As a wedding photographer, I documented many weddings in almost every part of Puerto Vallarta and surroundings. And there is one thing I must say: there is no other place like Caletas.
Picture this: a remote location that you can only acces by boat, surrounded by jungle on one side and pristine water and white sand on the other. Sounds appealing? Well, it is and it isn’t so if you are a couple and considering Caletas as your venue then read on!
How to access Caletas
As I mentionned in the intro of this post, Caletas is accessible only by boat and almost exclusively through Vallarta Adventures company. You can also take a private boat to Caletas but your presence will be restrained to the beach and you will not be able to access any of the facilities including bathrooms and restaurants.
Caletas, wedding venue, pros and cons
Con – You can’t hire who you want
First of all, you should know Caletas is ran by Puerto Vallarta gigantic tour operator called Vallarta’s Adventures. And despite the fact that Caletas is a piece of paradise, there are a few things that every couple should be aware of, before committing to getting married there.
First one is, you will have to hire their own team for everything. Everything means wedding planner, boat ride, catering, photographer and videographer. Now for most part, it is nice to have a full included service. It avoids a lot of stress and you only deal with one provider.
Yes, BUT, what if you don’t like some of their provider? What if you don’t like their photo or videos stylefor example and would like to hire a more artistic approach (like us for example ^^)? Well, it is possible but you will pay extra for it. It is not very fair, I know, but that’s the way it is.
Pro – The wedding planning and catering is actually good!
As far as the wedding organization and the food are concerned, I have to say I was impressed by both. The day was well organized by their team and the catering service was very decent. All of the staff was helpful and nice throughout the day. The only minor issue we experienced was that some security person would not let us fly the drone at our arrival (which the bride and groom had paid for). Finally that was fixed by a simple phone call by the planner!
.jpg "Caletas - flower arrangements")
Con – Not as private as it looks
Another thing you should know about Caletas is that it not as private as they advertise it to be. Part of the beach and wedding area is private yes but there is a lot of tourists moving around in the area (and I mean A LOT).
The reason why is because there is a tour to Caletas during the day, and a show Called Rythms of the night at night. It is not too much of a trouble but you should know that your party and the employees will not be the only people at Caletas and there will be tourists (and some noise that comes with them).
Big Pro – It’s tremendously beautiful!
Besides those two inconvenients, Caletas truely is what it looks like and even beyond.
.jpg "Caletas - ocean view")
The water is pristine clear and being in the jungle to get ready really feels amazing. It also offers plenty of awesome spot to take amazing photos and videos!
Your dreamy beach ceremony
If you are dreaming of a beach ceremony, Caletas might just be the place you are looking for. The altar is set on a private beach exclusively reserved for the wedding party. So unlike other public areas in Puerto Vallarta, you will be the only people there during ceremony.
The ceremony itself is usually led by Vallarta Adventures wedding planner unless you would like to use your conductant which is totally possible.
A Real Wedding at Caletas
Christina & Ryan, a young couple from Langley, British Colombia, made the decision in 2018 to get married at Caletas. They found in love with the place and that it would be an amazing experience to share with their friends and family. They contacted us back in August 2018 after spending long hours reviewing portfolios and finally decided that they wanted our journalitic style to capture their event.
You can see their wedding highlight video here.
We warned them about the extra they may have to pay to bring us to Caletas but the memories that would be made that day were too important for them to be taken by some “random industrial photographer”. They even let us know that in the end, and despite the extra applied by Vallarta Adventures, our rates were just a bit over their own package and did not regret a single moment having made that decision. Following is a small selection of the pictures we crafted for them.