How to plan a destination wedding

Hi Alyssa! If you want more freedom with decorations and vendors do the venue. If you want to have everything in one place do a resort. I’m having my wedding in Mexico at a resort. It’s nice because I get a group discount for the hotel rooms and everything’s in one place. Plus it’s easier to get people together for the rehearsal dinner and farewell brunch. It really just depends on what you and the FH want. My FH and I wanted everyone together and help from a wedding coordinator that knows the hotel well. We’re so happy we went with our resort! Good luck!

View Quoted Comment Thanks so much Emily! Okay that's what I was thinking too the resort may be easier for our family and friends. I'm also trying to figure out budgets! I've seen some nice resorts for 50 guests from about $7,000+. May I ask what resort you've chosen? I was looking at resorts in Puerto Vallarta that are really nice.

View Quoted Comment Yes that’s not bad at all for 50 guests! We are going to get married at the Dream Villamagna Nuevo Vallarta All Inclusive Resort in Puerto Vallarta! It’s so nice and one of the cheapest resorts in town.

I researched our hotel so much. I looked at reviews after reviews. I know this sounds a bit over the top, BUT I went to Instagram typed in the resort and looked for the most recent wedding photos. I browsed other photos to see what it really looked like. They can make the resorts look so nice and then when you get there they’re nothing like the photos. I researched our resort often because my FH and I wouldn’t be able to make a trip out there and really look at it. IF you have the time, I suggest going down there and looking, but if not just research until you can’t anymore😌

The two biggest steps I took after researching was TRAVEL AGENCY that helps with DW and went to this website bestdestinationweddings.com. Someone on here recommended me to Beach Bum Vacations. Best decision I made thus far. They are amazing! My travel agent is Nanda! She’s responded fast, gets the resorts to respond faster, and is so caring and full of advice. I highly recommend a travel agent. They’re the middle man and help you every step of the way. The website I mentioned is another life saver because it’s real brides that talk about their wedding detail for detail. They’re very honest and pretty much answer all of your questions.

If you have any other questions or need help with anything please don’t hesitate to ask😊

I agree with all that Emily has said and have done the same things! I tried to research resorts on my own and got nowhere. I found a travel agent and we had it finalized in two weeks! My resort is Moon Palace Cancun.. we focused on the Cancun side of Mexico because it was the easiest flight for the majority of our guests. I wanted a resort with wedding packages that I won't have to make too many decisions on but would agree you will want an independent venue if you want a lot of customization. My travel agent reviewed the wedding contract with me and made sure our room blocks worked for the wedding credits since our wedding package is based on the total number of nights our guests stay. It has taken so much stress off of me! I spent hours on trip advisor and social media looking at photos and reading review of weddings there. We didn't have time to make a site visit before making a decision but many resorts will offer weekends to view the wedding packages and then give you a discount on your wedding when you book so ask for that option if you have the time!

We set up a wedding website with all the details for booking through our travel agent and the dates of the trip and several FAQs. I just listed the website on the Save the Date and so far it has cut down a lot on questions and confusion. We are staying 7 nights and so far our guests are staying anywhere from 3 to 7 nights with us! We are meeting at one of the bars on Friday for happy hour, hosting a welcome dinner Saturday night, our wedding is Sunday night.. most guests are leaving Monday or Tuesday. You will want to ask how early you have to arrive at the resort before your wedding when planning the length of your stay. We have to be there 3 business days before the ceremony even though it is symbolic and not a legal ceremony! So that dictated our arrival date and can change your schedule/budget.

Sorry I rambled a bit but hope that helps some!

Emily and Brooke - I am in similar scenario as Alyssa and this was very helpful. Thank you for your comments. I didn't know if there is a "follow" button so I could follow/save this discussion, so I just wrote this comment and checked the notify me button. Is there a better way?

View Quoted Comment

Emily and Brooke - I am in similar scenario as Alyssa and this was very helpful. Thank you for your comments. I didn't know if there is a "follow" button so I could follow/save this discussion, so I just wrote this comment and checked the notify me button. Is there a better way?

We just had our wedding in Cabo in November. My best advice is to work with a travel agent. We started looking into resorts ourselves and just ended up more confused. We worked with Beach Bum Vacations Justin. He was so helpful. He helped narrow down the resort to ones that would fit our budget and guest list size. Then, he contacted resorts and got info and pricing for wedding packages and group room rates. Once we chose our resort, he put us in contact with the wedding coordinator there and she handled the rest of the wedding details. The travel agent then helped guests book their rooms and flights if they wanted. They do have a fees, but it is built into the room rates he gave us so there was no additional fees for guests. And I think everyone said the rates he got were still lower than any found online.
Make sure to think about your budget. Include your wedding expenses, flights, hotel stay, tips, resort fees, baggage fees, transportation between the resort and airport, etc. And think about what parts of the wedding are most important and where you would be willing to spend a little more or where you can cut costs if needed. For us, open bar and great photography was really important so we were willing to spend a little more there. But, we didn't add any extra decor. For us, the beach was our decor and we wanted to keep it simple. We also added a line in our budget for guests who may choose to stay at a different resort. Our resort charges $100 per guest attending the wedding who was not staying at that reaort. (All the resorts we looked at had this policy). We planned on 8 guests using their time shares. It turned out that no one chose to stay at another resort so we had a little extra left over.
I would also recommend a resort or venue with a wedding coordinator. Especially if you are not familiar with the area. It was so much easier than having to coordinate a bunch of different vendors.
We chose to use an all inclusive resort because we thought it would be easier for us and guests. That way, everyone knew exactly what it would cost before they arrived. If they didn't leave the resort, there wouldn't be any additional expenses.
We also chose a resort that included almost everything in their wedding package. It was just easier that way for us and we wanted to keep it simple. We only had to add our photographer and bring our clothes and favors. Doing it this way also helped us to be able to relax in the days before the wedding. When we arrived at the resort, we met with the coordinator and photographer to go over the details and do a meal tasting. Then we just had to show up for the rehearsal and the day of the wedding. The coordinator handled everything else and we were able to enjoy our time with friends and family instead of keeping up with all the little details.
Also, think about clothing for you and your SO. What will you be wearing and how will you get it to Mexico? We found that it was cheaper and easier to ask the guys to buy nice pants and a shirt instead of renting. How will you get your dress there? I was able to fit my dress into a carry on suitcase because it wasn't big and poofy. Big and poofy is great and lots of people have travels with their dresses, so it will work out. Just make sure you plan for it ahead of time.

View Quoted Comment If i can ask..what resort did you choose? We’re looking at Cabo also!

We have some ultimate planning guides from the experts, including How to Plan a Destination Wedding and How Much Does a Destination Wedding Cost?. From selecting a location, to researching local marriage requirements, to the unique planning timeline, and advice on how you can be accommodating to your guests, those guides will walk you through some of the unique points of destination planning.

You can do even more reading here:

Is a Destination Wedding a Good Idea?

Who Pays for Guests at a Destination Wedding?

How to Plan a Destination Wedding on a Budget

10 Destination Wedding Etiquette Tips You Need To Know