We had an excellent experiencing holding our wedding at the Now Amber in Puerto Vallarta in May 2013.  I really can't say enough good things about it.  We had 63 people attend our wedding.

Guest Experience

Since we were asking our guests to spend their hard earned cash and vacation time to join us for our dream destination wedding/family vacation, it was of primary importance to us that the hotel we chose provided a wonderful vacation experience.  We were not disappointed.  From the moment we stepped off the bus the Now exceeded expectations.  The facilities, rooms, and grounds are beautiful.  My guests and I have been to many, many All Inclusive in Mexico and everyone was impressed.  The variety of restaurants was great, the food was excellent...etc etc etc.  We loved hanging out in the beautiful lobby bar.  It was super cool that every room has an ocean view.  The in-room (free) mini bars were a great touch.  Guests seemed to appreciate that the hotel was located walking distance to downtown Puerto Vallarta and the Malecon.  I guess my only complaint was that the balconies were a little small?  Also the beach, while beautiful, isn't as nice as the beach in Nuevo Vallarta (rockier, not as open and long).  These are pretty nit-picky complaints.  Overall, the vacation experience was great.  I consider this to be a beautiful, luxurious resort.  Everything was meticulously clean.  I really appreciated how you did not need reservations for any of the fancy restaurants (that is such a pain) and how they don't hassle you with things like having to "check out" beach towels, etc.  I read a few Trip Adviser reports from people who complained about the resort.  I've got to tell you, these people are either impossible to please, or they had a very different experience than me and my guests.

Wedding Experience

Here are the details of my wedding choices and experience.

Wedding Coordinator.  Our wedding coordinator was Edith.  I loved her.  She was very response (always got back to me within a day or two), patient, and accommodating.  She was extremely organized and kept careful track of what we asked for.  She was on site during the day of the wedding ensuring that everything went off without a hitch.  

Package.  We chose the Divine package (the highest one) which I think is the way to go if you have 25+ guests.  Given the amount of extras that they add in for the additional cost, it seems like the best value.  

Officiant.  Our officiant was Luci and we thought she was wonderful.  We communicated in advance so that she could get a sense of us and what we were looking for and she sent us the entire ceremony so that we could read through it and ask for any changes.  Everyone agreed that she did a beautiful ceremony.  Also rest assured that her English is excellent.  She was a very warm person who I was delighted to have conduct our marriage ceremony.  Due to the various logistical challenges, we did not choose to have a legal ceremony in Mexico (it requires blood tests, has to be done in Spanish, etc.)  A legal ceremony would have required extra expenses and complexities.

Food & Drink.  Because we had 63 guests we opted for the Mexican Buffet option.  It worked out well.  The food was good but to be honest, I hardly remember the details.  We did notice that we'd thought the hors d'oeuvores would be passed during the cocktail hour but they were not (not sure if we just misunderstood).  There was a full dessert buffet so I'd recommend that it's unnecessary to increase the size of your cake to accommodate all your guests (unless that sort of thing is important to you).  The servers were prepared with trays of a cocktail ready to hand out at the end of our ceremony.  We chose blended mojitos, which our guests had been raving about all week - very refreshing!  We asked for our champagne to be served during the toasts (at the beginning of dinner) rather than during the cocktail hour.

Entertainment and Music.  We had a guitarist perform during the ceremony to welcome our guests and for the processional music, which was included in our package.  We then paid for a mariachi band during cocktail hour and a DJ after dinner for dancing.  We did not choose to purchase any upgraded dance floor or lighting system as it seemed unnecessary.  All of these services worked out great, no complaints.  The DJ did play a comical number of Pitbull songs.  Not that there is anything wrong with that (Pitbull has lots of dancable songs!) but it was kind of funny.  We made sure to have the DJ right up until 11:00 pm which was the latest we were allowed to go.  We had lots of guests who loved to dance!

Decor and Flowers.  We stuck to the basics on the decor and flowers side, since this is where the dollars can really add up.  Since you are in such a beautiful setting to begin with, I personally don't this it's necessary to spend a ton on these items.  We purchased basic flower arrangements for the tables ($50 each) and they were big, lush, and beautiful as were the bouquets and bouts.  They didn't look exactly like the pictures I sent, but that was fine with me.  I asked for them to be colorful and done with locally available flowers and they were.  I'm sure that if you want something exact they can replicate it for you.  For the ceremony we kept it simple with basic white draping of the gazebo with two aisle flower arrangements added.  We stuck with the basic chairs and linens as this is the kind of thing I just couldn't be bothered to pay for.  When it came to little extras (fans, maraca favors, place cards, table numbers, guest book) I sourced/created them myself and and gave them to the wedding coordinator to set up.  I did this because it was much more cost effective and with 63 guests those little things add up and the pricing through the resort was much higher than the pricing I could get myself.  

Photography & Video.  Both photography and video were included in my Divine package.  However, I chose not to use the hotel photographer and instead hired my own outside photographer.  I chose this option because I wanted a certain style and quality of photography.  That said, I do think that the hotel photography is quite good, if your looking for a more posed, basic photography style and fewer photos.  I did do an engagement shoot with the hotel photographer, so I have some experience with them.  For the price, I was happy with results, but they didn't blow me away.  The photobook provided was low quality, but I didn't really care because all I really wanted was the disc of full resolution photos.  The resort's style is very posed, which is great if that's what your going for, but it's not really my style so I'm happy I hired an external professional (Jillian Mitchell) who specialized in the more candid, artistic style I prefer.   If it hadn't been included in the package I wouldn't have hired a videographer, but now that I received the video I'm happy to have it.  The video includes full footage of the ceremony book-ended by some nice montages of the set-up, guests arriving, and the cocktail hour.  They did a great job of putting together the montages artistically and setting them to music.  

Ceremony and Reception Locations.  Our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception were all in pretty much the same location - on the wooden deck between the infinity pool and the beach.  Well, technically the ceremony was under the gazebo, but that is sort of a continuation of this deck. If there is one thing that the Now Amber could improve I would say that it wold be finding a way to provide a more private outdoor ceremony and reception area.  We were really "out there" in the midst of the resort in this spot and it would have been more dreamy and romantic to be more secluded.  But you know what?  Come the day of the wedding, it wasn't a big deal.  Be prepared that there will be looky-loos observing your ceremony from the pool/beach.  If you don't like that...don't get married at a resort in Mexico!  I thought it would bother me, but it actually kind of added to the festive feeling of the day.  You really do feel like a celebrity on your wedding day which is sort of weird and cool.  It's neat to feel like all these people you don't know/only know from your days at the resort are all watching and rooting for you and sending you good vibes. We chose to have our ceremony under the gazebo because it seemed a little more private than the beach.  Plus we knew our guests would appreciate keeping their feet out of the sand once they were dressed up.

General Advice.  When you arrive at Now Amber, look around.  Take note of the quality of their presentation, food, and service.  This will reassure you that the people who work there are professionals who know what they are doing.  Let go of expectations of things being "just so" and allow the professionals to do their job and use their best judgement.  They will take care of you, and you'll be able to be more carefree and really enjoy your wedding experience.