Pazoop

wow! glad the site review was such a hit! the sunsets there are definitely phenomenal! we didn't have a single night that wasn't spectacular! in fact, they are the entire reason why we switched from looking into sites in the Cancun/RM area to the west coast....i saw a sunset photo and decided to take our dw in a totally different direction! then i found las caletas, and the rest will be history!

And of course the last picture I forgot is the standard!!! My very own Bienvenido a Las Caletas! Keep the questions coming if I've forgotten anything!

Also, I realized I have two more great pictures to share...one which shows just how calm the water was (for those concerned about the boat trip). I know that the currents can change very fast and that the water is not always like this but you can see from the photo below that the water that morning was literally like glass....it made for beautiful sailing!!! :-) Those guys were entertaining to a point! One actually got mad at me and Kelley and used his microphone to tell us in front of the whole boat that we needed to stop chatting amongst ourselves (and I swear we were not loud at all!!!) and pay attention to him -- apparently he didn't like that we spent the whole boat ride talking while he was trying to dance and entertain people...so FYI -- the entertainment is not an option on the day trip!!!! :-) No joke! He takes his job very seriously! But he does do it well!

I am pretty sure that there's no shower facility where the guys get ready but there is at least one shower (and i'm pretty sure there are actually two) at the spa that the guys could use....you'd have to be careful and have some help if you didn't want to see the groom before the ceremony since the spa and bridal suite are right next to one another, but this could be easily worked out.... I actually have pictures of the area where the guys get ready that I'm going to post below.... You can see it's a very open air space... But there's lots of room for the guys to spread out and get themselves ready...not like it takes them all that much anway... And I think this last photo (which has Kelley in it peering around the corner next to my fiance) with the door in the back left corner leads to a private change room and possible a bathroom but I'm not 100% positive...I'm almost certain it wasn't showers though....

Thanks Nathaniel! We're really looking forward to it too! I'm sure the pictures are going to be fantastic and January 2009 can't come fast enough!

You have a great wedding date Becks! (I have a date and numbers thing going on lately and no, I am not into astrology or numerology -- just having lots of coincidences these days with dates -- birthdays, wedding dates, anniversaries!) You and my best friends are getting married on the same day and I'm the MOH in her wedding! I can't wait to see the photos of your wedding!!! Congrats to you too!

Last one (Promise!) Bridal suite with champagne set for a wedding that day... Beautiful sunset after returning from Las Caletas that night! Perfect end to a perfect day!

My favorite spots....the beach!

The new yellow of the cabana where the receptions are held.... All the tables are reorganized at night and covered for the reception and the store are is all closed up....

The grounds of Las Caletas... Walking up through here gets you to the washrooms... I loved how thick the brush and trees were...there were parrots and owls and monkeys around during the day there....

Finally approaching Las Caletas

I know that several others have already posted site reviews so I don't want to repeat what has already been writen -- if you have any new questions please feel free to ask and I will be more than happy to answer them if I can... March 26, 2008 We took the early boat to LC on March 26th and met Kelley on the dock at the marina pier. They say the boat ride takes b/w 45 minutes and 1 hour but honestly, it felt like no more than 25 minutes because we were having such a great time chatting with Kelley and drinking our coffee and eating our muffins. The water was like glass so I didn’t even remember that I had been concerned about people getting sea sick until much later in the day. There were guys providing entertainment on the way over, dancing on the bow of the ship, but I honestly didn’t pay much attention so I don’t know what they were saying. I was having too much fun chatting with Kelley and watching the pelicans dive bomb the water going after fish. As soon as it was even remotely possibly to spot Las Caletas in the distance I was up at the front of the boat snapping pictures and staring through the mist. I felt like I was an 8 year old….but it was fun! When I could finally (finally!!!!) see the beach clearly, all I can say is…. Well, I can say nothing to really describe it visually because there are no words to do it justice. Well, maybe there are, but I’m not a poet so I leave it to the poets and artists to try and describe or photographically capture it. The best I can do is to tell you that it’s not just a visual experience – it is an entire physical transformation. I saw the beach and instantly my lungs expanded more when I breathed, and my shoulders lowered and relaxed, and my mouth began forming this partial smile that stayed for the rest of the day….It was WOW like that WOW…. We laid on the beach for a while, and then we both had massages at the spa (as if we needed to relax a little more!). Kelley talked us through what the wedding day would be like but all I needed to know was that she knows her job and what’s she doing but that she’s chilled and relaxed and has excellent opinions– I now know I will be relaxed because if she’s in charge of my wedding day I trust her to “Get it done!” or to improvise. She’s got my faith! She’s also got my sense of humor so between those two things I think we’re going to have a great time planning this wedding! Ok, so the pictures are a lot of duplicates from others site visits but here you go anyway….

I have been to St. Martin many times and it is a fabulous island...the thing is, I don't know if it's quite at the point of catering to DW yet...I looked into it at the beginning of my DW planning and it seemed like there were only one or two hotels that were really geared to that sort of thing (I want to say the name of one was La Semana?)...The Dutch side of the island is very centered on cruise ships stopping through and the French side has more boutique hotels than larger chains with lots of amazing restaurants in areas like Grand Case and Marigot...so there are few AI hotels on the island. Anguilla, which is about a 20 minutes ferry ride out of Marigot, has some of the most spectavular beaches I've ever scene but is very pricey to stay on....it would make for the ideal honeymoon location though and would be only a stones throw (literally).... I would also consider looking into St. Lucia -- there are some beautiful AI hotels there for weddings (Almond Bay is one I think), and there are direct flights to Aruba too which has the added bonus of being below the hurricane belt....

Hurray! I am so excited to share with you that we have just confirmed BDW's own Nathaniel Thompson to shoot our Las Caletas wedding in January 2009! I had so much fun writing my entry for Nathaniel's photography contest and I loved how the spirit of the contest brought everyone on the forum together to cheer each other on and let us all share bits or our own unique love stories. It was something special and I got such a great vibe from him and his participation and posting on the forum -- and of course I love his photographs! So we got in touch via email (and I just like him more and more and more!) and he is going to come down and be with us for the rehearsal dinner, the wedding day AND we're going to do a trash the dress shoot after the wedding (I'm probably the most excited about that because it sounds so fun to do -- stress of wedding over, time to play!!!) I'm so excited for us to meet and work together!!! It's just one more thing to make me antsy for January to get here already!

OK, the thing I really don't like about 7:00 AM -- when I wake up at 7:00 AM I confuse Dick Clark with Casey Kasem....Oye! My bad yet again! I guess I need to forfeit this game of SBTB trivia

I really like a hairstyle idea I saw in one of the magazines (I think it was The Knot)....It involved having your hair pinned up for the ceremony but pinned up as two separate sections so that you could take out some of the pins and have it half up, half down for the receptions -- when you take it down it'll have some wave to it but I like that idea... It lets you have it both ways....I'll try to find pictures/description online....

Quote: Originally Posted by jean-marcus that was a good one but i liked when lisa sprained her ankle and they invented "the spring"..... man i can still hear that melody in my head. the music from that show was AWESOME. i wish they had a soundtrack Unless that was a typo, I think somebody else better get their SBTB trivia in check!!! :-) If I recall correctly, that dance was called the sprain (because she "sprained" she her ankle...gee, those writers sure were clever!) The episode (which also has Dick Clark guest starring) is on YouTube is anyone else want to revisit....YouTube - Save By The Bell - The Sprain Watching it makes me realize I STILL want to be as cool as Kelly Kapowski when I grow up!

They weren't just playing that song! Jessie and Slater were lip syncing it!!! LOL!

OMG, you're right! They were dressed as Romeo & Juliet when Kelly broke up with him to be with Jeff!!!! (The irony!!!) How many proms did those kids have? And yes, I totally know the oil well drilling epsiode! Zack is all psyched about them finding the oil at first because he thinks it means he's gonna get rich, and then a duck he likes -- I don't remember the logic behind why he was keen on a duck, but ok, I'll suspend my disbelief -- gets covered in an oil spill and he learns his lesson....again! Ad just in time to stop the bad guy! Reality tv this was not!

Is it sad that I know Zack & Kelly were dressed as Romeo & Juliet for the prom? And that I am laughing out loud because I can picture the swan lake episode? Maybe I just need to drink more coffee....Mmmm....coffee...

Haha! I love that everyone else is still watching Saved by the Bell too! I've been doing it for the last three years and not saying anything to anyone -- except to tell my fiance (sweetly) to shut it when he mocks me! :-) The Miss Bliss years were good, but did anyone else ever realize that Miss Bliss was literally the grown-up Pollyanna? My favorite episodes are the ones when Zack and Kelly are together. When I was little, I wanted to grow up to be just like her in high school. But my favorite episode EVER is the one where the girls form a singing group and Jessie gets "addicted" to caffine pills (and recovers) in under 24 hours.

I'm having a Maid and a Matron of Honor. My sister is my Maid of Honor and my best friend (who convienently is getting married before in Aug) is my Matron of Honor. In terms of who is responsible for what on the wedding day, I've just decided to have my sister be the one to sign the wedding papers and stand next to me during the ceremony -- I think it's usually harder to argue with choosing family over friends (in most cases, not all) and I think in my case feelings are less hurt all around if the traditional duties are left to my sister. But I thought of a way to honor how special my best friend is to me (which is why I asked her to be my MTOH in the first place) and incorporate her into the ceremony. I'm going to ask her, along with a long time friend of my fiance's who is not the BM, to participate in the hand ceremony after we exchange our rings. There are always ways to show people that they're important to you, even if they're untraditional (hey, a DW is still relatively untraditional right? :-) ) and a lot of times it can mean just as much if not more if you find a way to personalize her participation in the event in a way that is satisfying to both of you.

#3 is beautiful! Very elegant! And it will probably look even better when it takes no time at all as a DIY project because you don't have to cut and resize! :-)

Welcome to the forum! I think you'll find there are a lot of us who are planning our DWs from TO!

Wow! I love your invitations! I've been on the fence about undertaking a DIY project for my invites because I wasn't sure about how they would look after going through on my printer -- and I've never had much luck working with Staples -- but I never thought about looking for a commercial printer! The invitations just look fabulous! I would be so impressed to receive an invitation like that in the mail! Can you tell me where you found those boxes?