Mel&B

Happy Birthday!!!

#2 is more my style, but that doesn't matter because the dress is for you! I go with the majority here. Pick #1. It gorgeous on you! I think it suits you the best.

The first thing I was going to write about was your dress, and it looks like the other girls agree. It's so, so gorgeous! I can't wait to see more of your pictures. Great review.

Quote: Originally Posted by AshleyMichelle I did a search and this was the only one I could find. I will keep looking! Thanks! Here you go! http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t30443

Quote: Originally Posted by AshleyMichelle Do you all know of any airlines that offer group rates or discounts? I have checked out Kayak and they have some pretty good deals but I just want to make sure I am not missing anything better for my family/friends! I got 10% off from Alaskan Air and 5% from AA. There are a couple of threads out there that tell you how to do this. It's pretty easy. Just call and they will give you a convention rate, I think.

Quote: Originally Posted by smathieu I have had a wonderful experience with the WC at Villa Amor. We have not decided if that is where we will be having our wedding, but she has been VERY quick to respond to emails. I think she said that she recently became the exclusive WC there, so that may not be who you were working with. I have been working with Karen and I absolutely love her. We were actually there this weekend and are deciding between two locations and Karen is a huge consideration as we make our final decision. We do have a concern with Sayulita being a little too small and "hippy" for our group but we really would like to stay away from the giant resorts of PV. Decisions, decisions.... I love Sayulita!!! I got engaged there and also went back for a day on our honeymoon. I too was concerned about it being a little too small for some of our guests and I also wanted to avoid a huge resort. That's why we chose Playa Fiesta in PV, and it was perfect for us! Good luck with your decision. I can't wait to visit Sayulita again next year.

Quote: Originally Posted by Mel&B No. Your question doesn't have to do with Casa Velas, but PV in general. Puerto Vallarta is amazing. If you are scared, please think hard about having a DW. It might cause you a lot of stress. Sorry! I thing my post sounded a little harsh. I think I should explain. There's a lot of bad press about Mexico right now, so if you decide to have a DW in Mexico, you'll have to be prepared to defend your decision to a lot of your guests that may not understand it. You'll have to be your weddings biggest cheerleader!!! So if you are really worried about traveling to Mexico, your guests will be too. However, this is the right place to get all of the info you need. Back to Casa Velas... wedding pics anyone?

Quote: Originally Posted by weddinggirl72 Just wanted to bump this up. I would love to see another brides pictures of a wedding tat Casa Velas. Also, is anyone concerned about safety for guests who are going to party at the clubs in town? In the past I have had a great time going out in PV at night but lately I have been hearing scary stories about shady situations at night clubs (counterfeit money being passed around, credit card number theft, robberies etc..). I dont want to worry about any of my guests getting robbed or worse trying to get a cab back to the hotel late a night. No. Your question doesn't have to do with Casa Velas, but PV in general. Puerto Vallarta is amazing. If you are scared, please think hard about having a DW. It might cause you a lot of stress.

I also found another company called Affordable Preservation, Wedding Gown Preservation - Affordable Preservation Anyone used Wed Clean or Affordable Preservation?

So... I planned so well for the big day, but I didn't plan so well for what to do with my dress after the big day. My dress is very delicate and it was very $$$$. I don't want to take it to a regular dry cleaner because I think it would be destroyed. There are a few very high end cleaners and preservers out there, but they charge about $500. I found WedClean, Wed Clean - Wedding Dress Cleaning, Gown Preservation, Restoration and I think it would only cost about $150. Has anyone used them? Thoughts I love my dress and I want the best for it, but $500 is a lot of dough. Also, married girls, what did you do with your dress? I can probably make around $2,000 if I sell my dress, but it will be hard to part with! What did you do? Thanks!

Yeah! Congrats!

Quote: Originally Posted by wsarah2107 Melissa-- I just read your parents' review on tripadvisor...omg I was holding back tears!! Your mom just seems so happy & she has the nicest things to say about you & your husband! I was so happy to hear the great review she left of PF--sounds like you guys had an unbelievable time! I've never seen my parents so happy. They had 3 or 4 sets of their couple friends with them, and they also loved hanging out with my friends and Bryan's friends. We live 2000 miles from them, and our friends are spread all over the country, so it made them feel really connected to everyone. We have 5 great reviews up on Trip Advisor from our group. One of my friends even thanked me (in the review) for having my wedding there. It was sooo sweet.

I think I finally got that little sad feeling when your wedding it totally over. I'm trying to fight it though! OK, tipping: Bryan and a couple of his friends tipped Aldo and the bartenders a few different nights. Their tips were pretty generous, I think. I tipped Cristi and her assistant for hair and makeup. I tipped the day of only. They did a good job. We also tipped the mani/pedi people. I think Kate's idea of pooling tips and giving it to Lindsay is a great idea. The whole tipping thing is confusing, I agree. Basically, you do pay tip with your bill (15%), but you can tip more.

I had a similar problem. I suggest speaking to a custom jewelry maker ASAP. He or she can really help you figure out what will work and won't work. I think it'll make your decision making process a lot easier. Your ring is gorgeous!!!

I absolutely love them!!! So glad I could provide some inspiration! They are elegant but whimsical.

Ok, I just check out Casa Velas on Trip Advisor. It looks so nice! I had no idea it was rated #2 in all of PV. I feel like I totally missed out and should have stayed there for our honeymoon. It looks like a perfectly relaxing place for a honeymoon!

Susan, I am soooo impressed! Everything looks so great! I love your OOT bags, and so will your guests. I also love your shot glass baggies. I can't wait to hear about your wedding at Dreams VM. Congrats!!! Have the time of your life!

I'm so sorry! That is terrible. I don't want to add insult to injury, but I think the threat of swine flu in PV is zero. I think that email and website updates, plus phone calls, will be adequate.

Quote: Originally Posted by jenniebey That helps a lot. Thanks, Mel! I think I will keep looking. I think no matter what we'll just be happy to have some down time by the pool and I can zone people out as long as I have my ipod. But I think I should check out more options. Also, PF is booked with another wedding the first two days we arrive so we have to stay at another location until our reservations, the same day our guest arrive. I was going to book Barceló La Jolla de Mismaloya since it's close to PF, but maybe we don't need an AI if we're going to be running around getting ready. I guess I will ask Lindsay what she recommends. As for our 2nd honeymoon, we haven't decided yet. But we're thinking Costa Rica, Cuba or maybe Argentina. FI actually wants to surprise me and pick a place. So I guess we'll see. What about Dreams for the first two days? It's really close to Playa Fiesta... just a thought! I love Costa Rica! Haven't been to Cuba or Argentina. You are a lucky girl! I just told Bryan we need another honeymoon and he was not too cooperative!

I love BB!

Quote: Originally Posted by jenniebey Hey Mel. Would you not recommend the RIU at all or only because it was so crowded? I was going to book the Riu for our mini-moon (2 days) we have after leaving PF. (we're doing our full honeymoon a couple months later). But now I'm wondering if we should go elsewhere. My only thing is I wanted to be out in Nuevo Vallarta at an AI so we could just relax and enjoy the beach. Hi Jennie, It's so hard to say... Our room was amazing. If you stay here, get a jacuzzi ocean view. We had room 8009, which was in one of the 4 towers you seen in pictures. We had a 2 story balcony. The jacuzzi was on the 2nd story. It was just hard to go there right after Playa Fiesta. At Playa Fiesta, everyone knows you. The guys will all treat you like a queen because you are the bride. The RIU was just too crowded! We couldn't even get reservations to a nice dinner. Judging by the reviews, it's not always like that, but I only have my experience to go by. I totally get where you are coming from because I felt the exact same way about an all-inclusive in Nuevo. Looking back, I would have done it differently, though. I would have gone to another small hotel where FI could just snuggle up together and not deal with two million people running around. Oh! Just thought of one more thing. We always like to make friends and meet people when we travel, but we were so tired from our week at PF, we just wanted to relax and hang with eachother. I think all inclusives are great for meeting people, hanging out, drinking together, etc., but by the time our honeymoon came, I didn't feel like doing that with stangers after we'd just spent a week with our closest friends. I don't know if I helped, but those are just some things to think about! Where are you going on your 2nd Honeymoon?!

Quote: Originally Posted by kate.com That sounds really pretty!!!!! I did 2 different styles as well, I like it when you have one tall arrangement and one shorter for variation. We watched our wedding video last night... we like to watch platinum weddings on sundays and we alwyas think they all spend mega bucks on ambiance and at the end it looks good... but it is still a rectangular ballroom. No matter how much they spend they can't toutch Playa Fiesta!!! Yay for us that found it and booked it! I totally agree! And what a headache it must be to plan a wedding like that! Do you worry about every detail all day long? It's amazing to look back and think about everything that came together- things that I didn't even think about that I'm sure Lindsay worked hard to accomplish (timing of events, coordiation of vendors, etc).

Quote: Originally Posted by Jess I've heard it is amazing Amanda! We were considering it but I get bored easily and there isn't much around there so I think we will stay closer to town...it is still a possibility though. Oh that villa sounds amazing with the chef - I'm glad you had fun! Hi Jess, I'm not sure how long you are staying with your guests at Dreams, but you guys might be exhausted by the time you get to your honeymoon! I was on such a high during the week before my wedding- I barely slept all week. By the time we got to our honeymoon, we desperately needed to relax.

Congratulations Casey & Stu!!! Happy Wedding Day!

Absolutely gorgeous! Your photos are so beautiful.