Date: November 22, 2024
Guest count: 45
Venue: Blue Venado Seaside
Package: All In
Resort: Hotel Xcaret Mexico

Wedding coordinator: Itzel Perez is absolutely WONDERFUL. We met just about every month for the past 12 months finalizing every detail… but in an organized and stress-free way. Each month we would discuss a detail and lock it in on a shared Google document. Even when I wanted to change things last minute, Itzel was so professional and understanding about everything. She offered insight when I wasn’t quite sure about specific details and easily worked around our schedules for Zoom meetings. On the day of the wedding, Itzel checked in to see how we were doing, went over any last minute changes, and made everything so flawless. I cannot recommend her enough!

Venue: Our original plan was to have the venue be the main “décor” so we didn’t have to go wild with decorations. Honestly, it paid off. The setting at Seaside is so gorgeous! We loved the open floor plan with just a beach and the ocean. We loved Paamul as well, but it looked very similar to our resort so we wanted our guests to feel like they were leaving the resort for another exceptionally beautiful property. Style Me went above and beyond with our floral decor as well. I was BLOWN AWAY! I also loved the bridal suite better at Seaside… and the entrance into the property. The bathrooms are also more updated. Some brides have been worried about the hotel next door but we never had any issues. I honestly forgot that it was even there. I saw one person in the ocean during our cocktail hour but they stayed on their side. Note: there is no Wi-Fi at this location so be prepared to have very minimal/no phone connection.
Food/drinks: I don’t remember all of our cocktail hour food but I do remember the ceviche. BEST CEVICHE I HAVE EVER HAD! Our dinner options were the ricotta raviolis and beef medallions. Both options were exceptional! Guests are still talking about the food. We opted for dessert instead of a cake and we chose tiramisu. I actually think it was better at our wedding than it was when we went to our tasting. I am very sad that I wasn’t able to eat all my dessert. I had about two bites and then was pulled away somewhere else. Our welcome drink was a Cantarito (basically a Paloma in a terra cotta cup) and I am VERY sad that I didn’t get to try it! People literally RAVED about it. We had Passion Fruit Margaritas and Watermelon Mojitos as our signature drinks. Biggest complaint is that I didn’t drink enough cocktails. I wanted one of each! I should have had someone bring me drinks but there was so much going on that I didn’t sit still for long enough. What I wasn’t expecting was shots being served throughout the night. That was a nice touch! At one point I had to pawn some shots off haha

DJ: We kept the in-house DJ and he was fantastic! Our chosen music was played without any hiccups and he kept the party going. We did allow song requests and I think that helped the DJ hone in on our type of genre/vibe. EVERYONE was dancing. The DJ was a VIBE and we were partying all night!

Extras: We had a LOT of extras. We did the bus photobooth (100% worth it! We even got a link to all our pictures after the wedding!), coconut water as a welcome drink option (also sad I didn’t get one of these!), churro cart (1000% worth it), water drums & dancers (our guests were shook and, man, was that a BLAST), mariachi band (we missed this because we were doing photos during cocktail hour but this was also raved about), and a last min cigar roller (literally… Itzel was able to make this happen for us with 24 hours notice!) At one point, people said they didn’t want to leave because things kept happening and they didn’t want to miss out. These extras were all money WELL spent! 12/10 recommend.
Overall: Choosing to have our wedding at Blue Venado was THE BEST DECISION we’ve ever made. We loved the privacy, zero vendor fees, and ability to tailor our package to our needs. Despite only having 45 guests, we chose the All In package so we didn’t have to worry about add-ons. Going back, I would still make that choice. Itzel was transparent about our total cost anytime we asked and she turned my vague ideas into a dream wedding. The ENTIRE staff at BV was incredibly professional, accommodating, and hard working. We watched them chopping up leaves and flowers for our arches and hoisting our giant palapa centerpiece with ease. All of our guests still rave about how much fun they had, how great the food was, and how many times they tried to sit down to catch their breath but then the DJ put on another great song. We couldn’t have asked for a better review from our family and friends.

Blue Venado Beach Venue was perfect! Itzel made planning easy; she was responsive and attentive throughout.

Got married at Blue Venado May 2024 and it was absolutely beautiful. I worked with Nat and she did an amazing job making my dream wedding come to life. We loved everything and all of our guests couldn't get over how beautiful the wedding and decorations turned out.