Wedding Planners in Cabo (The good/Memories and bad/Karla Casillas)

[cabobride3]

I got engaged in Feb 2013 and have since start planning my wedding for May 2014. I live in the states but my parents are locals- they live in Cabo. 

 

I began by hiring Karla Casillas and her team to plan my wedding. That was the biggest mistake EVER! 

 

Karla treated my father poorly upon their first meeting, NEVER met with me personally after signing a contract (even though I was in Cabo 2 other times) and frankly tried to take advantage of me and my family. The vendors she set me up with, charged a ridiculous price (higher than they charge anyone else- working with any other wedding coordinators) and we put in very uncomfortable positions. Being that I am sort of local too- I knew right away that she was having the vendors push the price up for her own commission. When I mentioned to her that I lost my job and needed to down size on the cost of the wedding, she never even bothered with my wedding again (Not that she ever did in the first place!) WORST WEDDING PLANNER ever especially if you are looking for someone to get to know you, guide you based on your likes/dislikes, and if you are looking to stay within a budget that isn't outrageous. I was in contract with Karla for about 6-7 months and never even hired one vendor or decided on one aspect of the wedding because I was not important to them. I would NEVER RECOMMEND KARLA CASILLAS WEDDING PLANNING! 

 

I am now working with Yarai at Memories and since October and when I visited Cabo for 5 days, Yarai scheduled numerous meetings and we have majority of the wedding lined up nicely. She attended all appointments, got to know me, understood my budget, and helped me secure vendors at a much more reasonable price. (Even the same vendors Karla Casillas was trying to get me to agree to sign for $200 more per hour!) Yarai is patient and very observant. She speaks english and spanish and also does a great job of providing me with all the information over the phone and email. I am SOOO happy I switched! My wedding will be in May at Cabo del Sol and thanks to Yarai, will be AMAZING! 

[minnykiss]

Good to know, I just sent Karla an inquiry. I'm a newbie and really don't know what to expect from a wedding coordinator or how much they charge. How much does Yarai charge for her services and what exactly does she do for you? Thank you for your help!

[Arroyo17]

Hi Minnykiss

 

You should also contact Illeana Reyes for your coordinating.  I am working with her and she is awesome and more reasonably priced than many others.  She is open to negotiation. 

[momgowdy]

My daughter used Karla Casillas for her wedding coordinator.  We had a year to plan.  The wedding was in Oct. 2013 at Cabo del Sol.  The year was unpleasant and a real struggle.  We would not recommend Karla at all.  Luz Maria at Cabo del Sol was wonderful and we couldn't have been happier with the location. 

[flo628]

I recommend Illeana Reyes from Romantic Cabo Weddings as well, she's been great with me.

[KatieR]

Anyone use Christina from Cabo Beach Weddings?

[DianeSegura]

This scares me:( I'm working with Karla....well actually I've haven't had any contact with Karla I've been working with one of her coordinators who has been great!! But theres a big part of me that thinks I am being taken advantage of financially...It just doesn't seem like they're negotiating with vendors to get me a great and reasonable deal on vendors....and now that i see your post it really worries me because it has been more money that we thought. The vendors in Cabo are soooo much more expensive than in so.cal which i was surprised but maybe this because of Karla is charging me more and not negotiating prices down...I just haven't felt like, wow this is a great price or they really negotiating down and still got me what i wanted...anyways i'm nervous now and my wedding is 2 months away:/

 

[AshleyBickford]

I was married in Cabo San Lucas on 1/18/15 and wanted to write a review of how amazing and wonderful our planner, Yarai (Memories Events and Planning) was! I interviewed many planners over Skype and even did reference checks on the planners I liked (I am a bit of a Type-A neurotic personality), and Yarai sounded the best by far. My fiancé, mom, and I then scheduled a trip down to Cabo to check out venues, and Yarai met us at our hotel and spent all day driving us around to 5 different venues. It was so wonderful to have someone who knew all the in's and outs and was able to seamlessly guide us through our options. She also clearly had a great relationship with all of the event planners at each of the locations. Throughout the rest of the process, she was truly amazing. She was responsive to emails at all hours of the day and night, would facetime with me pretty regularly, and set me up with all the right vendors (DJ, flowers, Hair/makeup, transportation, hotel, photo booth, cake, venue, etc.). She even worked with my mother in law to plan the entire rehearsal dinner and would facetime with her.

Her style is very calm and laid back, but she is not afraid to voice her opinion when needed, which I really appreciated. She is also just a pleasant person to be around.

She also went well above and beyond just the planning of the wedding! Yarai set up so many events for us and our 85 guests, including:

• Rehearsal walk through Friday at our hotel (Villa La Estancia)
• Rehearsal dinner at Hacienda Cocina Friday (Beautiful venue, highly recommended!)
• A table at Cabo Wabo Friday night
• Tables at Nowhere Bar Saturday night (as a side note, Sammy Hagar actually made a surprise appearance, which was really cool)
• The entire wedding Sunday at Cabo Del Sol (AMAZING location and food!)
• Brunch Monday at Villa La Estancia (also a fantastic hotel - close enough to town but still very classy, high end, and relaxing! you can also get great deals if you book through VRBO or private owners). Message me if you would like some contacts here.

Yarai not only planned every event, but she personally came to everything and was on point - she did not pass us off to her staff. She even came over and spent a few hours with us in our hotel room Wednesday night (after we landed), and the next day, drove me to my 3 hour trial hair and makeup appointment and waited with me! Honestly, she was like a second mother to me (and my mom!) and we had a completely stress-free weekend. If there are any brides that are considering using Yarai, please don't hesitate to reach out to me and I can tell you all about my experiences! She really is the best and I already miss working with her!!!
-Ashley       
 

[Heidin]

Karla Casillas is dishonest and a liar . DO NOT USE her . She will be the missing wedding planner on your wedding day . After being paid in full she did not show up and texted  that she is sick . We had to take over  to save the wedding of 150 guests at Grand Velas . Cabo  MISSING WEDDING PLANNER.