Playa Fiesta Weddings

[Monty Crysto]

Awesome pictures Sam!! You look amazing!! I love your shoes....they are very similar to mine, I dyed mine blue. I cant' wait for your review. We have made all of our big decisions regarding the wedding, but just have a few small things to decide. Has anyone done 2 people per row for the ceremony? I have looked at countless pictures and most times 3 to a row looks great, but some times it looks squished (I am wondering if it is maybe just the camera angle). Also any DIY table runner girls? I found some online for very cheap, but they are way too long for the tables. Saw a great idea for putting our monogram on the end of them, but not sure if anyone has done it?? Other than that, I think everything is done...we booked our honeymoon which i am really excited about. Has anyone ever stayed at LA TROZA? I would love reviews about it. Thanks so much!!

[DB2B]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlabbe I also had the same question about the dance floor - I think that this is the sort of decision that would be much easier to make doing a site visit! Would the area where you get married make for a good dance area, or is it too far from the bar & music? Otherwise is there enough dance room around the pool? It's odd but looking at photos of the dance floor is looks sort of small - how many people would you say could fit on it to dance? Sam, i love your photos! Blaire sent them over to me two days ago so I guess that I got to see them early! It just looks perfect, and you two looked fantastic! I really like that Michelle included shots of the food, it gives me a good idea of what it looks like! Were those mini cheesecakes?

Magalie, they were actually just mini (wedding) cakes - the same as the larger top layer, but shrunken. I mentioned to Lindsay I wanted cupcakes, and she suggested the mini cakes. They turned our great! We had orange cake with chocolate filling and raspberries - yum! The frosting isn't buttercream, but a whipped cream frosting and it was delish! I asked them to put beading detail on it (which you can't see) and I brought the ribbon, but when the baker sent over the sample for a tasting, he had put a raspberry on top, I guess to mark that it was chocolate and raspberry inside, but it looked so cute I asked him to put raspberries on all of them. Cake was not something I was excited about, but I really loved ours. The baker they use is great!

Also, I can I repeat again how much I love Michelle Turner! Her photography is amazing! I was so excited to see these shots and she just sent them to me - she was editing our photos tonight and sent me an e-mail saying she couldn't wait to share these. I love them - especially the beer in the air in Ian's!

[mlabbe]

Thanks Sam! I've narrowed it down between her and a photographer from Vancouver and I'm having such a hard time deciding! This is the most important thing for me so I want to be 110% sure of my decision. I know though that since both photographers are awesome, that I'll be extremely happy but still, it's driving me nuts! I keep saying that I hope to make up my mind by week's end, but I think that this time, it's true!

 

I'll have to keep the mini cakes in mind, it's such a great idea!

[shreets]

Sam - those pics are great! what excellent shots! I'll have to keep the mini cakes in mind too. How cute - and they sound yummy.

 

Magalie - I know what you mean about the pictures. Michelle's pictures look great. We're still trying to decide on a date! I haven't even gotten to the fun stuff yet. We have a lot of family in London - so trying to coordinate dates, etc has been more difficult than I thought.

 

So, how many waiters did ya'll have?

[jdrewett]

I read in the contract the coordination and DJ were required. Does anyone know if they are flexible on this? Since we are having a church wedding and very low key dinner, I don't feel we need the coordination. We were also planning to do live music, instead of the DJ.

 

I was planning on bringing my own photographer, but read about the extra $250 for the slideshow.

 

I'm going to email my questions to Adam tomorrow. I always appreciate the input here too. Let me know your thoughts!

 

 

 

Sam- Great pics! Can't wait to see the rest!

 

Shreets- I was wondering the same thing. I used the catering industry standard of 1 server per 25 guests for estimating purposes in my budget.

[kate.com]

Sam those pictures are priceless! Can't wait to see your slideshow:)

 

Magalie- I am sure you will make the right decision on the photographer! I remember this being a huge relief when the contract was signed/deposit in. It is TOTALLY worth it though:) The pictures I mean.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by shreets Sam - those pics are great! what excellent shots! I'll have to keep the mini cakes in mind too. How cute - and they sound yummy.   Magalie - I know what you mean about the pictures. Michelle's pictures look great. We're still trying to decide on a date! I haven't even gotten to the fun stuff yet. We have a lot of family in London - so trying to coordinate dates, etc has been more difficult than I thought.   So, how many waiters did ya'll have?

Good luck on coordinating dates! I think it is pretty much all hands on deck for the wedding... I want to say that there is a waiter for every table of 8?

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdrewett I read in the contract the coordination and DJ were required. Does anyone know if they are flexible on this? Since we are having a church wedding and very low key dinner, I don't feel we need the coordination. We were also planning to do live music, instead of the DJ.   I was planning on bringing my own photographer, but read about the extra $250 for the slideshow.   I'm going to email my questions to Adam tomorrow. I always appreciate the input here too. Let me know your thoughts!       Sam- Great pics! Can't wait to see the rest!   Shreets- I was wondering the same thing. I used the catering industry standard of 1 server per 25 guests for estimating purposes in my budget.

Well I know the coordination fee won't be negotiable bc that is Lindsay's payment for all she does from now until the day after your wedding. Believe me, she EARNS it. (Sam, did you see how much Lindsay runs aroud? My guests were amazed! No wonder she is so skinny!) The fee includes managing every detail from her and Blaire answering emails, checking into requests, coordinating flowers, music, cake, set up/tear down, candles, fireworks, food, service... and the list goes on!

Not sure about the music but I would ask Lindsay/Blaire this question since they handle the wedding side. (Adam runs the hotel so ask him your room questions.) Hope this helps!

[SheriB]

I am falling for Playa Fiesta!! I started out thinking that for sure we would be going to Punta Cana and then started reading reviews on this site. Now Playa Fiesta and Las Caletas are my two tops!! Question for those of you who have been to PF - in some photos it looks like there is some nice sand and others are totally rocks - same beach different tidal time or different beach? Also, I see kids in some of the wedding pics but can they stay at the hotel or were they just there for the wedding day? I am not sure about staying there for a week with our small group but maybe a week at Dreams and then a wedding weekend at PF or something like that.

[shreets]

Hi Sheri!

 

Welcome to the goup. Las Celatas was on my list too! It's such a beautiful place. My grandmother would have had a hard time getting around - so we decided against it. But the pics of the place are gorgeous.

 

But then we found Playa Fiesta, and the reviews and pics are amazing. I love the place and i haven't even been there!

 

I think you have to stay at PF for either 4 or 5 nights. Kids can stay there. I belive kids under 5 stay free and then 5-15yrs is a discounted price.

 

The ladies on here have a lot of info to share and have been so helpful!

 

G'luck with the planning! keep us posted with what you decide!

[shreets]

Hi all,

 

Just a quick question - in the rooms with full kitchens - did anyone notice if there were pots and pans to use? I'm Indian, and Jon is American. We'll have some vegetarians from my side and my mom really wants to make sure that she'll have the ability to cook! She's crazy - but I love her for it!

[mlabbe]

Hi Sheri, welcome! Both places are incredible. After quickly looking at Las Caletas (only found out about it after signing the contract) it looks like it might end up cheaper, but it really depends on how you want to set things up and what hotel you choose, etc. Either way, you can't go wrong!

 

As for PF, they do have a minimum # of nights that you need to book, so if you were mostly set on using Dreams you might be better off combining it with Las Caletas. The nice thing about PF though is that once you book there it covers everything - your hotel, the food, the wedding, the reception, etc. And it's a small resort, so it's very intimate.

 

Jessica - even with the $250 slideshow an outside photographer may be cheaper. Tthe photographers associated with the resort are fantastic though, so you really can't go wrong with using any of them!

 

As for the DJ, I'm not sure if you have to pay for it if you are using a band for the whole night. There should be the costs for the bands in the worksheet that you should have received - or where you thinking of using an outside band?

 

And for the coordinator fee, I haven't even started with all of the big part of the planning yet, but I feel that Blaire has already earn her $$$!!!