Karen's Place - Bucerias, MX 1/27/10 (Puerto Vallarta) Review

[lil_reeves]

Hi All,

 

Well it's been over a month since our amazing wedding in Bucerias and I figured it's time to share our experience with you. I'll break it down into sections however you will find that I do not have all the vendor names as these were booked through our coordinator Karen Blair.

 

THE RESORT

 

THE ROYAL DECAMERON

 

Our group was booked at the Royal Decameron and I must say the resort overall was great! It was cost friendly for our guests and was quite nice overall. The food was half decent for resort food and the service was phenomenal. We watched a few weddings at the Decameron and they were quite nice...although we were married off the resort and IMO it was 100 times better for us.

 

The only issue we had was the fact that the resort was overbooked. We were constantly asked if we would switch resorts, which would mean moving 1/2 hour south to PV which was out of the question. Luckily none of our guests who booked outside the group were bumped, however please ensure you forewarn your guests to book with the group if possible and if they don't to at least get the Decameron to put a note on their booking with the group reference number. It will save many headaches in the long run!

 

THE COORDINATOR

KAREN BLAIR - OWNER OF KAREN'S PLACE

 

Karen is the owner of the restaurant/location we had our wedding. She was an unbelievable coordinator. Our wedding was as important to her as it was to us. Anything she could do to make us happy she did (so long as it was possible). I will warn you that she does get busy with weddings so if you would like to book her I would do it as early as possible. One example of something she did to make our day extra special was that she went out and bought extra fabric in our colours, (since we were bringing our own) on her own dime so that we would have extra for decorating. Almost all of our guests said it was the most beautiful wedding they had ever been to and we owe it all to our coordinator Karen.

 

(If you would like to contact her, here is her website: www.karensplacebucerias.com and her email is [email protected])

 

I apologize as the next part of my review might be a bit out of order.

 

THE CEREMONY

 

KAREN'S PLACE

 

The ceremony was gorgeous. With the bamboo alter and sheer it was so romantic. We had our wedding at sunset and the pictures were stunning to say the least. We loved everything about it!!! There were some amazing moments, as well as some funny moments from the ceremony that I will get to next.

 

LIVE CLASSICAL GUITAR

RIGOBERTO MORA

 

Rigoberto is Karen's husband and he is also one of the best classical guitarists in the area. He plays the ten string guitar and let me tell you it was worth every penny and then some to have him play. He played while our guests arrived, while the ladies and myself walked down the aisle, and also through the dinner. Karen actually came up to me near the end of dinner, which ran late, and asked if he could stop playing since his fingers were cramping. I was like "Are you kidding me? I can't believe he has been playing this long."

 

He played Ava Maria while I walked down the aisle and it was so gorgeous. Please if you decide to book at Karen's, spend the money on Rigoberto!!!

 

HAIR/MAKEUP

 

 

FERNANDO

 

Fernando's shop (I can't remember the name) just opened and is about 2 blocks down Las Cardenas from the Royal Decameron. He and his staff did an amazing job on our hair and makeup! I actually liked it even more than my hair trial at home. Karen looks after all the bookings so she found and booked us Fernando as well as all the other amazing vendors we had for our wedding

 

COMMISSIONER

 

LUZ DEGRACIA

 

Luz Degracia was definitely entertaining. It was not a typical ceremony that's for sure! A bit more catholic at times with talk of the soul and then also talk about fried chicken and french fries, lol. If you would prefer a more typical ceremony you may want to book someone else. Luz may not be everyone's style but we enjoyed her and loved that none of our guests had ever been to a ceremony quite like ours!

 

THE RECEPTION

 

KAREN'S PLACE

 

The reception setup was gorgeous. I brought most of the things for the table settings from home and it was set up perfectly. I loved that Rigoberto continued to play through dinner. He was so great at phasing out for speeches which took place between courses.

 

FOOD

 

The food was incredible!!! I kid you not, we have never had better Filet Mignon in our life, and we're from Alberta so we know good beef. From the appetizers to the main course the food was truly 1st class. Again we got many comments from our guests that they had never been to a wedding with such delicious food. Although you pay per plate as you wouldn't have to do at a resort, it is very reasonable and totally worth it when your guests have comments like that!

 

With dinner we actually did a choice menu, We had Filet Mignon, Mahi Mahi and also Rosemary Chicken. Along with a vegetarian option and Celiac modifications. We could've done a buffet but are so glad we went with plated service in the end.

 

We did not do dessert since we wanted our cake to be dessert. We ordered a 3 tier chocolate cheesecake with a fudge brownie base, my DH loves cheesecake! Karen knew a local baker who made it for only $3 a person which is ridiculous because there was so much cake left over. As my DH is a cheesecake snob he has said this was the best cheesecake he's ever ate in his life. It's that good....and I have to stop talking about it cause my mouth is watering, lol.

 

FIRST DANCE

 

CHOREOGRAPHED TANGO - DALE at DANCENERGY, CALGARY, AB

 

This was so much fun!!! We took group lessons and then private lessons at Dancenergy in Calgary, AB

DancEnergy Dance Lessons, Wedding Dance Lessons, Ballroom Dance Lessons in Calgary

Dale did an amazing job choreographing our routine and it was a total show stopper. If you have time to take some lessons and your FI is willing, you totally should. We kept it a surprise from all of our guests and they absolutely loved it!!!

 

Other things I would like to comment on were:

 

The Flowers: Gorgeous...Karen booked through a local florist in Bucerias

The DJ: There wasn't a tonne of time at the end of dinner and I wish we had given him specific instructions on what kind of music to play. He did a pretty good job though and our guests still had a blast

Our Photographer: Was a friend of the family from Southern Ontario

 

THE SUNSET: Speaks for itself

 

TTD PHOTOS - Best place to go is along the coast in Sayulita.

 

 

As you can see this is quite the novel, lol. If you would like detail on anything else please don't hesitate to message me.

[Andi]

Great review! Congrats Mrs.!

 

the sunset is just beautiful in your pics!

 

I was happy to read in your review that Fernando now has his own shop! is it right in Bucerias? He did my hair/makeup too on my wedding day and I just thought he did a great job!

[lil_reeves]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andi Great review! Congrats Mrs.! I was happy to read in your review that Fernando now has his own shop! is it right in Bucerias? He did my hair/makeup too on my wedding day and I just thought he did a great job!

It is in Bucerias. Not quite in town but on the road along the beach there, the street's called Las Cardenas. He has a corner unit in a building there. He did an amazing job...honestly worth every penny!!!

[~Melissa~]

Oh I absolutely love Sayulita! I never got to go to karen's place when I was there but it looks awesome. I have heard a lot of positive reviews that's for sure. Your ceremony location looks beautiful! Love those PV sunsets - nothing beats it. Very romantic, congrats!

[lil_reeves]

I almost forgot:

 

OUR HONEYMOON

 

Casa Amorita (Puerto Vallarta)

 

The Casa Amorita is owned by a lovely woman named Rita. This year she won the tenth spot for best Best and Breakfast in the Caribbean and Mexico on Trip Advisor. Her location is just a few blocks up from the Malecon. We could walk everywhere, which was quite nice!

 

The service she and her staff provide is second to none, hence the top rating. Also her gourmet breakfasts are fantastic!

 

If you are looking for a great, decent priced spot for your honeymoon I strongly suggest you go here!!!

 

Read the reviews yourself if you don't believe me

 

Casa Amorita (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico) - B&B Reviews - TripAdvisor

[dejacque]

Your pictures are beautiful!! Congratulations!!

[~Melissa~]

I'm sold on your honeymoon spot too! Maybe I can convince the hubby to go there for our anniversary. Thanks so much for posting Casa Amorita.

[tiffanyan02]

Great review! I loved the pics!

[midnight24]

everything looked great!

 

Congrats!

 

my FI loves cheesecake too...we just picked out our resort cake today...it was one of the few descisions he wanted input on! haha

[mrs.timpone]

congrats! you ttd shots are beautiful