Christa's Cabo Surf Review

[Christa]

Christa & Rafael’s Wedding Review

Overview
We arrived in Cabo on the Wednesday before our wedding and I am so glad we had a day to settle in before others started to arrive. Rafael and I got ourselves settled in our room, checked out the property, had our margaritas & just sat on our patio enjoying the view of all the surfing activity. Later that day we met with our photog, Bradley Fraser. He was so professional and friendly and helpful. We checked out the light & he took some test shots so we could figure out how we wanted our ceremony set up arranged – so helpful!

Thursday morning I met with Armando from Cabo Surf to review the details of our wedding. He was willing to make anything happen that we wanted; he had all of the details we had previously decided on already taken care of.

Our guests started arriving on Thursday, so activity started ramping up. I drove into downtown Cabo to go to my hair trial appointment at the Suzanne Morel Face & Body Care salon, more on that later. By the time I returned from the appointment, all of Rafael’s family had arrived and were sitting around the pool drinking margi’s (these were a theme for us!).

We all needed to be downtown for our welcome dinner at Baja Cantina Beach at 7:00 pm. I arranged a shuttle for our group through Ixchel, and he arrived 30 minutes early & graciously waited for us. We picked up people at the surrounding condos & then went down town. Our welcome dinner was a fricking blast! I think every single one of us had a hangover the next day. Thank goodness we had a shuttle to take us home.

After peeling myself out of bed Friday morning, I met with Maye Cortinas to review the details and show her how/where we wanted things set up. She is a very classy lady and left me with the feeling that she would make everything happen. She did bring an assistant with her that would be taking care of the day of coordination – her name escapes me right now, but she was absolutely lovely.

Friday afternoon we had our ladies spa day on the lawn at the hotel. Suzanne Morel’s team arrived early to set up and provided us with an amazing day of pedi’s, mani’s and massages. My guests really enjoyed it – this is a must do if it’s in your budget.

Friday evening is when things got really interesting. My maid of honor diagnosed me with an “official case of the jitters.” I totally did not see this coming. Everything had gone so perfectly already, every one of our guests was enjoying themselves, and I was a nervous wreck! It was so weird. I totally had an anxiety attack – shaky hands, shortness of breath, weak knees, crying. I seriously felt like I was going to die of a heart attack. It was crazy! All I can figure out is that I was so concerned about every body having a good time that my body had stored up all of this weird stressy energy & it had to get out. Rafael and I were supposed to spend the night apart, but I just couldn’t be alone. He stayed with me & took care of me.

Saturday morning came quickly & I was still a complete mess. I tried everything I could think of to relax myself – yoga, swimming, walking, laying down. Nothing was working. Suzanne Morel’s staff arrived and the concierge, Manuel, totally took care of me. He had me pour out my coffee and had me drink some chamomile tea. My maid of honor arrived and they started doing her hair, which was beautiful. Then it was time for my hair. I think once that started I was able to stop focusing on being stressed. Hair and makeup was done by 2:00 pm, and then it was time to wait for the wedding. We had a glass of champagne and TRIED to relax while watching Maye and her staff set up the huppah and chairs on the beach….next thing I know, it is 3:00 and Bradley arrived for pre-wedding pics. He was great. He kept telling me to breathe, which I needed because I kept catching myself holding my breath. Yikes! We took some fun pics and then he headed off to get pics of the boys.

Time for the ceremony! Jonathan, Rafael’s 12 year old son, came knocking on the door – he was ready to walk me down the aisle. Our ceremony was a complete surprise to me. We did not do a rehearsal. We each wanted to say our own vows and did not share them with each other in advance. Rafael said the most beautiful things to me in front of our family and friends – I cried and immediately forgot everything I was going to say! I managed to say something – I don’t quite remember what, I’ll have to see the video footage to remind myself. It was so cool to be able to look out of our small crowd of close friends and family and feel like they were all in this with me instead of just there looking at me. It was really special, completely non-traditional and I loved it!

Immediately after the ceremony I had arranged for the whole group to do a shot of tequila. Even Bradley partook. After getting everybody settled for the cocktail hour, we headed to the beach for bride & groom pics. Can I say one more time that Bradley was wonderful?

We were able to join our guests for the last half of the cocktail hour, which apparently everybody enjoyed. I think I took one bite of one thing…I really couldn’t eat for some reason. Then we moved on to the dinner table for our fantastic dinner of steak and lobster. The waiters were great and responsive. I don’t think my wine glass was empty once that night. By the time dinner started, out mariachi trio was done, so we switched over to the ipod music. That worked out really well for us. I can’t believe I was so up R’s butt about what music he was going to play – there was something for everyone & as I looked around the table during dinner I realized every body was having such a great time, dancing in their seats, singing out loud together. It was just super cool.

Rafael says to mention that after the reception we all got in the hot tub, listened to rap music & cursed! Yes, we did. Richard, the 16 year old, put on “his” music…and we all got into it. Good times!
Here's a few random shots from our camera, we get Bradley's pics tomorrow...KEEP READING - VENDOR DETAILS & REVIEWS ARE AFTER THE PICS!!







Cabo Surf Hotel – A+
We will return to this awesome hotel again & again! Although I had seen a million photos & read great things about the Cabo Surf…I was still so relieved and thrilled when we arrived on the Wednesday before our wedding. It was absolutely EVERYTHING I wanted for our wedding – small, intimate, special and with a breathtaking view.

The staff knew exactly who we were when we checked in. We were immediately offered a welcome margarita. The margi’s are perfect! We had room #20 above the restaurant. Although the room was a bit smaller than I expected, the view & proximity to the ocean more than made up for it. Our boys stayed in Ocean Room #5 and had a HUGE patio with a hammock. They loved it. Some of our other guests stayed in room #21 which has a balcony with a hot tub.

The service was top notch. I really can’t say I was disappointed by any facet of our stay or our wedding at the Cabo Surf, except when we had to check out on Sunday L

Maye Cortines – A
I did not give Maye an A + because on the day we met initially I was caught off guard by the fact that she said she was not aware we were having our reception on the lawn. It seems like she had way too much information in way too small of a binder. Her binder actually exploded at one point and all of her papers fell out. She didn’t even know if I owed her money. Good thing I’m honest & handed over the $2100 I owed her. Once we moved past that initial misunderstanding, I felt really good about her. She did not freak out at all ( I did on the inside!), she just adjusted and assured me everything would be taken care of. She knew all of the key staff at the Cabo Surf and it appeared they respected her and were willing to work with her. In the end, everything went as planned without me knowing. She did a great job, as did her assistant. She gets an A because all went as planned perfectly and without me having to do a thing.

Mariachi Trio – B
I had to ask Rafael to grade them, because I honestly don’t remember much about their music! I do remember I wanted them to break into full mariachi music as we walked back down the aisle after the ceremony, but they did not. I do remember they played some fun music that R & I dance to. Overall, they provided nice background music & that is about all I can say about them.

Suzanne Morel Skin & Hair Salon – A+
Suzanne is absolutely lovely, classy and on top of her stuff. I highly recommend her services. I went in for a hair & makeup trial on Thursday. Her salon is in the Pedregal community, which is interesting to get to if you don’t know where you are going. I had to ask a few people how to get there, but it all worked out. I called her when I arrived at the security gate, and she sent her concierge down to meet me & show me the way to the salon.

My stylist was Deanna, and she is an absolute perfectionist. She definitely knows what she is doing. She did not speak English, but that was fine because I speak Spanish. However, even if you don’t speak Spanish, it doesn’t matter, because the concierge is there for translation. She did my hair first, and while it looked good, it lacked that “oomph” that a bride should have according to Suzanne. This is probably because I have such fine hair. Suzanne pulled out a hair piece to bulk up my do, and it totally worked. Makeup went perfect, no complaints at all. Before I left they did a re-do on my hair so that it wouldn’t look like the day of hair…Suzanne did this herself and did a really cute style that I will definitely recreate for myself.

The spa day was perfect – without exception. The day of went perfect as well. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this vendor. USE THEM! They work magic.

Bradley Frasier – A+
Bradley is amazing. He did a recon visit to the hotel the week before our wedding to see what the light would be like for our ceremony. He recommended we move our ceremony back an hour and I am so glad he did. I really think our pics would have been not as good if we stuck with a 5:00 start time. He is so calm and cool. I love his personality. I felt like we clicked immediately. He absolutely worked his ass off for us. I mean, he was running around, jumping on top of things to get shots. He was drenched in sweat. We get our pics from him on Thursday….

Floreria Pamela – A
I originally was going to make my own bouquets and centerpieces. I decided to have the flower shop use the flowers I ordered to make two bouquets and then cut the rest of the flowers down to 8” stems for me. I used light pink roses, fuchsia gerbera daisies and pink gerbera daisies. Our coordinator arranged the centerpieces for us by filling low square vases with sand & water and inserting the stems into the sand. I think they looked great – especially for the price. We paid $245 for 9 bunches (3 of each kind) and the labor for making the bouquets & cutting the stems. They even delivered the flowers to the hotel in the morning. The flowers were beautiful and fresh. I wish I could have kept them all.

Ixchel Transportation – A+
Perfect service: on time, courteous, helpful.

Baja Cantina Beach Restaurant – A
This is a brand new restaurant on the beach near The Office. It is gorgeous! There was even a jazz trio playing while we were there. The ambience was great. The drinks were strong, the food was good. We had a great time.

I realize this review is ridiculously long, but I wanted to tell the story as well as review the vendors. Please feel free to ask any questions. I’m sure there is so much more info I have that I did not include, but I will stop now!

[AnnR]

First off - go enjoy your honeymoon!

But wow - you look STUNNING in those pictures, I can't wiat to see the pro pics! Thanks so much for sharing the review - and so fast! It sounds like everyone had a blast.

I take it R's son made it down there ok ... lol

[TammyB]

OMG I actually almost cried,, And i never cry.. :-) I'm so glad everything turned out well. I love the teaser pics.. I'm soooo looking forward to the rest of the pics and your review of VDP.

[Christa]

Thanks girls. I needed to put this together now before permanent brain damage sets in from so much relaxing. Our honeymoon really officially starts today since we had the boys with us until this morning. The last of our guests are leaving tomorrow.

I'll post Bradley's pics later this week. Be good!!!

[Natalie Z]

Christa Congrats!!!!!! I'm so happy for you that everything worked out so well for you! I'm sorry to hear about your anxiety attack but I'm glad you had everyone there to help you calm down!! You look beautiful and I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures!! Have so much fun on your honeymoon!!!

[LisaG]

You were an absolutely beautiful bride!!! Awesome review!!!

What are the long lights on the tables? They look cool!

[Tammy Host]

christa!!

WOW!! what can i say...shoot, i remeber when you first started planning...i almost feel like janet, tammym and i should have been at your wedding...

it sounds absolutely amazing! i cannot wait for bradleys pics. i love his work.

i am so glad you liked your flowers...they did mine also!!

YAY!!!!! i am just ecstatically happy for you.

[BEACHBRIDEMA]

Wow you look amazing, I love the flowers and the chair ties!!!! I am so glad everthing worked out. That is so cute that your husbands son walked you down the isle!!
Enjoy your honeymoon, cant wait to see the rest of the pics!!!
Sarah

[MrsV-to-be]

Christa - congratulations!! You look absolutly amazing! I have to say I got teary too - what a beautiful story (even with the anxiety attack!)
Glad to hear R's son made it down there without a hitch

Enjoy your amazing honeymoon!

[Rachelle E.]

YAY!! Everything sounds like it was amazing! I'm so happy for you!!

I'm SO extra excited for my friends wedding now!! Yay for Mexico!