Where did you have your destination wedding?

Stephgoldjohn

Hi,

I am newly engaged and just started looking into destination wedding planning. I am thinking Rivera Maya, Mexico in May 2015. I am set on having a DW, our guests will be all adults and able to afford the trip. I just need some advice from those who have done in or are even in the process of planning like me. Did your resort really make your dream come true or just fell short? Any tips/input appreciated!

Julyet06

Congratulations!! DWs are so special and my venue gave me more than I imagined!  Everything was beautiful, and I chose the barest minimum of "add ons" available for budgetary purposes.

I was a Sandals Negril bride, Jamaica.  Went with their beautiful beginnings wedding package (includes a very simple center piece and cake) and had a couple of add on such as a sand ceremony during the wedding, torches as decor during the reception, a live steel drum band for after the reception including a bonfire and marshmallow's for roasting.

It was the PERFECT day...did I forget to mention that it was POURING rain the whole day.  From about 2 hours before my ceremony was to begin (my sunset ceremony on the beach) and didn't stop raining until about a quarter of the way through my reception (thankfully we got to enjoy the bonfire and band under the stars on the beach).

Despite that, the back up plan Sandals organized for us still led to the perfect ceremony/reception/day.  As long as you are comfortable with what your resort offers and they are responsive to your emails/phone calls, I don't think you have to worry.  You are going to have a fantastic wedding day/honeymoon!

saric83

We got married in Cancun and have absolutely no regrets!  The resort was amazing, and everything lived up to our expectations.

The biggest advice I could give is that know yourself before you decide to have a DW!  You HAVE to be okay with not every detail being in your control, and you truly need to be okay with the idea that people aren't going to be able to or want to attend.  It's a lot to ask of anyone, and sometimes it's just not do-able even if you think they have the funds.  So if you can get over both of those things, it's amazing! 

meganjunefinks

We just got pictures back from our wedding in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on October 19. It was absolutely the best week of our lives.
We had 46 guests with us, so it was a pretty big group for destination. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions.
I'll put the link to our photographer's blog (Kelly Ginn Photography- HIGHLY recommended, and they love to travel!!!!)

http://www.kellyginnphotography.com/megancody-a-punta-cana-dominican-republic-wedding/

emol23

We are having our vow renewal 3rd ceremony on the beach where we met 5 years ago, Montezuma Costa Rica, it is secluded, off beaten path, romantic and rustic. Huge rocks on the ocean, lush forest surronding, cheap, fun, and gorgeous. We are having a pool party bbq in the afternoon, where we will give away prizes with raffle tickets like tours and souvineers to guests. Eat and drink and pool fun, then at 5 pm we meet on the beach, my hubby wants all the girls to ride in on horses with me down the beach for the ceremony. We then will take pics, pop some wine or bubbles and walk to a resto on the beach where I got them to negotiate a price for dinner, I gave guest an option of 2 choices and its 15 a person and we can bring our own wine. Then after dinner is a beach bonfire for smores and wine then dancing at the only local bar in town where we met and all the madness began 5 years prior. Can't wait! Dyow saves money and makes it more personal.

Bahamas0515

Hi!!

Stephgoldjohn, i am also getting married in May 2015.  We are going to the Bahamas.  

i LOVE LOVE LOVE the Riviera Maya area!  i have not stayed in an All Inclusive there but i have spent some time in Playa del Carmen and Tulum.

Are you thinking of going with an all inclusive resort?  This is a question we have been asking ourselves.  

How many people are you inviting?  We are thinking 20-30.  

Have you sent an RFP yet to any resorts?  

Ok, enough questions for you for now, i look forward to sharing progress with you and............

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Stephgoldjohn

Okay thanks soo soo much to everyone for responding ! Emol23.. That sounds so amazing. Costa Rica was also a though for us because it is so gorgeous and romantic. To answer Bahamas0515, yes we definitely want an all inclusive and will probably have 50 guests but will invite around 75. It seems like 20-30 is the perfect amount when it comes to destination weddings because when I was looking at reception/wedding packages they usually up-charge per person after about 25 guests. I have a huge family so 50 guests will just be our families and very close friends. I got pricing info from El Dorado Royale in Rivera Maya. It has good reviews and seems reasonably priced for guests. We are limited in choices because we need to have a catholic ceremony and not every resort can offer that. El Dorado seems to be my first choice so far but I am still looking. Congrads to you !!!

princessleia22

I am having my wedding on a cruise ship in June 2014, followed by 7-day cruise to Cozumel, Belize, and Mahagony Bay.  The wedding will be at port in New Orleans before leaving for cruise, so we can have some guests attend wedding without cruising, since there were a couple VIP's that either couldn't take that much time away or couldn't afford the expense.  Our family is spread out between west & east coast, so we figured New Orleans was a good location right in the middle and it's still a great vacation spot for those not going on cruise. We liked the idea of the all-inclusive vacation, but the cruise allows us to see several destinations.  For several in our families, this will really end up being the trip of a lifetime for them.  We invited all of our guests to join on the cruise.  We invited about 75 people, knowing in advance (from conversations with them) that several of them absolutely couldn't come.  We were hoping for about 30-50 guests.  It looks like we will be right about 35 guests for wedding with 18 of them (mainly our parents & siblings) joining us on the cruise. And we figure that a cruise ship is large enough that we can get our privacy when needed (we made sure our cabin is nowhere near anyone else) but we can spend time with our families & friends when we want also.

Ausome13

Congrats!!! I'm in the midst of planning a wedding in the Spring of 2015 as well!! I'm currently thinking El Dorado Seaside Suites! Airfare to the area is so much cheaper than anywhere else in the Caribbean than I found. The beaches look awesome and the wedding packages look nice. The resort looks much nicer than many of them in the price range so huge plus on affordability.

Fairyjen1

   Right now we are leaning heavily toward having our wedding at Disneyland. Their packages are about the same as having it here. My fiance's family live in another state and Disneyland is a whole lot more appealing to them as a destination instead of the town where we live. (unhappiest city in the US according to Forbes) and the majority of my friends and family are Disney freaks and go all the time anyway. 

TaRisha2012

Hello!

We are getting married October 25, 2014 at Generations in Rivera Maya, Mexico! However, we are staying at El Dorado. We are still in the planning stage as well. So far we have paid to hold our date and time (5pm), We are taking our save the date photo's tomorrow 12/7/13 with our travel agent information (I found him on here and we are VERY pleased so far) and hope to get them out by the first of the year but no later than the second week of January and we are in the process of picking our wedding package.  

WedinVolterra

Our DW was in Tuscany -- it was definitely a dream come true!

pbi9994

@wedinVolterra - we are getting married in Tuscany, too! Any words of wisdom? Most of our planning is done… but did you tip any vendors? Are there any can't-miss customs?

WedinVolterra

icecreamcono said:

@wedinVolterra - we are getting married in Tuscany, too! Any words of wisdom? Most of our planning is done… but did you tip any vendors? Are there any can't-miss customs?

How exciting!!  Where in Tuscany?
It was so long ago, I can't think of any can't-miss customs.   I honestly don't recall if we tipped vendors either -- we had a wedding planner, Annie Adair of Tuscan Tours, and she handled most of those issues.  It was an amazing week we'll never forget - our guests still mention how much fun they had almost every time we see one of them -- I know your guests will have an amazing time too!  It's just such a magical and beautiful location, no matter what goes wrong it can't be too bad because you are still in Tuscany!!

Ausome13

@saric83 what resort?

Ausome13

@Tarisha2012 Can I ask why you opted to do the wedding somewhere other than El Dorado? It's a consideration on my list. 

saric83

Ausome13 said:

@saric83 what resort?

Beach Palace....loved it! 

Emme121

Hi I am getting married at sandals negril this April and wondered if you had any pictures you are willing to share? Also what did you do for photography, this seems to be the biggest thing I am stuck on right now... thanks for the info

Emme121

Julyet06 said:

Congratulations!! DWs are so special and my venue gave me more than I imagined!  Everything was beautiful, and I chose the barest minimum of "add ons" available for budgetary purposes.

I was a Sandals Negril bride, Jamaica.  Went with their beautiful beginnings wedding package (includes a very simple center piece and cake) and had a couple of add on such as a sand ceremony during the wedding, torches as decor during the reception, a live steel drum band for after the reception including a bonfire and marshmallow's for roasting.

It was the PERFECT day...did I forget to mention that it was POURING rain the whole day.  From about 2 hours before my ceremony was to begin (my sunset ceremony on the beach) and didn't stop raining until about a quarter of the way through my reception (thankfully we got to enjoy the bonfire and band under the stars on the beach).

Despite that, the back up plan Sandals organized for us still led to the perfect ceremony/reception/day.  As long as you are comfortable with what your resort offers and they are responsive to your emails/phone calls, I don't think you have to worry.  You are going to have a fantastic wedding day/honeymoon!

Hi I am getting married at sandals negril this April and wondered if you had any pictures you are willing to share? Also what did you do for photography, this seems to be the biggest thing I am stuck on right now... thanks for the info

Bonobo528

@stephgoldjohn - We are currently planning for a destination wedding at Moon Palace Resort in Cancun. I work with several people who travel to Mexico every year and one has said that the Moon Palace (and all other Palace Resorts) is their favorite to go to. She said the pool area is gigantic (you can see this in the pictures on the resort website) and that she never had to fight for sun chairs. The other thing about Moon Palace is that its located on the outskirts of Cancun away from the hustle and bussel but close enough to enjoy downtown Cancun. 

The wedding packages are pretty nice I think - better then some I've seen. They have a lot of promos too, so wherever you choose, make sure to check out any incentives the resort offers. We will be taking advantage of the complimentary package. You can do add on's each package as well. What has helped us in our decision of Moon Palace is lots of research and googling reviews.

I wish you the best in your search for the perfect DW location!

Carters0908

I am getting married at Riu Tropical bay palace in negril June 7th,2014 on the beach our ceremony is set for 2pm but receptions starts at 6 so im dealing with a 4-hour gap

ROBINRENE5

I got married in the Bahamas.  It was awesome!  H and I loved the DW route!  We had 23 guests - and that number seemed perfect!  We stayed at an All-Inclusive Resort, which was great since we could just grab food or a drink whenever we wanted.  We stayed at a Riu that had a 24-hour bar which was nice for friends who like to stay up late.  We looked into Mexico, but it seemed like quite a bit of requirements to get legally married there - and the whole blood work thing scared me off!  Bahamas was pretty simple to get married there... which was a factor in our decision!  Happy planning!