peachykeen159

No problem! Good luck with the planning. So glad I found this website so I could speak with other people going through this process!

No worries, so hard to find brides that went through WestJet! From when we secured pricing, our guests had 2 weeks (technically 3 but our agent wanted the additional week to sort things out). So we actually did the passport invitations and had those done in November one we were 100% sure on the location and just didn't put pricing in them. We created a website and put that in the invites and went live with it as soon as we got the pricing. Once we secured it we had all the invites ready to go and most people got them within 1-3 days of us securing pricing so they could maximize their time to get the $200 down. Anyone we knew wouldn't be getting the invite until the second week, we sent them the link to the website. Yes Westjet gives people less time to get the deposit down, but I don't believe the other airlines give you that much time to pay the rest of the balance which i think is what people are more concerned with. I went to a destination wedding 2 years ago and they used Sunwing, basically they got pricing and the entire balance had to be in April 1st (We found out end of January/early February) so there was a big rush to get it all in even though we weren't going until end of November. The other thing to keep in mind with Westjet is that you do need to have a good rough idea of your numbers since they aren't a chartered airline. When we got our quote we had to have the approximate numbers of each location. We ended up having more people than we expected coming and ran out of Saskatoon seats so 6 of the guests are paying $300 more than everyone else because they were last to sign up...So my advice on that would be going with higher numbers if it could be a possibility but obviously not too crazy because when they price things out, they were average the price of all the numbers you give them. If you are going to go with Westjet, you do have the time to start giving people a heads up on pricing and how quick the deposit will be needed so I wouldn't worry about that part. @@Chawrela

@@Chawrela Yes, we had to wait until January to get our pricing. We could have got it in December but I didn't like that the pricing online hadn't been posted yet. Air Canada would have been reasonable but didn't have the flight times I wanted. We have people coming from Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Ottawa and Halifax. So everyone is able to fly to Calgary and we fly to PV together. I also liked that people didn't have to pay the balance until 90 days before we leave so it gave everyone 7 months to save up. Let me know if you have any other questions!

@@Chawrela I'm actually getting married November 2015 and staying at Secrets Vallarta. What airline is your agent using? We actually went with Westjet because they were quite a bit cheaper than Sunning. We secured the pricing in January 2015 and everyone is paying between $1750- $2100(Depending on the city they fly out of).

Thanks ladies, this is really helpful! I think that's right around what I was planning on spending on them. I just want them to know how much we appreciate them coming out to support us.

How much are you guys planning on spending on your bridesmaids? I feel like because we're having a destination wedding and the wedding party is spending money to join us, we need to spending a little more.

Yeah the photography is taking up a big chunk out of the budget...but I'm hesitant to go with someone else because you also have to pay the additional $500 for bringing someone else to do it and I feel like if you have any troubles, you won't have anyone to back you up. I had looked into transportation elsewhere but got scared at the possiblity of them running late or not being there when the boat arrives at the marina. From what I understand, Vallarta Adventures would be in contact with the bus driver to let them know when the boat is arriving and departing. As for decor, it would be nice to have a picture of what everything would look like if you didn't get any extras.

I agree, the little extras and Las Caletas definitely add up. It's looking like we're going to have between 70-80 people coming and we wanted to do the extra hour but now looking at the price, It just seems crazy. I've ben trying to figure out way to cut down on costs but it's difficult when you imagine trying to get everything on a plane and getting it to Las Caletas on the boat. Are you guys using them for transporting your guests to the marina?

I'll be using Adventure Weddings because I just feel it will be a lot easier. With photography being so expensive in general, I would hate to have to pay the $500 outside photography fee.

I wasn't planning on tipping mine just but I do like the idea of a gift basket for their hard work.

@@yuniedo Good choice picking Dreams Riviera Cancun! I did a site visit last January when I was still deciding and absolutely fell in love with the resort. Guests won't be disappointed!

Did anyone not use the bus offered by Adventure Weddings to pick up and drop off guests at the Marina? It's looking like we're going to have around 80 people at our wedding which means at $13.50 USD a person, we're paying over $1000 just for a bus which seems crazy to me? Maybe that's normal for that area? Did anyone else find another economic way to transport their guests? Thanks!

The best advice I got was "you're going to lose people at every price point, so just pick what you want". Our guests are paying a range of $1750 to $2200 depending on the city they're flying out of and surprisingly enough, the people that wanted to be there are making it work regardless of the cost!

They did a beach wedding then the reception was by the gazebo. The dance floor was pretty much on the gazebo. It was just nice that the beach area was a little more private than the gazebo would have been for the ceremony.

@@chantel333 Congrats on picking your date! You made a good choice with Dreams Huatulco. Went to a wedding there last November and it was amazing!

@@DisTech Thanks so much, you have been a big help!!!

@@DisTech Good to know! So excited now after hearing about your experience! Just realized you guys stayed at Secrets/Now Amber. We'll be staying at Secrets as well, does the disco actually close down at 1? I'm hoping if people are still in there they let things keep going.

@@DisTech Good to know about the additional hour! I was really struggling to figure out if it would be too short leaving at 10:30. I have to remember there is still that 1 hour boat ride party and we can go to the resort bar which is open until 1. I think we just need to look at the timeline they gave us again and figure out what things we can make shorter. I want to make sure we get about 2 hours on the dance floor. I hadn't thought about the lantern idea, that would be so special for everyone to do that! Decor has been so hard to sort out too when you can see everything before hand. I hate the idea of spending a ridiculous amount on something people will only see for like an hour but obviously want it to still look good. Did you bring any decor with you or did you let Las Caletas take care of it all? I'm trying to minimize what myself and the girls take over in the morning so we don't have to worry about bringing stuff back at night. I'm hoping to just have to bring the guest book for the wedding portion. Did you have a spot for wedding cards? Love the idea of the wedding favours!! I've been going back and forth on what to do with that because I want to get something people will use because I hate the idea of spending all this money favours and over half get left behind at the reception. I especially love the idea of the scarf given at the end of the night!! Perfect timing and they get put to use right away. How many bridesmaids did you have? I'm going to have 6 plus myself in the bridal suite so I'm worried it'll get cramped in there while everyone is trying to change and get ready? It's hard to tell from pictures how big the suite is.

@@DisTech Congratulations on your wedding!! Did you end up doing the additional hours for the reception? Do you have pictures of your decor? In general what advice do you have for planning a wedding there? Thanks!

Congrats! Now the fun begins!

@@christina123 I'm having my wedding at Las Celetas too and our guests will be staying at Secrets Vallarta!

@@JennyZ Woah, "you" did not rush into anything. I agree with the other ladies, if during this process he thought things were rushed, he should have brought it up. I think CB is right that he's just feeling the pressure from his family. They still have a whole other year until the wedding. If you would have got engaged and had a destination wedding 3 months later, then sure I might say that's a rush but you've given plenty of notice and time for this to happen. Don't let any of them make you feel guilty at this point. I think a lot of people don't realize how much work goes into planning a destination wedding. You put in all this work and to have them bring up this issue just before deposits are due isn't fair to you at all. You probably have a million other things to worry about. At the end of the day, your wedding is about you and not a survey of what works out for everyone else. Sure when we picked our dates we took a few things into consideration like when holidays are and how much time it gives people before Christmas but that's about it. Lol this isn't even my issue and I'm just blowing steam over here...I can't imagine being you and having to deal with this!! What do they expect you to tell all the others that have already booked time off and put down deposits? ugh so frustrating!

@@JennyZ Definitely hold your ground. Doesn't matter what month you choose, someone won't be able to make it. With this much time left, there is $5000 on the line and others already having booked time. You have given them plenty of time to find a solution to make it in December. Like the others said, they'll come around when there isn't any other choice. You'll probably lose more people when you change it and they're afraid to lose their deposits again. You shouldn't feel guilty about not changing things to accommodate them at all.

That sounds like a big risk. What if you change the dates and pricing for guests changes as well as losing their deposits? If that's all ok, my only concern would be that you change the dates and they still put up a fuss about coming/end up not coming. I hope you guys can find a solution that works for everyone! Keep us updated!

@@JennyZ Lol, yes his mother will definitely probably end up coming if she's contemplating paying for a couple of days. Might as well pay for the week and get the most of it. I'm sure she has vacation days she can use for this. Destination weddings seem to bring up it's own type of family drama. I really do hope they come around though because you don't need that extra stress when planning a wedding.