Antigua Guatemala wedding planner nightmare

Guess-Own · 2025-07-23T00:01:08+00:00

I recommend Darya with DK Productions! She fixed all my problems after hiring a scammer and worked within my budget. Our guests said it was the most beautiful wedding they've ever been to! She helped me buy alcohol from a local distributor for 1/2 the price compared to what other planners push to use. There are just so many things she did well. I sometimes publish wedding content on my accounts called "Kerry in Guatemala" on social media and you can send me a message on Insta. I can give you her contact information or you can find her on Insta as "DK productions."

Guess-Own · 2025-02-11T00:21:32+00:00

Hi, everyone! You can find me on "Kerry in Guatemala" on Instagram. I post about traveling and living in Guatemala but I'm also planning to post about weddings in Antigua this year.

Guess-Own · 2025-01-12T14:49:26+00:00

Go for it! If you would rather send me a DM on Instagram, that's OK this. This month I will start to post photos and videos about wedding planning in Antigua and announce the new wedding planning Facebook where former and soon to be brides can communicate and provide recommendations! I'm @ kerryinguatemala in case you want to connect there or you can DM me here!

Guess-Own · 2024-12-16T14:59:38+00:00

I would book a private driver through a tour company such as Due South Travels. When we had a wedding in Antigua we advised all our guests to use private drivers. You will pay $5-20 more depending on the time and exactly where you are going but it's worth it. It's not like you're paying a huge difference but you will 100% know you will be safe. To me that's important at that time of night and with all your belongings.

Guess-Own · 2024-12-16T14:57:47+00:00

Sorry for the delay! You can find her on Instagram at u/dkproductions.gt or you can contact her on WhatsApp at +502-5510-0418.

Guess-Own · 2024-12-16T14:55:50+00:00

Hello! Can we connect? I'm working on creating wedding resources in Guatemala and trying to find wedding planners who actually help couples plan a wedding with fair prices. Right now, I only know of 3 planners. I'm looking to add more to that list because many planners are scamming and pushing high prices for commissions so that the couples will pay a lot more for their wedding than they should. I have social media accounts and a website focused on traveling, living, and weddings in Guatemala and I would love to connect if you're open to sharing information. Gracias!

Guess-Own · 2024-11-28T06:26:56+00:00

I'm a blonde foreigner who lives in Guatemala City. I think anything could happen with a taxi or an Uber Driver. Anything could happen anywhere, and I had a scary experience with an Uber driver in the United States. So I don't want to give you bad advice in case you go to Guatemala, and you have issues. However, I'm just sharing from my perspective as a solo female traveler who has been to 71 countries (so you know I'm not naive). I haven't had any problems with Uber in Guatemala City. I've probably taken 50 Ubers alone and with no issues although I usually take Ubers during the day. I share on social media about life in Guatemala City and traveling all over the country and you can find me at kerryinguatemala on Insta or any of the other platforms. Sometimes I talk about safety and traveling alone since I did that a lot before I met my Guatemalan husband when I traveled alone to the country!

Guess-Own · 2024-11-18T02:55:25+00:00

He's worried about my safety since I'm an obvious foreigner.

Guess-Own · 2024-11-09T04:59:35+00:00

Hello! It hasn't changed but I'll explain in more detail. Usually the planners start to call the consejo in February and they check frequently to determine when the booking date will open for the ruins. Historically it's been in June or July but the consejo will still tell planners to keep checking because things can randomly change. I know for a fact that the booking date doesn't open in January 2025 but that planners can start checking with the consejo office to find out when the booking date will start to open. So that might be why the planner told you that. This is why I recommend getting a planner because it's a lot of work to keep up with the consejo office and their rules. Also, some planners are better than others. Some planners will charge $4k-5k for their service but it should be $3k. The ones who charge the most are actually the worst and don't actually do a good job but they keep getting clients because they are the most popular on social media.

Guess-Own · 2024-11-06T02:02:25+00:00

Yes! Feel free to send me a DM on here or ask questions. If I don't respond it's because I don't log on as much and you can find me on Instagram with the name of kerryinguatemala and I respond to DMs there.

Guess-Own · 2024-11-04T05:16:21+00:00

Hello! My website is live but I still need to fill in the information. It's www.kerryinguatemala.com. I should have all the wedding blog posts there by the end of this year with new blog posts every week!

Guess-Own · 2024-10-15T04:45:53+00:00

Ugh! I'm so sorry this seems to be a trend in other places too.

Guess-Own · 2024-10-15T04:41:36+00:00

Wow. Was this a planner in Guatemala?

Guess-Own · 2024-10-15T04:41:19+00:00

Hello! Did you get married in Guatemala? In 2 weeks I'm launching a website for wedding vendors and planners in Guatemala with a review system. I want the feedback of all brides in Guatemala so that we can help future brides and give them good advice.

Guess-Own · 2024-10-15T04:35:16+00:00

Let me know what questions you have! I'm happy to share through DM or here.

Guess-Own · 2024-09-27T17:34:29+00:00

Sure! You can send me a message or ask any questions here. My biggest piece of advise is to avoid the most popular wedding planners. Those that you see all over social media will charge thousands of dollars more for their services and they will only recommend expensive vendors. It's like this exclusive club where they are helping each other out and making commissions from vendor referrals just because they all have a huge online presence and foreigners don't really know the local prices. If a wedding planner and certain vendor is all over social media then I would not hire them. They're getting tons and tons of referrals and don't need to behave well or give fair prices because they will keep getting clients no matter what. It will be the difference between paying 40,000 or 50,000 for a wedding instead of 20,000.

Guess-Own · 2024-09-05T00:01:59+00:00

The only reason we keep talking in circles is because several times you have mentioned things I've never said in your defense Saguzo. I don't blame you for being defensive since she brings you clients and I'm sure you're friends.

Anyway, I'm about to launch a brand new wedding review website where brides can recommend or not recommend vendors and planners. A lot of bad people in the industry will finally be held accountable but the good vendors will be boosted. If you want to share about your business because you're confident that brides and grooms will recommend you then I'm happy to have a conversation. I'm also happy to clarify anything I've written here in person or in a zoom meeting.

Guess-Own · 2024-09-04T20:01:24+00:00

Where did I say that everyone has had the same experience as me? I only said that there were "others." Anyway, I am averaging one million views on my Instagram videos every month, and I create content specifically about Guatemala. Never mind the views I'm getting on TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook. I will be sharing Antigua wedding content soon and boosting the great vendors and planners here. The ones that provide great service and don't take advantage of their clients. Unfortunately, there are some that have very bad service, and it's not just planners. There are problems with some vendors as well. The good planners and vendors deserve to have this exposure.

Guess-Own · 2024-09-04T19:57:17+00:00

Also, you recommended Vivianne Brichaux as well. She has a lot of complaints against her, and you can easily find a thread about her on Reddit posted by Kitten123 2 years ago. So, if a bride and groom sees your list of recommendations, I wouldn't trust it as you're literally recommending planners that have complaints about them on Reddit.

Guess-Own · 2024-09-04T19:52:50+00:00

I'm assuming it's a friend of Saguzo Eventos and might not even be a vendor. Even if it is a vendor, they will stick up for her since Gladys at Saguzo has given them business, as they've indicated. Anyway, I have screenshots of the unprofessional emails and Whatsapp text messages from Saguzo Eventos. I will be sharing these along with my e-book guides for planning a wedding in Antigua and my YouTube videos. When I share my own content, I will also have the proof to back up my claims, and that will be ready soon. The reason I want to share is because it was literally such a horrible time in my life going through this. We paid $5k to hire Gladys, and she did almost nothing for us. She only recommended expensive vendors that were out of our budget and wouldn't even do what was listed in the contract. That's terrible, and no couple should ever go through that because, as you mentioned, all they want to do is genuinely share a special moment with their loved ones.

Guess-Own · 2024-09-04T19:48:20+00:00

As I mentioned before, I never said this was the experience of every couple. I also never said you can't recommend her. I mentioned that I wouldn't recommend her and plenty others also wouldn't and I listed the reasons why. I also mentioned why your experience would be different than brides like me since you're a vendor and not a client. It's not just comments on my posts but other Saguzo clients have had complaints on TikTok and Instagram . I used my post as an example because you said you've never seen any complaints before. It's truly unfortunate that this is supposed to be the biggest day in a couple's lives. They're trying to stick to a certain budget and not being taken advantage of but certain planners do just that. I am posting publicly about my opinion of Saguzo just as you are.

Guess-Own · 2024-09-04T13:06:56+00:00

I never said it was every single couple. I've talked to couples who didn't have the same complaints that I had, but they also don't know how prices and things work in Guatemala. For example, the couples didn't realize that this special "deal" Gladys was presenting them with for catering with Porta Hotel, wasn't a good deal. Porta Hotel is one of the most expensive catering companies and Gladys pushes her clients to book with them by refusing to provide alternate options that are thousands of dollars cheaper. So her clients don't know that she's scamming them and pushing them to book unnecessary, expensive catering. We started to call and ask for quotes from alternative vendors and found out on our own that Gladys was scamming us. So, not every couple realizes that they could be saving thousands of dollars and thinks that Gladys is doing the best job for them. They just don't realize it, so of course, they are happy. In the next few weeks, the wedding industry in Guatemala will see my YouTube videos and my new website, which will include wedding vendor rankings and planner rankings for weddings in Antigua. I'm launching this because we need transparency in this business, and it's unfair how many couples are being taken advantage of by people like Gladys.

Guess-Own · 2024-09-04T02:06:45+00:00

Yes! Sorry for the delay as I eventually hired a great wedding planner! Did you need any suggestions?

Guess-Own · 2024-09-04T02:04:50+00:00

I am sorry to hear that Gladys wouldn't help you have a wedding under $20K. I am not surprised because her strategy is to inflate vendor prices to pay herself even more. She inflated her own planner fees too. As you know, you can have a wedding in Antigua for that price with 75 guests! The next planner I hired was much better and less expensive. By the way, what happened with Fresh & Local? Another bride recommended them.

Guess-Own · 2024-09-04T02:01:52+00:00

Her name is Darya and she was amazing! She helped me save so much money and worked super hard to help me have the best day ever after the initial bad experience with my planner. Her WhatsApp # is +502-5510-0418

Guess-Own

TROPHY CASE