Las Caletas Brides ~ Post HERE! (THREAD CLOSED)

I know! I can't believe she's already 9 months old ... where did my little preemie baby go!? I was looking at photos from back when she was still in the hospital, and it doesn't seem like that long ago. And she looks soooo tiny!

Hey Ladies,

 

I know you were looking at booking your own vs. working with the group sales coordinator. I actually used to work in the tourism industry so I thought I would share some thoughts:

 

1. Working with the group sales coordinator at most hotels in Mexico is a bit challenging because they typically want everyone to arrive and depart on the same dates. I personally would not waste your time.

 

2. You or your guests booking on there own is fine. Typically you can find good deals and can compare.

 

3. I am working with a travel agent for our wedding. It does not cost you anything to work with a travel agent because they make commission from the booking so there is no out of pocket costs. There are also tour operators (companies that pull together packages like Apple Vacations or Go Go Tours) who typically prefer or may only book through a travel agent which gives you more pricing options. Go Go Tours has guranteed that they will price match anything we find online and beat the prices by $10 per person (not a huge savings but still a savings). Typically the tour packages booked through a travel agent include transportation to and from the airport which you can do through expedia or travelocity as well. If you have any travel challenges, you can typically call your travel agent and they can work through any issues on your behalf so you do not have to sit on the phone making any unexpected arrangements. Finally, being the bride, the travel agent gives me a full list of everyone's travel schedule so I don't have to contact each person.

 

I know I am a little biased and no, I am not a travel agent, I just have been in the industry for a while and am a little familiar with the bonuses that travel agents give you.

 

On our invitations I did give my guests the travel agent information as well as the hotel information and on our site we do state that the travel agent is there however if they prefer to book on their own then feel free to.

 

I don't know if this helps but I thought I would input.

 

Jen

We have decided to go with Dreams Villmagna. I exhausted all options (contacting the hotel directly, reviewing all search engines, talking to many travel agents, etc) and it is going to work out best for us to not use a TA and just have people book online. From Mpls, the best package is through Expedia.com, but some may use others sites depending on their home airport (and we have MANY).

 

We just released info. to our family and bridal party on Friday and already have 23 people on the same flight coming down on Halloween from Mpls. I am SO excited about it : ). We plan to inform the rest of our guests after this week.

 

Trisha

Brittany, OMG! I just realized your wedding is saturday!

 

Have a wonderful time and bring us back tons of pics!

I'm just now getting caught up to this thread.

 

Congrats to all the newly married LC girls!!!!

 

Pazoop - your pics were amazing, made me tear up actually

 

Time is flying by! We finally got our BMs dresses picked out, and pretty much know what the GMs will wear. Now I'm working on "official" invitations, and OOT bags!

 

Soooo glad I'm only taking 1 online course in school this semester, because this wedding has turned into a full-time job! Martin went out shopping with me on Saturday all day for invites and so he got a small glimpse into the life of a B2B! haha I think he now has a much better appreciation, which is always a good thing!

 

Andi - you're getting so close!

Your wedding was beautiful. I am getting married at Las Caletas on June 1, 2009. I have been in contact with Daiguiri Dicks, but only through a general email address. Who were you in contact with for your welcome dinner? About how much did you spend per person for the welcome dinner? Also, how does tipping work at Las Caletas?

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

On tipping...I THINK that some of the tips are included in the contract. $10 per person and that is just for the wait staff? someone correct me if i am wrong!

but then I think brides in the past have also tipped an extra amount to the coordinators, DJ, band?

hmmm now that I think about it, I really don't know the answer to tipping...someone help!

This was torture for me. I posted and got no replies, and then tried to search this thread and didn't get anything. I went in totally blind on this. $10 is included for the staff and that is already paid in your overall amount. But I had no idea how to tip Nicole, since she was awesome and doesnt make a percent of total wedding costs like a traditional independent WC. DH tipped her early in the day and then I was stressed because I was worried it wasnt enough. So big mouth hubby went up to her and asked if what he gave was appropriate. She said it ranges, some people give a little, some give really good. She was very classy about it and when he asked she said she hadnt looked at the amount. Personally, I think if we had given too little she is WAY TOO CLASSY to have said anything. I would be curious to find out if there is an appropriate amount. I truly had no idea what is right, and just took a guess.

Hey there!

Thanks soooo much! Congrats - you'll love LC!

My Mom In Law threw us the party at Daiquiri Dicks and worked with Hnoi (pronounced Noeee :-). This was not a cheap party by any means - my hubby's mom was excited to go ALL OUT on the party - we had the front deck and beach all to ourselves, had menus, choice of several meals, dessert, open bar for a couple of hours, etc. Not cheap...but very fun! I honestly don't know how much they spent..

As someone else mentioned, tips for staff are included in your contract for LC. In any case, we gave a couple hundred to Nicole and Brad.

Good luck!!!!!

wow good to know, thanks for the insight! I guess there is no right or wrong amount...as long as what you give you feel confident about? hmmm i will have to talk this over with FI!

thanks!