Newbie here! Need help deciding on a wedding location in Mexico! need advice

Lili812 · February 10, 2012

Well, I am recently engaged (0bviously ) and I cannot decide on whether the Riviera Maya/Cancun side of Mexico or Puerto Vallarta side is better?!! Pricing is a factor so Im not sure exactly if one side is more expensive (as far as flight and accomodations). We would be coming from the San Francisco bayarea. Any advice or recommendations on preferably all-inclusive resorts great for beach weddings would be greatly appreciated~!

thanks ladies!

LiLi aka overwhelmed

HeatherK · February 10, 2012

LiLi you should look into Las Caletas (weddings are off the resort by Vallarta Adventures). We just booked our wedding there for Dec 29th, 2012. It looks absolutely amazing and is located near Puerto Vallarta. You can get the best of both worlds (staying in Puerto Vallarta at a great resort with a day off the resort for the wedding).

Just my two cents worth......there is a thread on here for Las Caletas brides with tons of info and reviews if you are interested at all.

heather

Originally Posted by Lili812

Well, I am recently engaged (0bviously ) and I cannot decide on whether the Riviera Maya/Cancun side of Mexico or Puerto Vallarta side is better?!! Pricing is a factor so Im not sure exactly if one side is more expensive (as far as flight and accomodations). We would be coming from the San Francisco bayarea. Any advice or recommendations on preferably all-inclusive resorts great for beach weddings would be greatly appreciated~!

thanks ladies!

LiLi aka overwhelmed

JessiTaylor · February 11, 2012

hahaha i hear you on the overwhelmed part. congrats on your engagement!

In puerto vallarta ive stayed in the palladium resort and spa before and i loved it, we had a blast .

Im looking into cancun or playa del carmen as my wedding destination as my fiance (hes mexican so i guess knows more about vacation spots than i do) is convinced that the beaches are much nicer there than in puerto vallarta (especially in playa del carmen).

The resort reviews really help when youre choosing a venue as do the threads with brides talking about the hotel theyve chosen. First i would say work out what your budget is, and is it an adults only wedding or will children be attending. Some resorts don't allow children on the property at all, and im assuming you probably want your guests to stay with you. If your guests want to stay somewhere else...they will have to buy a day pass for the hotel for the day of the wedding (nearly all the resorts say this) and some resorts charge much more money if there will be non-hotel guests attending. For example i looked into grand velas...and they said they would charge me 500 dollars for each non-hotel guest! so that option got struck off the list.

Another aspect you might want to think about - is whether the hotel allows outside vendors or not (and if so, do they charge a fee). If they arent allowed then you have no choice but to use the choices the hotel gives you for things like entertainment, flowers etc. Some people dont care, some do. Its not like the hotels selections are bad, but they can be more ex

What i did, is made a template of an email with all my information. Picked about 6 hotels that i loved and sent it out to get quotes, most replied very quickly. And did the same for non-hotel venues as i havent decided which kind i want yet haha

good luck!

Lili812 · February 11, 2012

Thank you Jessie and Heather! I appreciate your replys. I too agree that the beaches over on the caribbean side are probably much more nicer since the water is frankly, the caribbean. =). Still curious as to whether it probably is more pricier to fly there as opposed to the pacific side but nuthin a lil more investigating couldnt figure out.

JayKay · February 13, 2012

Welcome! Congrats on your engagement. I know from Canada its much more expensive to go to the Mayan Riviera and the carribean side, then going to the pacific side. However, I think its best for you to contact a travel agent and find out about pricing. They should be able to answer your question based on where your departure airport is. But I would think the pacific side would be cheaper for you as your flying from that side of the country.

Moments That Matter · February 13, 2012

Congratulations Lili and welcome to the forums! I would highly recommend the Mayan Riviera area mainly because of the white sand and blue waters that are here! They are absolutely amazing! Some might also say that you can't catch a beautiful sunset because we are on the wrong coast... but I disagree!!! :-)

Let me know if you have questions about any of the resorts in the area!

Linkn

Mayan Riviera Images

boscobel · February 16, 2012

Congrats and welcome! I can't say whether either side is "better" since I've never been to Mexico (must work on that!), but I've seen gorgeous weddings within both areas, so I'm guessing it depends on what resort you fall in love with! Maybe these links will help.

Cancun/Riviera Maya Wedding Forum | Cancun/Riviera Maya Wedding Resort Reviews

Puerto Vallarta Wedding Forum | Puerto Vallarta Wedding Resort Reviews

JasmineClark · February 17, 2012

Hello! Congratulations on your engagement!
I have been to both sides of Mexico in the last year. Last February, I travelled to the Mayan Riviera which was stunning. The beaches and water were picturesque. Last month, I travelled to Puerto Vallarta, which was also nice, but different. The mayan's beach and water is definitely nicer. The pacific side has rocky beaches and the water is dark, well like the pacific. There are definitely some areas that are "swimmable" but definitely not the same as the mayan. However, on another note, the puerto vallarta side seems to have more mexican culture and charm. The area seems to be more authentic mexico.

I live on the west coast in Canada, and I was told by my travel agent that Puerto Vallarta is cheaper for people from the west to go to, while the mayan is cheaper for east-coasters. I would assume that this would go for you too, but you know what they say about people who assume...

I hope that helps! Either way, both would be beautiful. I saw a wedding in PV that was so beautiful!!! Personally, I am choosing to stay to the Caribbean side!

Good luck with your planning!!!

tunaandocean · February 17, 2012

Hi Lili!

Congrats on your engagement! I am also recently engaged, but came up with a place for the ceremony almost on the second day.

The first website I checked was Tripadvisor.com. They recently released Travelers' Choice 2012, with different categories: best all inclusive; best beach; best hotels for romance, etc. (http://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice)

I checked each list so that I don't miss anything. Our families were deciding whether we should do adventurous environment to entertain the guests (i.e., Costa Rica, drinking with monkeys) or good looking environment for the best photos (i.e., Cancun/Punta Cana).

Well, you're already deciding between two places and so I suggest you to search the areas on tripadvisor, and see the hotels in the areas you're looking for. The website lists hotels in a rank based on the visitors' vote with photos, so I reviewed top 10s to 20s. I concentrated on reviewing how weddings were run by searching " [area/hotel name] wedding" which gave me the wedding reviews as well.

If you get some idea where you'd like to go, go to the travel websites (i.e., itravel2000.com, expedia.com, etc.) and search an approximate date close to your ceremony (or a random day) so that you have an idea how much all-inclusive package will be.

Like the price? go to the hotel's website --> check the wedding package, photos of weddings and the price with options.

Like the package? come back to BDW and search the reviews. Ladies on this website are very helpful and amazing.

You still like the reviews on BDW? google "[area or hotel's name] wedding photos" and check wedding photographers' portfolios in their blogs.

You like the photos? Call the hotel and check the availability (or you can check it on their website for some of them)

Available? Make a reservation, or put it on your list of possible hotels.

For us, my fiance liked Banyan Tree for its luxurious facility, but the price was out of reach for us, our families and friends at the moment, and therefore changed the hotel. We were struggling to decide between [a ceremony at a gazebo (at the Royal)] and [all of our guests get ocean-view room (at Playacar Palace]. So I suggest to go back to your priorities to choose a place if you ever struggling from deciding.

Hope this helps! Have fun planning.