Las Caletas Couples ~ POST HERE!!! (**All LC Brides...PLEASE READ 1st post, red text)

[LaLa1116]

Originally Posted by JaimeandBrandon 

 

Hi LaLa1116,

 

I LOVED our videographer!!  Here are a few of the clips or what I like to call music videos: 

 

http://vimeo.com/23311569

http://vimeo.com/22912009

http://vimeo.com/18284040

http://vimeo.com/17695020

 

Jaime  

Hi Jamie!

 

These are great!  Thanks so much for sharing!  We've decided to use Sandra from Vallarta Adventures for our videography. So glad we decided to add video.

[LaLa1116]

Originally Posted by pdawnfloyd 

 

bleissoo,

 

i just had my wedding at las calestas this past Monday and I too did not want to wait and do pictures after the ceremony. While by fiance did not come over early, he came with the rest of the guests, we did change the order of events to allow for the pictures to be taken upon arrival. So basically instead of having the cocktail hour after the ceremony, we did the cocktail hour when everyone arrived and while that was going on, we did pictures. Just an idea and it worked out perfectly for us. Good luck!

What a creative idea! Thanks for posting!

[poorplaces]

Girls I did it! Got married on the 21st of April and it was AMAZING!!!!  I will post a review soon but for now all I can say is that you have absolutely noting to worry about.  Loved every minute of it!!!  Blanca went well beyond my expectations. Just gonna post a pic of my makeup because I know that's one thing I was worried about after reading some reviews. I had two hair and makeup guys come and they were very prompt and we had lots of time for them to do my three bridesmaids hair and my hair and makeup.  I rarely wear makeup so I was hesitant on getting the airbrushing and fake eyelashes.  But I think it turned out great.  Also since I don't wear makeup I asked for something romantic and not dramatic.  At first I thought it was too much but my bridesmaids assured me it looked great and once hair was done and dress was on it would look complete.  And it did!  Here are some pics so you can see for yourself.  Oh and for my hair it turned out nothing like how I wanted but everyone else seemed to like it.  I liked the front which was the most important for me so I was fine with it lol.  All three of my bridesmaids hair looked amazing.  

Congrats lianne! You look fantastic! I can't wait to read you review and see more pics!

[Future Bride]

Originally Posted by bleissoo 

 

Hi Everyone!!  I have a question regarding the groom going over to Las Caletas early (along with the photographer).  I have read a bunch of posts on here about the groom going early in place of the site visit.  Since we won't be doing a site visit, I asked Blanca about this option and she told me that if we wanted to do that, he would have to be picked up at Boca de Tomatlan, which is 30 minutes south of Puerto Vallarta and we are staying in Nuevo Vallarta, so almost an hour drive!  Did anyone else that had the groom come over early get that same information?  Was that drive worth it?

 

Makes me wonder if the groom should just come over with the guests and we will take all of our pictures after the ceremony, which I really don't want to do!

 

Thanks for any info!

Hi,

 

As far as I know that is the only way to get the groom and groomsmen over to Las Caletas early.  I got married last November and my husband, his three groomsmen and our photographer came over from Boca de Tomatlan.  They didn't have to pay anything to go over with the staff but from Nuevo Vallarta you are looking at over an hour drive, we were staying at the Barcelo which is close to Boca so it wan't bad.  Another thing to keep in mind is that there is no where for the groom and groomsmen to get ready prior to the ceremony so they have to wait for the people from the day excursion to leave the spa area where they give massages before they can get ready and this area is right beside the bridal suite, which means they may be standing around for an hour or two.  Having that said I'm am so glad that they came over early because those were the only pictures we have in the day light and they are by far my favourite.  In November expect it to get dark immediately after the ceremony, really really dark.  You will not have time to do any pictures that capture the beauty of the beach or jungle area unless you do them early or start the ceremony early.  Just something to keep in mind  Good luck with all your planning!

This photo was taken right after our ceremony (Nov. 21, 2012) to give you an idea of how dark it will be.

[pdawnfloyd]

You look beautiful Lianne!

[ScottandRobyn]

Here is my in detail review of our wedding:

 

 

We got married February 21, 2013.  This is goign to be tough to keep this short.  I can't begin to explain how amazing our day was.  It brings a tear to my eye just thinking about how outstanding and breath taking everything was.  For starters Blanca was absolutely outstanding. The most magical day of my entire life.

 

 I am quite particular in what I want.  Some might wonder why we did an away wedding because I tend to be a bit controlling, but it was so nice for once to leave it up to someone else and enjoy our day.  To give everyone an idea of what my day looked like, we arrived bright and early (6 of us girls) Blanca met us on the boat and took all of our belongings (it was great not having to worry and carrying my dress and luggage everywhere) we got massages for a very reasonable price.  We then started to get ready, they had already brought up all of our suitcases with clothes etc.  We hung around in the bridal suite eating and showering etc.  We brought our own shampoo etc.  The hair and make up arrived around 1PM.  The only trouble I would say I had with our entire day was my MIL/Bridesmaids hair.  The woman helping didnt speak much english so I think communication was lacking when the girls explained what the wanted.  It was about 50/50 split with who loved their hair and make up.  I found he should have explained slightly more clear to the Mothers that he was putting false eyelashes etc. because they were a bit caught off guard when all was finished.  I was quite happy with my hair in makeup with some slight direction ( i had to get him to tone it down slightly) that I gave him.  In the end we all looked AMAZING and beautiful. 

 

Eder was our photographer, FANTASTIC, I would absolutely reccomend him to anyone. The photo's were breathtaking, like absolutely amazing.  We got him to come around 3 and take our wedding group pictures before the wedding as the sun went down quickly right after ceremony. I am very glad we did this as it allowed us to not rush between the ceremony and dinner.  Eder is such an amazing artist.  I would highly reccomend doing the "Trash The Dress Shoot" we did it the day after all of our guests left. It was SO much fun and we got amazing pictures some of my favourites.  I can't tell you enough how amazing Eder was, friendly, artistic, fantastic.  When we got our pictures we were jumping off the roof with excitement and everything we had hoped for came true in the pictures and more! 

 

Another thing I would highly reccomend is getting the videographer, she was amazing.  This day goes so fast girls, everyone tells you but its hard to really comprehend until you lay down in bed that night.  Everything was somewhat of a blur, it all went so smoothly and fabulously but by the end you sort of forget certain things that happened.  The video was literally like a movie, everyone that we have showed it to says its just like a movie, she did an amazing job editing and making a great long video with everything included.  The photographers nad video people do a great job of blending in, no body realized we got a videographer even! When we got out wedding video a couple months later, we watched it and cried with excitement, it was such a beautiful reminder and had so much included it was the closest we could come to reliving this amazing day. 

 

Back to my day, we got pictures before with the groomsmen etc.  We then got ready for the ceremony, I cant explain how every little detail i asked for was included, I literally didnt have to stress about anything, everything was done every detail on the chairs, my flowers were breathtaking. All the decor and flowers were gorgeous.  I kept mine at the hotel for 5 days after in a vase!! I would HIGHLY reccomend  the parrot to bring the rings, it was such an amazing sight and surprise for everyone.  It was expensive but worth every penny, I have friends of friends that have mentioned this to me as huge highlight of the day. Blanca did a great job the entire night being quiet and subtle but keeping everything on time and organized. She was an absolute pleasure to work with.  The ceremony was absolutely gorgeous.  I cant tell you how many weddings we watched while staying at Dreams Villa Magna, not to be arrogant, but our wedding was literally 100000000 times better in so many ways. There was no one watching in their bathing suits, the ceremony was right on the beach in a secluded private area.  We have 73 guests attend our wedding (so a ton!!) and Literally everyone gave us heck as now all of their daughters would expect this spectacular of a wedding.  This place was just magical.  We finished our ceremony and everyone has some light snacks that the servers walked around with.  The service was absolutely outstanding, people with children got waited on great all night even while being tucked in the corner with sleeping babies!  The dinner is fabulous, we dream about the dinner still, they are willing to do almost anything you ask for.  The dinner was literally the best meal we have had in Mexico, and probably one of the top 3 in our entire life! Everyone was able to get served well with plenty of drinks and food.  After we finished dinner we had speeches, the videographer got hese all on tape.  It was so beautiful with the waves in the background. Once the dinner was over we headed out for the cake cutting.  Our cake was far more amazing than I had expected.  Gorgeous, the exact color I asked for.  Just a warning the cake is delicious and the icing is too, but it died out teeth, hehe, it was not a problem but definitely glad we didnt moosh it in each others face! Our teeth vert teal but it was fun! 

 

Now the party was begging, we had the first dance etc, fire dancers around 9:30pm.  We had such a fun time, then the next surprise came FIRE DANCERS!! It was another MUST.  It was so much fun and everyones faces were priceless.  This is obviously one of the only types of weddings this is perfect for.  Such a great idea!! Then we started the party on the dance floor. the DJ was fabulous all day (form ceremony until the docking).  He played great music, it was another thing people talked about what that the music was perfect, I am not a dancer by any means (I hate it actually!) I spent literally the entire night on the dance floor, it was packed all night. We had our garter toss, bouquet toss etc. Blanca later kindly reminded us of our Sky Lanterns, I got custom ones made and brought them down.  This was another highlight that I can say is one of those things that will stick with everyone for a lifetime.  It was so magical with the music and everyone letting them go up in the air. Breathtaking sight. Then it was ready to pack up. Another important thing is we paid for the extra hour. It was worth it, we wouldnt have been able to fit everything in without it.  Even with it time flew, we were sad when it was time to leave because I am sure we could have spent another 2 hours dancing.  

 

I am not sure if I am forgetting anything, like I told you, this day becomes a blur with how exciting and magical it is.  I think I got most of the information in there. Again, the service is outstanding. I can't stress how everyone should have this wedding, we are already talking about how excited we are for someone else to get married there or to do a vow renewal some day.  This was the most magical day and I can guarantee you, if you do a "resort beach wedding" you will definitely not get this type of memory.  Blanca and her team were amazing.  The service was outstanding. I might sound emotional writing this review its because I am haha. I am usually not a dramatic person but Las Caletas was my perfect wedding and I truly feel others should feel as great about their wedding as we do. This team is amazing, not many places offer this kind of memory for us and all of our guests. Months later I still have guests call and thanking us for how amazing this wedding was and why we should do it all over again.  I heard several times that it felt like it was out of a movie and magical.  Please have your wedding here, you will not be disappointed. 

 

To Sum It Up:

Get the top photo package

Get the Videographer

Get Fire Dancers

Get The Parrot 

Get The Extra Time

Send Blanca Images (I found it was the easiest way to explain what I wanted) dont panic if it takes a few weeks to get back to you she is so busy working hard on every brides wedding.  

Go To Las Caletas it was not even comparable to any other away wedding we have been to.  

Outstanding Service

Magical Day!!! 

 

 

Thank you Blanca and team!!!! We loved our wedding and cant wait to come back for a renewal.....you might have to expect 73 guests as everyone wants to come back with us haha! Best day of our life.  

[bleissoo]

Originally Posted by Future Bride 

 

Hi,

 

As far as I know that is the only way to get the groom and groomsmen over to Las Caletas early.  I got married last November and my husband, his three groomsmen and our photographer came over from Boca de Tomatlan.  They didn't have to pay anything to go over with the staff but from Nuevo Vallarta you are looking at over an hour drive, we were staying at the Barcelo which is close to Boca so it wan't bad.  Another thing to keep in mind is that there is no where for the groom and groomsmen to get ready prior to the ceremony so they have to wait for the people from the day excursion to leave the spa area where they give massages before they can get ready and this area is right beside the bridal suite, which means they may be standing around for an hour or two.  Having that said I'm am so glad that they came over early because those were the only pictures we have in the day light and they are by far my favourite.  In November expect it to get dark immediately after the ceremony, really really dark.  You will not have time to do any pictures that capture the beauty of the beach or jungle area unless you do them early or start the ceremony early.  Just something to keep in mind  Good luck with all your planning!

This photo was taken right after our ceremony (Nov. 21, 2012) to give you an idea of how dark it will be.

Thank you so much for the info, very helpful!

[bleissoo]

Originally Posted by pdawnfloyd 

 

bleissoo,

 

i just had my wedding at las calestas this past Monday and I too did not want to wait and do pictures after the ceremony. While by fiance did not come over early, he came with the rest of the guests, we did change the order of events to allow for the pictures to be taken upon arrival. So basically instead of having the cocktail hour after the ceremony, we did the cocktail hour when everyone arrived and while that was going on, we did pictures. Just an idea and it worked out perfectly for us. Good luck!

I didn't even think of doing that!  Thank you for the idea!

[caroltilley]

Originally Posted by ScottandRobyn 

 

Here is my in detail review of our wedding:

 

 

We got married February 21, 2013.  This is goign to be tough to keep this short.  I can't begin to explain how amazing our day was.  It brings a tear to my eye just thinking about how outstanding and breath taking everything was.  For starters Blanca was absolutely outstanding. The most magical day of my entire life.

 

...

Your wedding sounds amazing! Reading everyones' reviews makes me wish it was November already! Congratulations : )

[LaLa1116]

@Lianne- You looked beautiful!  Thank you so much for sharing your makeup/hair pics....puts my mind at ease seeing what a great job they did! 

 

@Scott&Robyn- Great review!  So helpful and encouraging!

 

Question for all the ladies...

 

REALLY want to try and eliminate the ,but feel the evening will lack "flow" without someone controlling the event.  I've decided a videographer is MUCH more important to us, but that leaves little room in the budget for the DJ.  I've read numerous posts and posted myself about this topic on other threads but still can't come to a decision... so I decided to ask my fellow Las Caletas brides.  I'm looking for opinions from both ends of the spectrum, but mostly from brides that opted to use an iPOD.   Without a DJ who was in charge of announcing important moments?  ( I think Blanca said a staff member would, but can't remember).  Do you feel like you lacked flow or excitement without a DJ?  Even with the addition of the extra hour, after all of the activities (wish lanterns, smores  bar, etc), it seems like we will only have about an 1 1/2 of dancing (not including the boat ride).  So not sure if $495  an hour  is worth it...PLEASE HELP!