MY TOP CANCUN WEDDING TIPS


Once you’ve picked out that your ideal wedding will be an amazing wedding at te mexican Caribbean, the next step is to figure out how to plan the perfect Cancun Wedding miles away from home.


Throwing a Destination wedding means that you are into a much more intimate celebration with some of your closest relatives and friends. Also you can consider the extra advantage of enjoying the wedding and honeymoon in one. Before you jet off to this amazing journey, you have some important details to consider as you Plan your perfect Cancun wedding.


As the years go by, I have been fortunate to participate as a wedding photographer in many weddings around the Riviera Maya, Cancun and Tulum area. This experience has allowed me to make a collection of the best tips to organize a perfect destination wedding in Cancun. I have all your bases covered, from choosing the perfect cancun venue to coordinating every last detail.

cancun wedding tips

My top 12 cancun wedding tips

1. Choose the best and Meaningful Location


If you are organizing a wedding in Cancun, you have probably already been to this wonderful paradise. If so, you will already know or have a location in mind, but if not, I recommend you consider the following:


  • There are hotels that include the ceremony or other services if you reserve a minimum of rooms, ask if there is any service included when organizing a wedding at the Resort you are contacting.


  • You must be aware that all or almost all the resorts in the area unfortunately charge a fee for hiring external vendors instead of the hotel wedding vendors. For example, if you want to bring your own photographer you will probably have to pay a fee that ranges from 250 USD to 1,000 USD USD. Remember that there are also many other different options besides hotels in this area to carry out your wedding.


  • Consider that in Cancun and Riviera Maya, the sunset does not occur behind the sea, that is, to obtain super creamy and warm photos with the sun behind you you have to do a session at sunrise. Now, if what you want are spectacular photos with the sunset and the most behind you, consider the option of organizing your wedding on Isla Mujeres, there the sun sets on the side of the sea.


2. Notify your Guests in advance


This is one of the most important cancun wedding tips. It's important to give your beloved ones plenty of time to calculate if they can afford the cost of traveling to your ceremony and reception. 



3. Embrace the idea that it might not be as cheap as you think.


Although the exchange rate favors and makes US dollars perform very well when converted into Mexican pesos. Most of the prices that you will find in wedding vendors and locations will be very similar or only slightly lower than the prices that you will find in the United States or Canada.


The wedding industry is a very well developed industry in this area, and while there are many options, they are 100% professional companies that charge like professionals for their work. For example, in the case of photography, although you will find more affordable prices than in the United States. My prices are just a little below the market, it is not because I want to offer my more expensive prices, but because in the same way I have to pay taxes, rent, a vehicle to get to your wedding, gasoline, editing software, insurance for my equipment and the photographic equipment itself, which is often up to 50% more expensive to buy in Mexico than in the United States and Canada due to taxes and profit for those who sell them. The same with other vendors.

top cancun wedding tips

4. Consider Your Guests.


You have to be considerate of your guests, that is why you must choose a location that is accessible from different hotels that have different budgets for everyone. Remember that some hotels include "free" services for the more rooms you reserve. I recommend you make a list of possible options to stay at different prices and share this list with your guests.



5. Hire a Pro.


Find a wedding planner specialized in destination weddings in the Cancun or Riviera Maya area. Ask her to show some of her work, and if for some reason it is out of your budget, you can get a hotel that has a good team of wedding planners included in your package. 


Although to be very honest, the wedding planners of a hotel will always be looking for the maximum benefit for the hotel and not for you. It is not to speak ill of my colleagues, it is simply a reality, the hotel is the company they work for and pays them the monthly check.


Cancun wedding ideas

6. Visit in advance.


The inspection visit is essential, especially if you do not have a wedding planner just for you. If in any case you cannot make an inspection visit, I recommend looking everywhere for ideas on the internet. Pinterest can be a good place to start..



7. Pick your own Photographer in person, also other Cancun wedding vendors.


I know it sounds great to let the wedding planner do everything for you, including choosing the providers. But I assure you the best thing is that you yourself have direct contact with some of them and leave the scheduling issue to the wedding planner. Especially your wedding photography and video. Remember that after your wedding day, the only thing that will remain are your photos and video. Yes, I know that the memory will also remain, but what will make you live again and again that day will be your wedding photographs and video.


As I mentioned before, hotels have their own providers, although in the case of photography, many times they are guys who are starting in wedding photography, you don't want to leave something so important in the hands of someone with little experience. In the same way, many times you do not know who will take the photos and you know them until the wedding day.


Now, on the other hand, if you hire your own photographer. You will know who will take your photos, the style they will have and the result you will get. Surely you will have to pay a fee at the hotel, but you could negotiate it with your Riviera Maya wedding photographer.

8. Budget for Vendors


It is super important that you have a somewhat variable budget for some of your suppliers. But above all that you make priorities, you must know which one is more important to you, and from that, know which one you can modify in case one is higher than the other.


If you are organizing your wedding in Cancun yourself, I recommend you search local directories for local providers. Now, if you decide to bring some suppliers from your place of origin, establish a total budget and include in this the transportation to the wedding place. Ask them to include the cost of transportation in their total costs, so you will establish the total cost and in case of unforeseen costs that they want to charge you, you can comment that you requested a total quote and that was what you agreed.

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Cancun wedding photographer

10. Tailor Your Wedding Dress to the Destination


Remember that if you are organizing a wedding on the beautiful beaches of the Riviera Maya or Cancun, you must adapt your dress to these conditions. Heat, humidity, wind, that is something common at any time of the year in this area. Breathable fabrics work best in hot, humid locations such at the Beach.


Consider in the same way that your hairstyle and makeup must be of good quality and thought about the atmospheric factors that I just mentioned.


It is worth commenting that the groom's clothing should also be light, made of fresh fabric, otherwise we will have roasted bride and groom in half an hour.


11. Check out for some Inspo 


Look for Some ideas and send it to your vendors. You can check out my instagram, Pinterest Page or my Cancun wedding photographer portfolio for example.



12. Create a Checklist 


Download my Cancun Destination Wedding Checklist for smart brides. Forget the worries like forgetting details at home, not steam ironing the dress or other things that can happen around the planning of a wedding in Cancun.