Ali and Jeff

I have to agree with you on that one...Jeff and I both knew we wanted a destination wedding but didn't know any details of it so we didnt really say anything to anyone, just that we knew we wanted a DW. Then one day after work I walked into this travel agent on my way home and she had an incredible deal that was over in 2 days! As soon as I got home I called and emailed the fam and that was it...they had two days to decide if they wanted a good discounted trip! We had no complaining at all and it was so last minute! We did however have a few who choose not to go in with that package and tried to book later and had to stay at the sister hotel because ours was booked but it seemed to work great for our families!

Yes you do get a DVD with the $575 package, and its partly to music as well as the sounds of Las Caletas and your ceremony! I am guessing it is probably decided by the videographer when he is editing it what he will keep and what sounds best because for ours the part with the group coming over was all to music (which was fine to us but you could see people saying things to the camera and it was edited over, my brother told me it was probably because it was windy on the boat and it wouldn't of been clear sound) but during our ceremony you do hear parts of it (ie. vows, introductions, sand ceremony & announcing us married!) This was kinda why we also liked having the video from my brother-in-law because it has the whole ceremony as well....we figured we kinda got the best of both worlds! And once I get the video back in my possession I will try and post it but no guarentees! Have a good one!

They had some of the ceremony on it...like the part where Jeff and I were saying our vows to each other...and part of our sand ceremony...and him announcing us husband and wife but not the whole speaking part. I have no idea if that helps or not or just sounds confusing but just wanted you to know!

Quote: Originally Posted by akh Ali - have you posted the video done by the guy you hired through Las Caletas? We're now thinking of doing this, and I'd love to see his work, and what the end product is like. I've seen the other videos you shared (thank you!) and they are great, but I think done by your brother. Also, did you just do the $575 package? What did you get with that, and how long was the guy there to video your wedding? Hi Ann, Yes the footage you saw was done by my brother in law and we did go for the $575 package but I haven't been able to upload it...I can't seem to get it all downloaded properly on my computer, but I can tell you that we really enjoyed it, as for the details of it...well our video was an hour long and ended with our special dances (first dance, father daughter dance and bridal party dance) and then we noticed that after that hour they had another 15 mins of dancing footage taken randomly through-out the night! Little bonus we figured! Umm the guy was there from when our guests group first arrived at the deck and then he stayed until we left but he stopped taping right before we got back on the boat to head home! If I can get it properly uploaded I will for sure let you know but we are just in the process of moving at the moment so all our wedding items are currently not with us because we left most of our stuff at our previous home! But I will definitely keep you updated with it!

Quote: Originally Posted by MarlaB Thanks Lindsay. Did you have a videographer as well? I am undecided. I have a lot of relatives that could tape it for free! Is it difficult to navigate your way back to the bathroom at the bridal suite when it's dark? I assume you can use that bathroom as opposed to the regular guest bathrooms. Did you pay for additional hours for your reception? Is it really necessary? I don't want to feel rushed. Also, do you go back on your own private boat or the one with the tour group. Did you change out of your gown? I gotta make good use out of that thing ya know Thanks again and I look forward to more pictures. You definitely need to blow up the one with the fire dancer and put it somewhere everyone can see!!! That is quite the picture!!! Hi Marla...well I know I'm not Lindsay but I thought I could answer or atleast tell you what we did about these situations. Umm we used a videographer and we also had my brother in law taping it! It was just a personal choice for us because we figure we wanted as many memories of it as we could and we love both tapes. The professional one was great because it was properly edited with our music and wording in it and my brother in laws was great for us to because he got the whole ceremony and didn't miss any of the talking so its great for us to have both. We never navigated back to the bridal suite at night, when you left the suite at like 5:30ish Nicole asked us to have everything packed and they brought it all down for us at night before we left, come to think of it thought I never did have to go to the washroom when I was down at the beach so the idea of using those washrooms never even crossed my mind! We didn't pay for additional hours because we had younger kids with us who were pretty much sleeping at the tables and we figured by leaving around 10ish we wouldn't get back to our hotels till 11:30ish so that was late enough for the kiddies...we ended up just stayin up at our hotel with the guests who wanted to drinking and dancing around the pool! We did go back with all our guests on the boat and I didn't change out of my dress and we had a blast...we continued the dancing the whole boat ride home...it was fabulous! Anyways hope this helps you out a bit and I am sure Lindsay will tell you all about her experience when she signs back on! Have a good one~

Aww Lindsay that was a great letter from you Mom...I got all excited and giddy reading it and it brought back all our memories too (we as well kept the location a surprise and I think that was the best thing to do because it added so much anticipation for guests) I am so happy how your wedding turned out and I wish you and your hubbie all the best in the world...you deserve it! Ahh and thanks for sharing your story...I can't wait to see more photos of your whole day!!!!

I ended up using chocolate brown as well, and deep red and ivory! Chocolate Brown was used for cake and the writing on my favours Deep Red was used for my bridesmaid dresses, as ribbon on my favours, as candle holders, as my flowers and as accent ribbon on my dress Ivory was used as my table runners, my wedding dress, bridesmaids flowers, and my hubbie and groomsmans shirts!

Quote: Originally Posted by MarlaB Ah, yes. I went to the Rhythms show. I had no idea my wedding could be there. Has anyone done this? I need to see some pictures. Would the guests be seated in the stadium seats? It seems so far away!! I think I'd prefer the beach. Okay, how much does it cost to have someone come over to Las Caletas and do your hair?? Do most people get married during the day or night? If it's during the day, how does everyone get there? I want to go earlier to avoid seeing my fiance. Would the night pictures really turn out well? I kind of want to be married during the daytime hours and then have the reception right afterwards leading into the night. What is everyone doing Help!!! Oh, yeah. Someone on this forum (Marisa??) mentioned a hand blessing. What is that? Thank you!! Hey Marla, my advice to you would definitely get in contact with Nicole, just email her ([email protected]) and she is great at getting back to you and I am sure would be able to answer lots of your questions. As for pictures if you go through all the slideshows you will see photos of the Mayan Pyramid...there easy to spot because they are the ones not on the beach! I dont know exactly how much it cost to have someone come over and do your hair because I just had my bridesmaids do mine. I think most people do get married at night for the larger weddings anyways but if its a smaller one you have the option of doing it day or night and i think its pretty evenly split...either way for the smaller groups you take the boat over with the group that is going out at that time (either on the Las Caletas by day tour or the Rythms of the Night tour). I know our pictures turned out great but we do kinda wish we would of had some in the day light because our ceremony got delayed so almost all our photos have an almost black background. You do have the option though of having the photographer coming over on an earlier boat if you and your fiance are their and then you can have photos done earlier if you like in the daylight and then later during your ceremony as well! As for the Hand Blessing...not exactly too sure what that is because we chose the sand ceremony but if you just google it on the net you will definitely be able to see what it is....the hand/sand/butterfly/rose ceremonies are all extra little ceremonies you have after you have said your vows and exchanged rings...its just a little bonus before you are actually declared hubbie and wife! Anyways this is getting long but definitely email Nicole because she is absolutley fabulous and will be so helpful with all your questions!

Quote: Originally Posted by Rkiss Hi Ali! Just wanted to say thank you for sharing your wedding. It make me so excited for my own wedding in Nov. I just wanted to ask you about getting married before you left. I am also from Calgary and noticed that you mentioned getting married at the airport here. I would like to do the same thing but have no idea how to go about it. I know I will have more questions for you! Thanks, Rita Hi Rita...ahh I am happy to share, we loved it and can't get enough! I actually just got a Blacks Memorables Photobook ordered and it arrived today so its more wedding stuff for us to look at! Umm as for the Calgary airport wedding...I will PM you will all of our details! Have a good night!

What is it? I have heard of different types of dieting teas so which one are you thinking of?

Quote: Originally Posted by MarlaB Beach setting or jungle setting?? I didn't know there was a choice. My fiance proposed to me here last December. Do you happen to have pictures of those two settings? I'd love to see them. It also looks as though the indoor option (in case of rain) seats two per table. I hope it doesn't rain because it would be much nicer to have one long table set up on the beach or have a sort of 'head table' for the bride and groom. However the alternative isn't so bad either. Thanks Hi Marla, Umm kay I just started searching on the site and I could only find it on the very opening page but when I started planning our Las Caletas wedding (keep in mind this was over a year ago and was when Jordan was their, not Nicole) there was an option to have your wedding at a Mayan Pyramid...I know when you do the slideshows on their website you see it in some of the photos! I am not too sure if it is still available but if it is something you are interested in it is worth asking Nicole about!Oh and just so you know...the photo that you are looking at which you said if it rains you would have to sit 2 people at a table....that is actually the reception area (even without rain) but you have your choice to arrange the tables how you would like them set up (they just show you the two seater photos as how it is set up normally if you were going their on the day tour!) Well hope this helps and if you would like any other info please feel free to ask. We have photos and some video links of the area set up for our wedding on our site if you wanted to see more photos as well (jeffandali.org) Happy Planning and feel free to ask any more questions!

Congrats Lindsay...the teaser pics are amazing and I bet you couldn;t of imagined a better way to spend Valentines Day...cant wait to read your whole review! You two look so happy!

Quote: Originally Posted by Adamsgrrl I can't get a tan for the life of me. I've tried tanning naturally (I look like a lobster), and tanning beds (I was ichy and didn't notice a huge difference). So I think I'm going to do the spray tan thing.... my FI thinks I'll end up orange, so I'm going to experiment way in advance. I would definitly advise the tanning beds over the spray tan simply because tanning beds will last longer and prepare you for the actual sun and wont rub off at all like the spray tans. My big suggestion to you would be to invest in a really good type of tanning inhibitor (?) and moisturizer for the tanning bed. All salons carry them and you should definitely be using it before and after you tan...especially if you were itchy because you were drying your skin out and that would flake off and tan you had, good moisturizers will really help your skin and allow you to keep your tan looking good for much longer!

Quote: Originally Posted by mexicomelissa melissa it's different in alberta than it is in ontario - in ontario i just had to print out a form, fill it out and fax it in...they asked things like what i want my new name to be, why i want to change it, if i have a criminal record, etc. easy peasy here's the link to doing it in alberta... Service Alberta - Home Hey Melissa, I have a question for you...I am another Albertan and thanks for that link but I was just curious if you are having to do a legal name change to take your name to your middle name or is it just something your allowed to move around since you are getting married? I only ask this because I don't want to officially/legally change my name because then my birth certificate would then have my husbands name on it i think, and i don't want that to change i just want to be able to add my husbands name instead! Okay don't know if that made any sense but if there are any other Canadian brides out their who did move their last name to their middle name did you have to fill our the legal name change form or were you just able to change it because you are married?

Hi Denise, I am a Las Caletas wife (Jan.17/07) so I can give you our experiences...the boat ride their we had one guest who apparently got sick (I say apparently cause we went over earlier) but he was also a flatlander and had never been on a boat before! Most of our wedding group lives on Vancouver Island, British Columbia so, we were all pretty use to water waves! The boat you go on is pretty large, but we did advise our flatlander guests to take motion sickness pills and for the most part...minus the one....everyone else did great! We were actually fully expecting everyone to get sick on the way home due to all the drinking but the trip back to PV is quicker and seemed less bumpy and everyone felt great arriving back into PV! Dont know if that helps at all or not but just thought I would give you our story!

Quote: Originally Posted by starchild That sounds really nice. Were all of your guests staying at that same AI? I thought of doing this at my AI but most of my guests are at other resorts. I should ask if they allow outside guests and how much that is. Thanks Ali! We didn't have all our guests staying at the same resort but they were all realitively close to each other and one of them was a partner resort so for those guests it didn't matter, as for the other ones they did have to pay for the dinner, but I know it wasn't much only like $15 or so, and as for the volleyball games well other guests were allowed in for all that stuff and we just ended up getting trays full of drinks so they got drinks on the house because they didn't actually have to go up and order them themselves! It seemed to work out great! Oh and we actually found out after that apparently some of our guests didn't pay for the mexican dinner either because their were wearing longer shirts and so no-one noticed that they didn't have a wrist band on....ahh gotta love em!

Little late to this one as well but just thought I would let you know what we did! We ended up staying at an all-inclusive and before going down we took a look at their festivities on site, we noticed they had a Mexican Fiesta Night which was a massive outdoor buffet dinner with larger round tables set up all around the terrace area and then they also had entertainment and dancing (everything included obviously since it was AI) so we informed everyone in our group to meet up for dinner at the Mexican Fiesta and we just went down when it started and saved enough tables for all of us to be sitting together! Our group (52 of us) were all together and Jeff and I introduced the main people in our group and then slowly mingled from table to table doing the whole meet and greet with everyone and everybody met that way! We also used the volleyball courts a few times and let everyone know when we were playing and we got lots of people together for those games as well which was really fun! Anyways just thought I would add what we did incase any of it interests you!

Kay my two cents now...I really don't think that if you write "and guest" on an invite a person will feel obligated to bring a guest, that is to a DW...at home celebrations or weddings would probably be different, but for our wedding we had I believe it was 14 singles who came down and we wrote to all of them "and guest" and even the ones in the longer relationships didn't bring their guests down! We asked them afterwards why their partners didn't come and it was because they didnt feel comfortable going to a wedding where they wouldn't know anyone! For our singles who did come, the first night in PV we went out with all of them for dinner, drinks, and then dancing and we lucked out cause they all met each other and then hung out together for the rest of the week on and off! I think we were probably totally lucky with that but people are sometimes a little more up for going with whatever when they are on vacation and we loved it!

I know I am a little late to this thread but we got married on a wed (kinda happy about that now that I see this old rhyme but we choose wed because Jeff and I were only going down to Mexico for a week (Jeffs work is crazily busy in January so he could only take a week off and when his work slows down we figure we will look at a honeymoon) but we really liked the wed, because it gave us time to get everything ready down in PV but then also it gave us a few days after the wedding to just relax and be with each other without having to worry about wedding details! Our guests were great about it and they all loved having the wedding in the middle too because it gave them a nice switch from the all-inclusive in the middle of the trip and for some of them they were then very much relaxed after the wedding day too! Just for our circumstance it worked out best that way but each to their own I figure!

Hi Ann, Well I know this is a long time a coming and you have probably forgot about it by now but we managed to get 4 of the videos that my brother in law taped the day of the wedding on to our site... jeffandali.org! Now these aren't the ones that we actually paid for and I know the quality isnt the best because of where we downloaded them but it will give you a little more of an idea of the area! Its breathtaking and I still get all excited watching the clips and going through the photos! Anyways again sorry it took so long but I have just been too busy to really worry about it...oh and on the site you go to video links...thats where they will all be!

Ha this is funny, I was looking into this company too! I heard of it as well but I am from Alberta too and it was on the news about 2 or 3 nights ago here...Its not a travel agency but just a group to sign up with who will give you the "insiders information" on flights more or less...its really hard to tell without actually joining I would say but when they reported it here it certainly caused quite the stir....I think it would be very useful for a frequent flyer!

Well I am not going to be too different here as I thought #2 looked absolutley georgous on you but I must admit I like #4 a lot as well and thats the one I voted for...I just thought the colour and design on the dress goes great with your colouring and hair and too me it was just a little different than the other dresses! I see it being a great beach dress and you looked very relax and comfortable in it! (just had to throw another dress into the mix!)

Quote: Originally Posted by marfa75 YEs, we should be getting our video in a couple of weeks as well. I'm not really sure what it will be like, if it will have a song in it or what. Did you have Roberto Aceves as your photographer? No we were suppossed to have him but he wasn't available so we had his daughter instead...I feel absolutley horrible about not remembering her name, but like you said the day is an absolute whirlwind and things just get missed! We were happy with our photos but Jeff and I voted against seeing each other all dressed up before the ceremony and getting pictures done then so most of ours were done at night, which i think i would have liked the day-time ones but we just didn't want to see each other! They turned out good for us anyways...we had lots of keepers!

I think being the first Las Caletas bride back definitely helped in causing all the uproar!!! We did end up using one of the photographers from Las Caletas...now I cant actually remember her name but it was Roberto Aceves daughter, we had booked Roberto but he wasn't available so we used his daughter instead and were quite happy with our results...the night time shots are difficult and some of them turned out blurry but that was partly our fault because we were suppossed to stay still while she was taking them and we kept moving! Oh well...we got enough great ones!

Were you planning on paying extra for the jacuzzi suite or where you just hoping on being upgraded...because we went just hoping to be upgraded, but if you are paying for that type of room then I would hope they would have to give it to you! But thats just my opinion