Mishka Designs

Felicidades and welcome to the forum!! You know PV is beautiful too and a bit more reasonable in price . Just a thought .

Felicidades and welcome to the forum!!

Felicidades and welcome to the forum!!

Felicidades and welcome to the forum!!

Quote: Originally Posted by ChristinaP I also debated making our own and decided to order from Mishka designs instead. She was great to deal with and will send them to your resort closer to your wedding date so you don't have to cart them down there. This is copied from the e-mail she sent me in regards to my price request: Maracas start at $4.50 usd each for a simple design, two-tone maraca. An example of that would be Lacy Romance or White Flowers in my blog. It's $5.00 (total order) for each additional color and $.25 per maraca for line of text (i.e. $.25 for date, $.25 for location, $.25 for names). I think it is totally worth it...they are gorgeous! Hey guys! I didn't know this thread on maracas was out there - Christina, you were accidentally misquoted - the prices for this season (unless you were super early last year and quoted you for last season) are $4.00 usd for simple, two-tone - so just remind me of that when you come to order . -m (p.s. thank you D!!! :)

N - thanks - aren't you lucky you have pau shooting yours? K - this was at Casa Cosmos - a REALLY awesome villa - beautiful villa, great staff - just super awesome. And Ocean is a walking frankenstein!! :)

this photo courtesy of paulina ulloa.... First of all, where do I start with this wedding?!! I will admit that this was a super fun wedding to plan - Jennifer and Matt have such great energies and spirit (well, who am I kidding - I didn't realize Matthew was so great until a few day's before the wedding because, Jenn girl, you rocked the communication!) .... Jenn had a lot of ideas flying around but it became very evident to me early on that what she wanted was something old-world yet elegant and all I could think was "what fun!" Before getting started on all the wedding detailed goodiness, I couldn't just select from one photo from Paulina's photo shoot with the bride and groom, so I just had to share these other shots - sooo amazing! Additional PHOTOS HAVE TO BE SEEN ON THE BLOG, AS OVER THE # of PHOTOS ALLOWED! Pre-Cocktail This is where I would usually start with the bouquet, but we had a pre-cocktail to start things off with before the ceremony. I had asked Jenn several things about their relationship through-out our correspondence and caught-on to these two GREAT stories - one about how Matt and their two kids had used a little toy giraffe to bring her the engagement ring, and another about how they met at the Belevedere in Houston and, afterwards, Matt made Jenn and her friends grilled cheese sandwiches - as we were planning on incorporating all of those elements into the wedding, I thought it would be a good idea to share that with their guests so, in case they didn't know those two particular stories in that particular way, they would be in on the surprises as well! (all other amazing photos below are by our photographer, Soco!!).... Additional PHOTOS HAVE TO BE SEEN ON THE BLOG, AS OVER THE # of PHOTOS ALLOWED! The Bouquet Jenn wanted red rose and touches of green in her bouquet so we mixed-in black magic roses, green roses, green mums and dark red roses .... I found this awesome ribbon and pretty crystal buttons which were a very close match to Jenn's engagement ring and accented the wrap ... one of my favorites ever! The bout was also accented in the same ribbon with crystal accents. Ring Bearer and Flower Girl I wanted to surprise Jenn & Matt with another giraffe bringing the wedding ring and brought Matt's son into the surprise as well - he was sooo cute about keeping it a secret ... we painted the giraffe silver, to match the accents and gave him little crystal spots - sooo sweet! For Jenn's daughter, we created a green chiffon flower girl basket with crystal and silver accents - her face at seeing her little basket made it completely worth it! Aren't they just beautiful?!! Additional PHOTOS HAVE TO BE SEEN ON THE BLOG, AS OVER THE # of PHOTOS ALLOWED! The Harpist Just a great photo really - beautiful harp playing in the background as everyone walked down the aisle.... Additional PHOTOS HAVE TO BE SEEN ON THE BLOG, AS OVER THE # of PHOTOS ALLOWED! The Ceremony Because we were going to use the ceremony area later on for the dancing floor, I wanted to make this space into something that would look great during the day and then transform slowly into the nighttime and be romantic and pretty as well. So, first Omar built two wooden trellaces and I accented them with black magic roses and hanging votive candles. Then we draped the entire ceremony area into alternating apple green and chocolate brown chiffon fabric - which was not only beautiful but also served to provide shade - it was cooler in the evening and felt great but, at ceremony time, it was a trifle warm! The chocolate chivari chairs had hand-crafted, hand-painted red fans by Omar with the design from their invite burned into it and chocolate brown handles. Up above we had strung red roses and christmas lights tucked away that, as you will see, would light up the dance floor in a beautiful glow later on in the evening. Additional PHOTOS HAVE TO BE SEEN ON THE BLOG, AS OVER THE # of PHOTOS ALLOWED! The Cocktail/Tequila Tasting Mariachis played at the kiss and into the cocktail hour which we also combined with a tequila tasting with special tequila shot glasses from Guanajuato for the guests .... I always try to include Don Julio (if you have never tried it, it's a must!) but I also wanted to play around with the couple's love for all things Halloween and the fact that the wedding was on Dia de Los Muertos and I found this awesome labeled tequila called "Chamucos" ("devil") - I mean, who could resist?! Signs explaining the different types of tequila were posted in silver painted frames. Additional PHOTOS HAVE TO BE SEEN ON THE BLOG, AS OVER THE # of PHOTOS ALLOWED! The Escort Cards Also in the cocktail area, we had put-up a chocolate brown hand-crafted tree with guest's names on the front and hand-drawn accents based on their invites and the table assignments on the back. Below the tree were green apples... Additional PHOTOS HAVE TO BE SEEN ON THE BLOG, AS OVER THE # of PHOTOS ALLOWED! The Reception Jenn had told me that she envisioned seeing lots of red at her wedding, only she wasn't sure how! So, "lots of red" I thought, "ah-ha!" .... we draped red chiffon fabric all around the reception area, from rafters to floor! She had also mentioned that she would love to see apples adapted into the centerpieces somehow as she kept calling it a "apple green" wedding ... so, I thought it would be great to intersperse green apples into the black magic rose centerpieces which were set into chocolate brown painted adobe bowls. Silver based lanterns lined down the center of the tables. The napkins were a green tafeta and doubled as the table markers - all the names on the tables were based on places important to the couple - Houston for where they met, San Juan where they honeymooned (before the wedding - we know!), Paris where the engagement was to take place, Rome where - well, that one's a secret and, of course, Vallarta where they got married! Lanterns in beaded colors of cream, chocolate brown, red and green lined the reception area. Additional PHOTOS HAVE TO BE SEEN ON THE BLOG, AS OVER THE # of PHOTOS ALLOWED! Dia de Los Muertos As Jenn had a brother who passed away when he was little, she asked us if we could do a small altar in his memory - We put-up a sign explaining the significance of the various details on the altar so the guests would know and understand that each thing on the table had a representation. We also had a Dia de Los Muertos area for the kids in a private room upstairs with a huge giraffe pinata and a movie on a big screen but everything was so busy we forgot to take photos! Additional PHOTOS HAVE TO BE SEEN ON THE BLOG, AS OVER THE # of PHOTOS ALLOWED! The Kids Table Speaking of the kids, we had a special table just for them which had black cats as centerpieces and little toy giraffes and tags with their names on them, and jack-o-lanterns filled with toys and goodies to keep them happy and occupied through-out the evening! Lanterns I must admit I knew the lanterns would look pretty in the pool, but was a little surprised myself at how beautiful they looked during the day! Additional PHOTOS HAVE TO BE SEEN ON THE BLOG, AS OVER THE # of PHOTOS ALLOWED! The Cake Ahh - the cake - there's always one thing that a bride just really has to have and, for Jenn and Matt, this was the cake! They saw one they loved one night on The Cake Boss and took a picture of it with their cell phone to send me the picture. I think Memo from Charme improved on the idea (no offense to the Cake Boss - I LOVE his cakes - but this cake -ooooh!!) and this was the result... Additional PHOTOS HAVE TO BE SEEN ON THE BLOG, AS OVER THE # of PHOTOS ALLOWED! Nightscapes We flipped the pre-cocktail area, cocktail area one last time to make it the cigar lounge complete with a hand-painted sign Omar rocked! based on the famous Belvedere where the couple had first met as well as a groom's cake for the groom's favorite soccer team. Candles sprang to life, twinkle lights came up and it was time to boogie and party - and boogie and party everyone did!! I just realized that we don't have a picture of the maracas we did - such perfect timing - just as the bride and groom finished their first dance the DJ put-on I Gotta Feeling, maracas were passed out as everyone surged onto the dance floor and proved that song right! Later on we had tacos with mexican salsas and, of course, grilled cheese sandwiches! Additional PHOTOS HAVE TO BE SEEN ON THE BLOG, AS OVER THE # of PHOTOS ALLOWED! Fire Dancers The night ended with an amazing performance by the fire dancers - there was a girl there I'd never seen before and she was absolutely AMAZING!! Seriously unbelievable!! (umm - NOT picture belowed).... Additional PHOTOS HAVE TO BE SEEN ON THE BLOG, AS OVER THE # of PHOTOS ALLOWED! Next week we will have photos up of Greg & Panida's Romantic Vintage Wedding!

I'm so excited, as we have the photos back from jenn & matt's wedding (nov 1st), but while I'm working on putting those photos up here, I thought I would share real quick a before and after video of Panida & Greg's ceremony and cocktail from yesterday! I have been nothing but blessed so far this season with amazing brides/grooms and guests! So, for a little sneak peek while you are waiting, here you are.....

A big shout out goes to Jaclyn who was married yesterday at the Dreams Resort PV! Jaclyn sent me two pictures when she was talking with me about her maraca inspirations.... HER INVITE DRESS INSPIRATION Jaclyn loved the look of Britt's maracas, so we kept it fairly close to that design in her colors .... ALTHOUGH once again we had a turqouise problem, convincing me that I need actual ribbon samples or big blocks of turqouise samples because turqouise down here is not the same as up north! But, in the end, we fixed the problem and, of course, everything ended happily ever after! Next week I will have photos of Jennifer & Matthew's Old World Rustic Charm wedding that you are not going to want to miss!

Mindi & Morgan were married on a GREAT day to get married, October 23rd (which just happens to be my birthday!) ... in spite of a few hotel glitches, everything went off without a hitch - the bride was beautiful, the groom handsome and the guests all ready to get down and celebrate! With an extra added bonus that the iffy weather the week before coroporated and was beautiful beautiful! Both Mindi & Morgan just wanted a more relaxed, elegant feel and, as they started sending me photos of the things they liked, it became apparent to me that they were more into a zen, simplistic, naturalistic feel with oodles of candles! This was Mindi's invite which I just loved!! So, after talking a bit more with them, this was their design board.... Their requests were quite simple - colors of chocolate brown, green touch touches of fuschia, elegant, candlelit, .... The original idea was for calla lillies but we ended-up going with cymbidium and dendrobium orchids and grasses and I'm so glad we did! I loved Mindi's bouquet - we added a touch of green buttons with the grass from her invite painted onto them - a slight twist from the bouquet she loved with raffia and buttons. The one tricky aspect of this bouquet was that she wanted a hand-held look and not a holder - so, we did a little creative thinking and the before and after photos of the bouquet can be seen here. They wanted their ceremony to be very naturalistic but, at the same time, have some sort of a romantic touch to it .... and, wa-la.... I chose mums and grasses to line the ceremony aisle and Mindi really wanted a rose petal aisle but it wasn't quite in the budget - I did some refiguring so we could surprise her with it when she walked down the aisle! I love the fuschia touched fans Omar painted as the pop of color on the chairs (and, yes, sortof insisted on the fans - but it was hot! plus they looked so pretty ... After the ceremony, everyone walked up to the Seaside Restaurant to enjoy a cocktail (or two!) ... we chose to leave the sofas in the cocktail area and fill-it with hand-painted pillows and candles and oodles of orchids .... Now it was time to start the reception - we decided to take advantage of the sunset and the view when you could really enjoy it, and placed everyone along the edge of the restaurant - it was truly breathtaking! As I was in Canada this past summer, I came across the most amazing chocolate brown, green detailed fabric and brought some of it down for their napkins ... the centerpieces were hand-painted vases with the green leaf design from their invites, along with some grasses, floating candles and sumerged orchids - I wish I could take credit for the entirey of their creation, but Tamara and Patti of Incredible Weddings came in at the last minute when we were having a few little difficultites with timing with the hotel and gave us a lending hand! Good job ladies (and the deepest gratitude). We also had little vases with floating cymbdium orchids.... Some of the other details we had on the tables were place cards with the grass detail from the invite on the front and the leaves from the invite on the back, grass detailed hand-painted maracas and a sand dollar charm attached to the wine glasses. Mindi had told me that, when Morgan had proposed to her on a beach, she had found her first sand dollar as well as one of her favorite gifts from Morgan had been a charm he gave her when they moved-in together - so I thought it would be a great touch to combine the two things! Still following along the theme with the sand dollars, we hand-painted some sand dollars we brought from the U.S. and accented the cake (done by Charme) with them (along with a few beautiful cymbidiums, of course!). I would love to take credit for the sunset, as it was beautiful that day ... but, alas, am not nearly that great of a designer.... Although this is a perfect place to acknowledge our detail photographer, Soco, who took amazing pictures of this event for us! THIS IMAGE HAS TO BE SEEN ON THE BLOG AS I WAS OVER THE LIMIT OF PHOTOS ALLOWED.... The cocktail area didn't have oodles of candles for nothing - over 40 candle vases with sumberged dendrobiums were hung up above and later on the area became the dance/party area really lighting-up the night and ending the party in a romantic glow.... Next week we will have photos of Jennifer & Matthew's Old World Rustic Charm wedding in chocolate browns, reds and greens and detailed to the hilt!

I "hear hear" everyone on the phone call - I'm not saying Mayan Palace in particular only has this problem, but turn over is HUGE down here in Vallarta for hotel wedding coordinators - they work the poor things to death and pay them very little - Sometimes email can get overwhelming - I'm just one little ole designer and I can leave for 2 hours and come back and have over 30 emails - imagine a hotel wedding coordinator with all the emails for all the weddings they do! Also, many of you up north are wAAAAY better connected than us down here. Most of us do not have a PDA, nor do we get instant emails to our cell phones - it's super expensive to do that. Plus, to be honest, the Vallarta way of life is a bit more laid back than it is up north and "time" is looked at differently - I'm not excusing anybody, eh? Just trying to explain that it's not about you personally (which I'm sure you know but can be frustrating and like "GAAA - MY WEDDING - GAAA" ). I concur that a phone call would probably work best - and just keep calling until you get someone - most hotels discourage phone calls outside Mexico, even if they have a special plan - whatever you do, don't try to call between 2-4 when everyone goes to lunch or between 5-7 when most ceremonies take place . If you can afford it, you may want to hire a coordinator and let her have the headache of dealing with the hotel .

Quote: Originally Posted by marteeca Thanks for replying! I understand everything that you've mentioned, and it makes perfect sense. I think the most important thing for us is to find someone who is flexible and will let us do some of the details ourselves (rather than have just a day-of coordinator). For example, some things we already have resources for include photographer (a friend of mine who will fly down) and florists (my fiancee is from Mexico, and his family used to have a florist shop in Mexico and now they have one in LA so they want to do the arrangements, as long as we can order or buy flowers). I definitely would like to have a coordinator... the one I thought would work with me in the end told me to do it myself, but that I would probably never find anyone to do the day-of coordinating. She said her vendors were reliable and to contact them directly if I wanted. I just want someone flexible enough to let us do some of it ourselves, and work with us on the rest. I do speak Spanish fluently (and of course my fiancee does as he is Mexican), and I know Puerto Vallarta very well so I feel very comfortable doing some things myself. Overall, we are both feeling a bit disappointed and regretting that we chose to get married in Puerto Vallarta! We feel like our wedding day should be the way we envision it, with participation from family and friends if that is what we want...not what others tell us we have to do. That said, I did find a few coordinators that seemed flexible, but I am looking for other recommendations for WCs that are not the kind that do everything for you. All recommendations welcome! Please post or PM me Hello! That's awesome that you speak Spanish and that you have spanish speakers to help you - since so much of it you want to do yourself and doesn't seem that you need the expertise of someone from Vallarta, have you considered asking someone in your family to be the wedding coordinator? When you are doing so much on your own, it sounds like what you really need is just someone to manage things the day of so you can sit back and get ready - so, it might be best to ask someone in your family to be the wedding coordinator the day of - or, perhaps, someone in your family knows someone who is very organized and you just pay their plane fare and a hotel room stay? Just a thought :).

A big shout-out goes to Danielle who was married yesterday at the Palace Resorts in the Riviera Maya! Her request was simple - something pretty and festive! Danielle sent us three photos .... her STDS, her wedding cake toppers and a picture which inspired her color theme .... Danielle's STDS Wedding Cake Toppers Inspiring Photo Of course, me being me thought "Well, why don't we just combine all of that?" and I must admit I LOVE what Omar came-up with for the maracas and I just tied the "shake me tags" into it! This week we should have the reveal photos for Mindi & Morgan's wedding design decor, this past Oct 23rd ... so stay tuned!

Quote: Originally Posted by marteeca Hello! I am looking for recommendations for a flexible, reasonably-priced WC in Puerto Vallarta. I have received some quotes, but a lot of the caterers/coordinators I wrote to never responded so I do not have a good way to compare or have an idea what is a good price. Our reception is at Casa Carol Ann so a coordinator would be very helpful, particularly a Day-of-Wedding coordinator. I also LOVE decorating and organizing...so I want to do a lot of the planning and decorating myself, which is another reason that I am looking for someone reasonably-priced and flexible...basically I need a Day-of-Wedding coordinator, and someone to help me with suggestions or negotiate prices with vendors. I am not looking for someone who will do everything for us. I originally found someone I thought I could work with...I thought I explained what I was looking for...now they say my budget is too low for them and will not work with me. They also told me it will be hard for me to find someone in PV who will be flexible, reasonbly-priced, and meet my needs at the same time. I can't believe this to be true...so, does anyone have any recommendations? THANKS! Unfortunately, the coordinator you spoke with was probably telling you the truth. I only know of one coordinator who is willing to do day of coordination, but she only does it rarely. The problem you run into in Vallarta is twofold 1) that there are only a handful of vendors who are reliable and on time and 2) vendors here only respect the person hiring them - so, if you hire a WC but the vendors have been dealing with you, the WC, to them, has very little pull and say - which makes for a very difficult working relationship. Working here is not like working up north - so there is a lot of baby sitting and visiting and what some may see as "dawdling" - but it's all necessary to pull the right strings, open the right doors, lower the right prices, push a little here, pull a little there in order to get what you want. OF COURSE, you can do that yourself. But I would find it highly unlikely (unless you speak Spanish - which, if you do - awesome!) that you'll be able to get lower prices than a Spanish speaker would. It's just part of the event business down here. so, anyway, I'm not saying "stop looking" - just trying to explain why it may be hard to find :).

Felicidades and welcome to the forum!!

Felicidades and welcome to the forum!!

Felicidades and welcome to the forum!!

Felicidades and welcome to the forum!! I vote for PV .

Felicidades and welcome to the forum!! what about Dreams PV?

Felicidades and welcome to the forum!!

Felicidades and welcome to the forum!!

Felicidades and welcome to the forum!!

Felicidades and welcome to the forum!!

Felicidades and welcome to the forum!! Pv's a nice place .

Felicidades MomOfthebride and welcome to the forum!!