 2 cents on saving money: We loved our villa. Staffs are extremely friendly. However eating in the villa can be quite expensive, so I would suggest doing the grocery in Costco and have lunch and dinner in various restaurants. The next door restaurant (in front of Conchas Chinas hotel) is excellent with a great ocean view. I should have suggested all guests stay at Conchas Chinas hotel; it's right next door and made everything more convenient. Guests can come visit us at any time and enjoy the swimming pool. Booking villa directly from the planner is cheaper than booking separately. 2. Wedding Planner: I contacted a few planners before I went for Vallarta Weddings. After a lot of debating I picked Vallarta Weddings over Dazzling Details: a)Dazzling Details (http://thedazzlingdetails.com/): Pro: Prompt response time, Great wedding design, little work on your end, hard working, quality service Con: Not flexible, way too expensive, not too many choices between vendors, a little snobbish (only my personal feeling, many brides loved them) Conclusion: If you have good wedding budget and very little time to plan, this will be a good one. b)Wedding by Lana (http://www.vallartaweddingsbylana.com/): Pro: Quick Response, Very budget friendly Con: A little fishy (Pictures they sent are the pictures from Dazzling Details, so unless they have worked together, it's quite impossible to have same exact wedding pictures), lack of experience c)Eventful Moments (http://www.em-vallarta.com/): Pro: Experienced Con: Long response time, expensive (exceed our wedding budget) d)Incredible Wedding and Events (http://www.vallartaincredibleweddings.com/): Pro: Fast response time Con: Not too thrilled with their wedding gallery, also more expensive, seem to be new e)Vallarta Weddings (Vallarta weddings) - Eva and Michael: Pro: Total flexibility, great price, great web site with tons of information regards to vendors, honest, great price, and good experience Con: Very busy so response time is long, bride needs to do the leg work, which I enjoyed a lot because that gives me complete freedom on what I want my wedding to be. They helped me to execute the vision and add more details to the design. It turned out to be much better than what I expected. Conclusion: Vallarta Wedding turned out to be great choice. We were able to save a lot of money and have quality service at the same time. If you do decide to choose them, you need to book things a little in advance. Do remember to settle all payments before departure to Mexico. It’s a good idea to have a one on one meeting with them to discuss all the details 1 or 2 months prior. They are extremely friendly and flexible. To shorten the communication time, include as much information you want in one email. What I appreciate the most is that they really cared about our preference. We wanted a beach ceremony and outdoor reception, but the weather was bad during our wedding day. Instead of moving everything in door, the planner had reception equipments moved in door during the rain and then outdoor when the rain stopped; they also had umbrella covered all the ceremoney seats on the beach and moved them out when the rain stopped. There will always be little things not going right, at the end you have to let go and have fun. 3. Photographer - Roberto Aceves (http://www.robertoaceves.com/wed.htm): We picked Roberto Aceves based on the reviews I saw on the internet. It turned out to be a great decision. The weather on the day of our wedding was cloudy and dark. All of our wedding pictures turn out to be great thanks to Roberto. However do remember to pay extra $500 if you want the CD that contains all the digital images. 4. Videographer - Promovision (http://www.promovisionpv.com/): The videographer Promovision did an excellent job on capturing our wedding. We received a DVD with a movie what include Planning, Ceremony, Reception, Party and an Overview with music. It was very well made and contained all the greatest moments of the wedding. 5. Entertainment: a)Trios - Trio Los Faraones: They are great and we loved the Mexican love songs they played. They provided us 2 hours of nonstop local music during cocktail and reception. The price is reasonable. b)Cuban Band - Coco Ache: We had so much fun with the Cuban Band our planner found for us. They played great Latin music to dance with. Everyone liked the music very much. 6. Caterer/Food Vendor: We had quite a few food vendors to choose from. I picked Elite Services because they are a local caterer that specializes local Mexican food. The food turned out to be great. The cooks came early in the morning and made all the dishes fresh from the villa’s kitchen. I picked the Mexican buffet, which was plenty to satisfy everyone’s appetite. Remember to ask for the leftover of the buffet. We had so much leftovers but the vendor didn't leave to us. We were too busy with the wedding to remember until it was too late. 7. Florist: Our planner picked the florist for us. The price is great and they did an excellent job on all the floral arrangement. We had 7 different vases with 7 different fruits and various daisies for our center pieces, and they looked so beautiful. 8: Salon: I used two salons suggested by our planner. Curquita’s Hair Salon for my bridesmaids and Franc Gole Salon for me. Curquita’s price is better and my bridesmaids are quite happy with them. Franc Gole is a little more upscale but with only one very good makeup artist and hair stylist. I love my makeup. The hair stylist is also good but you need to be very specific on what you want for your hair. If you don’t like what comes up during the trial, simply bring it up. They are quite flexible. 9. Cake: The cake is delicious. I had a 3 tier square cake with red ribbons and red/orange daisies. The Kahlua, chocolate and vanilla flavors were delicious. My planner contacted the baker for us, so we don’t have the name. My 2 cents on the wedding planning: 1.Timing of the wedding: June is not a good month for the wedding, but we did it anyway. Most rain storms take place in the evening when the wedding would take place, so you are really at risk to have a wedding in the rain. If I get to choose again, I will pick October or April. If you want to save money May will also be a good month since it’s off season yet the weather is still sunny and hot. 2.You can save a lot of money by getting some of the deco yourself. I bought the red Chinese Laterns, personalized candy bags, ribbons and various things from the internet and brought them with me to Vallarta. Try Personalized Wedding Favors Supply, Wholesale Wedding Cameras, Favor Bags,. 3. I have a web site setup for our wedding. It's very helpful. The earlier you book the cheaper the ticket is, so ask guests not to wait for cheap deals because there isn't any, book as soon as possible. 4.Toward the beginning we only wanted the photos, but about 2 months before the wedding, we decided to add the Videographer. Luckily they were still available. I totally recommend every bride get videographer because I was so busy during the wedding and only when I watched the video, I was able to relive my wedding in a more enjoyable and relaxed way. This is the memory you will treasure for a life time, so have a video made. Also professional videographer does make a difference. 5.Live band turned to be a great choice, and we will choose it over iPods at any time. They can play impromptu music for games, bouquet tossing and songs on request. It's also much more fun to dance with live band than prerecorded music. At the end the total cost of wedding including our villa is around $15000 for 50 guests. My friend spent the same amount for only the wedding without live band, buffet, open bar, villa and planner in Seattle for the same amount of guests. Destination wedding really can help you save money and have a wonderful time with family and friends. We were able to have a wedding, a vacation and tons of fun. Thanks for all your help during my wedding planning. Hope you will have a wonderful wedding in beautiful PV. Wedding Album Link: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...zZMnGw&notag=1 Cynthia

Hi all My wedding is in 2 weeks, and I haven't figured out which hair salon to go with. I was given two salons - Cuquita's Hair Salon or Franc Gole Salon. I am Asian, and I don't know if any of them have any experience with Asian makeup and hair. My WC couldn't help me either, so I am wondering if any of you have good experience with either of them? None of them offer trial makeup, so I have to book two separate appointments with each and pay the exact same amount. I did see some posts mentioned that you can get a package with them. I am wondering how it works. Maybe it's a better idea to contact them directly for more information? I am getting nervous as the date is approaching, and last thing I want is getting a disappointing makeup. Thanks so much for all your help

Thanks for all your welcomes. We are getting married at Villa Celeste in Conchas Chinas area. If it doesn't rain, ceremony will take place on the beach across from the villa, and the reception will be on the villa's terrace. We are very excited..

If I get to choose again, I will definitely pick late October. The weather is warm and not too hot. From my research even though October was high season, there were a lot good deals for hotels and airfare. On the other hand, June suppose to be low season, but I didn't see any deals for hotels or airfare so far after one year of search. Very likely it's family travel time. Definitely not summer, it's too hot, rainy.

The average response time from our planner is about 2 weeks. There are a few times almost 4 weeks. It's painful to wait that long, but we knew that prior to booking them. However I don't recommand any bride try that. It's definitely stressful.

I know which one you are talking about. They are expensive. I contacted the same one last year. We set a budget for $10000, and we were quoted for the appitizer instead of entries since that our budget wasn't enough to cover the dinner and of course no acohol either. The WC is very good, but charges very high price for that. I think they are good for brides who have a large budget and not wanting to worry about any wedding planning. Let me know if you want any recommandation on the planners. Our wedding is in 1 month, so will let you all know how it went.

Hi all I wish I had found this forum earlier. My wedding is in 1 month and 2 weeks. My name is Cynthia. Our wedding date is 6/14/2008. The wedding place is Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I have been planning the wedding for a year now. It's not easy to plan a destination wedding. As the date comes closer, things start getting more hectic... Cheers to all the brides to be and wish you all have a wonderful wedding. Cynthia