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Welcome! I just got married at the Cabo Surf Hotel and looooooved it, so if you have any questions, let me know!

We also didn't have one, and I am not sad about that at all. We got married in Cabo to avoid the headache and expense of hosting 200+ ppl in our hometowns, and it worked!

Quote: Originally Posted by JOELLEN Hello, I received a quote from Mazarte floral and they quoted me $1500 for a bouquet for me. Yes $1500 !!! I could not believe it and I was appalled. When they sent me photos of the chuppah /altar decor I really liked it and they quoted $700 which is not too bad. But then they sent over photos of the bouquets and they were HIDEOUS. Are you sure that wasn't $1500 pesos? That would be $150 USD.

Quote: Originally Posted by mmcandrews Hi Janet, your pics are lovely! I am planning a wedding for next year, any super vendors you worked with that you would recommended? Thank you! I loved my vendors! As you get more acquainted with the board you will see their names a lot... But I used Bradley Fraser as a photog (Cabo Wedding Photography, Los Cabos, Cabo San Lucas Photographers, Cabo Weddings) Lisa Galvan as a planner (Fiestas Los Cabos) The Flower Cart for flowers (Francine) (Untitled Page) Enrique and Marci for video (Baja Video Productions Weddings Cabo San Lucas) Antares for my DJ (Dj Antares // Welcome //) David Flores for guitar ([email protected])

welcome! there's definitely a good amount of RIU stuff here on the board. How is your planning going so far?

Hey Sarah, I def want to check out the whole book (I should PM you) but I guess my only thought first off is that since this is a gift for your parents....perhaps you want to de-emphazise the laying-down-making-out photos?!? Don't get me wrong, they are super sexy and I really like them...but I am just thinking of the recepient? I need to embark on my wedding photobook making....you are going to inspire me to get started!

Quote: Originally Posted by REBECCA wow I wish I had known about them??!!!!! I know -- sorry! It was a last minute find on this board, actually. I didn't have the $ in the budget for anything else!

oh darn! Well maybe if they don't have clients as it gets closer they might change their minds? We watched the footage from a friend's camera this weekend and although it wasn't perfect, it was still pretty good. Definitely better than nothing, if you end up going that route. Good luck!

Quote: Originally Posted by ShannonBoat Hi Janet, I am going down to Cabo this weekend to check out the Cabo Surf Hotel. One of my concerns is that I would really lik eit if everyone could stay in one place but Cabo Surf can not accommodate all my guests (apprx. 100 people). Any suggestions or tips? Should I do it some where else? Thank you! Hey Shannon....see my reply on the other Cabo Surf thread. I would talk with Armando and just try to visualize where 100 people will go. It would be a tight squeeze, but it's probably possible? The hotel is so cute...at least go check it out while you are there! Have a great trip! (PS they have THE BEST margaritas we had in Cabo, I'd recommend getting one )

Quote: Originally Posted by TAMMYM Hmm I'm pretty sure I'm going to hire Maye C for our WC, but since she's on her own and doesn't work for a company, do you think I should tip her? I also wasn't planning on tipping Juan because he owns his business as well. I'm I wrong in thinking this way? no, that is definitely a normal way of thinking about tipping. I guess my tipping leaned toward people who went way above and beyond and who were not making a really high hourly wage already. But really, it's all subjective

Hmmmm I didn't really have a plan for this going in, but I think in the end we tipped: $100 to our day-of WC (and her assistant) $100 to videographer (These two vendors basically worked their butts off for us and weren't making that much $$) We confirmed that all of the catering service charge actually went to the wait staff as tips. We did not tip photog, guitar player, or DJ. (Not really for any reason except they were already kind of expensive so we just felt like we paid enough. These guys were making $200/hr+. The WC and the videographer were making more like $50/hr.) Who else am I missing?

Quote: Originally Posted by ShannonBoat Hi - Your wedding looked beautiful and I love your dress! Thank you for all of your tips they are very helpful! I am thinking about having my wedding at Cabo Surf Hotel... Do you think that a wedding with 100-120 people will be too big to have there? Also, I know the hotel can't hold all of those people to stay there. Where would you receommend near by for people to stay? Thank you!! Hi Shannon, If I remember right from my planning, they may only be able to hold 100 people maximum. We had 57 and it was great...It might be a tight squeeze anywhere upwards of 80-90 people. However, if you think there's a chance your wedding might get a little smaller, I would totally recommend the place. I absolutely looooooved it. In the area there are lots of other places to stay: 1. nearby hotels: Palmilla, Westin, Marquis, Sheraton are all within 5-10 min drive toward Cabo. Anything in San Jose is also a 5-10 min drive (sorry I am less familiar with those hotels) 2. Condos/private villas: Do a search on ..VRBO® is Vacation Rentals by Owner® Vacation Homes Rentals by Owner for things in the La Jolla neighborhood (villas) or anything on Costa Azul beach (condos mostly). I'd recommend Las Mananitas in particular. Privately owned property that you rent from the owner is a really affordable option in that area, actually. We had people stay at a mix of places. It worked fine for us, but the people who stayed at the hotel just didn't have to worry about transportation as much, of course Hope that helps!

Quote: Originally Posted by NHPT thanks rebecca for the advice. i will just have to wait to see how many people end up coming and how much extra money we will have in the budget. thanks again for the advice! Nicole, I only paid $50/hr for raw footage. We watched it for the first time this weekend and it was great! Talk to Marci (BVP) on the board. She and her husband Enrique did it for me and they were fabulous and so affordable.

Quote: Originally Posted by SASSYGIRL I was married before too and did not switch back to my maiden name after the divorce. The funny part is that my first husband and my FI both are named Scott. (my family calls them Scott #1 and Scott #2 - glad he had a sence of humor about that!) Sometimes if I make a reservation for a hotel or something under my name they call my FI "Mr. Scott #1's last name" THAT drives him nuts so he will be very happy when my name is changed and he wont have to deal with that again! lol Sarah, I have 3 ex-boyf's named Scott and they are also numbered 1, 2, and 3. (Luckily this spans over like 8 years...) So I was kinda glad to marry an Andrew

Jenesis, We used Alamo and paid a total of $281 for 9 days (including EVERYTHING, but we declined the CDW insurance). I would just forget about Payless and shop around. I used Dollar when I went in June and they were great too. The cars can be kinda crappy, but who cares because you are just driving around on crappy old roads half the time anyway...at least that was my thinking!

Quote: Originally Posted by JPMO ONG Janet the pics are wonderful and a great testament to Bradley's talent. I love how absolutely happy you look in every picture... it was a great day and it shows. Plus I loved your hair, the sideswept ponytail was the perfect compliment to your dress. Congrats and thanks for sharing again! Thanks, J!!! And Rebecca, we had 3 hours. If felt too short, but since the sun went down, we really had no choice. I think if I had to do it over, I would add one more hour of photog time on the front end. Thankfully we had about 3 amateur but really good photogs there all weekend to make up for it

Quote: Originally Posted by REBECCA Wow Janet! Gorgeous pictures!!! Bradley did a great job and you look soo beautiful and happy!! I like how organized you are with your photos. I don't know if I have the patience to do something like that But I should learn!! Thanks, Rebecca! I has definitely been kind of a pain this week uploading for hours every night, but it's so much easier when our guests ask about pictures and we send them to this website to order what they want for themselves!

THanks Tammy and Nicole. THis is going to be my project for next month (fun fun)

Quote: Originally Posted by REBECCA Thanks Janet! You look so beautiful in your Sig picture! Have you posted all of your photos yet? THanks Rebecca! I did post all of my pics on here -- search for Janet's Wedding or something? Sorry I am on REALLLLLY SLOOOOW internet this weekend so I can't find the link myself

Rebecca -- great review! I swear our weddings/reviews are so similar! Too funny, especially because we used totally different vendors. But dates, times, size, timelines, and the kinds of things we did were really similar. I can't wait to see pics! This will definitely be helpful for other Dreams brides

Just make sure you plan for the right sunset time and adjust accordingly. My photog Bradley sent me this link for a great sunset calculator: http://www.sunrisesunset.com/calendar.asp

my pleasure! it makes me feel like maybe I am still planning my wedding. Like maybe I get to have another one? pretty please?!?!?!

Hi Tasha...all good questions, I will try to answer: Quote: we have negotiated the filet & lobster dinner for our guests, but my dad is being a pain and wants to offer fish & lobster also. Since Armando isn't the best about getting back to us right away and I need to finalize my invite design, do you think that he will trip if we just go ahead with our plan to offer both? I can't imagine that fish is any more $ than beef. My guess is that it would be fine? You could always try calling Armando or emailing one last time? He should get more responsive as your date nears...but still, he should be emailing you back now. Usually, he would at least reply to my 2nd email being like "Please respond to the email I sent last week. See below." I would guess that fish can't be more expensive than filet though! Quote: - what does the inside of the reception area look like? Are there lanterns hanging? From this photo on their site it appears that there are curtains hanging. Are those just something that a guest added? would you recommend adding lanterns or curtains or anything? There are definitely NOT curtains there, and I'm not sure if I remember lanterns. I'd have to go back through my pics. It's basically a palapa roof with nice carved tree-like poles holding it up. Some of the walls (there aren't many) are painted kinda beachy-mural like (very subtle though). I did absoutely no decorations other than centerpieces, and I never felt like it looked empty or unfinished. Between the low roof, the ocean view, and the tables with dishes and centerpieces, there isn't really a need to add much. I suppose some lanterns or pretty pieces of fabric might look nice, but I personally wouldn't spend a lot of time or money on it. It's hard to know if you will feel the same, though! We also didn't have any stuff (arch, flowers, etc) on the beach for the ceremony, so I just might be one of those minimalist brides who is weird or something? I just never felt like we needed more stuff. The view is gorgeous on its own. One thing is that the hotel really likes to use fiesta/Mexican looking rugs and fabrics to decorate the food/buffet tables. This might not be a problem if you have a plated dinner, if not I would request to have no mexican fiesta rugs! (Don't worry about this before you get there, just ask them to not use them on the day of) Oh here is a pic: So there might be a few lanterns but not many Quote: Was the dancing in the restaurant? If I were to hire the Twins to play where would they set up? Here is where we had our dance floor: It was kinda of just off to the side of dinner, and not totally under the roof. It was the perfect size for a DJ and about 20-40 ppl dancing (we had 57 there total, but some people would be sitting at all times). If you had the Twins, I guess you would have to see how big their stage is. There is probably room for the stage in the non-roof part and just extend your dance floor out into the roofed part a little? How many people are you expecting total? I would only worry if you had more than 60-70 AND you wanted the band....but really it's roomier than you might think. Quote: - How did they set up the cocktail hour near the pool area? Did they put tables & chairs out? Did they provide linens? Here is a pic of my cocktail hour. They provided tables, linens and tiki torches all included, no extra cost (I had asked for tables but not torches, those were a bonus I guess!). It looked really good as the sun was setting. They also moved all the pool furniture off to the side. I really didn't spend much time at the cocktail hour but for the 3 minutes I saw it it looked great. Quote: When I was talking with Tara's partner Amy she recommended that we get tiki torches to light up the beach at night. Would you rec this? We didn't go onto the beach at all once the ceremony and photos were over, so we wouldn't have needed tiki torches. I would only get them if you plan to be down on the beach for something? Hope this helps and doesn't just cause more confusion!!

Quote: Originally Posted by NABUMBAH beautiful ceremony I actually also plan to use "Union" in my vows also. I read it to my friend last summer before her wedding and couldn't even make it though without crying - I am going to return the favor and have her do it as a reading. oh that will be perfect. I feel kinda bad that we didn't give credit to the author in our ceremony, but I didn't know how to have our officiant stand up there and be like.......Okay, everything I am reading was written by someone else.....Now you're married! (It was a lot easier to credit the writers of the shorter readings done by friends)

Quote: Originally Posted by bonbon78 Thanks everyone! Yes, it's me Janet! We are staying at Atlantis but getting married on the beach at Paradise Island Beach Club. Atlantis charges $5k to get married there! YIKES! No, thank you. The $150 for PIBC is perfect! $5K just to get married?!? crazy! Well it's good to have you on the board. We need to find more Bahamas brides to join you