@@peachykeen159
I went back and forth on additional hours a million times in my head! We ended up not doing it, and the decision was perfect (all our friends are big drinkers). It turned out to be the perfect amount of time - I will say we all stayed at the same resort, so we continued the party at our resort all-inclusive club after we got back. But the change of venues was actually REALLY fun.
At Las Caletas we had mariachi, fire dancers and lanterns, and I was worried those "activities" would take up too much time. But they didn't and I worked on a very detailed timeline that they nailed perfectly. The night lanterns are a MUST, people can't stop talking about them. I thought they would be an after thought, but the majority of guests thought it was the best part!
I don't have all my pics back yet. But we did white chair covers, white table cloth, neutral runners with 2 flower centerpieces and candles on each table and it was gorgeous! Comments included, "This is like a celebrity wedding!" "The surprises just kept coming" "Well, this is the wedding that will ruin all future weddings. (because it was so amazing)" "Can you plan my wedding?" "I feel like we are on an episode of 'The Bachelor'" The last quote may be true, because ALL the single people found 'love' connections with each other that night.
We also had hanging lanterns and sheer curtains in the dinner area - and I would recommend this 100%. The "early girls" day was AMAZING too. My friends can't stop talking about it.
One other big hit were the favors, and I think it's because they were practical and re-usable. We did mini LED flashlights for extra visibility (it can be dark on the way to the bathroom and walk back). And we gave each lady a pashmina scarf for the boat ride home, that everyone raved about. I found a wholesale place that I got 20 very quality pashminas off of for under $3.50 per scarf. They went over really well, and people assumed I spent around $20 - $30 per scarf.