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hi! I haven't been on here for a while but I want to put in an enthusiastic word for car mel. they did our wedding in late august 2014. we hired them for some additional shoots too bc they were ridiculously affordable! they were actually cheaper than the resort photographer with no limits on photos. they gave us everything that was presentable. if you are looking for packages (e.g. an album) they don't do that. they just give you a flash drive. they are super super personable, flexible, genuinely interested in taking pictures of your special day! we loved them! and can't believe we were walking away with such a deal! their rates may have gone up since we hired them last year since it seems word has gone out! highly recommend!

I was really worried at the beginning of your comment but thankfully I am not going with Vallarta Adventures for pictures and video. I'm sorry to hear that happened to you. So disappointing! For video, I found this filming service that sends you flipcams so your guests can film and they will put it together into a little video! It's so much cheaper than a videographer and you can get your entire trip in!!! Am so excited to be using this option! It's called Storymix if anyone is interested http://www.storymixmedia.com/weddingmix/

Wow! Thanks so much SLetendre! I'm so stressed about this wedding I hope I'll get to enjoy it when I'm there. Your review is really helpful though. It does make me feel a tiny bit better. We just got news about how much the sound equipment will cost for rental. And it's really bumming me out. We are going to have a bonfire too and wanted music. But it might be too expensive. Did you have any music at your bonfire? And did you bring your own equipment? Regarding someone's question about heels, I heard from someone who had her wedding at the resort that her heels were getting stuck in the gazebo. So I dunno... Thanks! Van

Hi! sorry I missed your engagement date, but for your wedding, check out Car & Mel Photography http://www.carandmel.com/about/. they will be doing my wedding in august. i haven't used them yet but if you want to take a chance, they are super affordable and so far, are really nice and personable and on top of things! they have an active FB page with photos, etc. they've given us references too that were very positive! Van

in case anyone is interested, my resort in puerto vallarta (now amber) found someone! but for some weird reason I can't talk to this person directly. they seem arite tho. i'm not south asian so i'm not picky, just as long as it doesn't burn a hole in my skin! in any case, i'll post the artist's info here if i ever get it.

what?! how fun! wow, that's interesting how differently they do room blocks with different people. we are about to sign off on our room block agreement. probably this next week we'll get that done. we will be there 7 nights (8/26-9/2), i think most of our guests will be there just over the weekend. i haven't looked at airfares recently but about a month ago, prices from chicago were about 600-700 and from LA were 300-400, which we kinda expected. hope they haven't changed much! :/ it might be too far out to worry about the plane tix. i remember buying tix for thanksgiving travel 3 to 4 months out and it was still relatively cheap.

Wow! so glad to read all these new posts! we are working with the resort through destinationweddings.com. the room block situation with them is a bit confusing but (kinda) glad to hear it's just as confusing to go through the resort directly! our room rates through dw.com is a little bit better than what's offered on the website. they might have some exclusive deals with them. regarding photographer, i'm digging through the internet trenches for alternative photographers bc i don't like the resort photographer at all. i found car and mel photography http://www.carandmel.com/#!/index. they are super cheap! i think their pictures look pretty good but i don't have a great eye for that. anyone heard of them?

Yes, I'd be interested in the opinions of hair and makeup too! Although I wonder how much the results will depend on your individual hair texture and complexion. My next point of stress is room blocks! Did anyone block rooms for their guests? I'm going through destinationweddings.com, which acts kinda like a middleman, and the way the agent explained it I'm totally confused . From what I understand, we can only block rooms for 30 days, then we have to pay a deposit of $200 per room to hold them. At some point, we are financially responsible for them but we are confused as to when. We are not comfortable with putting down all that money while people wait until May or June to book! Our wedding is Aug 31. Does anyone know how this works? Thank you!!!

hi everyone! i'm looking to have my wedding 8/31/14! thanks for all the info on here! makes me feel better! did anyone ever answer the question about prices for hair and makeup at the salon? i don't trust myself to do my own . also, i'm scared about the resort dj. did anyone use them? thanks so much!

Hi! I just wanted to revive this topic in case any new information has come up. We are getting married in Puerto Vallarta and I'd love it if we could do a mehndi party at the resort! Plus most of my friends don't live in my hometown so I can't even really have a party at home . Thanks for the info!

Hi everyone! Excited to hear everyone's experiences at Marival! Hoping to do a destination wedding in the area but we are probably gonna have 100-150 guests! :/ Would Marival Residences fit that many people?? I don't see a lot of info on the internet...Thanks!