MX wedding suggestions

[buceo]

My niece is looking to get married in MX. She is asking me and I am short on experience (Sian Ka'an to Rio Lagartos and between). Any suggestions for what city (any coast), venue, wedding planners etc, greatly appreciated. Most folks probably from CO and west, a few from the eastern US. Easy access, good for a group and things to do. Thank you.

 

[Ty1on]

My niece is looking to get married in MX. She is asking me and I am short on experience (Sian Ka'an to Rio Lagartos and between). Any suggestions for what city (any coast), venue, wedding planners etc, greatly appreciated. Most folks probably from CO and west, a few from the eastern US. Easy access, good for a group and things to do. Thank you.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but that's like saying, "I want to have a wedding somewhere in the Eastern United States."

Virtually every major resort in Mexico offers wedding accomodations, and they run the gamut from free with a specified number of all-inclusive room nights, to tens of thousands of dollars for the event.

I would say that if most attendees would be West of the Rockies, Puerto Vallarta might prove the more economical destination as far as flights go. However, my research into all inclusives indicates that AI fees in Cancun seem typically lower than they are in PV. That is not to say that you cannot find ridiculously high AI fees in Cancun. Flight costs and resort costs might wash each other between the two.

I would suggest that she go on Trip Advisor and start looking at destinations and resorts, and create a standard email inquiring on wedding accomodations, giving details on expected attendance in both bodies and room nights, then pasting that email body into into emails to each resort she likes. You'll get some anecdotal stories from some who have experienced Mexican weddings on this board, but that will do much less for her than talking directly to as many resorts as she can.

 

[buceo]

Good advice, I will forward her the info. Yes an open question as to where for now. We go to Cancun/Playa, so personally I'd vote for PV, thanks.

 

[Passepartout]

Has this niece looked at the legal requirements for a Mexican Wedding? The only legal wedding that would be recognized in the US would be a Civil Ceremony, conducted by a Mexican Gov't official, in Spanish, then translated and presented to their county back in the US. There are charges for these things. Blood tests are also required.

Google is your friend here. Do some searches.

Finding a place to do a 'symbolic' wedding might be easier. Most resorts will have a wedding coordinator on staff.

As to 'where to do it', Mexico is a large and varied country. The principals here should decide what kinds of activities they want to have available to guests. Historical, water sports, golf, etc. The cost of getting the wedding party there should be a consideration too.

Good Luck with this. We researched destination weddings when DW and I tied the knot. There are hundreds of books on Amazon about it. We found that doing it in an English speaking country that has the same religious history as ours was a lot easier, so we settled on Scotland. We had both been divorced so that pretty much eliminated predominantly Catholic countries, and some wanted our previous marriage and divorce decrees translated into their own language then presented for approval before we could get hitched in their country (Greece).

A destination wedding is not something to be taken lightly, but can be immensely rewarding- well- like any wedding, I guess.

Jim

 

[flexible]

My niece is looking to get married in MX. She is asking me and I am short on experience (Sian Ka'an to Rio Lagartos and between). Any suggestions for what city (any coast), venue, wedding planners etc, greatly appreciated. Most folks probably from CO and west, a few from the eastern US. Easy access, good for a group and things to do. Thank you.

Googling "Destination Wedding, Mexico" will bring up many websites including ones with forums listing resorts where brides can ask questions and the resort's wedding planners or other brides answer. Many have photos posted for the weddings, venue etc. Lots of discussion of prices & packages. Often the resort provides the bride & groom many amenities (free room for bride & groo, free wedding cake, possibly reduced price per person for wedding reception, etc) based on the number of guests that have reserved rooms & also type of rooms the guest reserve.

 

[geekette]

My niece is looking to get married in MX. She is asking me and I am short on experience (Sian Ka'an to Rio Lagartos and between). Any suggestions for what city (any coast), venue, wedding planners etc, greatly appreciated. Most folks probably from CO and west, a few from the eastern US. Easy access, good for a group and things to do. Thank you.

Another poster mentioned AI but I would attempt to escape that as it will amp up the costs for every traveller. Will folks still come for the wedding if it is not US (I have family that will not leave US for any reason and others that think MX is for being kidnapped)? What if they have to spend a week instead of 2 nights? can the guests afford this? If not, is she willing to pay their way, especially bridal party/parents (the Must Haves) or be ok with greatly shortened guest list? Destination weddings always sound good, for the happy couple, but often are too pricey and inconvenient for those that simply want to share the big day and then go home. After paying for flights and lodging and food to this international event, presumably the guests are also expected to buy a gift and this all adds up to exclude the less wealthy of their friends and family.

Has she considered a cruise instead? Tons easier. Just plan for the wedding to be on the ship vs a port since ports can be missed.

I personally am not a fan of planning someone else's major life event, she should be doing this herself or hire a wedding planner to do it for her. I am not one to risk ire of a bride and would dodge this project quickly and put it back onto her.

"Mexico is huge, there isn't much assistance I can give you"

I can't imagine wanting to take on the extra load of international/travel details vs just booking their church and local hotel ballroom. I wouldn't want to get married somewhere I'd never been and most likely she won't see it until the day arrives. I wouldn't like that, hopefully she is game for it.

If it were my niece, I'd try to talk her out of it. I'd lead with "do you really want all these people around on your honeymoon?"

 

[Karen G]

Our daughter and son-in-law had a beautiful wedding on the beach in Cabo about eight years ago. As Jim mentioned above, there are a lot of hoops to jump through according to Mexican law. Since we live near Las Vegas, they did a really sweet drive through wedding chapel marriage before we went to cabo.

We used a local Cabo wedding planner that I found by googling. The wedding itself was on Pedregal Beach and the wedding planner took care of all the details. She arranged for transportation to pick us up at the hotel and take us to the wedding site. There was a beautiful flower arch on the sand and a delightful trio of musicians. The service was performed by a retired Christian pastor who lives in Cabo and the couple wrote their own vows. We were all transported to a nice restaurant on the beach for a dinner afterward.

Only our immediate families attended the wedding, but a week after we returned home we had a nice reception for all their friends. The wedding planner had provided an outstanding photographer and videographer. We were able to show a great music video they had made at the reception so that all the guests could see parts of the ceremony.

It was a great experience for all of us and was a lot cheaper than what we could've done having the wedding locally.

 

[buceo]

Hi, thanks all so much for all the great info. Cabo would be very cool, thanks. They will be legally married in Denver and then do the ceremony in MX. I think she is leaning toward an AI resort, so sort of like a cruise. I have never done AI before either. Might be a new experience for me or she might pick Cancun while we are there anyway, that would be fine too. She is doing her research as far as I can tell. Funds will limit her choices, unless her Uncle Glenn pries open his wallet-not .

 

[jlp879]

This is a small boutique hotel in Puerto Vallarta. They specialize in destination weddings: http://www.playafiesta.com

If you look at them on Trip Advisor, they are the 2nd highest rated hotel in PVR. They look amazing. To me, this would be the kind of place I would want to vacation at and have an intimate family gathering. Best of both worlds!

 

[buceo]

Thank you for that link Janice.

 

[cubigbird]

Hi, thanks all so much for all the great info. Cabo would be very cool, thanks. They will be legally married in Denver and then do the ceremony in MX. I think she is leaning toward an AI resort, so sort of like a cruise. I have never done AI before either. Might be a new experience for me or she might pick Cancun while we are there anyway, that would be fine too. She is doing her research as far as I can tell. Funds will limit her choices, unless her Uncle Glenn pries open his wallet-not .

It is easy to get to Mexico non-stop from Denver. You can fly non-stop on United, Frontier and Southwest to places like Cabo, PV, Ixtapa, Acapulco and Cancun. It may save you some money on flights.

 

[Al D]

If Cancun interests you, the Royal Resorts do an awesome beach wedding. I just did it last month and could not have been more pleased. Dinner on the beach was Steak and lobster. We had 5 attendants for 1 table. Dulce was the person that put it together and I would recommend it to anyone.

 

[buceo]

If Cancun interests you, the Royal Resorts do an awesome beach wedding. I just did it last month and could not have been more pleased. Dinner on the beach was Steak and lobster. We had 5 attendants for 1 table. Dulce was the person that put it together and I would recommend it to anyone.

Thanks, I am sure interested, as we own at and love the Sands and Haciendas. Which resort did you have yours at? I did forward the Royal's wedding planning web site to my niece. Thanks again.

 

[Al D]

We were at the Royal Caribbean. We thought it would be kind of low profile since there were only a total of 4 people. By the time we were ready to start, there were 50 or more spectators watching from the decks. When I kissed the bride there was a huge cheer and clapping from everyone around including people in the water. People were congratulating us all week.The communication, service follow through was way over the top. I can not say enough good things about the service.

 

[flexible]

Googling "Destination Wedding, Mexico" will bring up many websites including ones with forums

http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/ has some great information with listings of many resorts in Mexico.

 

[buceo]

Looks like she picked the Riu in Cabo. Great for us we've not been. No date yet that I know of, but looked way off and saw some $450 RTs out of Baltimore.

 

[Karen G]

Looks like she picked the Riu in Cabo. Great for us we've not been. No date yet that I know of, but looked way off and saw some $450 RTs out of Baltimore.

Sounds like a fun time for everyone.

 

[buceo]

Our daughter... The wedding itself was on Pedregal Beach... The service was performed by a retired Christian pastor who lives in Cabo...

It is still early, but I'd be curious and will forward, what resort did you stay at and if you still had the pastor's contact I would forward that too. I assume the Riu is putting together a package for them (an assumption). They could still change their minds I am sure. Any fun to do list items for a wedding party in Cabo also much appreciated. I could wait until it looks more certain, but why wait when it comes to vacation planning. Thanks everyone for the input.

 

[Karen G]

It is still early, but I'd be curious and will forward, what resort did you stay at and if you still had the pastor's contact I would forward that too.

We used this wedding planner and she knew the pastor and made all the arrangements. I'm sorry I don't even have his name. It was about eight years ago.

We stayed at Pueblo Bonito Rose as we own a timeshare there. The wedding dinner was held on the beach out in front of Baja Cantina. The ceremony itself was held on the beach in front of Pedregal over on the Pacific side in front of some really cool rock formations.

As far as activities for the wedding party, there are lots of things to do in Cabo such as golf, fishing, water sports, etc.

 

[buceo]

Great, thank you Karen. As we much prefer timeshares to hotels we could well try for a unit at Pueblo Bonita once they book, it's less than a mile from the RIU. Are any of those resorts to the east toward the Riu timeshares are is PBR the closest ? Is there a public bus that runs or would we take a cab ? Looking forward to it already, whenever it is.

 

[Karen G]

Great, thank you Karen. As we much prefer timeshares to hotels we could well try for a unit at Pueblo Bonita once they book, it's less than a mile from the RIU. Are any of those resorts to the east toward the Riu timeshares are is PBR the closest ? Is there a public bus that runs or would we take a cab ? Looking forward to it already, whenever it is.

Both the Pueblo Bonito Rose and Pueblo Bonito Los Cabos(often referred to as the Blanco because it's white) (next to each other on Medano Beach) would be good locations for you. Further up the beach toward Riu would be Villa del Palmar and Villa del Arco. I think a taxi would be your best option for going to the Riu. It would be a bit of a walk to the main highway to catch the bus and more of a hassle, I think, than just getting a taxi from the resort. I would imagine the taxi fare would be about the same from any of the resorts I mentioned.