Planning a wedding in Ibiza

Hello!

It is all still a bit of a whirlwind for me!! - We literally looked on the internet for venues we liked and that had good reviews etc and for us have narrowed it down to 4 but i think it will probably between 2 - we are visiting on October 13/14th though so thought may as well see all we can so we know we definately pick the right place!

Dont know on costs yet as hoping they will quote whilst we are over there but are hoping that everything included wont be too much more than 10k.... Will let you know though!

xx

Girls I’m so upset I just had to rant. I don’t post terribly often but, as I’ve posted in the past my wedding is in early June next year and have hired Vickki with Eat and we are having it a Paissa den Bernat. Well, when I met Vickki she was super nice and helpful and informative, but ever since we booked with them they have been completely blowing us off!

We booked with them in February, that was a good 7 months ago so I think I’ve been patient but I’m really really on my last straw. When we met her in January she told us if we booked with them we would be invited to a tasting in the spring. Well I never heard from her again. I contacted in late April/May and she just told me the tasting would be in the fall and that even though I would be in Ibiza in May, there was nothing they could do. OK well somewhat understandable.. but since we were going to ibiza anyway I asked her a few questions over email very simple stuff like could she recommend some DJs we could talk to or could she tell me some good florists because I was going to be there around the same time of year as my wedding, maybe I could just see what types of seasonal flowers were available. I also noted that I was doing things a bit early but that was for a good reason because this fall and next spring my fiancé and I are VERY busy with other stuff and wanted to knock some wedding stuff out of the way. Well… she didn’t answer any of my questions at all. Instead she said vendors don’t book that far in advance. Well first of all that’s a flat out lie because I’ve talked to vendors that are happy to book that far in advance, and second of all wtf? So we went to ibiza and did some research without any help from Vickki. I also asked again about the tasting because I wasn’t sure we could actually make it in the fall (still no date planned) so I asked if having it in spring would be to late (too close to the wedding). No answer.

So summer rolls around and I never hear anything from her so I contact her about when the tasting is and she says “We don’t do tastings anymore just stop by the restaurant any time and we will write the cost of the bill off your wedding bill” Again wtf? Was she going to tell me this? This is the first I hear about any restaurant she owns btw. So fiancé and I find some cheap tickets to ibiza and buy them. We call her several times no answer and no call back. Finally we email her and tell her we will be in Ibiza 6 whole days which one can we stop by for our tasting? She replies, there is only one of those days were we can meet with you, and oh-by-the-way Elixir is closed for September so you can’t have a tasting. So now I’m really upset. We try to call her a few more times and still no answer, no return call. We email her to call us a couple times she still doesn’t call us. My fiancé instead emails her again saying she told us we could come to the restaurant for a tasting and she replies again we cant have one because they are too busy, but there will be a tasting on OCT 20. Seriously WTF?? I bought my tickets already because she told us to come by any time. She told us there would be no other tastings! If you are in the business of wedding catering don’t you think you need to provide your customers the opportunity to taste the food? I’m not made of money. I’m paying her a TON for her services. And I cannot afford to fly off to Ibiza every other week….

I’m so upset by this.. I can’t believe how completely unprofessional she is being. I realize she is busy but I feel we have been VERY patient about it. For someone that is in the business of Destination Weddings, shouldn’t they be a little more flexible??? If her business is SOOO busy that they can’t handle the clients anymore don’t you think she should hire someone else to deal with it??? Of course I would tell this to Vickki, if she would CALL ME BACK!

-end rant

Seriously regretting my decision. Am I really the only one that is having problems with her? Is a tasting by my wedding caterer so we can decide on the menu really too much to ask? Are a couple questions about planning from my supposed “planner” too much to answer??

Hi Copa,

I feel really bad for you! It feels like we have to put a lot of trust into people we've really just met briefly once, if at all. My wedding next month is at Amante, but I did meet with Vicki's husband. I didnt like the once a year tasting thing. I went to Ibiza a year ago and knew I couldnt afford to go back in May for this special tasting day. It's not as if they have hundreds of events a year. How much of an inconvenience is it to take some samples to the meeting.

Elixir just opened a couple of months ago. I've actually booked my hen night there next month. I'm actually thinking now that i'll email again just to confirm its all ok because i've already booked a mini bus to take us, and I have no back up plan!

Vendors that are taking bookings from cutomers abroad really need to keep in mind that these type of forums these days can really make or break your reputation. We all have gone over with places in mind that we would like based on the internet.

Dx

Hi Copa

I can totally sympathise. I am getting married at PDB next May and have had similar conversations with Vicki about food tasting, I am in Ibiza next weekend for my hen do for 6 days and have booked a meeting with her to start planning the wedding but have been told the same with regards to the tasting. She told me I could have a tasting at the restaurant but when I gave her my dates, she said she doubted the restaurant will be open so therefore cannot do it. I didn't get the option of the 20th October so that's news to me.

My partner and I were lucky enough to attend the opening of her new Elixir restaurant on the weekend we went to Ibiza to plan our wedding and I have to say that the food was amazing. I am worried about not tasting the food but to me now, its not such a massive issue as I have confidence it will be good. I have spoken to other brides on here who have used eat and they cannot speak more highly of Vicki or the food. I think the problem is that she is so ridiculously busy at this time, she has not a moment to talk to the those of us who are sitting at home desperately wanting to get on with our planning. She always said to me that she wouldnt' start with our planning until October and I've got twitchy feet now as we less than 8 months away and we have not done a bloody thing except send out invites and try to get some idea of numbers.

I can give you an update once I meet with her next week

Sx

Interesting and helpful to read all this - does anyone else have any reviews on Vickki and Elixir....

It is so hard trying to make a decision on where to have your wedding when it is pretty much based on what you read on the web etc before you go and visit the venues....

In fairness so far - she has got back to every email i have wrote to her fairly quick and does say she is extremely busy....

xx

My name is Hayley and I have just returned from a week in Ibiza with my fiance to plan my wedding. Vickki is the most awe inspiring person I have ever met. She blew every other venue and person out of the water (and we saw alot). The venue is so much more private than any other, the view is 10 times beter than any other and the wedding planner Viccki (where do I begin?). I have complete trust in her to plan my wedding, I am going to feel so relaxed and at ease knowing that she is in control of it. Her decorative and artisic skills are perfect and match my style. Her venue is set out perfectly to socialise and have a brilliant party. Her baking and catering skills (from what I have seen and heard) are going to be hard to beat. Her communication and organisational skills are superb and you know she will never let you down. Finally she is a lady you can trust which goes a long way when you are planning a wedding abroad. You can see that there are not many dates left for next year and this is because everyone that meets her must feel the same way that I do. This message may seem over the top but its exactly my thoughts and I know my wedding there is going to be just PERFECT X

Hayley, I’m sorry but your post is a little ridiculous. I don’t know how you can so much trust in someone you only met once. And communication and organizations skills? So far she has proven to me that they VERY poor at best. I think that Miss G was asking for reviews from someone that has already had their wedding with Vickki, not someone who just met her once.

I have asked brides that have already have their weddings with Vickki personally over email and most of the reviews we very positive. Most of the brides I talked to were very happy and wouldn’t do anything different. Once girl was a just a little unhappy about having to pay extra for things that she thought were included and about Vickki’s husband hanging around the wedding messing with DJ equipment or something. I also found one bad review on tripadvisor from a bride that was very unhappy with her. That’s about all I know. Yes most reviews are good and most weddings go absolutely perfect so I think she has that in her favour. My worry now is that her business may be growing out of her control and she should be finding ways to deal with that better instead of blowing off her customers.. her very well paying customers. I know she’s had many successful weddings in the past but they were a much smaller business then. Since then they have opened a restaurant which they apparently can’t even handle because I was told I could go there for a tasting (it’s closed), and then after I booked my plane tickets I was told I can’t! I just don’t want my wedding to be the first to be a complete disaster because her business is spiralling out of control and she can’t handle it.

That'd be me then?! Our wedding was on the 25th of June this yea at PDBr and we booked with Vickki in April of 2011- so not dissimilar to some of you ladies- just a year ahead!

We didn't have a food tasting, as we didsn't want to spend the money flying back out to Ibiza. I wasn't remotely nervous about it as I had read tonnes of reviews and after meeting Vickki, something in my gut, call it womens intuition, told me that everything would be good anyway. We went for the silver service option, we had the tapas starters, the seabass, beef fillet or vegi options as mains and the desert platter.

I cannot tell you enough how amazing the food was, it was easily the best wedding food I have ever eaten, and actually to call it wedding food is doing it an injustice. It was actually the best food we ate the whole time we were on ibiza and we ate in some of the other well known establishments whilst we were there. Any of you that have booked Vickki, either elixir or eat will not be disappointed with the food. I am certain of that. We had so many guests tell us how amazing the food was, and infact when we see people we haven't seen since the wedding they are still talking about it now.

With regards to the planning, I had the same thing, she was too busy until October to deal with the planning for the following years brides. I understand this, as it is such a short season in Ibiza she needs to concentrate on the weddings happening that year, I know that when it was my wedding this year I was grateful that she took this stance to it. I also got a bit frustrated though as I wanted to get things booked early, so I went ahead anf booked my DJ, TOG, celebrant and started thinkinga bout flowers etc. There wasn;t much left todo come October then.

I can hear what you are saying about them opeing a new restaurant and the business growing, but you know what, I know that Vickkis passion for weddings won't go away. I know that she will make sure everyones wedding is perfect, you booked her for a reason, and I know you have been nessed about with the tasting but try to remember the positive reasons you booked her.

If you have any questions, about the food, the planning the set up at PDB then ask away- i am more than happy to try and help in any way?!

Hi Copa, I didn't use Vickki for my wedding but I did have some contact with her because I did enquire about using Eat's services but they were just out of our price range. Anyway I felt that she really knew her business and was extremley helpful. I booked my wedding in October 2010 for July 2012 with Candi at Cas Mila. Even though we booked so far in advance we didn't start getting down to the actual planning with Candi until the start of this year. Candi sent all her brides an email late last year forms which we needed to complete so we could let her have details about what we envisaged for our big day. The reason I'm writing this is beacuse I want to try and put your mind at ease, you can book way in advance and you can do lots or research and get together all your ideas but the planners and venues in Ibiza won't start getting this info from you until the year of your wedding. The summer is really hectic for the planners which is why it's difficult for them to respond quickly to questions, I'm sure that as things start to quieten down in Ibiza you will have some regular contact from Vickki.

Sarah x

Hi all,

Some interesting posts! I'm all booked with Vickki at Elixir for June, we felt the same as Hayley after meeting Vickki and we viewed Elixir when it wasn't quite finished and fell in love with it! Vickki always answered my emails in the early days regarding our date, deposit, accomodation questions etc BUT she also said that she had scheduled us in for October 2012 for planning as she would be very busy throughout the summer and she likes to spend the winter months dedicated to planning the next summers weddings - it's a good system if you think about it. I can completely understand this, and remember how organised she was when we met in May. With schedules for everything!

So I've literally left her to it through the summer and trust that she will be in touch in October. She has a very supportive team with her husband, Chefs and her team of staff who have all worked for her for years and she's even a qualified lawyer but weddings are her passion!

I can totally understand you stressing, as to you your wedding is the biggest day of your life (of course) but to an experienced wedding planner who is fully booked almost everyday throughout the summer with a very impressive portfolio she has systems and schedules in place and I'm sure you will be looked after. I hope the response you've had on here has reassured you, it seems your the only one with a bad experience with communication. The bad reviews on Tripadvisor I've read were all regarding Caps Des Falco and the owner, Vickki was the planner at the wedding but it was the owner that seems to be the cause of all the bad reviews.

Hope this helps!

i think you booked me about a year in advance, and we had already been speaking for a few months, which is about normal for me.

the music & the pictures are very personal things so i can understand why they are one of the first things people want to confirm. i do get a few late bookings but i have to turn most of them down because i can only really do one wedding per day.

yours was a great wedding and the next one at Paisse den Bernat was fantastic too!! i played all the way through dinner for sunset which was really nice.

Hayley - when is your wedding day?

Mrs Imp - Thank you for your review - it is good to be able to hear from people who have actually experienced her... and that is the same menu we will be going for!!

Beezwax - i think we will be booking you... my H2B (Nick) introduced through Ian C is waiting to hear back from you....

We are keeping an open mind at this point time in terms of venues/planners etc... and will wait for 3 wks (roll on please) and make our final decision - i think leaning towards Elixir though.... I think it is a fair way of working by focusing on weddings year by year.... and seeing as the season kind of shuts down Oct - April i have no worry that during that time she will be able to plan the next summer weddings day by day.....

We will actually be staying in Ibiza next year for 7 weeks... 5 leading up to the wedding and 2 after so hopefully should be able to stay on top of things then anyway...

xx

Hi Copa, Bit of background.

We got married in ibiza and used Vicki/Eat Ibiza - and chose Paissa Den Bernat. I'll keep it simple and give you the pros and cons and hopefully some examples and insight along the way. I have MANY examples for both pros and cons so do contact directly if you'd like a fuller picture to be aware of your time ahead. We had an amazing wedding, but i think being armed will help your experience. Im 100% comfortable stating all my comments below as i have written sight of all that ill state.

One thing to remember as regards Ibiza is that it is a small island with limited resources. There is a captive market (weddings are popular there now, and rightly so as its beautiful) but that does mean they can charge a premium as competition is limited - it lacks what we have in the UK and as such professionalism is perhaps a little remiss.

Cons.

- Lack's communications skills/organisation.

• She often has limited time to respond to clients via email text or phone, and when she doest it can be poorly worded and often blunt (she even refuses to put your name into her mobile for contact details, Incredible considering her business, her verdict, clients come and go it is too much effort - I quote.) - she altered this for me when confusing myself with another bride and caused panic when we were in England when asking to call her urgently 2 weeks before our wedding - truly astounding.

- A business woman foremost.

• As delightful as Vickki can be, she works to her margins, clearly key to her is the Euro and her profit line (she runs a business and fair enough) but this encroaches on her service and on occasion on her business of satisfying her clients. On receiving our deposit, emails decreased to an a very noticeable degree, gone were the kisses and loves and hugs and suddenly an unhelpful business woman appeared (i have a list of examples including mails i can send you)

- Not a wedding planner.

• Eat Ibiza are caterers (see pros) - NOT wedding planners. They will provide a list of service providers, and book some for you (let me know directly if you need recommendations - there.. does that make me a wedding planner!!?) - but that is it. By definition a wedding planner will organise anything you request within reason or prob not within reason, For your big day, Eat will most definitely not do so. If you choose planners outside of their recommended list then it becomes a mute point (i have startling things to advise you concerning this that i was amazed to come across when dealing with Vickki) - But remember this is offered as FREE so you have no comeback. Just appreciate unless you want their 'stock' wedding YOU will be planning.

- Limiting with the truth.

• Again i have numerous examples, but having dealt with Vickki over the space of a year and more on several occasions she was found to be making both inconsistent comments and outright false statements. Be mindful of this and do everything to research what you've been told to satisfy your own mind. (contact if you wish for more detail)

- Lack of tasting.

• Same issues as yourself, but ibiza weddings are happening everyday so time to provide is not so easily available as in the UK (ie venues holding weddings prob a couple of days a week for a percentage of the year) But this should be provided as a matter of fact for any bride and groom. This isn't a meal for two your just popping out for. This needs to be looked at (especially when promised as done to yourself - prime example of Vickki though im afraid)
• We requested to be sent to us met with point blank refusal, so i sourced from spain as i couldn't find in the UK at great expense.

Pros

- PDB is an AMAZING location if you've chosen there - both for a week away and more importantly for your Day. Stunning in every sense and your guests will be WOW'd. (not really a vickki pro, but she did introduce us to the villa and was honest when saying this was in the top two of her locker)

- Food: Everyone to a person almost has commented how the food was incredible, its personal choice what you go for, we did the fanciest BBQ menu and it was excellent. The main thing they have right is the quality of food which is such a key ingredient.

- On the day: I have quibbles but i wont spoil the Pro here - it was ran well, B+ but PDB/Food made it!

As said do contact me, i'll do anything but put you off, but it's nice to be forewarned of whats ahead. We had an incredible experience of the best two weeks in ibiza, there is a little fun ahead getting there, but so worth it.

bye for now

Yep, we met when we flew out to look at venues in April 2011, and then I think we booked you in about June.

BTW, we saw one of our wedding guests for the first time since the wedding the other day, he was raving about how amazing you were! We agreed! ?

Sorry meant to say it was the WINE we requested to be sent to us (offered ofcourse to pay postage, just simply meant some leg work to give to DHL, no go!) Had to source from two differing suppliers - not cheap.

ah, thanks so much - glad they loved it!!!

All sorted now I think - looking forward to meeting you both in a few weeks :-)

Hi all,

I just wanted to thank you all for posting more honest and thorough reviews and for taking the time to do so because I find it very helpful to hear everyone’s stories and I’m sure there must be some others out there that do as well.

I also wanted to say that my intent was not to personally attack Vikki or to destroy her business, and I have no doubt that she planned and executed dozens and dozens of beautiful weddings in the past and made many happy couples.

Although I know reviews can be harmful to business, I did think the forum was a place where we could freely discuss and review our experiences. We all know planning a wedding abroad is very difficult and frustrating, we rely on the internet as sometimes our ONLY source of information for doing so. Therefore my intent was to open discussion, because I know there are already lots of brides on here that have already had weddings with Eat-Ibiza in the past, and have them planned for next year with her; express and vent my concerns, because if there happens to be others with the same concerns it usually acts as an eye-opener for the vendor that they may need to do something to sort it out; and perhaps seek reassurance or consolation from other brides. I don’t think that forums are supposed to be one-sided, i.e. only expressing the “pros” about a vendor, because that only presents a very biased case.

Anyway I won’t go on about it but I just wanted to thank you all again for being open and honest because if it weren’t for this forum and others like tripadvisor etc., it would be probably impossible to plan an Ibiza wedding. And although I’ve had complaints and concerns about the communication breakdowns with Vickky at least I know that there are 1. tons of excellent reviews 2. I’ve not seen one complaint ever about the food anywhere in any way or form and (our concern with having a tasting was mostly so we could select the perfect menu for our guests and make sure the wine and cava was up to par) 3. That other costumers of Eat-Ibiza (past-bides) have gone out of their way to email me personally to tell me that she did an Excellent job with their weddings, which to me is very meaningful.

Copa - I do feel sorry for you, you must be feeling really fed up and stressed out. What a horrible situation. As other people have said, though, I'm sure everything will work out ok in the end - Vickki seems to get good reports here and elsewhere on the internet. I'm sure she will pull through.

That said it sounds to me like she has done a really poor job on the customer service side here. In my job there is no way I would ignore calls/emails from clients - even if I am super busy I will drop people a quick line to acknowledge them. I can't understand why she can't do the same?! Bizarre. She might be busy but surely she isnt' THAT busy.

It must be miserable being in the UK surrounded by people asking you for details about the wedding, and you're reliant on a person who isn't helping. What a shame. It's good that you posted your experience on here because that is what this forum is all about - honest opinions.

Beezwax - Looking forward to meeting with you too... and we are now going to try and view the Hacienda whilst over there as well.. just waiting to hear back from them!!

Has anyone been to view the Hacienda or have any reviews on their wedding there?

x

Hello Peter and Emma,

Hope that you are both super well.

It was so lovely being part of your wedding.

Im so sorry to hear that you were not entirely happy with our service and any stress it caused you.

We take into consideration every review good or bad in order to improve our service.

I'm glad that you found such high positives in the food, coordinating and service of the wedding day.

Love Vickki x

Hello,

I just wanted to let everyone know, that I do really care

I have immediately contact th bride and I'm sorting out our little mix up..I treat every wedding as if it's my own and want it to be as perfect as you do.

Love Vickki x

Thanks Vickki, cannot wait for my wedding at Elixir and have every faith in you!x

Miss G. I did not visit Hacienda but I was in contact with them and they sent me some stuff like pricing and photos. I can forward them if you send me you email address. I didn't think their prices were all that bad because they included the venue fee and some things like flowers and decor. The photos however were from indoor dinners and I didnt like that. But I can imagine they do outdoor dinners too. Looks like a big place. We were going to visit but never made it over because we fell in love with paissa den bernat. And I really loved the photos from weddings that Vicki had done before because of the style and decor.

Those getting married at elixir, I have to say that restaurant probably has one of the best views in the island. Absolutely amazing location. We stumbled onto it by accident last time in Ibiza because we were going to have lunch at the restaurant that was there previously, Amarant. Originally amarant was one of my candidates for wedding locations but they never returned my calls. Now I know why hahahaha! We had no idea Vickki now took over that place when we were there. We found it before it was open for business. I think that if I had a choice between elixir and paissa den bernat when I was venue searching it would hvae been a really really tough choice!!

Hi Miss G,

The hacienda is a stunning venue and a gorgeous place to stay, very much the 5* Ibiza style. The Amphitheatre overlooking a fantastic bay is unique and well worth having the ceremony there. Although everything is wonderful at the Hacienda they do not have an outside eating area for the wedding meal - this isn't a problem as the 'canopies and cava' are served outside on the terrace, then the wedding party moves inside for the meal. They are not as expensive as some of the other caterers on the Island when all is added into the equation.

Eileen xx

www.ibizacakes.com

I tried to contact Sabine at the Hacienda as the venue looked out of this world from the photos - after 3 months she still hadnt replied and I had booked ibiza to look at a few others (that one being my favourite) I must have sent about 12 emails to Sabine, to the customer services, I even found a job email where they were hiring for a job and no-one replied to me. I emailed a celebrant, DJ and photographer who all told me that they are a nightmare to contact and with customer services and that they try and not deal with them where they can. It was such a shame as I really really thought that place looked stunning. Sabine did email me after about the 3 month but I told her I couldnt rely on her to plan my wedding. She is infact the inhouse wedding planner as well!

Hi Hayley,

Yes - I have heard that before, they seem to expect people to visit the Hacienda and make a face to face booking!!! It is unfortunate because although I sort of agree that Sabine is difficult to deal with in the beginning (I cannot deliver cakes to this venue for instance - another iron rod rule of Sabine's!!) she does provide a brilliant wedding as I have had the privilege to see on several occasions.

There are many more beautiful venues on the Island - so I wish you well

Eileen.

www.ibizacakes.com

Hi everyone new to the forum but glad iv found this! Have been looking into my ibiza wedding and have decide on cas mila, just a few questions for those that might be still looking at this forum and have recently married at cas mila.Would you recommend cas mila?How was the food provided at cas mila thinking of the BBQ option? How expensive was it in the actual restaurant in the evening for drinks from the bar?? Did everyone have the package on offer and were the cupcakes ok?Thats all for now sorry for all the questions!

thanks guys

I actually found this out from one of my brides a couple of years ago and was pretty surprised considering it costs nearly €5 for a coffee there on a normal day!! - I think they include decoration, flowers & a few other bits in their per head price so it makes it very reasonable for a wedding of 50-100 people.

I haven't been married at Cas Mila, but I have DJ'd at a few weddings there and I would definitely recommend it. I've not eaten the food at a wedding but I have had similar dishes from the menu and it's always been a very high standard. The guests that I have spoken to have been very positive about the food and I can think of at least one wedding where they had the barbecue menu. Sarah (McDoo on here) was one of my Cas Mila brides so maybe she can give you some better feedback on the food and prices??

Candi is great too and she has lots of experience with weddings at Cas Mila......

Good luck, hope you get the perfect wedding!

Hi ladies!

This one is really for those who have already wed or are in the swing of planning...

- any ideas for wedding cars and the cost? I have just seen some gorgeous pics of a VW camper and beetle but scared about the price...

- also what are you doing about transport for the guests? We are hoping to stay in the Es Cana/ Santa Eulalia area and venue may well be Elixir so a bit of a trek. Dont want to annoy people by asking them to fork out for their own transport yet I simply cannot afford to pay for a coach etc?!

- anyone able to give me a rough idea on cost for a photographer?

Thanks in advance x x x

Hi everyone!

3 weeks today till we fly out to venue hunt!!

I am having the same problems with Hacienda - I have email about 5 times over 4 days and heard nothing back - starting to think not so good -

Eileen - do you think it is worth just turning up then when we are over there to have a look and see if someone can help then?

x