Still excited

Posted on: Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Well that was so much fun, I’m going to blab on again.

Was fortunate to be one of a group of co-ordinators from all over the US and some from Mexico that did some site visits with the NH Hotels, in Cancun and Puerta Vallarta. NH is not a brand we know about here in the USA, they are major in Europe, especially Spain, and have a lot of properties in Mexico. Their property in the hotel zone of Cancun has the most beautiful ceremony backdrop ever. 7 tall Mayan (or they could look Greek to some) columns on a curved platform with that gorgeous blue Mexican Caribbean ocean in the background. Wow. A great location for friends/family to have all the fun they can handle at the typical bars the tourist cities of Mexico are known for, you know the ones, they are all close by, lovely pool area to relax at and views from the hotel down the whole 25 miles of zone. We actually stayed at their resort property which is located between Cancun and Playa de Carmen. This would be a great place for the guests who are tired of the partying up around hotel zone to move to to now have the peace/quiet and nothing to do but relax and drink cocktails quietly. The beach is lovely and very swimable, and they have a nice pool area. They also have some great ceremony site areas. The rooms are great, bed on upper area and step down to the living area/balcony. Beautiful bathrooms and nice big bath with a window that for me looked right out to the ocean. The nice thing with either property is that you can make them all inclusive of food & beverage with your rates if you want. After we had come back and had a few months of wedding season, we got to see their property in Puerta Vallarta. Very old world charm Mexican style, yet they have a brand new tower that we stayed in that had great views of the bay and was right on the beach, very swimable. The spa was cute and we were there at a quiet time and were getting treatments for unbelievable rates, so most of us went more that once, but in order to ensure some ladies don’t get in trouble with their husbands, I say no more. Because there was only the one property there they had a bit more time to treat us to experiencing the area. I have been to Puerta Vallarta a couple of times previously, but I saw more in the few days I was there this time than in the other two trips combined. We ziplined, not just one, not just two, we are woman hear us roar, but 13 ziplines!!! After the 2nd one you chose to stop or keep going, as you were moving higher and higher from that point on. All but two ladies who had health issues did the first two, then only 1 who was deathly afraid but did the first 2, moved on. Some did the next 11 with their eyes closed, some got gutsy and went down with one of the cutie young guides who held them which allowed them to hang upside down, not me and there are no pictures to prove it either!!! Some of the ziplines we were a thousand feet above ground so high, you could see back to the bay/ocean, some you whipped through jungle, just brilliant. The 2nd to last one took you down and over the river nice and low and you ended up on a platform in the middle of the river and the last one you went from the platform very low over the water to the river bank, so low you could have your feet or hands or head in the water, depending on which way you were hanging, and at this point some people were totally bored with the normal way and were being very ambitious. One night we took a boat down the whole coastline to a property that John Huston the director had bought during the filming of the Iguana movie with Richard Burton. The owners now have turned it into a Mayan theatre that does a show after dark using water/fire and it was really lovely, then you eat a great meal, all the while on what feels like an island lit only by fire torches and candles, very romantic for those on there honeymoon, and just a great experience for everyone else.

Ok, a couple more weddings to chat about.
Andrea and Ron – Pelican Hill Resort
www.pelicanhill.com

Loved and enjoyed this couple. Ron is a very busy businessman but was still able to be very involved in decisions that were being made, even with I think visiting about 5 different countries for varying amount of time in the few months we spent pulling it altogether.
Andrea is English and the most enthusiastic, happy to be marrying the man of her dreams, and thrilled to be getting married at a location that was so special to them bride you may come across. They live up the road from the resort, and eat dinner and enjoy the views from the bar a lot, so they even requested their favorite bartender from the bar at the grill be the bartender at their wedding, and as the resort is there to please, he was!! Andrea was often at the resort envisioning how things would look, seeing what others had done, what else she could do to make it more personal to them. The staff at the resort were very used to seeing her around and appreciated her love for the property that they all love also. People came from all over the world for their celebration. A Gelato station was very popular later in the evening, and enjoying your gelato in the lovely courtyard with the fireplace on and the fountain running, just made it perfect. It was really beautiful from beginning to end and so nice to see a couple really get to enjoy their event also.
We put together a great team for their event, all passionate for what they do and a pleasure as always to work with
Video: www.ashleyvideo.com
Photography: www.tonyflorez.com
Chivaris: www.fusionlinens.com
Music for cere/cocktails and dinner/dancing provided by Essence Entertainment. Officiant was Bruce Danzara. Gorgeous florals by Chris Lindsay.
Enjoy these shots:

Another lovely couple were Rachel and Chad. www.ritzcarlton.com/lagunaniguel
I met mom and bride when they were looking for the perfect place to celebrate. Rachel loved the ocean and so the Pacific Lawn was the perfect place for her. They were just a pleasure to work with and mom and dad were just so gracious in always letting the couple make the major decisions. We had a lot of fun at the tasting!! They were good client’s and followed the guidance of their planner (yes, me) to the T, and ended up with a great team on their side –
www.laurenhillary.com /photo
Jeff from Moondance for the djing, Tomoko the harpist for cere & cocktails, chaircovers by Fusion and florals by Amanda/Fantasy Florals.

Dad did a really neat thing and got 2 members of their favorite christian band to suprise them around 10am and come in and play a couple of songs. I have to say Jeff/dj is quite the actor when he needs to be and he and dad could go on the road. Our cute couple were blown away and dad certainly got more than the normal hugs and thank yous from his daughter. Enjoy this pic, doesn’t it seem so calm and elegant:

Ok, one more for you on this episode just because I love this shot sooooo much and want to share it with you sooner rather than later………

Isn’t that sky amazing!!!!
www.stregismb.com
Mindy and Curtis, what a lovely lovely couple. Just such nice people. Mindy put so much thought into what the guests would experience (including a photobooth that was kept very very busy) and couldn’t wait for her day to come. We worked with the lovely Kelly at the hotel who together with Jackie and Valerie make all things hotel come to life on the day. So nice to have a bold use of color. Her guest count was a bit higher than expected (that is good when more people want to come than you had thought or hoped for, right??!!) so we had to put some guests on the lower level, but instead of using the normal rounds, Mindy opted to do the big dining table so everyone down there felt as one and had a beautiful table to enjoy, it worked so well. Great team on this wedding too (aren’t I lucky)
Photography: www.markmontgomeryphotography.com
Linens/chivaris by my good friends at Fusion Linens
Cere music by string trio – the hilarious Elaine and her troupe from Naples Chamber Music, and my A1 guy dj, Peter pop – www.viveinc.com

Till next time

Lisa

www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

Tags: Pelican Hill Resort, Ritz-Carlton Laguna, St Regis Monarch Beach