laura

I had two groups do the canopy tour with Vallarta Adventures. They made an extra time for one of our groups since we had too many people for one group. They were great to work with and had a great crew. I don't know how the other companies are but our groups thoroughly enjoyed Vallarta Adventures Canopy tour.

The bridesmaids dresses were by Jim Hjelm. The material was perfect along with the colors. I recommend a halter similar to that if you think any of your bridesmaids may get a little sunburnt or dark tan lines. It covers it well:)

Hi Marla, Here's answers to your questions. I hope they help: 1. Did you have a bustle for your dress? Yes...I loved the bustle. It wasn;t the kind that just sat on your butt though, it was an under bustle that went in I think twice. I'll try to find a picture of it. 2. Did you purchase the flowers for your hair from Nicole? I love the color of it. What was the name of the flower? Nicole arranged the flowers for my hair. They were orchids. She also got the color for me to go with my color scheme of flowers. 3. Who was your officiant? Did you write your own vows? We brought our own minister and we didn't do our own vows. 4. Did you hire a videographer? Was it through Nicole? We didn't hire a videographer and that's maybe one thing I would have looked into if I was to do it again. We had a relative that was supposed to do it but didn't make it from the hotel to Las Caletas. We had someone else do it and it turned out ok but he was the photographers assistant so he couldn't video everything. 5. Did Nicole hook you up with those beautiful colored callalilly flowers I saw on the tables? (I think they were callies at least). Yes, Nicole did all the centerpieces. If I remember correctly it was a combo of orchids, lillies, and roses. 6. Was it extra for the chair covers? I want that too!! No extra cost for chair covers. It's included. 7. I noticed some pictures that may have been taken at your hotel? Which hotel did you stay at? We stayed at the Velas Vallarta. That's where we did the bouquet toss. The hotel was awesome. 8. Did you create your own wedding program? What kind of information did it include? We did our own program. I'll send you a message with that. 9. How many bags of flower petals did you purchase from Nicole? I saw them on the aisle and the tables. We purchased 4 bags of them at $25 per bag. That was also used for the flower girls. 10. My hair is very similar to yours and I also cannot afford a stylist. What did you friend use to create those gorgeous curls I must know the secret. I actually added extensions to my hair that day. I wanted a full head of curls. I didn't do the expensive kind that takes hours but you can buy 100% human hair at a beauty supply store for about 30-40 bucks if you can do them yourself. It took a long time to curl but it was well worth it. We just used a curling iron and straightner to curl it. 11. Lastly, how was the heat in March My dress will be a nice, big traditional one. I don't care how hot it is!!!! I told my FI that I want to be Cinderella for the day! We were there in May so I don't really know the heat in March but I heard that it is a great time to go. May is really the only time we could do it so that's why that worked out. The heat wasn't too bad for us so I think you'll be fine. Also, we brought our own photographer. Her website is www.smilescreativeimaging.com. We were really happy with the pictures. She is editing them right now for us. I think you asked about a honeymoon too. We just stayed in PV for our honeymoon. I will definetly go back again. You're going to love it!!!

Amy, You're going to love the band. I think they have different musicians and it's not always the same people everytime but we had a male guitarist who also sang, a female singer, keyboardist who also did backups, a drummer, and a sax, which was amazing and perfect for the setting. I don't think the sax is always in the group but it was perfect. We were surprised there wasn't a bass but they had midi tracks that they played with and it sounded just fine. A lot of bands do that. The music started around dinner time so we actually didn't have any down time. We were told we could hook up our ipod if we wanted to or use their music but we really didn't need to. The band played pop/jazz during dinner and we requested some latin, rock, salsa type music during dancing. If you specify certain songs they'll probably do it. They did our first dance song too and it was great! -Laura

I wanted to get a hairstylist originally but the cost was too much. One of my bridesmaids did it and it turned out great. She also did the other bridesmaids and everyones make up too. The flowers turned out perfect. I didn't know exactly what it would turn out to be. Nicole, the WC, sent me ideas and I sent colors and pics of flowers I liked and she worked with it and was exaclty what I wanted. The extra flowers we purchased were the flowers for my hair, the centerpieces for each table, Extra petals for the flower girls and to scatter, corsages for the mothers, the bridesmaids bouquets, and the guys boutineers. The extra cost for these things was actually not that much. Enjoy the planning and let me know if I can help in any way:)

Wow...thank you all for your wonderful comments. If you can't view the pictures you have to create a free account with snapfish. I hope I can answer all your questions and if you have more just feel free to ask. Shoes...They looked like flip flops from the front but they are actually heels. They were really comfortable and I had no problems with them. They weren't skinny heels so they worked. Guys outfits...the shirts were orderded in advance at Penners: Guayaberas, Mexican Shirts, Hawaiian Shirts, and Guayabera Shirts along with my husbands pants. The other guys pants were from macys. They were alfani. Cubavera makes nice pants and shirts along with Tommy Bahama. Band....The music entertainment agency ENLACE "the reality show" works with Nicole at Las Caletas. She recommended this band and they were great. The guitarist was a friend we flew out there. We found out a week before the wedding that the harpist couldn't do most the songs we requested. He was a new contact for Las Caletas so now they know what to expect with him. He only wanted to bring his diatonic harp which limits the song choice. It's a good the my husband and I are pro musicians and had a friend that could go at the last minute. It worked out perfectly. Other details....one of my bridesmaids is in beauty school and she did everyone hair and makeup. It turned out great. I also brought my own photographer. The wedding coordinater, Nicole, was great. She is awesome to work with and I didn't have to worry about a thing. The ceremony began around 6:15/6:30. I just went with the timing and it all was great. We didn't have time for the flower/garter toss because we were busy playing with the band at the end but we all went back to the hotel and did it immediatley there. It all turned out better that I could have ever imagined. We are so happy we did it there. Everyone keeps telling us that it was the best wedding they have ever been to. Having a destination gave us so many memories we'll never forget and the guests will never forget it either. Let me know if you have anymore questions. I'd love to help in anyway that I can!! -Laura

Hi everyone, I've been meaning to post some pictures from the wedding since I got back. I uploaded some pictures onto snapfish. They are all utouched and some need a little editing. I hope you all enjoy them. Feel free to ask any questions. The wedding was absolutely amazing, more than we imagined. Nicole, the wedding coordiantor was great, the food was great, everything was great. For those of you who have a Las Caletas wedding to look forward to you'll be so happy with the result. Here is also the website of my photographer who went with me: www.smilescreativeimaging.com And here's the link the snapfish where I have uploaded some of the pictures: Snapfish: Share:Registration -Laura

I was looking at the Grand Velas originally too. We decided on staying at the Velas Vallarta and having the wedding at las caletas. Welcome to the forum...we're all here to help!!

I went to target yesterday and they had the bride hat and bridemaids hats. I couldn't believe they were only $1. I had to get them too. They also had the bride flip flops but I already got the just married flip flops as a gift. It looked like they had a lot of empty bins so assume there is more in the wedding department in the $1 spot. Thanks for sharing this info!!!

Amy, thanks for posting the maps. I didn't even think of looking up maps and now I know I should include a map in my welcome note. It helped put things more into perspective too.

Thanks everyone for sharing. You've all been so helpful!!

I wondered the same thing when I first saw it. It stands for Out Of Town bag which is can vary in items as a welcome gift bag for your guests.

Thanks for you help. Did you place your welcome letter with the OOT bag in the guests room? I'm not sure how this works on giving them the OOT bag when they arrive.

So I've been browsing all the past forums about welcome letters and I know a lot of you have posted your ideas or actual welcome notes. I can't seem to open any of the links up because I don't have enough points. If any of you can post the wording for your welcome notes I would really appreciate it. I'm not so good with words and could use the help. Thanks!!

Does anyone have more suggestions on nightlife in the marina vallarta area? I'll be staying at the Velas Vallarta. From your suggestions so far I'd like to go to the zoo bar. Is there anything else walking distance that would be fun? Thanks for the suggestions!