Playa Del Carmen Wedding - 2016 And So Overwhelmed

[Stephieee]

I never thought planning a wedding would be so overwhelming.

 

I just contacted a travel agent through a list of specialized Royal Wedding Specialist ( We want the Royal Playa Del Carmen).

 

I am not sure if that was the right first step, or if I was supposed to reach out to someone from the hotel first. 

 

Are the prices online, pretty close to accurate - Im not sure how to figure all that out.

 

I know I need a photographer out there, so any recommendation would be great! I am also super interested in a videographer. 

 

I decided on a destination wedding because I thought it would be more affordable. Is 10k a realisitc amount for a wedding of 20-40 people? 

 

any advice, input etc would be great! 

 

[PalmTreeDreams]

Hey there! I was married at Now Jade last year. We spent about $15,000 for the two of us and our immediate family (with everything all together - flight, wedding package, dress, suit, decor, photographer, DJ, etc) and our guests paid their own way and rooms. I think you can contact either the hotel or a travel agent. I personally went straight to the hotel wedding coordinator to book, but my friend used a travel agent for her wedding. So, I don't think it matters. A travel agent might be easier to arrange flights and stuff too though. We did that part on our own.

First step, research your resorts and book. Next step find your photographer/videographer. Our photographer created our wedding day itinerary for us and gave us a lot of advice. It really took a lot of pressure off. We used Bohemia Photography, I was very happy them. I actually just got on here to review them, I didn't know this site was here for my wedding (which would've been nice)! Their website is www.bohemia-photography.com

Best of luck to you! And just remember, nothing is ever perfect, so just go with it! 

[acw271011]

Congrats and welcome to the site! This is a great place for information that will help you on your planning adventure! I'm going to suggest that finding a travel agent is your first best step. They will become your buddy through the planning process and will help take a lot of the stress off you, as well as being the contact for your guests. If you're in the US, Wright Travel is affiliated with this site and they are destination wedding experts!! There is no charge for them to work with you. If you're still trying to decide on the where and when, definitely talk to a TA and they will help you sort out your must haves and help you work out a destination.

 

Once you have the where, go through the forums here and get to know the other brides that are using the same resort. As well there are the vendor reviews that will give you some ideas. There are a ton of photographer reviews as well that will help you sort through and find a photographer who's style you like. Contact them and get their pricing and get a feel from them before you decide.

 

Here is the link to contacting Wright Travel:

 

http://www.wrighttravelagency.com/go/plan-your-destination-wedding?keyword=BDWTB

 

Good luck and happy planning!

[kmk2016]

Congratulations!!!! You will find the brides here amazing and the ideas shared such an inspiration toward your magical day!!

 

Talk to a TA as a first step!

[Moments That Matter]

Congrats on your upcoming Royal Wedding in PdC, Stephieee, and welcome to our forum community!!!

 

You've picked a gorgeous venue for your Special Day, and can see what a beautiful backdrop it will make for your photos here: Royal Wedding PdC Album

 

...so you can see you've already started with a Great Choice for your first step!

 

Possibly focusing on the end result will help ease feeling so overwhelmed, and get those "stomach butterflies flying in formation!"

 

Wishing you all the best with your plans - cheers!!! team MTM

Edited January 13, 2015 by Moments That Matter

[marinah84]

@@Stephieee

 

I am booking Samuel Luna for photography; love his style based on the photos I've seen and the reviews.  He's pretty reasonable as well.  I liked Del Sol as well, but they were considerably more.

 

We are having around 30 people at our wedding, and will be around $15k total (guests paying own way).  I'm doing some nicer gifts for my FI and bridal party, and a private reception at $55/person, so it's feasible you could get closer to $10k if you do a LOT of DIY/go pretty basic.  Just make sure to plan out things you want to do, and don't get overwhelmed by all the cool stuff on this board

[Saftig11]

Hello, 

 

I totally understand how overwhelming planning a destination wedding can be as we just went through the process. We were married in Playa del Carmen (Grand Coral Beach Club) in Janurary and miss it already. Similar to your situation, we really didn't know which photographer to chose as there are so many options.

 

Let me make at least one of your decisions very simple. Carlos Lopez from Karisma Fine Art Wedding Photography was  our photogpher and was absolutly incredible. At first, we really didn't want to do that much in terms of photo, but now that we are back from our wedding, we continue to talk about how great of a job Carlos did on our wedding day. Throughout our entire wedding planning, Carlos continued to stay in touch with us to make sure he had a vision of how we wanted our special day planned. It was my understanding that a photographer kind of just showed up and stayed in the background, but Carlos became a much larger part of our wedding as he was so passionate about making sure to capture all of the special moments. On our wedding day, Carlos showed up to our resort HOURS early to make sure he understood the lay of the land, wanted to be on time and even made the sure the bride was not worrying about the cloudy skies!! Carlos worked so hard not only on our wedding day but for the next two days to make sure he finished our final photo package before we even left Mexico - AMAZING!!

 

I know there are a lot of details to plan a destination wedding and you will have to rely on the opinion of others through reviews as its hard to visit Mexico and meet with each and every vendor. I can promise you will not be dissapointed if you use Carlos to capture your wedding. Do yourself a favor and at least visit Carlos' blog for some excellent examples of his work (http://www.karismaphoto.com/blog/)....we are the Paul and Allison wedding. I have also attached a couple of our favorites!!

 

If you have any additional questions on Carlos, please don't hesitate to reach out. 

 

[TinkerSofi]

you've definitely come to the right place! I love these forums. 

 

I think contacting at TA that specializes in the resort you want is a great step. Usually they can get cheaper travel quotes for you than if you went through the hotel, or even if you look through expedia. We were pretty much decided on our resort as well, which makes the process a little easier. We had to change resorts last minute, but that's another story haha. 

 

I'm not sure how much the wedding packages are for the royal hotels but I was planning my wedding in one of their sister resorts a couple of years ago and they were reasonable. I'm sure the prices have gone up since then, but it might be doable with 10k. A lot of it always depends on the amount of guests, you will have a much easier time pulling it off with 20 guests than with 40. If you have more guests, it's always a matter of reallocating costs and prioritizing things. It also depends on how many "extras" you want for the wedding or if you want something quite simple. 

 

We're having about 40-45 people and will probably spend close to 17000 by the end of it. I don't think it will be a luxurious wedding but we're definitely splurging on a few things  

[MNsunseeker]

I am planning an October 2015 wedding and have a budget of $10,000 for 20-25 guests at an all-inclusive resort.  Our guests are spending about $1500 per person for a week at the resort with airfare.  I haven't started pricing all of the add ons but am nervous that I get sucked into most of them!

 

J

[calgarybride2015]

I am planning an October 2015 wedding and have a budget of $10,000 for 20-25 guests at an all-inclusive resort. Our guests are spending about $1500 per person for a week at the resort with airfare. I haven't started pricing all of the add ons but am nervous that I get sucked into most of them!

 

J

Is that for your wedding only? If yes I think 10k for your guest size is more than doable. What resort?

 

 

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