We have a big guest list for a DW!!

[salsa_bride]

I'll take a look at Villa del Arco! My fiance really like Dreams himself - was concerned about what you had said about probably having some difficulty booking a lot of rooms as they are almost always to capacity. When I call selloff, i'll compare prices between resorts!

[taryn.shorr]

We are expecting about 100 at our DW in Cabo as well. We looked into blocking out an entire hotel, because we wanted privacy as well.

 

A very well-kept secret in Cabo is Marbella Suites en Playa. It is a 4-star resort at a 2-star price (honest!), and it's got a great location and private beach. Marbella's capacity is 110, and you can reserve the ENTIRE resort for $6,500 total per night. That's $59 per person per night if you have it full and the resort is yours!

 

We called to ask some questions, and their customer service was great! They are reallllly flexible, and said they can customize payment plans and the way you and your guests want to do it.

 

They did recommend we do this about 1 year ahead of time if we're interested.

 

I hope all the great gals' advice is helping you!

[salsa_bride]

Hi Taryn - Thanks! what a great tip!! I will definitely look into it, esp for the privacy issue. I checked out their site...it's not AI, am I correct? Does that $59/ person/night include food or just accomodations? One of the key things we want to not have to worry about is airfare and food for our guests... just seems easier to have it taken care of in one shot.

[taryn.shorr]

You are correct, it is not AI The only thing I know for sure it includes is a breakfast buffet every morning. Our coordinator is handling everything in terms of dealing with them, so I don't know if she's gotten them to through anything in as of yet. I will keep you updated as I find out myself!

[anaderoux]

I'm a little late in this thread but we also have a big big guest list.. 350 total.. but I have special marks for those who, I think, are actually going.. and those who I know won't be able to go.. and as tey've mentioned around the year they will be people who unfortunately won't be able to make it because things come up unexpectedly..

 

I reserved my reception and am making payments for 100 people but I'm having my FI save on an investment account the rest (as it would be for 200). That way we're covered..

[Nrvsbride]

Anny that is such a good idea! I def need to start saving! All these expenses keep popping up! Uggh.

 

-Glenda

[anaderoux]

I know.. if suddenly less than 200 guest go, I'll have extra money

[gkashmira]

Suddenly all these people we thought weren't coming and ready to buy tickets! Anyway I would just be a little careful with the "invite everyone" and hope for less routine - especially with great locations like the ones we're talking about!

 

Anyway I agree - CABO is VERY expensive! We are not saving a dime getting married there versus Los Angeles (who knew!?!) and in fact the additional prices for flights and plane tickets are making it MORe expensive. For me I think it's worth it because I didn't want a regular wedding here at home for one day... it's la vacation too!

 

But on that note I think there are a lot of terrific places out there besides Cabo that can be much more affordable.

 

Marbella en la Playa is cute - we checked it out on our sight visit. But one thing about it is there are a TON of stairs all over the property so if you have any older guests or handicapped guests it would not be good for them (no elevators or anything). It's not a big resort like Dreams or Sherton or anythign but it's an older pretty charming hotel. A bunch of my friends are going to stay there during our wedding because it really is a lot more affordable.

 

I like Tammy's idea of checking out Dreams PV - they are reviewed very highly by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine I think...

 

The Bahamas might be a nice option too - I went to a really lovely wedding there last year. I'm not sure about thew Catholic ceremony though...

[JPMO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by salsa_bride Hm, well, I guess we have to open up our options to other locations to better accomodate our situation (maybe we'll save Cabo for our honeymoon!!!). So in summary of our wedding needs: Budget - 20-25k (CDN) Guests - approximately 150 (needs to be affordable, easy to book for that many people) Ceremony - would like traditional Catholic ceremony Reception - this is where we thought DW could save us some money, but we want it to be a private event (no wandering sunbathers or other toursists in t background) I am open to looking at other locations in Mexico (maybe Dominican)? How did you gals plan your DW when it came to confirming numbers? Did you send out invites first to get confirmed number of guests? How do you do that without booking the location first? And how do you book unless you know how many guests are attending? I feel like it's a catch 22??

I of course did the whole word of mouth thing first. Followed by a guest list and counted who I thought would actually go. My first official count came with the STDs and I attached a reply card and a request to book by a certain date (well before the first deadline). This helped but we still have straglers.

I think you'll get a much smaller amount of guests once they figure out the pricing. At 250 invited, 150 expected, are you ok with only having 80 guests? That's just something to think about . When key people start backing out of your wedding it's a heartbreaker.

[Nrvsbride]

Ok now that I have finally set a date, I am starting to get rude comments from everyone. Opinions are like a-holes everyone's got one. So my aunt starts telling my mom how her son went to cabo not too long ago and it is so expensive and the cab ride from the airport to the hotel was $40, blah, blah, blah. And my cousin makes $3 million a year and he is complaining about a $40 cab ride? We live in NY that is how much a cab ride costs here from the airport to the suburbs. So now my mom is all distressed about how expensive it is, and now I am upset b/c I am starting to realize that once people see how much it really is, they won't go. Which upsets me only b/c we live in NY where everything is fairly expensive and people spend on average $200 a night going out to a city club and it would be about the same price to stay in a hotel in cabo for the night. Okay I totally highjacked this thread and I'm sorry. But you brought up a good point Jenetta.

 

-Glenda