Wedding Day – 6/26/2012

Wedding Coordinators

A few days before the wedding, Annie came to our hotel and we met her for the first time.  She was so sweet and brought her computer and some things to show me.  We went through the whole day from start to finish and asked her all the questions at that point.  I felt really good about everything after that meeting.  She even said she would make my flower cones for me! All we had to do was tape them shut, and they did that on the day of the wedding, which was very helpful. Both Annie and Denise were so helpful and nice through the whole process while we were there.

Boat ride to Las Caletas

We checked in at Vallarta Adventures at 8 am.  Denise was there to grab our things and bring them to the boat before everyone boarded.  The dresses and things went into a little area under the stairs.  Us girls grabbed a few things to eat and drink for breakfast and waited in the waiting area with all the tourists.  Once our boat was called we all boarded with the others who were going to Las Caletas for the day.  We departed and went to Puerto Vallarta to pick up more passengers which took about 5 minutes once we got there. Now let me just say the day was looking nice so far, we saw a rainbow that morning and it was a little overcast but nothing to be worried about.  I’m usually a good boater, however the boat ride over was rough! 4 out of 7 of us did not handle it so well. So make sure to take your Dramamine no matter what! You just don’t know what it’s going to be like out there… we had to call back to everyone else to make sure they took it for the boat ride later in the day just in case.  

Morning time in the Bridal Casita

Once we got to Las Caletas (at 10:30), we grabbed what we could and Denise and the workers carried the rest up for us.  After a long hike, we arrived at our casita and it was just how the pictures show. So quaint and cozy up on the hill with a nice cozy bed and couch. Denise settled us in and took any wedding things I had. This is the perfect time to nap and relax since everyone was still queasy from the ride.  There is a tiny fridge in the bathroom stocked full of waters. Lots of fruit, champagne and orange juice were on the coffee table. And we just sat and soaked it all in.  Then my mom and I both got massages. I got a half hour one and it felt so amazing! I suggest doing it just to relieve some stress and relax a little bit.  While we were doing that, the girls napped. Once I was done, everyone felt better and we went on a little hike. Saw some parrots, tasted some fresh tortillas, walked along the beach, showed the girls where the wedding would take place.  Don’t be fooled by the looks of it at daytime. I could tell the girls were like, ‘what’s so special about this place?’ Then we walked back up and the girls took their showers. They have towels and a hairdryer (luckily, because I never thought about that!) Then Annie showed up and made sure everything was going good. We went to eat lunch at 1:00.  We were the only ones there so it was nice getting our food right away. And the food was delicious!! A nice buffet of everything and some of the food was the same for our wedding dinner (which is fine by me since it was so good).  At this time Annie showed me where the alternate location was if it rained during the ceremony.  She was going to have it set up no matter what since it could rain at anytime and you didn’t know how hard it would.  So when you come off the boat there’s an eating/restaurant area that they would clear out and set up the chairs and everyone would be undercover.  So that made me feel better about that scenario.  Then we went up stairs and the rest of us showered.  The hairstylists showed up right around that time too and got started right away.  

Getting Ready

So all the girls go their hair done and my mom, my friend, and myself got our makeup done.  I think it is very important that you bring pictures of what you want no matter what! I feel like the girls who didn’t have a picture, ended up messing around with their hair after the fact and didn’t really like it.  But, I feel all in all they did a good job with the hair.  I loved how mine turned out except it’s my own fault for having some of it down since it got all flat by the end of the night (through the mist and sweat, the curls didn’t hold up all night). But it was good all the way until after the fire dancers! So I’m okay with that!  As for the makeup.. he cakes it on!!! Just a warning. He did use the airbrush makeup which was nice, but I had to dab a little off because it was a lot and I wasn’t used to my eyebrows being colored in lol.  And the makeup does rub off… while we were doing our pictures later, I had my chin on my husband’s white shirt.. and when I took it away it left a mark… woops!   Oh and make sure someone brings some music… my sister had her Iphone and played music while we were getting ready.. otherwise it’s too quiet!

Photos

Annie brought up our flowers as they were getting done and they were so perfect! I loved them soo soo much and they turned out fantastic!  Our photographer showed up around 2:30-3 I think? After we were all done with hair and makeup we got in our dresses, put the jewelry on, and went out and took girl pictures and then pictures by myself.  We did hire the VA Videographer and she was really nice.  Didn’t even realize she was there half the time!

Arrival

The boat arrived on time and I started getting more excited/nervous!  My mom went down to greet them all and Annie brought some of they guys stuff down to their room. (which is right on top of the place we have dinner).  I brought over Dan’s and my dad’s attire so they could change when they get there.  Our photographer went down to take pictures of them getting ready and reading my ‘love’ card to Dan.  In the mean time, we requested tequila shots and those were brought up to us quickly!  At this point, it was lightly raining and misting… but the wedding would still take place out on the beach as planned!

Ceremony

It was time for us girls to start heading down the long trail.  My dad was at the end waiting for me and I partially lost it.  (Keep in mind I cry at everything).  So I wiped my tears and game face was on!  The guys were already waiting at the altar and the girls walked down one by one. Then our song started and my dad walked me down and I just stared at Dan the whole way and kept the tears away!  (I knew if I looked at anyone crying, I would start up again haha).  Dad gave me away and we started the ceremony.  Everyone had umbrellas except for the bridal party.  It ended up misting the whole time which was actually nice.  The guests told me later that it was way better than the hot sun beating down on everyone and it wasn’t actually raining, so it was tolerable.  Which I totally agreed with! So the ceremony went great and everyone loved it!

Cocktails/Dinner

During this time, we did family pictures, then we were taken away to take our couple pictures.  Not exactly sure what everyone thought during this time.. slipped my mind to ask about it. Then it was 7:30 and we quickly went back to have dinner.  We were obviously first and the food was awesome! Everyone said so themselves! We missed the dessert table (didn’t do a cake) and Dan wished he could’ve gone up for seconds but we got so caught up in everything else.  Oh and I spilled a chunk of guacamole on my lap. GREAT! Luckily it was just a light green but still! Of course I would do something like that.  Once we were finished, the speeches began with my dad, best man, and the MOHs.  Then it was time for the dances.  I mean things were just happening right after another.

Dancing

 Let me start with the DJ… we did not hire the DJ, we had my brother’s friend in control of that and he did AWESOME!  He brought his laptop and started right when he got there.  So he played all of the music for the whole night.  There were no problems at all.  I suggest doing this if you have someone interested in it.  He’d play the song, then come down and dance, then go back up. This area is right next to where dinner is and it’s covered.  As long as you have 2 hours of a dancing playlist, you’ll be more than fine.  I gave him a list of all the important songs to play and he labeled those songs on his computer so they were easy to find.  SOO we started with our first dances.  The misting stopped and the sun was setting and later on in the night there was lightning in the distance!  And let me tell you, this was the most meaningful part of the whole night for me. I cried the whole time we danced and Dan sang to me the entire time.  It couldn’t have been more perfect… it was our moment to breathe and be with each other with no one bothering us.  Then after that the party began! Everyone danced the night away and there were a lot of dance-offs and everyone participated. It was so much fun.  The bonfire was set up with the smores, so Dan and I made our smores together and that ended up being our ‘wedding cake’ of the night.  (we are having our actual cake at our home reception).  And then the Fire Dancers and drummers came…all I’m going to say about this is: IT IS A MUST!! If you are on the fence about it.. just do it!! It was sooo worth it and everyone kept talking about it the rest of the week! I won’t tell you anymore because you NEED to experience it!! They showed up at like 9:30, so then we did some more dancing after that..

Sky Lanterns

Around 10:20 the sky lanterns were ready to go.  Annie and her team unpacked all the lanterns and handed them out to everyone.  They handed out candles so we could light them too.  This was such a neat experience for everyone too.  Unfortunately ours burned and didn’t make it. And the second one we tried, we didn’t give it enough time and it fell into the ocean too. SO my aunt brought a candle and put it in the sand and told us to make a wish… so thoughtful!  But other people’s worked and I still have that vision in my head watching all the lanterns float up to the sky! It was such a sight and people loved it.  (I also had 4 songs for this period of time and it worked out perfectly).  Then it was time for everyone to pack up and go.  Earlier, Annie brought all of our things down so that made it easy.  My parents, brother, and I danced for one last song and headed up with everyone. I had tears in my eyes because I couldn’t believe it was over and I was so happy everything turned out so perfect!  So we headed back through the candle lit trail to the boat. 

Boat Ride

Well everyone was worried about the boat ride home… but we were assured that it is way smoother on the way back.  So surprisingly everyone was up around the bar dancing and drinking! They definitely partied the whole way back! It was so awesome and it just makes me happy when everyone is having a good time!  Even my 80-year-old grandma was dancing in her seat still!  Annie and all of the workers did such a great job and they were all so sweet and nice!

Overall

WOW… just wow.  Even looking at everyone else’s pictures from past brides, does not give it justice.  To be there, in that moment, to experience the ambiance, the food, the people, the location, it was unlike anything we have ever experienced.  Everyone kept telling us that no wedding could top this wedding and that they had an amazing time!  This was a night to remember and I’m so happy I shared it with my best friend! We will cherish that day forever! Enjoy!