“We knew we wanted some sort of destination wedding since both of our families and friends were scattered throughout the United States,” Kayla and Marissa said of first trying to figure out WHERE they wanted to get married. “It took one visit to Riviera Maya to fall in love with that location – especially the crystal clear water.”
With the help of DestinationWeddings.com, the couple chose the gorgeous El Dorado Royale in Riviera Maya, a resort that offered Kayla and Marrisa the right mix of beautiful venues and amenities they were looking for.”The choices of accommodations for our guests and delicious food was a major deciding factor as we had heard some horror stories about other all-inclusive resorts. The team from Weddings by Lomas Travel and Destination Weddings were super helpful and made the planning process easier than we could have imagined!”
The couple, who met in Grad school at Northern Illinois University, were able to work with their Wedding Designer to personalize their destination wedding, and make sure it represented exactly what they wanted.
“We [sent her] pictures of our inspiration, bringing a few things we couldn’t live without. We were nervous about whether it would all come together but the resort staff and wedding coordinators took care of everything, re-creating exactly what we had envisioned. A close family friend traveled with us to Mexico and served as our Celebrant. She even wrote the whole ceremony for us! And our DJ was awesome at letting us choose exactly what music and vibe we wanted for our reception.”
And while they might not have envisioned rain, their big day still went off without a hitch.
“Five minutes after our ceremony on the Sky Terrace, the rain that we had been anticipating finally arrived and down-poured. Luckily, there was plenty of shelter for our guests and the wedding coordinators to move our cocktail hour to an inside bar. As for us and our family, we had run to the chapel, and there we waited out the 10 minute showers before taking our wedding pictures.”
But even a rainstorm couldn’t compete with Kayla and Marissa’s most memorable moment of the day, captured so beautifully by Amy Peckins Photography.
“While standing at the alter, our celebrant told us to take a few moments to really enjoy the view of all our guests, the blue sky and ocean in the background. It is still a moment we both think about, especially when looking back at photos!”
With their wedding day behind them, Kayla and Marissa’s best advice is one that every couple should take note of, especially when planning a destination wedding.
“Don’t be afraid to communicate with your wedding specialist often and ask for the things you think might not be possible. We were so surprised when almost every single one of our requests were granted. Also, visiting the resorts in advance was crucial in making a decision. On paper, a different resort seemed perfect but in person, was less accommodating and impressive. Arriving a few days prior to the wedding gave us time to relax and work out the last few details.”
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