BRIDEZILLA

Quote: Originally Posted by LISVITAL We are getting married at the Cabo Surf Hotel but everyone is staying in downtown Cabo. I am providing the transportation. I knew I would eliminate people if the hotel was too expensive. I provided a list of hotels within all budgets. Lisa I am also interested in Cabo Surf but will not have my guests staying there. Did you have to pay a location fee because you didn't reserve rooms?

Quote: Originally Posted by anacgarcia yea amber.. I'll buy my own.. maybe I'll buy it there.. they are charging me 50 dlls for dinner and 25 for the mixers.. per person.. Wow.....I'm going to look into this. What a way to save HUGE money!!

Quote: Originally Posted by TAMMYM Nope, were just staying there on our wedding night (we wanted to, they didn't say we had to) They have a coupld of places to have a reception, where Jess is getting married at on of resturants cooks for that spot. They also have rooms they could use. I know De Cortez doesn't allow outside music so you couldn't have your reception there, but I'm sure they have other spots that could work. What I noticed when I first emailed Irma was put in the subject like "wedding site visit" she opened it and I got a response almost right away. I'm sure she gets overloaded with questions so if she know's your coming she would help you over some standard questions. I"ll wait unitl tomorrow and if I do not hear from her I'll send her another email.

Quote: Originally Posted by anacgarcia They charged me $450 for setup at the beach for the ceremony and $80 per person (3 course dinner and unlimited mixers included) I did do a contract for rooms but it was not required,, Ana, That's a deal. Unlimited mixers? Did you get to supply your own alcohol? ~Amber

Quote: Originally Posted by TAMMYM Have you thought about the Sheraton? I was quoted $330.00 for a location fee for a beach ceremony in front of De Cortez. They can do a wedding menu. I would at least talk to Irma at the Sheraton and see what she has to say.. Tammy~ I sent Irma an email a few days back and have yet to hear from her. I am definitely interested in The Sheraton and it is also on my site visit list. Did you have to book a block of rooms? Also, do they have a private area to have the reception? I am under the impression that you have to use one of the restaurants. ~Amber

Quote: Originally Posted by JANET1111 Amber...I know you said you were looking into the Cabo Surf. Can I help you with that at all? What makes them appealing in addition to the great private-ish location, is that they have some of the most reasonable food/bev costs in Cabo. And the food is REALLY yummy too. Janet, I am definitely not ruling out Cabo Surf! It is on my visit list next week. However, Maye was leaning more toward Marbella because she said the beach was more private. You booked a block of 10 rooms for two nights correct? ~Amber

Quote: Originally Posted by anacgarcia Amber sorry if you already posted this before but where are you having the reception? that's what I don't get.. 'cause if you choose the FA you can get the ceremony package and they will charge you around $1,000 but with things included.. or, you can have dinner there and they don't charge you anything.. just the dinner.. I'm getting married at the FA but in Cancun Ana~ I was going to have the reception at the same place as the ceremony (ideally). That’s what is so crazy about the fee because it is in addition to food/bev and chair/table rental. The $1,500 is for the use of the beach and reception area only (in addition to the thousands of dollars that I will have to spend on everything else!). I am looking into FA. I was told that it is a $750 location fee. The food and bev is higher that the other resorts (around like $175-$250 pp) so it may not work out. Did you reserve rooms at your FA to make it cheaper?

Quote: Originally Posted by gkashmira Amber - hang in there! ALL of us went through this originally! You will find the right place - you just need to do a lot of reading here and on thje old forum www.caboweddingforum.com (you can't post there but I think everyone's old posts are still archived there). I think you should look into some great beachside restaurants! You can find a private beach, great food and save yourself the "location fee." Who's your WC (maybe I missed this - is it Maye?). I would ask her to find you beachside restauarants along the corridor and maybe in San Jose (much more private than Cabo). I would also talk to TammyM - she got location fee pricesw from a bunch of locations I think. If I can think of any good options I'll let you know! Kashmira~ Thanks for helping me during my late night meltdown! LOL. I am truly turning into Bridzilla. I had nightmares about my wedding all night last night and it is nine months away crazy! You are right my WC is Maye. Although I think she is really busy because she takes a few days to return my emails and when she does, she doesn’t answer all my questions. I know its still early but I feel like I’m really on my own. Thank God for this forum!!! Thanks for the link. I’ll do some research and keep you gals posted! ~Amber

Quote: Originally Posted by gkashmira I do think Marbella is a great option for a very affordable wedding on a private beach with a nice atmosphere - BUT it seems like that is only the case if you can do a room block with them. Honestly with the $1500 tagged on it's just not worth the money. I think you can get a nicer location for the same price or less! Basically any hotel on the corridor will have a relatively private beach. Obviously the hotels and restaurants in downtown Cabo are less private I think that a restaurant might be a good option - you won't need a room block and they may not have a sight fee since you'll be doing all the food/drinks there... I am really working on my budget for the first time tonight and I'm realizing that I cannot afford a location fee like that I've got the wedding planning blues now. Now I want like three glasses of wine BUT that will not fit into my wedding diet. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by host i agree with kash...i dont know why you would want to have your reception there unless that was all you could afford, but with a $1500 site fee that is ridiculous...both FA and cabo surf are sooo much nicer. Yeah...I am kinda turned off by the whole thing. I'm starting to like FA alot more. Has any of the girls gotten married on the beach and had a reception at the Whale's Terrace?

Quote: Originally Posted by gkashmira The following places are in Cabo Downtown area and are around or under $100 on orbitz.com: Los Patios - $102 Norman Diego's the Mexican Inn - $95 Hotel Santa Fe Los Cabos - $74 Comfort Inn Los Cabos - $109 I just booked a place called The Cabo Inn. It is a small 19-room hotel that is ran by a husband and wife. It is right next to the Giggling Marlin and cost only $65/night including taxes! I was a little hesitant at first because I’m used to staying at our timeshare (at Marina Fiesta) which is more resort-like but all the reviews on trip advisor were excellent. And when you are planning a wedding desperate times call for desperate measures. Lol!! I am sooo dramatic! Anyway, I’ll take pictures and report back for any of you who are on a super-duper wedding budget such as myself!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by gkashmira Marbella is nice but to be honest it's not THAT nice - in fact the thing about it is that it's so affordable - that's what makes it a good option. If you have to pay this location fee than you are way better off going somewhere else. It's a nice place but it is not as nice as the bigger resorts (or some of the more upscale smaller hotels like Cabo Surf, etc.) I have some pictures in my gallery of the rooms and stuff... I do not think it is worth $1500 just to be there! here are some pics: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...p?do=view&g=35 What about Marbella attracted you - perhaps we can recommend some alternatives? Well first off was that I heard that it was sooooo affordable. And second was the beach was very private. Our goal is to have a beach ceremony on a private beach followed by a Mexican style (hopefully palapa/terrace-style) reception. Here is the catch...I have 35-45 guests with an $8K to $10K budget. I’m starting to feel a little defeated here! My WC seems to think that Marbella is the best fit for us but I think she might be wrong. I’ve heard the Fiesta American has a low location fee so I might start directing my energy that way. I’m also looking into Cabo Surf. Any other suggestions?

Quote: Originally Posted by A10CALGAL Well Amy, I think the manager is assuming all you want is the location. Are you considering NOT staying at Marbella? Maybe he is misunderstanding you? I think you could swing a great deal if you booked up the hotel -and their rates are actually pretty low for rooms. How many guests are you anticipating?? OOps, ok you answered my question above. I would explore other options then, because it doesn't sound like you are going to get very much cooperation out of the hotel if you only want the location with no lodging. What about food/bev? Well...if I love the place I can get creative I guess. I can have my wedding on a weekday or rent the place out for a couple of days. We'll see. I was just super surprised at how direct the manager was. I felt like he was saying that he didn't want to let me have my wedding there because he would loose money. Maybe Maye will be more persuasive?

Quote: Originally Posted by A10CALGAL Ditto what Janet said! I was just thinking I should have written more. I honestly think when places quote a "location fee" it assumes no other business is involved - just you using their site to get married & that's it. The problem is that the majority of my guests will be staying at a timeshare on the Marina in DT Cabo and the rest of them wnat to be close. I don't think that anyone will reserve rooms there because it is so far. So now I am stuck paying a location fee (which I'm okay with). However, $1,500 is higher than some of the really large resorts.

Quote: Originally Posted by A10CALGAL Amber, Wow! My first reaction is that it sounds high. Do they charge a location fee even if you use them to cater the reception? The manager sounded kind of irritated about my request. He said that the reason he would have to charge so much is that if he rents me the beach and terrace for the evening he is loosing out on money to another wedding party. Here is what he wrote: The $1,500 is just for use of the beach. No decorations are included. The reason is, if I book you to use the beach for your wedding, but your wedding party doesn’t occupy rooms here, I’ve closed myself off for other wedding parties that may rent anywhere from 10 to all 40 suites in the hotel that weekend. This is in addition to catering and beverage. I am so bummed out. This venue is in my top three and now it seems that they are not even interested in renting to me

Hello Ladies, I am totally freaking out!!! I'm going to Cabo in a week and a half to sight hunt and I have no idea where I am staying or what I am doing. There I vented a little bit. This is like my online support group. LOL Anyway… about Marbella Suites… Does $1,500 seem high for a location fee? I've had a hard time getting a location fee from my WC so I called Marbella Direct and was quoted a $1,500 fee without a room block reservation. I just want to make sure this is right. It seems high compared to the other hotels.

Quote: Originally Posted by KarlaV When we went for our site visit, we stayed at Los Patios. It was super cheap but really nice. We were pleasantly surprised. It is not however, walking distance to the marina- more like a 5 minute car ride. It is also not on the beach. KarlaV Thanks Karla! I saw Los Patios. I think we wnat to try to be a little closer in though.

Good Morning Ladies, I am headed off to Cabo on February 9th and I need to find an economical hotel (around $100 a night) near the Marina/Downtown area (no Tourist Corridor). I was going to stay at La Bahia Condos but they raised their prices! Any suggestions?

Quote: Originally Posted by TAMMYM If anyone is interested in inquiring more about the Sheraton, here is Irma's contact information, she's out of the office today but she'll usually respond within a few days. [email protected] Thanks TammyM!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by KAMEYER70 We booked the Imperial Suite (which is more like a private, beach-front villa) at the Fiesta Americana Grand for our wedding. Does anyone have suggestions for menu choices? Are they flexible with the menu? We are flying down there in 2 weeks for a tasting and I would love some suggestions. Thanks! Hey KM, From the pictures that looks like an excellent location! What are the location fees like? Do you have to rent the Villa for a set period?

Quote: Originally Posted by TAMMYM Were having a small wedding, so were just having a dinner. The food at De Cortez is about 20.00-60.00 a plate depending on what you order. I want my quests to order off their menu but they can set something up for you that could save you money. Do you have Irma's contact information? No what is it? I might as well inquire since I have no idea where I'm getting married and am becoming more confused every day!

Quote: Originally Posted by TAMMYM Amber I was going to get married on Pedregal but going from hotel to Pedregal then do dinner location back to hotel was just getting to be too much wasted time. The $330.00 is the cremony set up fee for the beach "total". The beach I would say is somewhat private, when I was there in November most of the people swim in the pool because the ocean isn't swimmable at the Sheraton, the vendors leave around 5:00 and the beach has just a few people walking on it. Even during the busy times it's not that busy. The other nice thing about the beach is that both resturants are on either side of the resort so they can easily block people from that area. The link that Jessalyn posted has some good pictures. I can post more if you want me too... Your Ceremony should be breathtaking! It looks beautiful!! Any idea how much reception/food/bev costs?

Quote: Originally Posted by TAMMYM Hi Brandy, The main differance between Sheraton and Dreams is that Dreas is an AI resort, so if your having a large wedding in Cabo, you'll end up probably saving money having it there. I'm having a small wedding, (10 people max) and were getting married at the Sheraton. They don't have an onsite WC to do a legal wedding in cabo (she's more of an event planner, not a WC) but Irma at the Sheraton is great to work with and will help you in booking your reservations for dinner, ceremony or whatever. I also hired a WC (Maye C.) who is actually handling most of the details of the wedding. Getting Married on the beach at the Sheraton is actually pretty reasonable, it's only costing us $330.00 and that includes chairs, chair covers, tiki torches and a table for signing of the license. Then were having dinner at De Cortez, which is located right next to the beach. I wanted a romantic, intimiate setting for our wedding day. The second I stepped foot on the Sheraton grounds I knew it was the place I wanted to have our wedding. If someone is interested in a church or garden wedding they also have both locations onsite as well. Both are very pretty (do a search on Sheraton and there is a post with pictures of the resort) If you have specific questions feel free to ask, and I'll try to answer. Hi Tammy, I thought you were originally getting married at Pedregal. Is the the $330 a location fee or is a per person charge? How private is the beach? Do you have pics? I have so many questions :-) Still stressing about location!!

Kashmira Thanks for the pics! I went to your gallery. It was very helpful!!! Quote: Originally Posted by gkashmira you may also want to consider Marbella en la Playa. When we scouted it there wasn't anyone else on the beach (a very pretty beach but non-swimmable like most). The prices are VERY affordable - I've attached the menu they sent me in August. But there are soome considerations - the rooms while very clean and seemingly comfortable are spacious but far from luxurious (though perfectly nice). I believe you can actually rent the entire hotel for a pretty reasonable fee if you wanted to. I mean it's not a resort or anything but it is a charming older hotel that will give you the privacy, the beach and the price you're looking for. They were doing some construction when someone else was there (tasha or Christa maybe?) so you should ask them about their plans for construction in the future. Also the place has TONS of stairs - this would not be a good place for anyone who is handi-capped or even a lot of small children - there aren't any elevators or ramps. Rooms start at about $89/night but some of them have more than one bedroom. A lot of my friends are staying here because it's close to the Hilton and it's affordable. You can see my pics of the place in my photo gallery... http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...p?do=view&g=35 Send me a PM if you'd like me to email you more pics! There's a really lovely poolside area for the reception which is pretty cool. On another note, the Sheraton's prices for food, drinks, cake etc. are rather high - it's an amazing property but they were the highest of all the places we went to see. You MAY be able to get away with a weddin gunder $10K but honestly I'm not so sure. I can see prices spiraling out of control pretty fast. As for WIP all I can say is don't work with them! Ask TammyM - she hired and fired them. I started workign with them in the beginning but they were so expensive that I looked elsewhere... then I foudn this forum. Another thing you may want to consider (to save $$) is many hotels/resort have wedding coordinators. If you decide to go with a place that has a good one then just save yourself the money of hiring someone else. If however you go with one of these smaller hotels (Marbella, Cabo Surf, etc. then you will need a coordinator.

Quote: Originally Posted by JANET1111 I can vouch for the awesomeness of the Cabo Surf Hotel! In the end we paid the following to the hotel for 55 people: $7/chair $14/apps $40/mexican buffet (food was AWESOME) $42/four hours open bar (they give a free welcome drink and a free champagne toast to help stretch a 4 hour open bar to a 6 hour party!) $5/cake plus 14 bottles of wine but I forget the prices...like $30 each? Add 25% to everything for tax and service (standard) These were 2006 prices, so I don't know how much they have gone up for 2007, but Christa's numbers look about right. As for your other concerns re: privacy The beach is semi private because it is small and only encompasses the hotel. There are no other properties that use that beach (except some giant mansions...drool, I want to live in one!) However, it's a popular surf beach, so we found that we had a scattering of surfers, doggies, and other people throughout the day. The crowd was thin by the ceremony, but still a few diehard surfers. However, I totally did not notice them AT ALL and it never bothered me. Everyone who hangs out there is very chill. Lots of locals and regular tourists. No vendors or annoying people. If you want to do business with them I would contact the hotel directly: Cabo Surf Hotel, beach resort, boutique hotel in Los Cabos with surfing, Baja diving and Cabo golf. - Armando will probably be the guy in charge. Although he can take a few days to reply, he is very nice and easygoing and should be able to answer your questions. Also, my photos are here: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t1650 Janet...Great Pictures! Your wedding looks like it was sooooo much fun! I am going to put Cabo Surf on my site visit list for Feb. I think I've narrowed it down to Marbella, Cabo Surf, Fiesta Americana or a privte villa (which may be too pricy). Did you visit Marbella or FA? If so, what were your thoughts?