Planning my own Destination Wedding ~ Travel Jargon

Being a travel agent and recommending Destination Weddings to brides 40 hours a week when I got married it only made sense that I plan my own, right?

There's a lot to consider when planning a Destination Wedding. What is important to one couple might not matter at all to another couple.

The most important thing to Chris and I was that all of our friends and family could attend.

This ruled out obscure places in the Caribbean.....Hawaii....Tahiti.....because they would be cost prohibitive for many.

I grew up on the West Coast and dont mind the chilly waters of the Pacific. Compared to the Oregon Coast, anything is bearable! After seeing an article about Puerto Vallarta in a magazine titled "Destination Weddings & Honeymoons" it sealed the deal. An employee from Louis Vuitton chose Dreams Puerto Vallarta Resort and Spa for her Destination Wedding and her sunset pictures were gorgeous. I thought, "If it's good enough for her, then it's good enough for me"! All the media travel warnings for Mexico might be a turn off to some of my family but I knew my friends would be game.

We chose the date of 12/11/10....we liked the number thing and it was available....in prime whale season at that! After researching the decor options at the resort (which I didn't even think about when I booked the wedding - good one Lia) we opted to hire a local design company called "Chic Concepts" to handle the wedding. http://www.chicconcepts.com.mx/

My requirements? I wanted the light up dance floor on the beach and Mexican Stars. I had seen these Mexican Stars (or this is what I call them, not sure on their technical name) when I had been in Puerto Vallarta a few years before and hanging in the tree on the patio at The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas and I couldn't get them out of my head!

I'm not sure how many details people will be interested in. We booked the air/resort packages through Continental Vacations. They had great prices, low deposits and they throw in the airport transportation. I didn't ask for a travel agent "deal", I just went as a regular bride and wanted to see how that all worked out.

Everyone seemed to love the Dreams Resort. Perks of Dreams (which is part of AM Resorts) is the no wrist bracelet policy, no reservations in their ala carte restaurants, service is good and the food is pretty good (for an all inclusive). Everyone who knows me knows I'm pretty picky when it comes to food. I like to plan vacations around food and where I can try new things. The food at Dreams is not as good as their sister Adults only resort "Secrets" but esp if you dont have anything to compare it to, it's pretty darn good.

Chris and I stayed a week at the resort. I wish we would have stayed longer after the wedding. With such a big group coming to the wedding we didn't get much of a "honeymoon" so we booked a week in Punta Cana for April (I guess that's not too bad, right?).

Perks of a Destination Wedding:

No Stress! (well minimal stress)

Amazing memories

Great pictures

Bummers of a Destination Wedding:

You don't get to freeze that top cake layer (Do people really like eating it a year later anyway?)

You can't take your bouquet home with you to dry

Not ALL of your family/friends will be able to attend

Things available at home (like I wanted ranunculus flowers) might not be available in a foreign country (unless you are like Oprah or something)

All in all it was a great trip. Everyone was pleasantly surprised on how safe they felt in Mexico, the value of the all inclusive and the weather!! It was about 78 degrees the whole time. (I totally recommend going to PV in December. The whales where jumping out of the water behind us!)

Are there things I would do different if I got to do it all over again? Sure! But that's the great thing about having a travel agent who's done this before. I have lots of advice I can pass on :)