Another Las Caletas Wedding Review - Raisinblur, May 24, 2008

[raisinblur]

Here's my long overdue (and just plain long) review of our Las Caletas wedding on Saturday, May 24, 2008.

 

Las Caletas Wedding, Kelley as WC

DH and I had a fabulous time at LC. It's just a beautiful place. I totally trusted Kelley to take care of everything for me, so all I needed to do was relax and enjoy the day. So let's start from the beginning. I got a cold like a week before the wedding. I couldn't believe it because I hadn't gotten sick in years, and of course I get sick a few days before our wedding. I think all the stress and nerves were getting to me and weakened my immune system. Luckily, the worse of it was over by the wedding day, and I think maybe the excitement of everything helped me get through the day. At least I was able to eat, drink, and dance the night away with no problems. The night before the wedding, DH and I could not sleep at all we were so nervous. We kind of threw tradition out the window, and decided to stay in the same room the night before and he also came with me and my BMs to LC in the morning and hung out with us all day. And he got to see me in my dress before the ceremony. I don't regret this at all because it was nice to have his support the whole time, and I just felt calmer with him there. And I was glad to share the entire experience with him.

 

So the 6 of us (me, DH, 2 bm's and 2 of DH's friends) rode out to LC that morning. We didn't do a site visit beforehand, so the 6 of us went with no additional charges. I met with Kelley 2 days before the wedding at our hotel to go over the final seating chart, and other details. I thought it was fine not doing a site visit since I had read so much info on LC (thanks, LC brides!) that I knew pretty much what to expect, and wanted to experience it for the first time on the big day. And we didn't want to spend time away from our guests anyway. The morning boat ride was pretty smooth, except for the last 20 minutes or so, when it started to get rough. I occasionally get sea-sick, but I was totally fine this time. My sister (a BM), however, got really sick and threw up several times. But the crew was so nice to us, especially Nicole who met us in the morning, giving us water, ice, clean barf bags (gross, I know) and always asking if we needed anything. They all took care of us so well. But, we were happy to finally touch land again. The bridal casita was so cute. Smaller than I thought it would be, but still very comfortable (might start to feel pretty cramped with more than 6 people though). One sister and I had a massage. Another went snorkeling (she yelled at me for not telling her there would be a yoga class, because she didn't know to bring her yoga pants). DH took a 2-hour nap. His friends also took short naps in the hammocks outside, and otherwise just wandered around. We lounged in the Jacuzzi for a while. Everyone said it was so beautiful and relaxing, and I totally agreed. It was a great way to spend a wedding morning. Then we went to eat lunch, which was soooo delicious. BBQ ribs and paella and the best lemonade ever. It was sooo good. I was hoping they would have the exact same food for dinner. (They didn't, but dinner was still very yummy!). Then Kelley came and we did a walk-through with her. Basically, she showed us where the ceremony and dinner would be set up, and where we'd be walking, etc. The whole time, I felt very confident that Kelley had everything under control, and she did. It was nice not having to worry about anything.

 

Elizabeth Lloyd, our photog, came around lunch time but didn’t start taking pictures till later, around 3. Fernando, the stylist Kelley had recommended, came and did my hair and make-up at around 3.

 

Everyone around me starts getting dressed, cleaning, packing up the suite, etc. And then Kelley starts giving me these play-by-plays every 15 minutes, like, “ok, your guests are now at the port waiting to get on the boat… ok, your guests are now on the boat, the waters are very rough… ok, your guests will be here in 20 minutes… your guests are here! etc. etc..†At this point, everything just becomes a big blur to me. It’s like, everything was happening all around me and people are just telling me what I need to do, cuz I have no idea. It’s the weirdest feeling, but I just went with the flow and everything miraculously fell into place… all our stuff got packed and moved to where they needed to be, everyone arrived safely and on time, I got to where I needed to be on time. Kelley just worked her magic.

 

So about the afternoon boat ride. All our guests told us that it was very choppy. And from our wedding video, we could see how windy and rocky it was. The boat crew made everyone take Dramamine before the ride, but a few people still got sick, including DH’s sister, who threw up several times. We also had guests who sat close to the boat’s edge and they got soaked by water that splashed up on them. I feel bad for them, but it’s the weather, so what can you do? Everyone still had a blast despite the bumpy ride, but a lot of them told us they didn’t go so crazy with the alcohol because they were scared of the boat ride back. But Kelley assured us that the boat ride home would be much smoother, which luckily turned out to be true.

 

The ceremony went smoothly. But the microphone kept cutting out because it was so windy. Our guests said they couldn’t hear much of what we said, but that’s ok. The waves were crashing very loudly, so even if the microphone did work, they would have had a hard time hearing us anyway. Everyone said it was a gorgeous setting though, and my sister said it looked straight out of a wedding magazine. Dinner was also delicious, although I didn’t eat that much. With everything going on, it’s hard to chow down no matter how good the food is.

 

The only thing I was kind of disappointed with was the cake. It tasted fine, but I had wanted chocolate with a strawberry fruit filling. Instead, it was a cinnamon spice cake with a jam filling. Again, with everything going on, I didn’t even notice that it wasn’t chocolate when we did the cake cutting. And in the grand scheme of things, it totally wasn’t a big deal. But if I had to do it over again, I would probably just skip the cake altogether, and save ourselves a few hundred dollars.

 

The rest of the night went by way too fast. We danced the night away. The firedancers are amazing… and boy, does it get hot when they get close to you. Definitely worth every penny. And on the boat ride home, it took a while for people to let loose again, because they were so worried about whether the ride would be choppy or not. But after some friends and I started that conga line, people started partying again, haha. And luckily no one got sick. All in all, it was just an unforgettable day.

 

Coming up in the next few days (I hope)… reviews of our hotel (Royal Decameron), Fernando the stylist (wish I knew his last name), and Elizabeth Lloyd the photog (and her assistant Nathan), and various excursions we went on.

 

Oh yeah, how could I forget. Here’s a link to some of our non-pro pics. There are over 200 pics so make sure you have more than a few minutes to spare before getting started!

 

Kodakgallery.com*Join now and receive beautiful photographic prints from your camera

[Andi]

 

Congratulations and great review! That sucks about the boat ride over for your guests...but yeah...can't control the weather!

 

Did you have the hair stylst come over to LC to do your hair? i would love to hear how that went for you! pictures look amazing! will you also share your pro ones with us when you get them?!

[Kat81]

Everything looked amazing! I love all the dresses. Yours and the bridesmaids. So amazing! Congrats!

[Steffeny11]

Thanks for all the detail! I'm considering this place as well, but I'm nervous about people getting seasick!

[Steffeny11]

Congratulations by the way, You look beautiful!

[jajajaja]

Great review. I'm so glad you had a fabulous time! Too bad everyone got sick. Unfortunately you can't predict things like that.

[Yari]

Thanks for the great review! That really blows about the sea sickness though!

 

Your pics are so beautiful.

[raisinblur]

Thanks for all the nice comments! I did have a stylist come to LC to do my hair. I will post a more complete review later tonight.

 

Here's my review of our hotel: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t23548

 

As for the sea sickness... yeah, it kind of sucked for our guests, but they still had an awesome time. They couldn't stop raving about the wedding as a whole, so I wouldn't let that keep you from having an LC wedding. Lots of LC brides have also said the boat ride was super smooth. So it's just a matter of luck with the weather. My guess is, if you avoid a wedding during the summer months (like during May - October), the boat ride will be a lot smoother.

 

I'll definitely post our pro-pics once we get them.

[starchild]

I really enjoyed your review. Too bad about the sea sickness but it totally happened to our guests too and you're right, for some reason the ride back is smooth. It sounds like a great day with minor issues. Beautiful pics, I love your calla lily bouquet

[JaimeLynne]

Thanks for the review! Your wedding is exactly 1 year before ours. I'm pretty nervous about those waters since my Grandparents are totally freaked out about the weather and getting seasick. I will feel horrible if everyone gets sick, although I know you can't plan it but still I would feel bad since I asked ppl to take a boat knowing they're prone to sea sickness... I guess I need to get over that sometime in the next year, huh!