Yari's Las Caletas Wedding Review

Las Caletas Wedding Review

I am going to start this review with a general summary of the day from my point of view. In all, I did have a beautiful wedding and I am not going to let the bad get to me.

Please remember that this was my experience. By trade I am an event director and have high expectations. I wish I could say that everything was perfect and wonderful, but it wasn’t. My experience was not the best, but I would still recommend Las Caletas.

At the end of the review I will list the good and the bad.

The day started early as my mom, bridesmaids and hair stylist met in the lobby of the Hotel Tropicana at 8am. We took a taxi to the marina and Kelley was there to greet us immediately. She ushered us to security, where our bags were searched. My hairstylist’s hair razor and comb were confiscated, but thankfully my mother is fluent in Spanish and was able to get them back.

Once on the boat we sat on the upper deck and were given the most delicious Mexican bread ever. The ride over was calm and beautiful. As we pulled up to Las Caletas I was filled with excitement and butterflies. I couldn’t believe my eyes, the place was beautiful.

The bridal casita is breathtaking and very comfortable. It fit all six of us quite nicely and we started off the day with a nice glass of champagne. As a gift I gave a one hour massage to my mom, BM’s and hairstylist. It was seriously the best massage I have ever had. There was drama regarding the massage payment and they refused to give three of my BM’s massages. I thought it gotten taken care of, but when I was in the shower I had to get out cause Nicole arrived and said I needed to pay for them.

After our massages we had a wonderful lunch of ribs, chicken, salad, etc. It was scrumptious! I have to say that the day I spent at Las Caletas was extremely relaxing and fun. I am so happy that it is available to us.

The weather was very hot and humid and the casita does not have air, but there are fans. It didn’t start getting uncomfortable until after we started to get dressed. My poor hairstylist Michelle was working her butt off and probably sweated off 10 pounds due to the heat. Thankfully Michelle brought her ipod player and we rocked out to great tunes as we got ready.

Before I knew it, Nicole informed me that the boat was here. I started to cry, cause I couldn’t believe that my moment was finally going to happen. I found out later that five people on the boat got sick and the ride was hell on water. People were very scared. I feel so bad about this, I am happy that the wedding was so great they were able to forget about the ride over.

I was told by a BM that arrived on the second boat that the bus was one hour late and they had to walk four blocks to get to the bus, cause it couldn’t get down to the hotel. Brian was livid, since it was so hot and humid and Nicole told him that it would meet our guests at the hotel. I still can’t believe our guests had to walk to the bus. I guess the bus driver wanted them to walk further and Brian flat out refused.

Liquor was served on the boat ride over and when they arrived on the island. I did not know this until afterwards. I was upset with this, since I told Nicole numerous times that I did not want alcohol served until after the ceremony. I am happy I didn’t know until afterwards.

I was finally ready to go and Nicole came back and said the tide came up and washed away the ceremony table and they needed to fix it, so it will be a few minutes. A few minutes turned into a half hour or more. Then we were told it’s time. I could hear the music for the mom’s, and then the grooms men and Brian, it was so surreal. It was now my BM’s turn and mine.

During the walk thru that day I decided to go on the right side instead of the typical left side. Do not do this! It was extremely rocky, the stairs were hard to maneuver around and I felt like I was going to fall. Once I got down to the beach, I noticed that there was no aisle for me to walk down, so my dad and I went around the chairs to the chuppah. I also noticed that all of the GM’s were holding the chuppah up. It was all very unorganized. I was pretty shocked and didn’t know what to think.

The ceremony was wonderful, but the waves kept on crashing onto the chuppah and getting us wet. No one from LC came to hold up the chuppah or fix the problem. I focused on Brian and we got through the ceremony with a few laughs since we were getting wet. After the ceremony, we didn’t know where to walk since there was no aisle. This bugged me a lot, especially since I have always dreamed of walking up and down the aisle on my wedding day. I was never told that the aisle was removed due to the tide.

I felt like there was a lot of disorganization and I was very disturbed at dinner. Nicole was nowhere to be found after our pictures, so we didn’t get announced to the reception. We just sort of walked in, I was pissed. Also, I noticed that the programs were not handed out, nor were the bubbles. I spent a lot of time on these things and was irritated.

I barely ate, but everyone said it was delicious. It looked very good. Nicole was a doll and brought food to us, but Brian and I decided to visit each table instead of eating.

The toast was given, we cut the cake (which was beautiful) and then the dancing began. Many of our guests were disappointed that they didn’t see the cake get cut, because they didn’t hear it get announced. I am not sure about this, but I have to believe my guests.

The dj was amazing! I highly recommend him. After all of our “dances†the dj said that there was a special surprise for the couple and it turned out to be the fire dancers. Um, not sure why it was a special surprise, especially since we paid for them. All of our guests were impressed, as were we with the dancers. Brian and I were annoyed that they said it was a special surprise as if LC gave it to us. They should of said it was a special surprise to our guests from Brian and Yari instead.

We then partied the night away and danced in the ocean. The boat ride back was so much fun and the dj was great. We were singing and dancing, it was hilarious.

Yes, it was amazing and magical! Brian and I had the best time and our guests rave at how beautiful and fun the wedding was. I would definitely say get married at Las Caletas!

Good:

•I loved my centerpieces and the way the tables were done. They were exactly what I had imagined.

•The boat ride over was fun.

•Massages we got were unbelievable.

•Food was very good and my guests are still talking about it.

•The dj was awesome and played the right type of music.

•Definitely get the firedancers, they were worth the money.

•I haven’t seen the video yet, but the videographer was great to have. The evening went by so fast, I am glad I had it captured on tape.

•My photographer Michael Wichanek was amazing!!! I will write his own separate review, but I highly recommend him.

•I married the man I loved!

Bad:

•Drinks were served on the boat ride to LC and before the ceremony. I asked Nicole numerous times to not have alcoholic beverages served until after the ceremony.

•Guests had to walk four blocks to the bus.

•There were two missing place cards that my guests informed me. They said they asked Nicole and she just said I don’t know. Basically two of my guests didn’t have table numbers or almonds.

•Programs and bubbles were not placed on the chairs before the ceremony. This upsets me only because I worked hard on the little things and the fact that they weren’t displayed correctly makes me sad.

•Guests were confused as to where they should sit during the ceremony and took the place cards. There was no one there to tell them to take them after the ceremony.

•There was no aisle. I am now aware that it was due to the tide coming up, but to this day Nicole has not said anything to me about it.

•The MOB & MOG didn’t know where to stand and were told by three different people to stand here, no here, why are you here, etc. They were so confused.

•Announced that the fire dancers were a special surprise for us. WRONG, we paid for them.

•My bouquet was not that pretty. I was disappointed with it. The flowers were brown on the tips.

•Nicole asked if we needed ice for the champagne at about 3pm, we said yes and were looking forward to making a few toasts before getting ready. Well, the ice never came. My MOH asked at about 5pm for some ice and Nicole said it was coming. It didn’t get there until 6ish.

•This one gets to me. My parents asked to take home the leftover cake and Nicole got upset with them and started to yell. I know that she didn’t see me standing there, but I was. I couldn’t believe it. My mom asked nicely for a container and then Nicole just walked away. I decided to go to the boat and let my mom and dad deal with it, I didn’t want anything to ruin my night. Well, when my mom got on the boat and showed me the cake. Basically Nicole picked up the cake and dumped it into a container, it was now cake mush. I couldn’t believe it. This was uncalled for, but they still ate it with many of my guests the next day.

In summary, I wish that there was better communication between Nicole and my guests, Brian and I. She is a sweet and nice person and did a good job with the basics. The location itself is unreal and breathtaking. We had a total of 60 guests and they all had a wonderful time. There are a lot of other little things that were missed, but I am going to let them go. I listed out all the big things. I realize after re-reading this how long the bad list is, but don’t be hesitant about having a wedding at Las Caletas. Just be sure to have your list and check it twice.

Thank you for posting this Yari! I am glad you were very honest about what happened that you did not like. and that REALLY sucks about no aisle... I would have been MAD too!

Couple questions for you...

- the bus ride where your guests had to walk...was that the bus service that can be arranged through LC?

- A few of your guests got sick on the boat ride...did they take dramamine at all?

- on your mom taking the cake...did Nicole just not want you to take the cake or what? I dont understand what the big deal would have been on your mom (or other guests) taking it home!

well anyway reading about your LC day and wedding is so exciting! thanks for posting!

Great review Yari. I certainly know how scary it is for posting something "negative" so kudos for doing that. I too had some mishaps and I was really nervous how my review would be received as well. I think you are really helping all the future brides make their day picture perfect.

That's a shame so many people got sick. At least they got over it quick and still had a great time.

I thought your set up was beautiful in the pictures, and I wondered why the groomsmen were holding the chuppa. I assumed it was the waves, but it still kinda looks cool- like the Jewish ceremony.

They had to WALK to the bus? That totally sucks. This is one area that I wish could be improved. It was totally chaotic for my guests at the marina. They had NO idea where to go- actually 2 still missed the boat cause they were at the wrong area.

I'm sad you didn't like your bouquet. I will have to check it out. Was it the one you requested?

I'm so happy all these things didn't ruin your day though. You can't recreate your wedding, so keeping it positive really does help. It looked beautiful in the pictures though.

awesome review Yari!! i know it is tough to be honest in a review but it is SO helpful to other brides and that is really what it is about!!

Yari, you rwedding turned out amazing, I am glad you posted your true thoughts for all future LC brides. It may not have been perfect, but it looks amazing from the photos!

go you for not letting a few things get in the way of your happy day. i'm glad your overall experience was a good one...have you thought about sending nicole a letter w/ your review? i know that there are members from las caletas, but i'm under the impression they don't really frequent the board...

What a well-written, honest review!! Even though I'm not a LC bride, I really appreciate such a thorough review and it is so helpful for all brides to be able to think about these things beforehand. Thank you Yari for taking the time, and I'm sure it took awhile, to put these thoughts together for us!!

Your pictures are stunning BTW. Really, really beautiful.

Lauren, I did think about sending her a letter. I'm not sure if I want to though. I sort of figure that she will read the thread, especially since it wasn't the best review they have had...word is sure to get out.