Mexico Destination Weddings & Honeymoon Planner 2011 - (Page 30)

The Mexican Caribbean continued ELIZABETH MEDINA PHOTOGRAPHY Playa del Carmen provides a uniquely Mexican ambiance for a charming wedding. The Love in Paradise package, priced at $3,950, is good for a party of up to 20 people. Among its many perks: unpacking services for the bride and groom, a Mayan couple’s massage, the services of a judge or non-denominational minister, bouquet and ﬂoral hair arrangement, wedding cake and sparkling wine for the toast, and the musical arrangements of a Mexican duo. The resort also offers a long menu of services that can be added on to any ceremony, including centerpieces, harpists, ﬁreworks, printed menus, traditional wedding dolls and more. Couples can also take advantage of Zoëtry’s Free Anniversary Nights: one free night if they stay a minimum of four nights over their ﬁrst anniversary. Starting rates for June are $427 pp, per night. The Omni Puerto Aventuras Beach Resort, which made its way into Conde Nast Traveler’s 2011 “Gold List,” is another great choice for the couple who wants more intimacy for themselves and their guests, as it just has 30 rooms—another property that can be reserved for exclusivity. The resort is just 15 minutes away from Playa del Carmen and offers packages that include a 3-course gourmet menu, wedding cake, four hours of open bar, two complimentary nights for the bride and groom and much more. These packages start at $90 pp, with room rates starting at $139 per night. Xcaret is always a “must” stop for visitors—an eco park where they can swim with dolphins, ﬂoat on underground rivers, and spot jaguars and manatees. But it so happens that the park also provides fantastic wedding options, with natural areas surrounded by exuberant jungle, the St. Francis Chapel for Catholic ceremonies at the highest point in the park and another one, the Guadalupe Chapel, which features an incred- ible carving of the Virgin Mary shaped from a full tree trunk. Locations for receptions are no less impressive, with hacienda-type spaces and Mayan-inspired settings. The park can arrange all wedding and reception details, including transportation, decor, food and music. Then there’s Cozumel, the place for spectacular sunset weddings. This is a favorite spot for cruise passengers to wed, in fact, with both hotels and wedding planners whipping up magic from start to ﬁnish in the form of beachside receptions or Mayan ceremonies. The all-inclusive Cozumel Palace is a good choice for island nuptials—and if they act quickly and book by the end of the month, couples that stay for at least ﬁve nights can take advantage of up to $1,500 in resort credits that can be applied to room upgrades, golf outings, romantic dinners, and even one of Palace Resorts’ Precious Wedding Collection packages. This means that they can have the day of their dreams—whether for the ﬁrst time or when renewing their vows—at very little, if any, added cost to them. Additionally, they can combine their resort credit options as they choose, so a couple enjoying a honeymoon, for instance, can use them up on spa treatments, lobster dinners, tours of Chichen Itza and more. Rates start at $134 pp dbl through Aug. 20. But these days, the hottest place to marry is just 10 miles off Cozumel, in a tiny private island called Isla Pasion. Diamond Orchid Weddings has put together weddings of every size there, including one for 900 guests and a couple of hush-hush celebrity bashes, and offers packages priced per guest that can include everything from bartending services to a honeymoon cottage—plus transportation to and from the island, of course. Another plus: Isla Pasion has its own chapel. Clients who prefer to stay in Cancun also have a large roster of options. The Oasis Hotels & Resorts brand has come back to Cancun with the Oasis Cancun and Grand Oasis Cancun, housed in the pyramid-shaped structure that has become part of the city’s landscape. This is a world in itself, with more than a dozen restaurants, its own nightclub and instant access to Cancun’s beautiful beachfront. Oasis’ Complimentary Wedding Package is available to couples booking a combination of 25 room nights—ﬁve rooms for ﬁve nights based on double occupancy, for instance. It comes with the services of the resort’s wedding coordinator, legal paperwork, judge or minister services, set-up of wedding location, bouquet and boutonniere, petit wedding cake, three bottles continued on page M32 M30 May 2011 recommend.com http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Mexico Destination Weddings & Honeymoon Planner 2011

Mexico Says "I Do" to Destination Weddings
Baja California Sur
Puerto Vallarta & Riviera Nayarit
Acapulco
San Miguel de Allende & Guanajuato
Morelia
Cuernavaca
Oaxaca & Huatulco
Campeche
Marriage Requirements
Merida, Yucatan
The Mexican Caribbean
Built for Romance
How to Get There

Mexico Destination Weddings & Honeymoon Planner 2011