karahmia

Quote: Originally Posted by KLK You're married, YAY!!! We wanna see pics! Ok, actually, i want to hear your input on the honeymoon spot, i am looking into that AMAZING location for our ceremony next Feb! I'd love to talk with you more about the details as we will hopefully book our scouting trip next week for this Jan, so excited!!! Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you and CONGRATULATIONS!!! Hi, I've been away for awhile and decided to check back in. How are things going with your wedding planning? I've posted a review of my wedding and included the link to my wedding photos. Unfortunately, I'm unable to post my images to the forum until the magazine our wedding is featured in comes out. Everyone on the site was so helpful during our planning process so I want to share all of "our" hard work! Any who, let me know if I can be of any assistance. We had a fantastic time and HSA was more than we could have imagined. Verana was amazing as well, but rural. If you're looking for a beach location you should go with another option as it sits up in the mountains and beach is about a 20 minute walk. If you book there go with either their Casa Chica or the Stone House. They are the only ones with A/C. Trust me on this one! Let me know if I can be of any help! Kara

Hi there, I went with Juan at Salon Living. He did an excellent job on my hair and I had an old Hollywood vibe as well. Though, the humidity ended up making me have to pull my hair tighter and smoother than I wanted, I still loved it in the end. Here's the link to my wedding review. Juan's info is at the bottom. I've also heard that Franc Gole is quite good as well. I hope this helps!

Thanks! I wanted a dream wedding but knew that I wanted it to be just he and I. It was very intimate and more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.

I can hardly believe it! It has taken me way to long too post my wedding review. Unfortunately, there are no pictures included within the post but you can visit our photographers blog to view some of our images. WEDDING PICTURES *You need flash on your computer to view our slideshow Okay, so let's see... My husband and I were married in a civil ceremony on October 10, 2008 in Seattle, WA. On October 29, 2008 we held our symbolic ceremony in Puerto Vallarta, MX. Engagement: December 25, 2007. After over 12 years together (high school sweethearts!) he totally surprised me by popping the question on Christmas day. When we married we had just passed the 13 year mark! INSPIRATION I'm a huge fan of Abby Jean's blog Style Me Pretty, so when I began planning I created an inspiration board to keep me on track and capture my overall look and feel and color ideas. Overall, I wanted everything to feel very soft and pretty. Lots of neutrals, mercury glass, gardenias, vintage fabrics...very romantic. See my boards here. WEDDING DAY ATTIRE Wedding Gown: I purchased my Monique Lhuillier gown from the The Bridal Garden in Kirkland, WA. Wedding Day Jewelry: Jamie Wolf I had the opportunity to wear some amazing pieces from Jamie. Her jewelry is absolutely beautiful and complimented my dress perfectly. Groom's Suit: J. Crew's The Liquor Store, NYC Our Rings: My husband purchased my engagement ring at E.E. Robbins. While overseas we worked with our jeweler to design my wedding ring. We purchased my husband's band at e-weddingbands.com. This site is awesome and they have excellent customer service. LOCATION, PLANNING, ETC Wedding Location: Hacienda San Angel Owned by Janice Chatterton, the hacienda is absolutely magical! Janice is very sweet and often of few words. As a guest you may or may not interact with her while there. She has an amazing staff that keep things running smoothly. The property is stunning and a great location for a wedding. We held our ceremony in the newly built chapel and our dinner was held in the private courtyard next to the chapel. The chapel is located in Casa Campana, which is directly across the street from the main hacienda. The service and attention to detail at the hacienda was amazing. There's an amazing restaurant on the property which is on the highest level of the property and overlooks PV and the bay. The food is delicious as well as affordable and as a guest you receive 15% off your meals. There's a nightly cocktail hour with a mariachi trio from 7-8pm. During this time dinner guests arrive early to take in the property prior to sitting down for dinner. *Janice is a huge supporter of ASPCA and as such as adopted six little dogs. They have run of the main property but are super sweet and know where they can and can not go! They will be sure to welcome you when you arrive! Wedding Planner: Oh! How Charming by Lisa Vorce From the moment we spoke I knew she would be a friend for life but after getting into her immensely creative brain I crossed my fingers and hoped that she end up my planner! She made our day so beautiful; beyond our wildest expectations! Check out her site, it's absolutely beautiful! Floral Design: Mindy Rice Floral Design Talk about talented! Mindy is awesome. She and Lisa worked together seamlessly on the overall design of our day, which included everything from the altar covered in gardenias, Moroccan style tea lights hanging from the stair rails, to my bouquet which was filled with white roses, tulips, ranunculus all flown in from Holland for my big day. Check out are pics to see how Mindy's sketch came to fruition! *Wedding table sketch from Mindy Wedding Photography: Aaron Delesie Photography We couldn't have asked for a better photographer. Aaron and his wife, Jen were amazing to work with! Not only are they great people, Aaron & Jen were so much help the day of and captured every detail without being obtrusive. Hair & Makeup: Living My planner, Lisa found the salon for my hair and makeup. Juan Ascencio is the owner of Living and in the last few years relocated back to PV after working in Toronto for sometime. Juan was the complete professional and did an amazing job on my hair. Being an African-American bride I was very hesitant getting my hair done in PV but Juan put all my concerns to rest. We sat together to review my inspiration photos and dress to come up with the perfect look for my big day. My makeup was done by Ruby, a makeup artist and close friend of Juan. Unfortunately, Ruby doesn't speak English but Juan is there to translate. Ruby is so talented that the language barrier was never and issue. When Ruby walked in with better lashes and brows than mine, I knew I was in good hands. Drag queens make the best make up artists and great new friends! Living Salon.Spa.Boutique Morelos 882 Centro, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco Citas 222 3350 Cel 322 779 6959 [email protected] Wedding Website: Blogger Via my blog I've been able to keep my family, friends and readers abreast of my planning process. We planned on using it to share pictures and stories during our honeymoon, but wireless was a little hard to come by during our trip, ce la vie. Additionally, via my blog I've met a lot of great brides and have helped a few with wedding ideas. I chose to create a blog because I wasn't happy with the personal wedding websites available. I did all of the creative myself in Photoshop and used the tutorials on Blogger to get myself up and going. I had very little Photoshop experience prior to doing this and taught myself along the way, so it can definitely be done. Feel free to PM me for assistance with starting your own blog! Transportation: Puerto Vallarta Tours Great service with comfortable cars and affordable pricing. Honeymoon: Verana Resort & Spa Verana is a truly amazing place! Set into the side of a mountain overlooking the Bay of Banderas. Verana is located in Yelapa, MX, a 30-45 minute water taxi ride from PV. The resort consists of seven casitas, all of which are unique. It's a perfectly wonderful peace of paradise!

Love your boards!

I went with Juan at Living. I really liked him and he did an awesome job on my hair. I'll post a pic from my hair trial when I get home. Living (Juan is the owner) Salon.Spa.Boutique Morelos 882 Centro, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco Citas 222 3350 Cel 322 779 6959 [email protected]

Quote: Originally Posted by Selene Congratulations! I am also considering HSA as a wedding venue and am planning a scouting trip in March 2009. What are you doing in terms of music? Is the patio the same place where the dancing occurs? What time is your ceremony and time does your reception end? Again congratulations! Well, we have hired a trio for the ceremony music but since it's just he and I for the wedding we are adding all of our favorite songs to our ipod for dinner music. We are having our ceremony in the chapel but I'm not sure where the dancing is, since it's just he and I. We are planning to start the ceremony around 4:30 but my planner asked me to be flexible because our photographer wants to get the best light for photos. So we'll see. Sorry that I haven't been of much help but I will definitely have lots to share once we get back.

I so wish I lived in NYC! You all are going to have so much fun!

We are marrying at Hacienda San Angel so we'll be in PV for five days and then we'll spend a week in Yelapa. We're staying at Verana, a small boutique-y resort in the mountains of Yelapa (which is about an hour south of PV).

Here you go. I googled Puerto Vallarta sunset times and serveral sites came up. Good luck!

I think the color of #3 and 4 are best. Though I think your bridesmaids could pick which silhouette they prefer. I love the silhouette of #1 but I think the color will create too much of a contrast against your gown.

Hi Ladies, I've been searching for a service where I could have my wedding photos turned into a coffee table book that I can give to our parents as a gift once we're married. During my search I came across this site called Blurb. They have some wonderful options and you can design it yourself with the software you download from their site. I think it's much cheaper than buying the books through the photographer. I'm going to do a test book to see how it goes. I'll share the results once I receive it. Twelve Years In The Making!: It's Not Just A Blurb

Awesome post Mishka! I love them custom maraca idea.

Quote: Originally Posted by ~Debra~ I had to laugh when I read this because I said the same thing! I even scheduled our excursion for after the wedding because of this. My FI thinks I'm being silly but I told him he doesn't understand how hard it is, especially with me being natural. I told him I can't take ANY chances! Yeah we'll get out and do stuff but hopefully nothing that will cause me to sweat out my perm, prior to the wedding!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by gilda Karahmia: Thanks for your reply. I would love to hear how everything goes for you when yu return. I have contacted Janice already. I'm just hesitant to book, as I haven't seen the place in person. I was just in vallarta 2 weeks ago, but this didn't come up until after But, I may be going at the end of this month, so I might wait until then. I'm just nervouse my date will be taken... ah! Have you tried the food there? Gilda Believe it or not I've never been to PV. We're doing this all at the recommendation of our wedding planner. Leap of faith I know but I trust her explicitly, so it will all be a surprise!