PhotoBride

I just came back from Vieques - it was fabulous and now my fiance and I are considering having our wedding there. We stayed at the Inn on the Blue Horizon which is extremely peaceful and beautiful - and has great space for weddings. I recommend checking it out. Â My FI and I are also wedding photographers so we're picky about finding a place that is visually stunning - and also offers great activities for our guests. Vieques fit the bill, though will will probably do an additional photo session in Old San Juan too. Â Only problem is the Inn on the Blue is too small to fit our entire group so we'll have to split between 2 or 3 hotels. Bummer.

We hope to get married at Milamores. I agree with you that it is too expensive, but Malisa is negotiating on our behalf to get the rates down. Fingers crossed! Also check out Blue Tulum - it's a resort (I am not a fan of resorts) BUT it's pretty small and quaint - not bad as resorts go. Malisa was able to negotiate a really good rate for our guests there so it's the back-up location for us. We also liked Ocho, some of the villas at Soliman Bay, and La Zebra. Zamas is also a great place but maybe a little more rustic than we'd like. How many days will you be there? Our first trip, we just stopped by some places and narrowed down choices. On a second trip, we actually slept at our top picks. To cut down on costs, I would try to narrow down in advance and then sleep at your top picks right on the first visit. Make sure you leave time to relax and enjoy the beach and some good food. Eat at Zamas, Teetotum, Cetli, and dance at La Zebra Sunday night. :-) I also looked at Ana y Jose but it seemed a bit like a wedding factory so we didn't bother. 65 is a lot for a destination wedding - but if we had it locally, it would be more like 250! So it's our way of keeping the guest list manageable. Have you found your dress yet? I recommend Jin Wang in SF too. She's lovely to work with. I found my dress there. Feel free to ask any other questions!

Hi Chill Bride! I see you are from SF - I'm in Maryland now but originally from the Bay Area and all my family is still there. I am NOT interested in a cookie-cutter wedding, but rather something more unique, private, and charming. Sounds like you are of the same mind? If so, I highly recommend contacting Malisa ([email protected]) about helping you plan. She met us in Tulum in November to scout out locations, caterers, forists, hair stylists, musicians, etc. Her negotiating skills are tremendous and she is a wealth of information about the area. The venue depends on what you are looking for and how many guests you have. Malisa helped us narrow down to a few choices based on our needs and then she arranged a special rate to spend a night or two at each of the venues, which I recommend doing. When is your wedding? Ours is Nov. and we will have around 65 guests. Happy Planning! Kristiaan

Too funny, we just got back from Mexico yesterday and we scouted Tulum Monday. Where did you look? We saw: MilAmores, La Zebra, Cesiak, Solomon Bay, Zamas, and Azul Tulum. We took photos (we're professional photographers) and we're happy to share info. Perhaps I should start a link for info on Tulum venues. We LOVED Milamores EXCEPT that there's no airconditioning. We have a pretty big group - 100 guests so our options are slimmer. How about you, how many people will you have? We also checked out a couple of places in Playa Del Carmen. Nice hotels, but not really ideal for an intimate wedding.

Thanks for sharing all your beautiful details (and beautiful love story!)

I just want to say that you are an AMAZING woman! Congratulations and best wishes for a very long and wonderful life with your handsome husband and beautiful children. Thanks so much for sharing your brilliant and thoughtful ideas. I can't wait to see your pro photos!

Moe, those passport books are the cutest thing ever!!! Where did you find them for only $1 and how did you get the printing inside?? Thanks! Kristiaan

Hello all! Thank you for sharing all of this wonderful information! It's hard enough to plan a wedding generally, but when it's out of the country it's even more daunting. My name is Kristiaan Lewis and my fiancee is Lionel Madiou. We're planning to get married in November of 2010 in Tulum Mexico. We are going on a scouting trip in 2 weeks so I will be trying to gather as much information as possible. We need a planner and a venue if anyone has suggestions. Though we'll have about 100 people, I'd like to steer away from the larger resorts. I want something quaint with a lot of Mexican charm and where maybe we can take over the whole hotel or two adjacent hotels. Any thoughts?! Thanks again!!