Hi Lisa, I thought of 2 places for you which are not hotels. The first one is Martoca Beach Garden, in Bucerias, 5 minutes away from Nuevo Vallarta. They have a big garden, right on the beach. I have been to various weddings there and it is very nice. I am sure you could ask them to do your ceremony in the garden. They have very big Palm Trees which could provide you with shadow. Here is a photo gallery of a wedding there. They had their ceremony on the beach but you can see if you like the place. http://foto.lamatas.lv/Wedding-Erin-Ulises/ The other one is a Restaurant called Oscar's, right downtown Puerto Vallarta on the Isla Cuale, it is a little island on the river. They have a very nice garden. I have attached a picture where you can see their garden for you. Regarding the tent, some of my very good friends are wedding coordinators and they told me that you could rent one starting around 5000 pesos, so around 400 usd. Of course those are the basic ones, not the prettiest ones, but it is not as expensive as you might think! I hope this helps and I will let you know if I think of a resort with a very nice garden. Pierre