How to Plan a Mexican Resort Wedding

Plan Your Mexican Wedding

Growing up, I didn’t have my wedding planned in detail. I had no idea what type of dress I wanted; to me the flowers or colours didn’t matter.  But one thing was so clear in my mind – to be married barefoot in the sand on a beach. I hadn’t begun to consider How to Plan a Mexican Resort Wedding at this point.

However, once my to be husband proposed, we began to looking at venues. At first, we first thought of the beaches in Oregon would be  great as we both hold these close to our hearts. However, it didn’t quite fit.

Then I remembered the trip my family took to Mexico when I was a child, and I started wondering if that was the answer.

To start with I looked at many different resorts. The first thing I noticed was the cost. All inclusive weddings at the resorts in Mexico were significantly cheaper than just a venue rental in the US.

That was a huge selling point! So with that and the beach in mind, we began our planning for a destination wedding. 

So based on my experience here’s my ideas on how to plan a Mexican resort wedding to help you create a day you’ll treasure forever stress free.  

Why Get Married at Bahia Principe Mexico

We ended up choosing Bahia Principe for a few reasons. First of all,  it was familiar as this was the exact resort we stayed at when I was a child!  Maybe that made me biased but it also meant we knew the quality from experience, granted it was 15 years apart.

Secondly, there were 3 different priced resorts all on the same property. We recognized that our guests had to travel to our destination wedding, and we wanted to provide as many cost saving options as possible.

The Resort Did The Hard Work

Once we selected our resort, came the fun part – planning. I know for many couples, planning is the most stressful. This is one of the biggest reasons I suggest  a destination wedding: our planning wasn’t stressful at all.

Once we got in contact with the wedding team, we secured a date and discussed details. They had a list of restaurants to choose from, flower arrangements to select and  ceremony locations to pick. 

All I had to do was pick my options. They took care of the rest! We booked about a year out. After selecting our various options, we just needed to wait until the big day.

How To Decide if a Mexican Wedding Is For You?

Now if you are set on picking every single detail down to ribbons, this may not be for you. First off, the base package for wedding size is 30 guests so if you are expecting a large wedding, you would need to consider that early on.   30 people was a perfect size for us –  our close family and friends felt just right. 

Honestly, we weren’t offered many items to customize. We got a set list of options to choose from. Then we picked one of 3 themes, with colour palettes and decorations already chosen. There were only a few options for cake, although admittedly this was an easy choice because tres leches was what we would have asked for anyway.

I helped my siblings plan their weddings so knew the level of detail I could get somewhere else if I wanted. But I was more than happy to sit back and let someone else do all the work. I honestly didn’t mind any of the choices. I instead leaned into the fact that this was a wedding in Mexico. For me, reflecting this in the details like the flowers and cake, and even my dress was great!

Fast Forward to The Big Day

When we arrived, everything was taken care of.  We toured the resort, our ceremony and reception locations (we ended up at a backup reception location due to a little rain).

They booked last-minute reservations  for a hen nights and boys’ night. They even organized our impromptu rehearsal dinner. Thoughtful details like table decorating for the girl’s dinner, was a wonderful surprise. We spent the rest of the time before the wedding relaxing with our guests, enjoying the pool and beach!

On the day of the wedding, I got ready in my parents’ room. Staff sent delicious pastries and fresh fruit up to the room for us to enjoy in the morning. I did my own hair and make-up however they did offer those services for a charge if I had wanted.

Once the photographer arrived, we did some “getting ready” shots and had some sweet moments captured with my family and bridesmaids.

Our Big Day

 We then got on a resort tram to our ceremony spot – a gorgeous trellis which overlooked the ocean. It had a secluded entrance through a lush canopy of green foliage; it was absolutely magical.

It started to sprinkle a few drops of rain but honestly, we didn’t mind at all.

After the ceremony, we took some more photos while our guest enjoyed a cocktail hour. Following that,  we went back to our rooms to freshen up before dinner. We were greeted by a mariachi band and handed a signature cocktail as we entered a private area of their Brazilian steakhouse style restaurant. 

After dinner and cake (which was our delicious tres leches), we headed to the next location for dancing and drinks. Again, this ended up being a back up location as our original spot next to a pool deck was rained out. We spent time dancing and enjoying everyone’s company before calling it a night.

What was Included in the Package

Some things included in our package (they had a few different options, we picked the one with the most included)

• Planning services for the wedding.
• The ceremony location and set up.
• The cocktail hour.
• The mariachi band.
• The dinner location (Technically the meals came out of each persons meal allowance but I don’t think anyone minded)
• The reception location.
• The flowers, including the bouquet.
• Decorations.
• The cake.

• All the drinks were included, it was an open bar everywhere due to it being an all-inclusive resort.
• A couples massage.
• Mani and pedi for the bride.
• 20 photos, ceremony only.
  • We paid for a few more and to have them take the “getting ready” photos as well
• A special breakfast the next day.
• Some special gifts like a bottle of tequila and desserts delivered to our room.

Don’t forget to check back on our other ideas to enjoy Mexico with 9 Amazing Things to Do during a trip whether you’re attending a fabulous wedding or just enjoying this amazing country.