Cartagena, Bolivar, Colombia < change city >

Hello Margaux
I just wanted to check with you how was the santa clara hotel for the reception, the wedding planner I am working with told me the cost of renting the room was at least usd 20,000 for 100 people, not sure if this is reasonable prices for cartagena? I got other quotes from other places e.g: casa pestagua and it seems very expensive.
let me know what you think
thanks
Maria

20,000 a night for a 100 people comes out to about $200 a night a head, so those prices are actually quite reasonable for Santa Clara. The standard nightly rate I have found in luxury hotels are about $300. Casa Pombo gave me a good rate for my wedding, so you might wanna call them, but the rate will be more than 200 for sure, and they can only accomodate so many people. Theya re the same owners as Casa Pestagua, so they might be able to rent out both houses, but more than likely for more than that.
you can try Sofitel Santa Teresa, which is a bit more expensive,($307 or so) but they might negotiate the rate for that many people.
Hope it helps.

Hey Maria,

The cost of the salon at the Santa Clara $1300. You can choose what menu you want. We chose the 2nd cheapest and it was amazing. I think it came out to $45 a person without booze. They do add on the server charges and corking fees but our bill from the Santa Clara totalled 14k. Plus we had to buy our own liqour (we choice it this way bc it is cheaper), cake, decorations/flowers and music. Santa Clara is definitnley not the cheapest venue but you can make it work depending on your budget. Let me know if you need anything else. Thanks! M

congrats!
Do you have already your wedding planner?
I recomend you Adriana Satizabal, she is the best and she can organize the wedding of your dreams.
571- 6209419
also if you want you can go to her web page www.adrianasatizabal.com
there are many tips for you in her blog site.

hi everyone! My fiance and I are getting married in Cartagena this July. I have family that lives there and we've been able to get by without having a planner - but the one thing that I'm concerned with is having the correct paper work. As 2 US citizens, what are the steps we need to take to ensure our marriage be legal in the US? On the flip side, what is the correct paper work to bring to Colombia with us?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Maritza

Im not sure how to make it legal in the us. I believe you might have to go to colombian embassy to get the marriage certificate validated. As far as what to bring, it depends on the kind of union you are going to celebrate. Usually the basics are birth certificates, and for church paperwrk its all your sacrament(baptism, confirmation, etc.)
You will need to go to cartagena notary first to get all the needed paperwork for a civil union. Notaries over there are like lawyers, everyone needs to go through them to legalize anything. Ask ur famiky members to go and ask for requirements.

Hi Maritza
depends on the type of wedding, if you are having a catholic wedding (mine is catholic) you have to bring baptism, first comunion and confirmation certificates and you also have to do a marriage preparation course in your local church (mine is in London). Then you need to translate these certificates to spanish (via a notary) and show them to the local church in Cartagena. They have also asked us for a certificate showing that we haven't been married before which we get from the local council office (in london).
Hope this helps
Maria

Hi, why did you choose kiko over Antonio Florez?

Thanks for the replys... I am not getting married in the Catholic Church. Just a civil marriage. I know that i'll have to get a certificate that we are both single in the US. and bring it with me to Cartagena. Has anyone gone about doing this?

Also, my family booked Antonio Florez as my photographer - any comments on anyone who used him for their wedding??

thanks and i greatly appreciate it!
Maritza

Hey there, my fiance and I also just decided to have our wedding in Cartagena. He and his family are from Bogota, but I have a feeling I will be doing more of the wedding planning anyway (I have stronger feelings about what I want). We don't even have a date picked yet, I am still trying to figure out when would be the best time to go. I hear from November through April-ish is the dry season. When are you guys having yours?