How to plan a wedding

A destination wedding is one held in a location away from your hometown. This can be in the US, Canada or elsewhere in the world, however, in our case, we help plan destination weddings in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

The correct answer is, WHY NOT?!

Destination weddings are the ideal occasion to gather family and friends in paradise. It offers a common ground where everyone feels welcomed and cared for. Plus, all-inclusive resorts provide everyone with unlimited drinks, food, and entertainment.

Still not sure? Here are 10 great reasons to have a destination wedding.

Well, that is a loaded question! The best answer is certainly not the most popular: It depends! There are two main costs to consider. First, there is the wedding package price.

This is what the resort charges for the actual event. This will vary depending on whether you have just a simple ceremony, a cocktail hour, a private or semi-private reception, live music or a DJ, decor, or even a fire show! The second cost to consider is the one for your guests' accommodation.

Choosing according to your needs, budget, and guests' budget is key to finding the perfect wedding location for your dream ceremony and reception. That's where we come in, get in touch and we can help! There is also a lot of information on our blog, including this post about destination wedding cost.

With love of course! A little help does not hurt either. Family, friends, and professionals (just like us!) can help you plan and make this special day a spectacular one to remember. An experienced travel agent can help you find the perfect wedding location based on your dream vision and budget as well as take care of the guests' travel and reservations.

Once your ideal wedding venue is picked, the resort planners will work with you to plan out all the details for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. Together we are here to also help you find the best local professionals for hair and make-up, photos, decor, music, etc.

You can also start by reading our complete guide to destination weddings which will get you started with how to plan a destination wedding and then reach out to our team with any questions 🙂

The earlier the better to make sure your favorite wedding venue is available for your chosen date. This also ensures that your guests have time to figure out their budget for the trip. 12-15 months is a very good window to get started and to save your date for a Destination Wedding. 

You can find a destination wedding timeline here.

Yes, if you are in an all-inclusive hotel, the food and drinks are included. What is not included is a private event. In the case of a wedding, if you want a private cocktail hour or private reception, the hotel needs to set up the area, arrange for extra staff and provide the special menus offered in the case of a private event.

This is the reason why you need to pay for a private reception or cocktail hour, despite being in an all-inclusive hotel. 

Why us

Hola Weddings is a destination wedding travel agency based in the Riviera Maya with over 100 years of combined experience in travel, weddings, and the tourism industry.

Our team of travel experts is dedicated to helping you plan the perfect destination wedding and help you make your wedding vision a reality.

Find out why Hola Weddings is your favorite destination wedding travel agent in our blog!

Training and expertise. We are based in Mexico, travel regularly to the hotels that we sell. We speak English and Spanish (at least), have local contacts, and we only offer only hotels and areas we can say we are experts in.

We have local vendors that can help you find better prices for extra services like flowers, decor etc.

Plus, we are happy to offer you honest feedback on the hotels we sell, access to real photos and videos in our YouTube Chanel of the resorts and wedding venues that we have taken ourselves (no photoshop), and try our very best to match your expectations, budget and guests budget to the best hotel for your big day.

We are passionate and dedicated to making your destination wedding easy and for it to be everything YOU want it to be. We know that this is an extremely special moment in your life and want to help you make it stress-free and memorable. We are available, accessible, honest and love to help our couples.

Plus, we offer destination wedding promotions for various hotels, and exclusive perks 🙂

Our team can assist you in several ways so that your wedding planning experience goes smoothly and you could truly find joy in making all the arrangements for your big day. Here's what we can do:

  • Help you select the perfect destination and venue for your wedding,
  • Tour the properties of your choice with you to experience firsthand the venues and services each hotel offers for your wedding,
  • Negotiate hotel rates and get you the best available offers and concessions for your group,
  • Create a personalized wedding website where your wedding guests will be able to make reservations,
  • Manage the reservations of your group, take payments and solve their questions and inquiries,
  • Arrange transportation for your wedding guests with a preferred company at a discounted rate,
  • Provide discounted rates for group tours and excursions,
  • And more!
Get in touch with our team to find out all the ways we can assist you on the path to saying ''I DO''.

Booking & Payment

Well, yes! We offer many services completely free of charge.

We will help you find the right hotel or venue for your wedding, negotiate group rates, help you and your guests book your rooms and transportation as well as build you a custom wedding website. We don't charge you any additional fees other than what you will pay to the hotel for your group. We do make commissions from our bookings, as any other agency would, but everything listed above is complimentary (and done with love).

If you want someone from our team to assist you on your wedding day, need extra assistance with the wedding planning process (when to start planning, how to start planning, flowers, decor etc), you can hire our wedding coordinators and their expertise by the hour or package.

 

In order to sign a wedding contract with a resort, you must include a room block. A room block is a set of hotel rooms that are specifically assigned and held for your wedding group.

How many rooms you need will depend on the number of guests you are expecting to attend your wedding. The category of the rooms you select will reflect the rates per night your guests will have to pay.

Creating a room block will ensure there are enough rooms available for your wedding guests. In general, the more room nights you book will get you more comps, perks, and benefits.

It may sound complicated, but we will make it easier for you. That’s our job!    🙂

Usually, we create a payment link where you and your guests will add the credit card information.

There are some cases where you will need to sign a UCC Form to complete your payment.

In either case, we have limited access to your payment details and you can be sure we will never store your credit card information.

That would be incredibly unfortunate and will make us very sad, but sometimes things get in the way of our plans.

Canceling the wedding at any moment will result in losing your initial deposit. Canceling a few months prior to the wedding date may result in more penalties and fees.

We'll create a personalized website for your wedding with the details and rates for the rooms you select in your room block.

Your guests will visit this website and then select the room category and number of nights they want and send a request.

Then they will receive a link or a UCC Form to pay for the room.

They can also call our office and we'll be happy to provide the availability and rates for your group.