starchild

I also say have it one night or two before the wedding if possible

I'm a Caletas bride too, there is lots of great info here! Enjoy!!

Thank you all this is great information!

Quote: Originally Posted by Nrvsbride Btw I met with my priest this weekend and we have to do two weekend retreats (in leiu of pre-canor) and the total cost will be $600. Well actually I don't think that includes the two weekend retreat costs. Can you believe how expensive it is? Arrrgh! -Glenda I feel your pain!!!!! We've been going through this same thing out here in CA. One church wanted us to take classes every weekend for 6 months for about $500, and if we didn't pass the written test we would have to start over!! Talk about turning us off to the whole idea!! My FI isn't Catholic and I would just as soon go to the courthouse if it weren't for the tradition thing as someone else mentioned. I want to make this as pleasant as possible for both of us!! I finally got a hold of a few churches here in L.A. that offer a one day class, 8 hours on a Saturday for $70 (cash only, they made sure to tell me that!!). Maybe you can find something like that where you are? I got the info from the diocese office of family life, it's worth checking into. $600 is a lot

Thanks Nicole, you are the best!!!!!!!!!!!!

Definitely check into Las Caletas. A handful of us here are getting married there, I also will be barefoot on the beach. The location is a lot more private than Dreams or most hotels really. You will remain well within your price range (and probably end up saving $$) if you get the intimate package (you share a boat to Las Caletas with other tourists as opposed to paying extra to have a private boat). Nicole is the WC I've been working with there. Here is the website: Puerto Vallarta Destination Weddings - Beach Wedding Packages Happy planning!!

Welcome to the forum! We actually planned on having a villa wedding for awhile in PV. I think it is awesome because you have your accomodations / wedding / reception at one private place. We only decided against it because the villas we really liked had strict event capacity guidelines that we could not meet. But I say if you find one that works for you, it is a great idea. Good place for a welcome dinner or coctail party too.

Quote: Originally Posted by destinationbride07 the reason i think is broke cheap mofos will not spend money to fly away but those same broke cheap mofos will come to your wedding and eat all your food and bring their foil for a doggy bag HA! So true!! And they'll sneak in their cousins that weren't even invited!! I basically agree with everyone else. Unless you're in a small town where everyone knows and wants to help everyone (i.e. your neigbor is the baker, his sister is the florist) it is expensive in most places when you break down the costs (location/flowers/music/food/drink/photographer/chair rentals/canopy/etc.) For me to do in here in Los Angeles what I am doing in Mexico would EASILY cost $40,000, and that's if I kept is short and sweet. I just went to a $50,000 wedding out here that had a good band, pretty flowers, and all that, but it was at a social club (read:auditorium) located between a Wendy's and a carpet store. You can't beat the ambiance of a DW no matter what country you choose!

AQHARIDER, I checked out your monograms and I really, really like them all. My personal preference would be one where your names really stand out. My favorite would be the curved palm tree on the very bottom row, right side. I really like the one with the starfish too (2nd row, left side) maybe you could type your names/date in bold print? Again, that's my personal preference. They all look great, truly!

Thanks Adamsgrrl!!!! That makes me feel even better about our honeymoon decision. And we will stick to the Red Stripe for sure

The boat crew is FABULOUS!!! We've been on a few of their trips before and the crew is so much fun that our best Vallarta memories involve partying on the boats. Each time was a different crew but they were equally entertaining. If you are really shy they will leave you alone, but if you like to get up and groove (and we do) even better. We have the most hilarious video of us all dancing and singing to "summer nights" from Grease, it was soooo fun. You will not be disappointed!!

Oops I'm really late too ... But, my colors are basically brown/orange/cream My girls are wearing tangerine dresses w/cream colored sashes. The guys are in khaki linen pants & cream colored guayabera shirts w/a brown design The bride and groom will be in all white Still trying to incorporate these colors into everything else, but I agree with jilly76 about the circus thing, I've been to weddings like that, it's too much on the eyes!!

Glad to help! By the way, there were about 10-12 people we considered "courtesy" invites who seemed more excited about the location than the wedding. I know what you mean about not wanting to have these people at your wedding when they really just want a vacation. Lucky for us, they missed the STD rsvp deadline (I guess they thought they could tell us anytime) so we told them unfortunately, our WC has already made arrangements for the people who replied by the deadline. We set the website rsvp WAY earlier than we really needed to know to weed out these type of people and it worked, and we were able to extend that deadline for people we wanted to be there. Good luck!!!

We sent STD magnets out to everyone with a letter explaining the event and directing them to our website for more info and to rsvp. The letter explained that those people who rsvp'd with a "yes" on the website would receive a formal invitation a few months later. It worked well for us, so far we cut our original list of just over 100 down to 40 (saves money on invitations too)!!

Thank you all, very useful info !!!

We're doing our honeymoon at Riu Ocho Rios but I've never stayed there before. I got a few personal recommendations from friends, plus it is a newer resort so we went with it. Sandals gets some mixed reviews but I've only heard good things about the Couples resorts so I don't think you can go wrong with that. Gotta love Jamaica no matter where you end up!

A co-worker told me that if I bring my wedding favors / gifts for bridal party with me to Mexico that I have to declare them and pay taxes according to their value. My FI thinks she's mad that she isn't invited and trying to rain on our parade, LOL ! Anyone know anything about this?

Welcome!! My wedding at Las Caletas is right after yours (June 2nd). Feel free to ask any questions you may have, you've come to the right place. Happy planning!!

Wow those are so beautiful!! Just as I'd imagined it would look. Congrats to you both, now go enjoy each other!!

Welcome!! Happy planning!

I love the horse and carriage....that is sooo cool!

Welcome! We are staying at Dreams while in PV for our wedding. Happy Planning!!

Great info, thanks!

Thank you all, these bags are so cool!!

Mmmmmmmm, thanks everyone!