El Morro, Puerto Rico < change city >

Response from the couple:
Sorry for the delay, Claudia. We were lucky that 105 guests (including us) were able to attend our wedding in February at El Convento. The cost really varies depending on the meals you slect, number of guests, etc. We chose to have the ceremony in the courtyard of the hotel, so we paid for renting the Patio del Nispero, and the cocktail hour was also in the courtyard so that was an additional expense for all of the appetizers (passed by butler) and open bar. We rented the Salon Campeche and had a sit down (as opposed to buffet or stations) meal of three courses with three options: sea bass, filet mignon, and vegetarian napolean, which I think was around $150/person. If you give me your email I can forward some of our contract so you can see the price breakdown. I also HIGHLY recommend using AKUA as florists, DJRockhand if you're looking for a DJ as opposed to a band, and Ferrer video for videographers. Daniel Romero was a perfect photographer. We did a lot of comparisons so please feel free to email me personally at [email hidden (log in to view)] if you want their contact info. Paola Soto, the wedding coordinator at El Convento, was a lifesaver. Congratulations to you too!

Meredith

Response from the couple:
Congratulations! The El Convento was magical for our wedding. I highly recommend Paola as a wedding coordinator. She brought in her friend who works the Univision morning news in San Juan to do my hair & make-up. If you ask Paola ([phone number hidden (log in to view)]) who did Meredith Ortiz's makeup and hair, she will remember & give you the number. (sorry, I cant find my contract from the emails). But I do highly recommend her. We also could not possibly be any happier with our wedding album, thanks to Daniel Romero [email hidden (log in to view)]) and our videographers at Ferrer Video. I wish we could do it all over again.

Best of luck,
Meredith

Response:
Thanks Meredith! We are using Paola, so I will for sure ask her. We are super excited! We have also hired DJ Rockhand as well!

Response from the couple:
Hi Shannon,

Congratulations! it makes me so happy to hear from you and the others couples getting married at the El Convento. There were two people who made the marriage license process very simple and straightforward for us: Paola Soto from El Convento (she explained the rules, took us to an American doctor in San Juan to get his signature on our blood test results, and then to the Demographics/Registry office afterwards to file for the license). We did all of this on a Friday, relaxed on Sat, and got married on a Sunday.

Daryle Parker did all the rest. As a Reverend, he witnessed our wedding and signed the license to make it official, then filed it and mailed us the marriage certificate (3 originals). He was very generous with his time and was willing to simply attend and sign the license, because we had asked my uncle to be the officiant. Paola has his email, or you can email me directly [email hidden (log in to view)]) as I do not want to put his email on the web without his permission.

Best wishes, Meredith

Response:
HUGE sigh of relief, Meredith. Thanks SO much! Paola isn't our coordinator and while I've been very pleased with Carolina I was just sweating the license process. Knowing I can get it all wrapped up in a day is wonderful. Thanks again!

Response from the couple:
Natalie,

Congratulations! I strongly recommend contacting Paola Soto at [email hidden (log in to view)]

She was a life saver. She made everything go smoothly on our wedding day, I had nothing to worry about. She also helped us go through the legal process of visiting a Doctor in San Juan for the blood test approval and filing at the Demographics office. I cannot speak any higher of Paola, she was the best.

Wishing you and your sister all of the best,
Meredith

Response:
Thank you for such a quick response, but she is not getting married at the El Convento Venue instead at Condado Plaza. Im guessing you did not use an independent planner because we were looking into one featured here but she is a little pricey...

Response from the couple:
I actually started off using Cuca Chaves, who came very highly recommended from a best friend. Cuca had arranged her, her sister's, and several her best friends' weddings. She supposedly had a great reputation and is an independent wedding planner. However, for us she signed a contract to be our planner, met with us once in San Juan and received her first payment, and then disappeared. We had to track her down through people who knew her at hotels and my friend's parents in order to get her to give us our money back. So I definitely do NOT recommend her. However, if you choose to give her a chance (maybe it was just us), her contact info is [email hidden (log in to view)]

Response:
How about a planner known as Anne Marie Kleis? Did you try to work with her?

I have heard some pretty bad things about Ms. Chaves so thats out!