nikkianddean's Zihuatanejo Wedding Review

[nikkianddean]

It has been forever since I logged on here, but just before the wedding work got so busy I had absolutely no time to myself. I knew I had to write a review of the wedding for any brides considering Zihua for their wedding, since when I joined there was very little on the area, so here it is. The wedding day was the single most fabulous day of my life. I had so much fun, and I wish I could relive it every day. I don't think I would ever get tired of it.

 

PHOTOGRAPHER: A++

Nathaniel Thompson

Nathaniel Thompson Photography, Santa Barbara, Southern California, Destination Wedding Photographer

Choosing Nathaniel was the single best decision I made for the wedding. He is amazing and, naturally, his wife Jenny is fantastic! Dean and I met with Nathaniel back in September and after meeting us we were not sure he really wanted to shoot our wedding (very embarrassing story for another time). In any case, from the moment Nate and Jenny met our family and friends they were so at ease and fun to be around. They are like the sweetest couple you have ever met and we felt so lucky to have their amazing energy around us on our wedding day. I cannot recall seeing them anywhere during the ceremony (and neither did any of the guests). In the middle of the reception they set up a laptop with a slide show of pics they had taken that day - AMAZING!!! It was the most unexpected surprise and I was absolutely floored. At this point I think they became the most loved couple at the wedding (barring the bride & groom). I kid you not when I tell you that EVERY GUEST personally told me how much they loved the wedding photographers. We have not received our pictures yet, but one of my friends who is very close to getting engaged asked for Nathaniel's contact info for their big day - that is how good he is I could not be happier and so it is fitting that Nate & Jenny win Oscar for Best Performance at our little wedding. If you are lucky enough to book him you will not be disappointed.

 

WEDDING COORDINATOR: A

Francisco Rivera Ibarra

The Wedding Planner - Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa, Guerrero, Mexico

Franciscois like a celebrity in Zihua. Everywhere we went, everyone knew him. He told us to tell people he was marrying us and they would give us good prices on everything and he was not kidding! Our taxis everywhere were cheaper, restaurants gave us free drinks, and everyone was just a little bit nicer (if that is possible). He was instrumental in getting everything together. When we got to Zihua he took us to meet with the florist, taste the menu at the reception venue (that his family owns), meet with the DJ. There were a few details he missed (like the rose petals that were supposed to line the aisle and the churros we requested for dessert. However, when he rrealizedthey did not have the churros he made a quick run to a bakery and brought manuelos which are very similar, so he totally gets an "A" for effort. And he giggles at everything which is hilarious!!

 

**As many brides have said before, communicating with the people in Mexico takes a lot of patience and a little humor. I had been emailing and calling them 6 weeks before the wedding and got no response. I wanted to talk about flowers and menus, etc. When we finally spoke about 2 weeks before the wedding I asked that my bouquet be peonies, they said "that takes at least one month to order." In the end I was happy that we were using flowers that are grown locally and were not flown from somewhere across the world because that seemed morally wrong and a little silly.

 

FLORIST: A

Dany's Flower Shop did everything we asked for. We used acapulco lilies which were beautiful. I thought everything was perfect.

 

BRIDEMAID HAIR: A

Kimberly Nichols and her fellow stylist Jannelle did a fantastic job on the girls. We had a wide range of hair types and they all looked beautiful throughout the night! Francisco recommended Kimberly and she can also be found at ReRenaissanceay Spa located at the Barcelo Ixtapa.

 

BRIDE HAIR: A++

My friend Letisha from Level 4 salon in San Francisco came to the wedding as a guest and did my hair. Ever since I started going to Letisha I have had a hair revolution. She is amazing. She did my hair for our e-pics as well. She is also the former stylist for the R&B group En Vogue (she still does their hair from time to time, like the last BET Awards). She is immensely talented and I loved my hair.

 

MAKE-UP: D

LuLu Jones Cosmetics

Dawn Schmidt was great when I met her. We did a trial run the night before the wedding so I had my makeup done for the rehearsal dinner. We agreed that she would bring a second artist to help her on the day of since we had 7 people. Well, on the day of the wedding she showed up an hour late...and alone i didn't stress about it then, even though I think I was well within my right to thoroughly tell her about herself. She apparently had a late nite with a guy she knows and then missed her alarm...she was supposed to be there at noon. Who sleeps past noon? Her work was great. And even though she spent more individual time on the BMs than she did on me, I was still happy with my make-up. I would never recommend her for her lack of professionalism.

 

CEREMONY/RECEPTION VENUE: A++

La Perla Retaurant

There could not be a more romantic location in Zihua to get married than La Ropa Beach. It was so beautiful and like something out of a movie. The reception was a La Perla restaurant. It was everything we dreamed of: enchiladas, tacos, fresh seafood, tortillas, rice, beans, guacamole and margaritas!!! I would not have changed a thing.

 

DJ: A++

Luis Zuniga was so off the hook!! We met with him a couple days before the wedding and I told him that I wanted to dance. I gave him 5 names: Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson, Earth Wind & Fire, Beyonce, Madonna. After our first dance the first song he played was "PYT" by Michael Jackson. Could there be a more perfect song? You have to know that it's my favorite MJ song and in college my email address was [email protected]. It was the best party I have ever been to. THE BEST

 

HONEYMOON: A++

Amuleto

Amuleto - A Boutique Hotel

We honeymooned at Amuleto which is a boutique hotel built very organically into the hillside of Zihua. If you are looking for a relaxing and awe inspiring place to spend a couple days in Zihua I highly recommend it. I wrote a couple reviews on Trip Advisor. I absolutely love the whole place. Ricardo and Neglia make you feel like family when you are there.

 

GROOM: A+++++.....

Dean asked include my comments about him in the review so everyone knows how "awesome" he is. Seriously. Dean was the best groom a girl could wish for. On the day of the wedding and even for our TTD shoot he was a great sport and never complained about all the pictures. Honestly I think he secretly enjoyed all the attention. He said his favorite part of the wedding was that when I walked down the aisle I never took my eyes off him and it made him feel so special. I loved that.

[Kat81]

Nikki I was just thinking about you today!!! I am so glad to hear it went amazingly well! I can't wait to see pictures of it. Congrats!

[MarieSam]

Aww I'm so glad you had a wonderful day ~ I wondered how come we hadn't heard from you since your big day! I can't wait to see your pics, I'm sure they're uber fabulous!!! CONGRATS Mrs.!!!!!

[yamille]

Yay! I am so glad that you had a wonderful experience. Congratulations!

[*Heather*]

Nikki I'm so glad everything went well! I'm dying to see pics! CONGRATS!

[Mel&B]

You wrote a wonderful review. I'm sure all of the zihua brides will really appreciate it, and I enjoyed reading it!

[boscobel]

Oh, I like it so much better when photos are posted in the links, until we can find time to go thru all the ones that are usually on a link. I'll check them out later, knowing they'll be nothing less then extraordinary, Nikki!

[nathanielthompsonphoto]

OK my turn to review:

 

Bride: A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

She was beautiful, radiant, and kind to all!

 

Seriously, this wedding was so much fun! And Nikki and Dean made such a point of making us feel like guests! In fact at the reception they literally took our cameras from us and handed us some stiff margaritas. The whole day had such an amazing energy. And the dancing was so much fun!!!

 

I just sent Nikki the slideshow of the wedding day, and I'm going to send her the slideshow of the TTD (which was amazing!) tonight. I'm sure she'll share with y'all.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikkianddean MAKE-UP: D LuLu Jones Cosmetics Dawn Schmidt was great when I met her. We did a trial run the night before the wedding so I had my makeup done for the rehearsal dinner. We agreed that she would bring a second artist to help her on the day of since we had 7 people. Well, on the day of the wedding she showed up an hour late...and alone i didn't stress about it then, even though I think I was well within my right to thoroughly tell her about herself. She apparently had a late nite with a guy she knows and then missed her alarm...she was supposed to be there at noon. Who sleeps past noon? Her work was great. And even though she spent more individual time on the BMs than she did on me, I was still happy with my make-up. I would never recommend her for her lack of professionalism.

Just had to comment on this...Nikki was SO amazing in how she handled this! The tardiness of the make up artist changed everyone's schedule. We were supposed to take photos of Nikki and her BM's prior to the ceremony, and that didn't happen. In fact, the start time of the wedding even had to be pushed back a bit b/c of make up. Through it all Nikki never panicked, or chewed anyone's head off. She was simply calm and serene and enjoying every minute of her wedding day, knowing that everything would be just fine and she was marrying the man of her dreams! I'm impressed!!!!

[DanielleNDerek]

Hey Nikki Congratulations. I cant wait to see your pictures.

[~*petals*~]

Congratulations Nikki!!