kwright369

So glad to hear your wedding was everything you dreamed it to be. You looked stunning!

I tipped our wedding coordinator (Mandy Clough) $100. She was our coordinator the day of only but she was fabulous and completely put my mind at ease. I think honestly, it's just like anything: If they do an exceptional job, tipping is great. And much appreciated by the vendor in question.

We used an iPod and I made playlists for all aspects of the day (Preceremony music, ceremony music, dinner, and reception). It was really easy, fun and saved us a TON of money! We rented the dock, speakers and microphone package from our hotel (Cabo Surf) and it was only $65/hour and they set it all up and moved the speakers and everything from the beach (ceremony site) to the restaurant (reception site) for us. The sound was great and plenty loud - even on the beach with the crash of the waves! Hope that helps.

Congratulations! We used Mandy for just the day of wedding coordination and she IS fabulous! We also used Gilda for our photographer and loved her as well. We got our pictures back in a really timely manner and they are amazing!

A link to our photos is now on my signature. We are so happy with them!

midnight24 - Don't you LOVE Vitamin String Quartet?!?! They are so great! It was hard to choose which song to use!

The wedding party walked down to "Today" by Joshua Radin. Then I walked down to Vitamin String Quartet's version of "All I Want Is You" by U2. For the recessional, we walked back up the aisle to The A-Team Theme Song...ha! That was my DH's idea. Obviously. But I loved it and the wedding guests and party thought it was hilarious.

We just got the link from Gilda and we are so happy with the way the pictures turned out. I highly recommend her! http://www.pictage.com/826789

Caligirl - You are going to LOVE it! Martha is so sweet - all the staff are amazing. You won't want to ever leave! I'll be back with photos as soon as I get them!!

She was a joy! I'm SO excited to see our photos!!

TLC4Rock - We're going to Punta Cana for our honeymoon in October...so excited! You'll have a gorgeous wedding no doubt!

I forgot something!! We did a Sunrider Sunset Dinner Cruise (read Booze Cruise!) for our welcome dinner the night before the wedding and it was SUCH a good time. Mario was easy to work with and the crew onboard the boat were priceless. So so fun! Our drinks were never empty, the food was delicious and the "entertainment" was a riot! All of our guests loved this and I highly recommend this as a fun activity or alternative to dinner at a restaurant. We rented the boat out so it was private and I think it was well worth the little extra expense.

We have just been back a little over a week and I am spending a good portion of most of my days fantasizing about going back to Cabo. Below is a review of the vendors I used. VENUE - Cabo Surf Hotel - A+++ The staff at the Cabo Surf are amazing! Martha helped me in the months leading up to the wedding via email and totally put my mind at ease. I was so excited to finally meet her in person and she is just a doll! Our room was gorgeous with the most serene, fabulous view of the surf and all the staff for the hotel and Seven Seas Restaurant knew that we were the couple getting married and wished us well and always asked if they could do anything for us. I've never met such warm, friendly people in my life. HAIR/MAKE-UP - Sea Spa (at the Cabo Surf Hotel) - A+++ I had an amazing bridal package that included a massage, mani, pedi, hair and makeup for really good deal (Less than $200 - including a generous tip)! It was not only the best mani/pedi I've ever had - and I love to indulge myself with those- but Jenifer (who did my massage, mani, pedi and hair) made my hair into a work of art! All the guests commented on how gorgeous it was with one even taking photos of my head to show her daughter who is getting married this summer. My makeup was fabulous as well! Very natural and held up - despite a warm day and a LOT of dancing! COORDINATOR - Mandy Clough - A+++ I hired Mandy for the day of the wedding only since I am an event coordinator by trade and felt like I had the planning under control. I actually took a recommendation from this site and contacted her. She was great! Such a fun girl and took care of everything, even going above and beyond and putting additional, great touches on the day. She also suggestsed great restaurants to go to in San Jose and we talked to her about visiting us in Portland someday. Couldn't recommend her more! FLOWERS - Cabo Flowers - A++ My flowers were GORGEOUS! They were incredibly fresh and just beautiful. We only ordered bouquets and bouts for the bridal party and a floral ring for the "altar" but they were so professional, easy to work with and a great value based on my research. I was a little worried about the floral ring thinking it'd break apart when I walked over it in my dress but that sucker held! (Mandy then broke it apart during the cocktail reception and dispersed the flowers around the reception site to help dress it up even more....great idea and the flowers were still there when we checked out looking lovely!) PHOTOGRAPHER - Gilda Badillo - A++ We had so much fun with Gilda! Not only is she adorable but she works hard! She had two different assistants in the 5 hours we booked her for and they were EVERYWHERE! Our guests commented many times how much they enjoyed her and her assistants. She showed us some of the photos as she took them and they were stunning! I am so excited to see all the pictures. She also told us that we should have them within a month or so and based on other reviews I've read, that is pretty fast. I HIGHLY recommend her. She does great work and is very affordable. CEREMONY - A++ The set up on the beach in front of the hotel was lovely! Mandy did a great job cueing everyone and it went flawlessly. We had a close friend do the symbolic ceremony and we are so glad we did. It was really touching and special having someone who knows and loves us standing up there with us "officiating" the ceremony. RECEPTION - Seven Seas Restaurant (At the Cabo Surf) - A++ The food for the reception was AMAZING! My DH's mother is a huge foodie and so are her friends that were attending and that was one of my biggest concerns. I needn't worry...they all raved about the food! We rented the mic/speakers/iPod dock combo from the hotel rather than hire a DJ. It worked out great and saved us quite a lot of money! I just made playlists for each section of the day (pre-ceremony music, ceremony music, dinner music, and reception). Just push play! CAKE: C We did cupcakes through the restaurant. They were so adorable but really dry. I've heard that it's really hard to get any good cake products in Mexico since it's not really their "thing". I only had the one bite from when we fed each other but it wasn't great. All I really cared about was that they looked good though personally since I don't really like dessert. I'm doing this quickly (at work....shhh!!!) but I don't think I can really express how amazing this was. We are so so glad we did a destination wedding and so happy we picked the Cabo Surf Hotel. It is small, laid back and lovely and we truly felt that it was all about us. We will definitely be returning for a future anniversary and know we have made several amigos in San Jose!

We also did a symbolic ceremony in Cabo and nothing is required. As a matter of fact, we just had a close friend of ours "officiate". We were married at the courthouse before we left for Mexico. Totally easy!

We booked the Sunrider for our welcome dinner in two weeks. Mario has been great to work with and I think the price is reasonable for a private cruise - $50 for 30 people. I'm also stocked up with a big bottle of Dramamine...just in case!