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Suggestions for wedding in Mexico?

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ellewoods

ellewoods

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Hello everyone!

We are planning to marry in Mexico, and I would love any advice, thoughts, or suggestions from any of you who have married there, honeymooned there, vacationed there, been to a wedding there, etc. We are thinking somewhere around 80-110 guests. We are interested in the areas outside of Cancun -- like the Mayan Riviera, Playa del Carmen, etc. We would like a small hotel/resort, ideally with around 50-100 rooms so we can rent the entire place (or almost the entire place) with our guests.

I am trying to decide if choosing an "all inclusive" resort is a bad idea or a good idea -- I don''t want to impose any more financial costs on guests so that their expenses are excessive, but some of the all-inclusive plans seem to be good deals for the meals and drinks that are included. We''re planning on hosting a rehersal dinner for all guests, as well as a wedding reception the next day, after the wedding. Perhaps also a "welcome cocktail reception" the night before the rehersal dinner (which is when most guests will arrive) -- but this depends on cost. It seems some hotels in Mexico are quite affordable for weddings and extra activities. Anyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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one of my friends just went to a destination wedding in puerto vallarta and loved it. they really appreciated that it was at an all-inclusive place. at least that way people know exactly how much they''re going to spend so they can decide if they can afford the trip or not. otherwise it may be a little tougher for some people. it would probably be easier for you to plan events at the all-inclusive place like an afternoon of snorkeling or a cocktail reception since i imagine most of it would be included. i don''t know the name of the resort though (sorry i''m not much help). another friend just got back from dreams resort in puerto vallarta and loved it. her pictures are gorgeous. it''s all-inclusive as well and every room faces the ocean.
 
Elle:

Defnitely go to theknot.com and click on destination weddings....there is a TON of info right there at your fingertips... I have been to Mexico a few times and loved the Puerto Vallarta area too...but I am sure there are many quaint little exotic resorts that you could have your wedding at- that sounds so fun! Just wondering- why did you decide on a dw and why Mexico?
 
I don''t have any advice on locations or anything, but it sounds like a lot of fun!! Also getting married in another country takes lots of paper work doesn''t it? I''d look into that right away!
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions!

Dani: We decided on a destination wedding because 2 of our very good friends did one a couple years ago and it was exactly the feel we wanted -- a big party, in a wonderful relaxed location with amazing scenery and a exotic feel. Everyone made a 3 night/4 day vacation out of it (or longer). As long as we can put together something that is reasonably priced in terms of airfare and hotel, and give friends/family plenty of notice (hopefully 1 year of notice), I think it would be perfect for us.

Also, my DF and I are huge travelers -- we''ve been all over the world together (have actually taken about four "honeymoons" already), and a destination wedding just fits who we are, what we''re about, and all of that. At our friends'' wedding they had about 80-100 people, and we imagine many of the same people would come (mutual friends).

Also, I don''t have any connection to my "hometown" as I left when I graduated high school and haven''t been back since. I''ve lived in 6 major cities all over the United States the last 10 years and so no one location feels like it''s right for us. Also, it appears that weddings can be much more affordable in Mexico than in the United States. We''d like a fun, nice wedding and we''d like to host a nice reception and night-before dinner etc. and it seems like your money can stretch much farther there. For example, I was looking at one menu today, and it was a amazing dinner menu with tons of offerings for about $57 per person -- BUT that INCLUDES open bar.
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Awesome!

In terms of Mexico, we chose Mexico because it''s close to get to from where we and most of our friends/family live (California). During college we took trips to Mexico, along with many of our close friends, so we know that our friends love it and would have a great time. Hawaii would be great but too expensive, and no big significance to us as a couple. I''d love Fiji or Thailand or Australia but that''d be so expensive that no one would come (and we''ve already been those places already!
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). I don''t imagine our wedding will be a bargain, but I think we''ll be able to spend about half in Mexico of what we''d have to spend in the US. Wish me luck planning!
 
That sounds great Elle. Good luck planning, and keep us updated!! How exciting!
 
My brother is looking into getting married at an iberostar resort in river maya next summer. He has been working with a travel agent at liberty travel and they have been very helpful. It is an all inclusive so the reception is actually only $17 pp for the private room, dinner, champagne! The wedding itself is around $900. It is very reasonable and what a party!
 
I had a girlfriend get married at the El Dorado Royale in the Mayan Riviera and it was beautiful!!! The resort went out of their way to do everything she dreamt of for her special day, and even more! The food is out of this world, the rooms are stunning, and I would (and my friend would) totally recommend it to anyone!

It is adults only though (which was great for her...but not for everyone I guess).

Good luck!
 
When I was flying out of Cancun I met some folks who had just attended a wedding at the El Dorado Royale.

http://www.eldoradosparesorts.com/weddings/royale.php?Lang=

They said it was really nice and the all inclusive package was very affordable for their friends who got married.

The packages range from free (!!) if you book their casita for seven days or approximately 1500 - 2000. The rooms look more reasonable than the other places I've looked at.
 
El Dorado looks gorgeous. I would have my brother look into if they allowed kids!
 
My husband and I will be going to El Dorado Royale Spa in July. We have read all the reviews on tripadvisor and this resort seems to get great ratings. We are fans of the all inclusives and have been to the Couples resorts in Jamaica and have seen quite a few weddings on the beaches there. Everyone who has had a wedding at an all-inclusive has been very pleased.
 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

It''s funny, the Karisma Hotels are my #1 choice, and I didn''t even mention that in my original post. I had my heart set on Azul Beach Hotel, or El Dorado Seaside Suites (more affordable for guests).....but I''ve been talking to the wedding coordinator and it turns out they can only do weddings for a max of 60 or 70 people at those 2. I don''t know how many guests we''ll have but we have a lot of people to invite, so I think we''ll end up with anywhere from 70-100.

She said they can do up to 120 people at the El Dorado Royale though, which is great. the El Dorado Royale is a bit more expensive for guests, so I''m trying to figure out if this is do-able or not. I think the resort looks amazing, the food has gotten great reviews, its all individual restaurants and not buffet style, everything looks absolutely gorgeous there....and the private event menus for cocktail receptions, rehersal dinner, wedding reception etc. look awesome too -- reasonably priced AND they include OPEN BAR. Which is a huge cost savings in itself!
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I am also checking out the Iberostars, thanks for that tip!

What do you guys think about deciding on an all inclusive, that doesn''t have a room-only program? I think that for what guests get for the room rate (all meals, most activities, all alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks), the prices are actually very reasonable for the quality and location. I know some people may choose to stay at other hotels to avoid the all inclusive thing, or just to save money generally, and that''s fine, but I would hope most guests would choose to make things easy and stay where the party is. What do you guys think?

The other consideration I have is that the wedding coordinator said that the day of the wedding, non-hotel wedding guests who come to the hotel for the wedding must purchase a day pass for $72. That sounded crazy to me, but she explained that it is an 8-hour pass, and it includes all food, drink and use of all hotel facilities and activities during that period. Of course we still have to pay for their part of the rehersal dinner, wedding reception dinner, etc. She said they charge the fee because the entire resort is all-inclusive, and there are no bracelets or whatnot, so there''s no way to charge the non-hotel guests a la carte for meals, drinks, etc. I was thinking my fiance and I could supplement the fee a little bit, to make it a bit easier for guests -- maybe pay $10 of each pass, or $20 of each pass? I really don''t want friends and family to balk at the day pass, but it seems to be non-negotiable with the hotel. It would be too expensive for my fiance and I to pay the entirety of the fee for all non-hotel guests, though, and I don''t think it would be quite fair for us to pay for the fee for non-hotel guests but then the wedding guests who stay at the hotel don''t get a similar $72 gift, know what I mean?

Anyway, any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
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Hi Tracy!

I''m in love with all of those resorts too. Unfortunately they are all crazily expensive -- some of the menus are like $100 per person for dinner, NOT including alcohol. Not to mention that the cheapest rooms can be $450-$500 per night.
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If I had the money I''d take all my family and friends and pay for everything, but unfortunately I''m not on a celebrity budget yet.
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One of my friends did a destination wedding in Cabo a couple years ago, and it was amazing. It was at a beautiful small resort, no TVs in the rooms, super beautiful, elegant, etc. Check it out: twindolphin.com I don''t have any of their event menus, etc. but she said it was half as expensive as what they would have had to spend in the United States. The food was amazing, everyone had a great time (there were about 100 guests), there were no crazy extra hidden fees...they even had fireworks! The hotel rooms look a bit pricey on their website (starting around $380 I think) but email them and ask about wedding packages....they may offer discounts if you book a large number of rooms. Our group booked almost the entire hotel.
 
elle:

i haven''t read your entire thread, but a wedding in mexico sounds marvelous!

I only wanted to share some comments on the $72 pass.

I realize that the details are different (more offensive my friend''s case), but I thought I''d give you a glimpse into a guest''s perspective.

A great friend of mine was invited to the wedding of one of her friends. the couple opted to get married at an all-inclusive couples resort. my friend, at the time, wasn''t dating anyone and didn''t want to have the awkwardness of bringing a date on a sleepover wedding. So, she decided to go alone. However, because the place was *couples only*, as a single gal, she couldn''t rent a room at the resort. she was forced to stay elsewhere and then to add insult to injury, she discovered she had to pay for an entrance pass to gain access for the wedding day. she was pretty shocked. looking at it from her perspective, she didn''t think that it was appropriate to have to pay an access fee since she had already paid the airfare and hotel costs for the destination wedding. granted she did not have the option of staying at the resort like your guests, but it is something to consider.

I aslo know that you have some very strong views on the open bar vs. cash bar options and while an entrance fee is somewhat different can you not see how your guests might see this as a "cash entrance" wedding.
 
Date: 6/1/2006 4:06:08 PM
Author: lovelylulu
elle:

i haven''t read your entire thread, but a wedding in mexico sounds marvelous!

I only wanted to share some comments on the $72 pass.

I realize that the details are different (more offensive my friend''s case), but I thought I''d give you a glimpse into a guest''s perspective.

A great friend of mine was invited to the wedding of one of her friends. the couple opted to get married at an all-inclusive couples resort. my friend, at the time, wasn''t dating anyone and didn''t want to have the awkwardness of bringing a date on a sleepover wedding. So, she decided to go alone. However, because the place was *couples only*, as a single gal, she couldn''t rent a room at the resort. she was forced to stay elsewhere and then to add insult to injury, she discovered she had to pay for an entrance pass to gain access for the wedding day. she was pretty shocked. looking at it from her perspective, she didn''t think that it was appropriate to have to pay an access fee since she had already paid the airfare and hotel costs for the destination wedding. granted she did not have the option of staying at the resort like your guests, but it is something to consider.

I aslo know that you have some very strong views on the open bar vs. cash bar options and while an entrance fee is somewhat different can you not see how your guests might see this as a ''cash entrance'' wedding.
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I have to agree with lulu on this one. It''s a bit of an awkward situation. Personally, I think I''d be pretty angry if I spent the money to fly there, pay for a hotel and then had to pay to gain entrance to the actual event. Clearly, if you go down this road, you would have to let your guests know in advance--maybe even before they book their hotel.

I do highly recommend Playa del Carmen. My huband and I went there on vacation before we were married and we loved it. We didn''t stay at an all inclusive place because we prefer to explore on our own, go to different restaurants, etc. The main street there is called Fifth Avenue and has tons of bars and restaurants. If you decide not to do the all inclusive thing, there are plenty of restaurants that could accommodate a big group for the rehearsal dinner.

Good luck and let us know what you decide!
 
I honeymooned at Secret''s Capri in the Mayan Riviera, it was gorgeous and one of the smaller all inclusives
 
Thanks for the thoughts Lulu and Curly.

I think its awful your friend wasn''t allowed to book a room at the wedding resort! The resorts I am considering are *not* couples only, so a single person could rent a room to themselves, or rent a room with a friend, or even rent a room with a couple of friends. I think the specific hotel I''m talking about has a max of 3 people per room, but you can split that up however you like (1 couple + 1 friend; 3 single friends; mom and dad + adult child, etc).

My biggest struggle in trying to choose a hotel is that I want to choose a place that is cost-conscious for everyone, so that more people feel they can attend the wedding. From where most of our friends and family are flying from (California), flying to Mexico can be anywhere from $280 to $400 -- depending on the location in Mexico and where they leave from in California of course. In the 8 or so weddings I''ve been to in the last couple years I''ve always had to fly to them, paying at least $300+ for a round trip ticket. One destination wedding in Mexico I paid almost $600 for my plane ticket alone. I''m not saying that I expect others to fly to my wedding in Mexico because I''ve bought plane tickets to theirs, but I feel that a wedding in Mexico is much more reasonable than inviting 100 people to a wedding in Italy or Brazil or something.
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So I''m going between the huge 400, 600, 800, 1000 room resorts, which feel too impersonal too me, and also can be very expensive....and the small hotels, but the really small local ones seem to have 4 rooms, 11 rooms, 20 rooms, etc. I need to find one with at least 40 rooms I think, so that everyone invited can stay there if they wish. If they choose to stay somewhere else that''s fine, but I would need to deal with this "day pass" fee somehow.

I certainly don''t mind supplementing the fee for those guests who don''t stay at the wedding hotel, but it causes a awkward situation I think. First, the day pass fee gives that guest access to the resort and all activities, as well as all food and drinks all day long. But the guests who are staying at the hotel will not get an equivilant type of gift or help in payment from us, since they''ll already be at the resort, having paid for their all inclusive room. So it seems a bit unfair to the guests staying at the hotel, that we''d pay for 1 day of all drinks and meals for the non-hotel guests, and the wedding hotel guests wouldn''t get the same thing.

Also, what if only 40 people stay at the wedding hotel, and then 40 people stay outside the hotel? If we paid for all of the day passes, that''d be $2,880 just for the day passes for those 40 non-guests. For one of my top choice hotels, we''d pay about $55/person for dinner & open bar drinks for the wedding reception dinner. It''s just a bit lopsided that the "day fee" would end up being even more than that. So some guests would total about $55/person for the wedding reception, while some would total $127/person (the non-hotel guests). It''s an awkward proposition there.

I know that I have mentioned my strong opinon against cash bars in the past, so I realize this is a difficult subject to reconcile. But I want to clarify -- my thoughts on open bar versus cash bar are that I do not think there should be cash bars at weddings. I think the bride and groom should offer whatever drinks they are comfortable offering, and whatever drinks they can afford. If that means no alcohol, that''s fine. If the budget only allows for beer and wine, just serve those. If the budget allows for beer, wine, and 1 specialty drink like margaritas, do that. If the budget allows for full open bar, and the bride and groom want to offer that, then offer full open bar.

But I feel that hosting a wedding is like inviting someone in your home for dinner, and while it is a polite gesture for dinner guests to bring a bottle of wine or hostess gift to a dinner party, it should not be expected that guests will purchase their own drinks at dinner. Nor at weddings. That''s all.

So how does my opinion on that fit into the day pass dilemma? I don''t know. When I first was told about the day pass provision from the wedding coordinator I was taken aback and really annoyed by it. But I talked to my future mother in law, who is a very polite and etiquette conscious person, and she said that she thinks most guests will choose to stay at the wedding hotel, so it shouldn''t be a big deal. As for those who don''t, she thought the fee was appropriate if they are allowed at the hotel all day to do whatever activities they wish and have all meals and drinks included.

And as I said above, I don''t mind paying for some of the day pass fee to reduce those non-hotel guests'' day pass cost. But I don''t think it would be financially feasible to pay for the entirety of the passes, and I don''t think it would be fair to the other guests either -- since I''m not offering to pay for 1 day of drinks and meals for them too.

I hope I don''t sound like I want to impose on my guests, because that''s the very last thing I want. But I''m trying to strike a balance between providing for guests, and staying within a budget and also not offending anyone.

Our plans are to try and host a welcome cocktail reception the first night, with open bar drinks and appetizers. Then the second night we''d have the rehersal dinner for the entire wedding group (all guests), that includes open bar. Then after the wedding we will host a wedding reception dinner, with open bar. That will include a cake and dancing too.

I would rather be able to host the "welcome cocktail party" with open bar and appetizers for drinks the first night, then spend the same amount of money on day passes for those who choose not to stay at the resort. I would think most wedding guests would rather have that too. That''s also why I''m trying so hard to find a decent priced resort that isn''t outrageously expensive. Of course I would include information about the day pass in the save the dates, or wedding information to come later, so that all guests were aware of this.

Anyone have any good ideas to deal with the day pass dilemma? If we choose a different resort we might avoid the problem, but I am worried some of the other resorts will have the same type of provision.
 
I agree with the cash bar thing, I'd never ask people to do that either... but the resort entrance fee is totally the same thing to me. Most guests aren't going to come and sit on the beach at the resort and water ski or whatever... I mean, they won't have a room to go change/shower at afterward, so they're going to come dressed for the ceremony and reception and leave, so they're basically paying more to attend the wedding day than you're paying for them to eat at $57.

Personally, I'd think it was tacky. I totally understand that the resort needs to be consistant with their charges, but I think there are ways to handle it. Consider that the guests who choose to stay at other resorts are probably goign to do so for financial reasons and that just makes it even more expensive! I mean, for a couple that is almost $150 to just enter the wedding sight when sometimes that's the amount that people give as a gift! I don't know why the other guests would have to know if you picked up that fee for others. Can't they just check in at the front desk and say "I'm here with the ellewoods wedding" the front desk can mark that and then bill you with out any of the guests needing to know? If anyone asks a question about it, just say it was part of the wedding package.
 
Hi Elle,

Well I am obsessed with this Mexico thing and am determined to make it work.

Guess what I found! Villas - villas in Puerto Vallarta. A lot them come with maids and chefs.

I have a found several rentals with 5 - 12 rooms ranging from 800 - 1200 a night. And you have to see this website I found yesterday.

www.thedazzlingdetails.com

She is an Puerto Vallarta based wedding coordinator and the pictures are amazing. She will set up a private villa for your wedding!

I was thinking about Villa Las Palmeras - it has 12 rooms and costs about 135 - 200 per night per room. Then you can have your friends pitch in for their rooms if you want to. http://www.thedazzlingdetails.com/gallery.php?w=38

Here is another gorgeous villa, though kind of pricey...

http://www.villamerissa.com/views.htm

http://www.villamerissa.com/dining.htm

http://www.villamerissa.com/pool.htm

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When are you thinking about getting married?

Tracy
 
We''re also interested in getting married in Mexico but the waiting period is going to be a problem for us. In a lot of places it''s like 5 days plus blood work and occasionally x-rays. (x-rays??). For us that''s going to kill off between half to 3/4''s of our honeymoon time.
Have you thought about how to handle the waiting period? Or is it less time in the areas you''re thinking about?
 
Just a thought... I know you like the idea of all-inclusives because they give you an up-front cost, but they don''t always save money. I just went on a fabulous vacation in the Mayan Riveria, near Playa del Carmen, at a time-share-only resort (rented a week from an owner), and though it wasn''t all-inclusive, I didn''t have to carry my wallet around or anything. We were able to charge everything to the room and at the end of the week drop it on a credit card for a favorable exchange rate. My entire week of food, drink, souvenirs, snorkeling, airport transfers, etc... was just $500 (...the room was extra though). I was thrilled! We saved money by eating breakfast in the room (had a kitchenette) and we didn''t feel tied to the resort so we could go out to eat off the resort if we wanted to. All inclusives are very convenient, but you do pay for it all, whether you use it or not.
 
I''m not set on an all-inclusive resort, I just happened to love the 3 Karisma properties themselves and their wedding options and menus and everyone are far and above any others I''ve seen. But I''m definitely open to any places that aren''t all inclusive. Sumbride, I''d love to know the name of the place you recently stayed at. I''m interested in doing something like that too, but haven''t found as much information as I''ve found for hotels.

Tracy -- I''d love to do the villas thing, but they wouldn''t be large enough for all of the guests (we''re expecting anywhere from 60-100). That''s why I''m looking for a smaller hotel or something of the sort, so we can pretty much book the entire place. I''d love to find several villas where everyone could stay if there''s enough room. The only drawback to villas that I see is that you''d have to hire a independant wedding coordinator of some sort to deal with the ceremony, rehersal dinner, reception, etc. A hotel might be easier (for me at least) since they''re used to coordinating everything in one location.

Check out this villa though Tracy, it looks awesome. It''s a small boutique hotel in Puerto Vallarta which pretty much only does weddings. Wedding groups usually rent the entire place. They''ve got room only options but also room plus food, room plus food and drinks options, and its remarkably affordable. http://www.playafiesta.com/ My fiance really likes the look of it, and I do too, but it still may be a bit small for us.
 
Indie:

In terms of the waiting period, I''m getting different answers from different hotels and locations. Some are telling me we need to be in Mexico at least 4 days before the wedding, some say 3, and a few have said 2. On one website it said 5. So I''m not sure which is the correct answer.

We''re planning on getting married in Mexico and then leaving for our honeymoon the next day -- probably to South America. We are hoping to be able to take 2.5 or 3 weeks off of work to get married and honeymoon. I know it sounds like a lot, but in our professions we are given vacations days but most often can never take very long vacations (nothing like 1 week+) for the first couple of years as we are starting out. It''s more like 3 or 4 day weekends, taking a couple days here and there.

Somehow getting married and going on a honeymoon is regarded as OK for taking a few weeks off though, without much fuss. I think its kind of an unspoken trade off -- we don''t have the freedom to take normal (longer length) vacations like most other people, and even when we''re on vacation we''re connected to the office, so when you get married you can take more time. I''ll let you know how that actually works out next year.
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I stayed at the Mayan Palace, which is on the same property as the Grand Mayan. They are both time-shares so I''m not sure if they would cooperate with you or not for something like this. We rented our week from somebody who owned a 6-week timeshare and had a 2 bedroom condo for $1200 for a week. The Mayan Palace is sold-out so you''d have to rent from an owner, but the Grand Mayan is still in sales mode and they may be willing to take you thinking you might buy in. Those condos are AMAZING, but very expensive.

There are SO many resorts in the Mayan Riveria that I don''t think you''ll have too much trouble finding something. Just be sure they aren''t too damaged from Hurricane Wilma. Our resort was missing a restaurant, but it was ok. By next year all should be better though. Playa del Carmen is going through a HUGE building boom so you might get some good deals on a place that''s just opening, but they might not have the experience you need to make sure everything runs smoothly.

good luck!
 
Just an FYI my brother just booked his wedding at moon palace spa and resort. I cant wait! We will probably stay at the aventura spa, which is a sister property and is adults only! All said in done it will only cost them around 5k!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.palaceresorts.com/

They are larger properties than my FI and I would choose to stay at, but they look very nice!
 
Tracy:

That place looks fabulous! I am really excited about it, and I think it may actually work!
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I''d love to talk more about your wedding planning via email if you''d like. Feel free to email me at:

[email protected]
 
I was thinking the same thing! My FI and I love South America and are probably going to take a long trip there at some point this year or next. So I'd love to discuss.

Also, I am trying to get my FI to take me to Puerto Vallarta and Sayulita next month for my birthday so I can scope out places.

I will email you!

Yes, doesn't the Villa Amor look great? I have to tell you about Sayulita.

Look at this photographer's pictures of a wedding there - so cool!

http://www.evrimgallery.com/Galleries/susanjamie.html
 
oh my goodness. i just got weepy at work looking at that girl''s wedding album. they are amazing photos.

have a wedding there!!!



a destination wedding was just not an option for us -- my family would have really been upset/hurt/sad -- but i was just now thinking that it would be a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful place to go maybe on a first anniversary, fifth anniversary, etc. to renew our vows. our own little personal wedding.

wow!
 
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