SLetendre

I am sad to report that I have come across a BIG problem with my wedding at the Now Amber this past May. Everything was great with the wedding itself as I have previously mentioned, unfortunately I got an email yesterday from the in-house photography/videography company who videoed our ceremony, to tell me that something happened to their computer and regretfully our wedding video was lost and can't be recovered. They are offering to refund me the value of the video, although I am not sure how they would know what that is since it was included in the wedding package from the hotel, unfortunately to me nothing will replace not having that video. In my opinion it is unacceptable that a company wouldn't keep a backup of files when they are in this kind of business. I just want to warn anyone who is planning on using the in house company Adventure Photos, as this was extremely upsetting. We didn't even use them as our photographers for the day we had hired someone else, this was the ONLY thing they were doing for us on our actual wedding day. Not to mention someone else from this company had emailed me two days prior with the tracking information for said wedding video and when I checked the tracking info after receiving this last email I noticed that it said the delivery location was British Columbia, I am located in Alberta. So I suppose they had sent us someone else's tracking information? Needless to say since we thought our video was already on it's way to us and would be arriving in time for our AHR next Saturday for everyone to view, this was even more of a shock. I am very disappointed that everyone who was not able to attend our destination wedding will never get to see the ceremony, nor will I. As this is the company that the hotel is affiliated with and uses for the services they offer in their wedding packages I feel some of the responsibility falls on their shoulders, which is why I have posted this in the hotels forum.

No problem minivan2! Once you get there I am sure you will enjoy yourself, the planning is so stressful though I know. I was apalled by the price of the sound system, we did not get it for the bonfire and I wasn't disappointed. I considered bringing an ipod player down with us to use at the event and I think that would have worked fine, but we didn't end up doing it. (one less thing to haul through the airport!) But if you really want music it is something you could consider. You could check with Fatima to see if you would be able to access power, I think you should be able to because where they set up our bonfire was very close to the middle of the resort so I would think there would be power easily accessible. I really enjoyed the bonfire event though so I am sure you will be happy with it either way we did it as a wrap up event on the last night we were there and got really good feedback from everyone who attended! We actually brought down some extra food like graham crackers and chocolate because they don't provide the stuff you need for traditional smores and I am glad we did that. We brought extra marshmellows as well but the bag didn't even get opened because the hotel provided so many!

Hi! I believe the Hyatt Ziva is the old Dreams PV Hotel? If so, I think the beach is beautiful, I had my wedding originally booked at Dreams for the sole reason that they had a private beach and it looked so nice. I have not actually been to that hotel in person since they decided to close it May 1st and we had to re-plan our entire wedding and we ended up having it at the Now. The Now beach is very nice, but it is not private, the locals are allowed to sell things on the beach up to a certain point, so in the background of my photos there are some people milling around, but it wasn't bad. (ceremony at 5pm by then most people have cleared off the beach) The beach itself is not rocky in my opinion. But once you start to make your way into the water it is quite rocky for a couple of feet. Once you get past there it isn't an issue. I walked farther down the beach and the sand seemed to get more rocky, so I wouldn't doubt if Now has trucked in better sand for their stretch of beach. So if you are wondering about the beach at Now being rocky for the purpose of your wedding I would say it isn't an issue, but if you are wondering about it for swimming it might be a bit of a pain since you do have to walk through the rocks to get into the water. Hope that helps

Just sent you some!

Hi! The temperature on my wedding day was 33 degrees celcius, felt like 40 with the humidity (wedding date May 19). It was HOT but for me I didn't mind. Our ceremony was at 5:00, we were ten minutes late and our guests were sweating by the end of the ceremony. We had our reception on the Terrace and that area was in the shade by the time our dinner started (7:15 ish) even though sunset wasn't until 8:30. I imagine it would stay sunny in other areas longer though. (ie on the beach) Once everyone was out of the direct sun the temperature was perfect! I was extremely sweaty by the end of the night but I didn't mind, and it was probably more to do with all the dancing! I saw a wedding every night that was outside though, so people must be doing it still! I do think it depends on how casual you want your guests to be dressed. We told people we didn't care and to keep in mind the temperature, and most people were wearing shorts and golf shirts/sun dresses, which was fine for me. I did see a wedding where all the men were in suits and I can't imagine how hot they were during their reception. We had a plated meal because the buffet wasn't an option for the number of guests we had. I am a super picky eater so I emailed Fatima with what I wanted and they did exactly that. I just asked for roast chicken, mashed potatoes and mixed veggies with cesear salad to start and some kind of dessert. They were totally accommodating. And I will mention the food at the wedding was the best food I ate all week, and that is not to say that the food in the buffet/restaurants isn't good because that is not the case. The wedding food was just SO good!

I just got home last weekend from our wedding at the Now Amber. I haven't had a chance to do up a full on review but I certainly will shortly. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask! I will try to summarize as much as I can for the time being and will let everyone know once I post a full review! We had our ceremony at the Gazebo, in my opinion that is the best location to have it. I saw others on the beach and it wasn't quite as intimate because the beach is so big. Also you do get a few people wandering in the background, at least the Gazebo is set up slightly from the beach so while we had a few people in the background of our photos I never felt like they were close enough to be watching us. Also to mention about the gazebo was most people get there by walking through the hotel lobby and then through the pool area, when we arrived we noticed there was a stone path that lead to beside the hotel, I asked if we could enter from there and Fatima said of course. Mind you the trek to get there is fabulous, you have to walk down the super steep driveyway at the hotels entrance and then walk along the side of the hotel (picture garbage bags and old See-Doos) so that part isnt very glamourous, but it meant you entered the ceremony from the side which is much more private, rather than walking beside the very busy pool to get there. It's worth taking a look at it when you get there because Fatima wasn't suggesting it as an option. We had our reception on the La Vista Terrace, again this isn't an option that is disclosed but I heard about it on these forums and inquired and they said yes it's an option. Again in my opinion this is the best spot, but I am probably biased . I saw weddings on the pool deck and its so out in the open that it didn't seem very private. The beach was quite nice as well but a bit windy while we were there. The Terrace is nice because it is surrounded by trees and plants so you feel like your seperated from everywhere else. Although be warned, it is quite close to the lobby and you can in fact hear and see everything happening on the Terrace from the Lobby. But I didn't care! The food was awesome at the wedding, we had forgotten to request additional meals for our photographers but Fatima was able to whip up two more meals for us and didn't charge us which I really appreciated (This was a welcome suprise since I was starting to get the nickle and diming feeling by the time the wedding finally rolled around). After the reception ended we went to the music lounge to continue the party until 1:00 and then headed to bed. Some tips/thoughts on the day: We had not paid for the speakers for the ceremony, but I would highly recommend it. There actually ended up being speakers at the ceremony, I'm not sure why, perhaps just a mistake.... but I was glad they were there. The waves are quite noisy, we only had a group of 25 people but I think it was still necessary. Make sure you understand what is included in your contract. I had been emailing Fatima and asking her when our music could go until and she kept telling me 11, however when we got there she kindly reminded me that our package only went until 10 but you COULD have music til 11 if you paid for it. So we compromised and cut the cocktail hour down to a half hour and had to fork out $250 to extend our reception for a half hour to get to 11:00. I was less than thrilled, so just make sure you know what you are getting. All of my flowers turned out beautifully, as did my hair and makeup which I had done at the salon as part of my wedding package. Included in the package was a couples massage and to be honest, that alone made the upgraded package worthwhile. You get access to their hydrotheraphy pools for an hour and it was fantastic, super relaxing! Because of the package we selected I had access to the Bridal Suite for the afternoon. There was lots of room in there for my Bridesmaids to get ready and for us to get dressed, but be aware you can't leave anything in there to be picked up the next day, so make sure you arrange for someone to stop by 20 minutes before the wedding to take all your stuff up to a room. We brought some of our own decorations and were told the reception area would be set up at 3:30 for us to put out our decorations. I had my dad setting the stuff up before the ceremony at 5:00, well needless to say at 4:30 the tables still weren't up... Not sure I have a solution for this problem, maybe just bank on having someone set your stuff up between the ceremony and the reception? We paid for the bonfire on the beach, and in my opinion it was totally worth it. We had 25 people and we just paid for the base package which included food for 20, that was plenty for us we didn't bother paying the additional cost for the extra five people. They supplied marshmellows and melted chocolate and cookies. We brought down chocolate bars and graham crackers for people to make smores and it was awesome. You had your own waitstaff for two hours and they lay out bamboo mats around the chairs for you to walk on. We did it from 8-10 which was the latest we could have it, and in my opinion I wouldnt recommend having it any earlier. For the first half hour we were thinking we are nuts why did we do this, it is still so hot outside and we are sitting around a fire?! But once the sun went down it was much nicer. ALthough this of course will change during the year if the sun sets earlier you might want to start it earlier. We paid for photography through PhotoShoots Vallarta, our photographer was Eva, she was awesome and we have lots of great photos. We used the in house photographers for the hour that was incluyded in our package to take some group/family photos. I can't think of anything else to highlight, but if you have any questions let me know! I will try to help out as best I can, I just got home from my wedding at the Now Amber. We did not pay for the dancefloor and had no problems. Our reception was on the La Vista Terrace not on the pool deck, but I don't think it would matter. We had the tables set up so that it made a very clear dancing area so that wasn't a problem. So I wouldn't worry about the dancefloor being an issue. I had my ceremony at the gazebo, I wore wedge sandals so I didn't even think about the issue of your heels getting caught. I know my mother in law wore heels so it must have been okay. Looking back at my pictures now that you ask the wooden planks appear to be very close together so I don't think it would be an issue. We brought some of our own decorations in for the reception. Table numbers, guest book, escort cards and some pictures. I had my dad set stuff up because I didn't even want to know how much they were going to charge to do that. We brought maracas and had them sitting on the chairs at the ceremony, I just had my husband do that part since they were at the ceremony location first. Not a big deal for us. We paid for the additional "gauzes" for the Gazebo, they look nice but if I could do things over again I would not pay for them. They were expensive and I didn't even notice them during the actual ceremony, infact they were constantly in our wedding parties faces haha! Also for your previous post about the Bridal Suite, I do think it is only available for those getting their hair and makeup done at the hotel, but you could always email the spa and ask. They might allow you to rent it (for a fee of course!) if you aren't having your stuff done there. The woman I was talking to at the spa was Lisbeth, she was extremely helpful and always got back to me quickly spa3.sevpv@secretsresorts.com If anyone is interested in photos just send me your email and I will send you some! Hi Christina, I have lots of photos from our recent wedding, if you want you can send me your email address and I would be more then happy to send you some! We have lots from our wedding photographer but some good ones from our personal camera that show the resort layout. Stacey

That was what I had thought, now just to convince him it will be okay!

Hi Everyone, The spa at Now Amber has a "Bridal Suite" it is included with my wedding package, you get use of it for a three hour window if it is available. I'm not sure if it is free with all the packages, but mine included my hair and makeup, so when I booked those appointments the woman at the spa told me about the suite. It is attached to the salon so my Bridesmaids will be using it to get ready while I have my hair and makeup done. Then I will be using it to get dressed etc. It is a bit confusing as to what is in there, but I guess we will see! Sounds like that is the only option for somewhere else to get ready. Hope that helps!

The disco you mention, is that the "Desires Music Lounge" listed on their website? The photo they have shown looks so strange, but I was hoping there would be somewhere we could go afterwards to continue the party. We are also using Photoshoots, I am so excited!

Hi everyone! You have some great ideas on here. I am torn about our AHR as well. We put on the invites 1-4pm because we want it to just be a casual drop in thing at my sisters place (hopefully outside as it will be July but you never know with Canadian weather). But my FI is concerned about what people are going to do... We will have our wedding photos playing on the TV likely and will have some appetizer foods served and some drinks. We are having a friend there to photograph as well, so people can use the opportunity to get a family photo done as well. Oh and we will have our guest book there for everyone to sign of course. Do you think that is enough? He is worried people won't have anything to do, mostly he means people who aren't family that don't know everyone else. I'm not sure if I should be trying to plan somethng else, but even if I did I have no idea what... Any thoughts are appreciated! Our wedding is in Mexico so maybe we could make it some kind of Mexican Fiesta for those that missed out!

Hi! I have booked an outside photographer, we went with Photoshoots Vallarta based soley on recommendations from these forums. The photos they sent me from previous weddings looked awesome as well and they were extremely reasonably priced. For myself I went through a travel agency and we made a group booking through Air Canada Vacations, for us that was a good way to go because we knew who all was planning on coming, but it wouldn't be a great option if you weren't sure who was planning on going. This is because the group pricing is generally only held for a short period of time, I think ours was only 30 days or so. Hope that helps!

Congratulations!! Here is some pricing that the spa had sent me, my pacakge included my hair and makeup but I am paying for the services for my BM's: Bridal Hairdo: $65 Makeup: $55 Short Hairdo: $55 Long Hairdo: $65 (I assume this is the same as the Bridal Hairdo) Hopefully that helps! We aren't going with a DJ, my cousin who is coming down with us will be in charge of music.

Here are some pictures of the Terrace that Fatima had sent me, hopefully they turn out! I switched to the Terrace as well from the pool deck, it seems more private and looks really nice!

Hi Everyone! I'm wondering if anyone who has already had their wedding at Now Amber, could weigh in on this question. We are having a violinist for the ceremony so we won't be playing any recorded music so we were not planning on renting the sound system for the ceremony. The resort recommends it (of course) saying that we should have the microphone for the ceremony so people can hear. Our ceremony is at the gazebo at 5:00pm, I don't know how close it is to the pool or the beach, which are the only things I can think would affect our guests being able to hear. Also, we only have 23 guests, so it's not as is we will have people really far away. Just wondering what your thoughts are about whether or not we will need the mic, I'm leaning towards no. I'm also wondering what people have done, or are planning on doing for centerpieces. The examples Fatima has sent me seem to be crazy expensive. Just wondering what route others have gone, our reception is on the Terrace so I'm not sure how much decoration I really need, I definitely want some kind of centerpiece but I think it's going to be beautiful there that I don't need much decor. Thanks again, hope everyone's planning is going well!

Quote: Originally Posted by CLefebvre92 Hello! Any brides out there that had to move to the Now Amber from the Dreams Puerto Vallarta and having trouble with the wedding coordinator? The sales director told us it would be a easy move over they would do everything but I'm having to re plan everything! The wedding coordinator is telling me we can't have things we were promised over at the dreams because it's a different resort and it wasn't there fault the the dreams shut down! I don't think this is anyway to treat guests! I also switched from Dreams to Now Amber. I am dealing with Fatima at Now Amber, is that who you have been speaking with? I find she is fairly prompt at getting back to me, sometimes it takes a couple of days. I have found that while their packages are similar they certainly aren't the same. (ie. they both include photography, at Dreams it was full day coverage at Now Amber it is only an hour...) I am also basically re-planning the whole thing as well. I thought there would be more consistency across the board seeing as they are both AM Resorts.