6/29/07 Wedding Review

[JENESIS]

Payless B

We were picked up at the airport by the payless van and driven to the office which is in the middle of the desert down a sandy road. Car worked well, and the drop off was a breeze, even after we forgot to fill up the tank. They only received a B because the booking price went from $333 up over $500.00 (includes half a tank of gas). We had proof of insurance from our CC company and already knew about the $9.00 a day so that was fine. Yet it was jacked up so high. He kept telling me it was taxes, but that seems way too much. I couldn’t get a proper break down from them and it was nowhere on the receipts and the boys were too busy watching the US, Mexico soccer game to answer any questions.

This cost could have been completely legit; I just wanted to see the breakdown. I never did.

 

Costco B-

This was aggravating. Instead of letting us buy a 1 day pass, we had to purchase a membership which we will never use. I found out a few days later that there is a place called the City Club that my stepfather went to and had no problems. He said it was just like a Sam's Club. Wish I would have known.

 

TransCabo A+

My guests stayed all over the city. I gave the locations and the numbers to Trans Cabo and they send out 5 vans to pick up my guests from each hotel. They were all at the wedding on time and there were no complaints.

 

Tabasco’s B

We sent out the word that we would meet the night before the wedding at Tobasco’s. I was very surprised by this place. It is TINY. The food was ok. It seemed the simpler the dish, the better. Most people liked the tacos, nachos, wings, etc. I had enchiladas and they just looked like tacos with sauce on the outside of the tortillas. Very dry.

On the other hand, the staff at Tabasco’s was wonderful. A wedding had hired out the beach part of the restaurant so all 40 of us (maybe more) were on the deck. Many of us spilled over on the side of the deck and stood in the stand. They didn’t mind. We also stayed an hour after closing and they continued to serve.

 

Hilton A+

What a beautiful location. The 20 of my guests that did stay at the Hilton did not stop raving about it. The service is incredible, the food is delicious and the whole place is spotless.

 

Suzanne Morel Salon A

I am glad that I booked them. It was my mom, sister and myself. I hair was exactly what I wanted and makeup wasn't too heavy. My problem was the pedicure. It didn't even last through the night. There was no proctective coat on it. The spray or the top coat. I spent the next week with an extremely ugle pedicure.

 

Emeline A+

She is a very sweet person and easy to work with. She came to our room 2 days before the wedding to go over all the details (again) and to take anything she needed to set up at the wedding. She called the day of the wedding to make sure everything was ok, and came up just to double check. My mom had a dress mishap, and Emeline was called. She had a safety pin for her shortly after.

Food A

We had canapés during the cocktail hour as well as guacamole and salsa. The guacamole was devoured. Very good. Highly recommended.

Salad was pico de gallo salad; unique, fresh and tasty.

Guests chose from three plated dinners: carne asada, potato wrapped fish (Mahi Mahi) and bbq chicken. We heard nothing but good things from our guests, and we enjoyed ours as well.

Dessert was mini opera cake, mini tres leches, and mini churros. Unfortunately, I was too busy dancing to eat any of this. I know from the tasting in May that they are all perfect.

Location A

Black Marlin terrace was used for the ceremony. This was very simple and perfect for the 50 guests we had.

Sun Fun Hut was for cocktail hour and dinner. It was gorgeous. The view was breathtaking and the set up of the tables was so comfortable and intimate. I loved it. We had a surprise fire work show after dinner from somewhere towards Cabo San Lucas.

Montanas ballroom was used for dancing and dessert from 10-1am. It was not set up exactly how we wanted. We wanted high tables instead of large round in order to keep people from gluing themselves to their seat and to avoid crowing the little floor space that there was. Unfortunately the large rounds made it look extremely crowded. It also became very hot in there, though that could have been because I danced for 3 hours. I think it was just a tad too small, but if they opened it to the next stage, my 50 guests would have been lost. No win there.

Service A-

I am not sure what happen to my canapés. I only saw one tray and I had to ask Emeline to find out where the canapés and the dips were before they came out.

During dinner the staff was wonderful with bring wine around throughout and making sure there was no glass empty.

 

Dino A

He came to my room 30 minutes before the ceremony and I was comfortable with him immediately. I explained to him that we only wanted about 15 minutes for pictures, away from our guests. This was done right after the ceremony. After joining the party, he took the group photos I wanted, which was only the family. After that he asked me who else I wanted and I asked him just to capture everyone and everything as casually as possible. I think he did this. I will have to wait until I see the photos. I did like him though. Cooperative, professional and not pushy. This was exactly what we wanted.

 

Ricardo A-

Ricardo was hired to play from 10-1am in the ballroom. I asked to rent an IPOD dock and microphone from him for 6-10. To my surprise he was actually there running it from 6-10. He didn’t charge me for this time. I’m very impressed.

I danced for all 180 minutes of the dancing. As far as I was concerned he did a great job, but I can remember a few times when it was only me and one other person (not wanting me to be out there alone and being nice I’m sure). Towards the end things seemed to be dying down. I’m not sure if people were getting ready to leave, or if the last 3-4 songs just didn’t cut it.

 

Mariachi A-

Everyone enjoyed them. They were waiting at the Sun Fun Hut and started playing as my guests arrived after the ceremony. The reason I give a minus is I thought they were too quiet. I picture Mariachi as loud and grabbing your attention. Maybe the sound was getting lost because we were outside. I am very glad that I hired them.

 

David Flores I don’t know

He played from 5:30-the ceremony was over. Well, I was in my room when he was playing for arriving guests and as I came down the aisle I couldn’t hear anything. I have no idea if he playing before, during or after. Guests did say he was good, but I don’t have proof. Sorry.

 

Carla Cueto D

Waste of money. I hired her to confirm all of the vendors that I already hired and to be there the day of in order to make sure that the Hilton set up my dinner and my dancing areas correctly. The dinner was set up correctly, but the dancing wasn’t.

As far as her contacting the vendors, she claims she did. Yet, I received a phone call from Emeline the day of telling me that Ricardo and Dino contacted her b/c Carla is telling them nothing about the wedding. They didn’t know what time or where to go. (Dino never confirmed this when I asked him about it).

Carla shows up at my room at 5:30 in shorts and a tank top. Never properly introduced herself or the woman she was with. She did bring down the flowers for me, but I am not positive that she is the one who placed them on the tables. She spent the rest of her time (until '8') sitting with her friend in two seat off to the side. Doing, I don’t know what.

My impression is that I could have done it on my own, but I might have ended up doing more work than I realize. One good thing about Carla was that she said good bye to all the vendors for me. For example, David Flores (who I never even noticed) was given his money after the ceremony by her and then left. Same thing with Mariachi and so on. It was nice not to have any business to take care of during the ceremony. Her lack of professionalism just really made me mad.

 

La Dolce A-

Italian restaurant that we went to, unplanned, on a Wednesday. It was recommended to my in-laws by the lady at the Bungalows. Food was very good, and the place was comfortable. Four of the group swore that the filet mignon was out of this world. I had shell fish with spaghetti. It was exactly what I wanted. Good selection of wine as well.

 

Mi Casa B+

The woman at the Bungalows told my inlaws that this place was too expensive for what you receive. This could be true, and as a local she would know. Still, we had already sent out the letters telling the family that we were doing a dinner at Mi Casa on Sunday.

Our reservations were for 7pm, so we were seated as soon as we asked to be.

Food and Drink

Very good. Nobody was disappointed. Even those that can’t handle spice found a dish and cleared their plates. The wine list was fair. We had a Chilean Savignon Blanc. It was very good. The margaritas were the best than many of us have had.

Service

I feel they were rude. We were waiting for 2 more people and wanted to order something to nibble on. My mother asked for guacamole, salsa and chips. The man said, “No chips. We only serve real Mexican food”, and then walked away. He said this with a completely straight face. I was surprised by this attitude. Everyone we had dealt with in Mexico had been friendly and funny. Even if they were making fun of the Americans (which this guy was probably doing), they did it in a laughing manner. This guy was mean about it. The third bottle of wine we ordered was just left in the bucket without being opened.

We had a good time and stayed for hours, but I think that was more because of our company than the hospitality.

Entertainment

There is a clown that walks around. This clown annoyed our table. Why would you walk up to a table of 14 adults?

Mariachi was very good. They came to our table and played 3 songs requested by our party.

 

Cabo Wabo A

Fun place for all ages (over '18') and all styles. It wasn’t pretentious, no cover charge, good band, and the drinks were reasonably priced.

 

Mango Deck A

This place was mentioned several times the first week by some of my guests. They just kept raving about how fun it was and how you could easily end up sitting there for hours.

I walked there for lunch one day, by myself. I sat there for a little over an hour. It was very entertaining. The food was very good and the place is very spacious. If you don’t mind a wild atmosphere, I’d suggest this place to meet as a group.

 

 

Pancho’s A+

Gavin and I were finally alone our last night there. We chose Pancho’s for our “Honeymoon Dinner” after our original place ended up being closed. We had been there over a week before for drinks with one other guest. That night they were very friendly. We had at least 4 members of the staff talking to us and taking care of us, even though we were just drinking at the bar.

Our dinner on Friday night was very relaxing. We went early since we were flying out the next day, and we grabbed a great table for two by one of the windows. Food was delicious. I strongly recommend the chicken mole tamale. The place was almost full when we finally left.

Pancho’s also does private tequila tastings, which I sadly did not have a chance to do during my stay. I was told that the head chef sits down with you and explains tequilas as well as dishes with you. Sounded great and it was only 45 a person.

 

La Princesa B

Sunset Cruise

We had planned this with another couple for a Tuesday night. It sounded so romantic and beautiful. It was two hours with open bar and guacamole, salsa and chips. It was fun, but the crew never told us what we were passing or what we should be looking for. All they did was get us drunk. I suppose it was just another booze cruise.

 

Villa del Arco F

We booked Villa del Arco for our honeymoon. We moved from the Hilton more towards the city center. We arrived and were told that they over booked by 45 rooms. They put us next door in La Estancia. The room we had was so small, dark and depressing. We spent the next 24 hours (2nd day of our honeymoon) trying to get out of there. We finally did with a $500 fee. That was fought as well, considering it wasn’t our fault that they can’t book rooms correctly.

 

Villa La Estancia B+

This is where we ended up. Again, the first room was terrible. The upgrade was massive, very comfortable. Two bathrooms, full kitchen and a washer and dryer! We received comp breakfast for the booking screw up. I am no longer impressed by this. I went onto hotels.com and all rooms here come with complimentary breakfasts. The breakfasts are all buffet style and very good. We enjoyed each one.

The hotel is pretty quiet. I think there are residents there. We couldn’t really figure out what was going on. It was also on Medano Beach which made for great wave and people watching.

 

Hotels that some guests stayed at:

Bungalows A+

I have to add that my in-laws stayed here as well as two of my friends. They all loved it and loved the people running it. Very helpful and attentive.

 

Pueblo Bonito Rose

My parents stayed here. They didn’t have any complaints, but no wild praises either. I think they were happy with it. There are several exercise classes throughout the day, which I thought was a nice change to the usual hotel gym.

 

Pueblo Bonito Blanco

Two of our friends stayed here and were not impressed. They found it extremely tacky and couldn’t believe they didn’t have a swim up bar.

 

If there is anything else that you have questions about, I'm happy to answer. I couldn't include all 14 days. I would have gone on for pages.

 

I am still trying to figure out how to post the pictures that I have. I still don't have many from the wedding day. You can check out our wedding website Jenesis Fields & Gavin Byrne's Wedding Website - WedQuarters if you want to see what we do have. It's under "Los Cabos Photos" and then the wedding day is under there.

[TATrisha]

VERY nice review! Thank you for being so complete! I'm sure many brides will find this useful

[LCBride2007]

it looks like you had a perfect day for your wedding - fun pics! what was on the painting at the ceremony?

 

i love that picture of your dress and shoes "sitting" on teh sofa - how cute!

[jpkw]

Congrats!! Great review!

Jen

[JENESIS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akh it looks like you had a perfect day for your wedding - fun pics! what was on the painting at the ceremony? i love that picture of your dress and shoes "sitting" on teh sofa - how cute!

OMG! I totally don't know. I think it was just the sign announcing our event. It all went too fast, there was no way I could actually read anything.

[LCBride2007]

ahhh - i thoguht maybe it was a special painting of someone or something! lol

[gkashmira]

Great review Jen - I'm glad everything went so well! It sounds like it was a perfect day. We also ended up using thye sun fut hut and I think it was such a gorgeous location!

[JENESIS]

It was beautiful. It seemed a little more tucked away too. I liked that.