EM-Vallarta...has anyone used them?

K&Rwedding · 03-18-2008, 07:53 PM

This is so great to hear. I sent EM my initial request for 60 person wedding at a 12K budget and they said I could have an amazing wedding. Weird how everyone gets a different response. I haven't talked $ yet, outside of seeing a sample invoice, which covered every thing down to the candles for 12,800. I also hear from Kristin at DD and she seems amazing. I know someone who got married using them last year and she was blown away by Kristin and DD. Congrats, please keep me posted. I am going to keep my options open. I am excited to hear DD is doing such a great job for you.

Cheers

manzanita99 · 03-26-2008, 10:04 PM

Good luck. I think Zach was the person i spoke with at EM. I think they will still do a great job i think he was just trying to set expectations by warning me on budget. He was very professional but I really preferred DD after looking at their photos.

cohnin08 · 07-18-2008, 05:36 PM

I too hate to blacklist anyone, but having recently gotten married in PV in May under a contract with EM-Vallarta, I have to warn future couples to be very careful about working with them. We personally liked both Zach and Barbara and our research, diligence and now personal experience supports their reputation for throwing beautiful events. However, only those with money to burn and a limitless budget should consider using them. Their prices are indeed grossly inflated and although their sample invoices reflect steep event costs, there are significant costs that those sample invoices still do not include, and once you are pregnant with your wedding, it is nearly impossible to avoid them. Unfortunately, they also don't kick into gear until quite late in the game (they told us that this was entirely the norm in Mexico and basically told us we were being uptight for wanting costs locked down and plans in place before it was almost too late to do anything but spend the money they wanted us to spend). We ultimately had to move venues due to an increasing attendee response and were fortunate enough to find a venue that did not allow outside wedding planners. Because of EM-Vallarta's practices and prices (which do NOT reflect discounted vendor costs under anyone's definition), moving the wedding to a restaurant location saved us thousands of dollars without compromising any level of quality. We still had to have a post-wedding event planned by EM-Vallarta in order to honor our contract with them and spent over $6,000 for a taco buffet and jugs of margaritas for the after-party! Although the post-wedding event was indeed lovely, it was a high price to pay for what it was. Nonetheless, even given the cost of the EMV after-wedding party, we still saved thousands of dollars NOT using EMV for the wedding itself. Again, EMV plans and executes lovely events, but couples who are the least bit cost-conscious should definitely look elsewhere. EMV's demographic is American couples who are unfamiliar with PV and the actual costs of goods and services there, and we agree that the fees and costs they charge are opportunistic in that regard. Unfortunately, EMV also pushes for couples to be hands-off until it is too late to avoid EMV's significant mark-up. We do think that couples who do not have budget parameters and who just want to show up with a check in hand would be very happy with EMV, however. EMV would be the perfect choice in that context. For anyone else, however, my husband and I agree that if Prisar or another planner whose practice it is to share actual vendor contracts and receipts is available that you will find it preferable to use them.

dinogomez · 07-20-2008, 08:46 AM

Wow, sorry to hear that! It's good that you post that info so others can avoid such hi expenses!

Jacie · 07-27-2008, 08:29 AM

I have been in touch with several coordinators in Puerto Vallarta; Prisar, EM Vallarta, Mar Weddings, The Dazzling Details but won't make my decision until I interview them in September when I visit Vallarta with my mother. Honestly, aside from seeing receipts like Pricilla from Prisar provides I don't trust invoices for actual costs.
I do think that some coordinators in Vallarta see Americans as an easy way to make money. That's one of the reasons why my mother is coming as she's done events in Vallarta, is Mexico and knows how much things actually cost. So far I must say that all of the coordinators that I reached out to have been super helpful but can't make the decision until I meet them and see what they can do with our budget. Does anyone on this site have any recommendations for photographers in Vallarta? That's one vendor I still need help with. Thanks so much!
Jacie

dinogomez · 07-28-2008, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jacie

Does anyone on this site have any recommendations for photographers in Vallarta? That's one vendor I still need help with. Thanks so much!
Jacie

Good luck with your search. You may want to try the "Search" function from the forum.

d!no

cohnin08 · 07-28-2008, 03:37 PM

Dear Jacie --

If it helps, we were very happy with the photographer we used for our wedding at Le Kliff in May. His name is Paul Van Vleck and is new to PV (although he did wedding and other photography in Los Cabos for years). He is originally from San Diego. Paul was simply a joy to work with, worked really hard and built a terrific rapport with our family and guests. We thought he was just great and highly recommend him. I would suggest contacting him directly to see what his fees would be without the wedding planner mark-up. His website is Paul Van Vleck Photography and his contact info should be on the site.

Feel free to tell him that Jennifer (Ortega) & Steve Cohn recommended him! Good luck!