Kali and her fiance, Erik, got engaged in June of 2020 and originally had just planned on taking a vacation to Sandals St. Lucia to celebrate in January. Once engaged, Kali was talking with multiple friends who were trying to plan their wedding in the middle of COVID19 and was hearing how difficult and stressful it was.
Then Kali had the idea to turn their vacation to Sandals a wedding trip instead. But, since they had siblings and family members under the age of 18, they had to change resorts. No problem, right? Kali’s travel agent, Joy at TravelSmiths, was able to book all of their guests in plenty of time for their January wedding.
If you need a travel agent for your destination wedding just head to my Let’s Get Started page to book a consult with me!
But, as COVID numbers continued to rise and more and more restrictions and protocols took effect, Kali became concerned that the resort they chose wasn’t taking it seriously enough. They also had a policy in place that would have risked Kali and Erik losing all of their money if they ended up having to cancel. So, a month before their wedding they decided to switch to Dreams Playa Mujeres.
Planning a wedding during the COVID pandemic is no small feat. Changing resorts and replanning a destination wedding in one month just seems impossible. But Kali and her travel agent made it possible and at the end of the day, Kali still had the wedding of her dreams.
We’re so excited to dive deeper into Kali’s wedding planning and experience with Dreams Playa Mujeres. If you haven’t already, check out our podcast episode as well where we go into even more detail on Kali’s experience.
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The Resort – Dreams Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resort
Dreams Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resort is nestled away on it’s own private beach within a tranquil gated community only 10 miles north of Cancun and about an hour drive from the Cancun International Airport. Kali explained that Playa Mujeres is a very secluded and beautiful hidden gem. The resort itself was recommended by Kali’s travel agent, and after her and Erik looked into it even further they knew it was a great pick.
Like most destination weddings at all-inclusive resorts, there are multiple locations to choose from when it comes to your ceremony, dinner, and reception. Kali and Erik ended up choosing the Paramount Suite and it turned out to be Kali’s favorite part of the resort. It was not only their room for the duration of their stay, but also the location for all of their wedding day festivities. Kali said she loved this because they had a small and intimate wedding (13 guests) and they could be secluded from the rest of the resort.
Kali mentioned that throughout their trip they could see other ceremonies taking place at different areas around the resort. She explained that she’s generally a pretty shy person, so the Paramount Suite ended up being exactly what she was looking for.
The Wedding Planning
When it came to the wedding planning through the resort, Kali worked with an on-site wedding coordinator named Marcela who was great to work with.
Once Kali booked her wedding through Dreams Playa Mujeres, Marcela sent her a lengthy form to fill out regarding every aspect of her wedding. This form requires you to choose everything from decor options and add on’s, menu options, song selections, and everything in between.
Once completed, Marcela would review it and send a pricing proposal based on the options Kali selected. We go into more detail regarding what package Kali selected and all of her add on selections in the Q&A below.
As mentioned above, Kali used Joy from TravelSmiths and could not recommend her enough. Because Kali works in a hospital setting she had limited time available to talk about and plan for her destination wedding, but Joy answered her phone any time she called and was extremely accommodating throughout all hours of the day.
A great travel agent can really make or break your destination wedding experience. Check out our post “Everything You Need to Know About Travel Agents for Your Destination Wedding” for more reasons on why we think you should hire a travel agent for your destination wedding.
Hiring Outside Vendors
Kali also ended up hiring outside vendors for their photography and hair & makeup. Keep in mind that if you do this you’ll most likely be charged a vendor fee by the resort. In Kali’s case it was $100 for each vendor, but she mentioned that her hair & makeup artist was willing to pay the vendor fee just to keep her clients if necessary. Don’t hesitate to ask vendors if this is a possibility if you don’t have room in your budget for multiple vendor fees, but would like to use someone outside of the resort.
Kali said she could spend two hours talking about her photographer Moni from Moni and Adri Weddings. As you can tell throughout this post, her photos turned out beautifully and Moni was very easy to work with. She made Kali and Erik feel comfortable throughout the day and was very accommodating to their needs. Kali says if you’re getting married in Mexico you have to hire Moni!
Q&A
If the resort had wedding packages, which one did you pick?
Intimate wedding package
Where did you have your ceremony and reception? (i.e. pergola, beach, etc.)
Both ceremony and reception took place in the Paramount Suite.
Did you pay for any add on’s that were not included in your wedding package? If so, what were they?
We upgraded the florals and rentals that were included in the package. We also hired an outside MUAH and photographer.
What was your biggest challenge in planning a destination wedding?
Not seeing the resort beforehand. I would recommend taking the trip if able to. We had to switch plans (in true COVID style) and planned our wedding in Mexico less than a month before the date, so there was a lot of uncertainty not actually seeing anything before the wedding. However, they exceeded all expectations!
If you could change anything about your experience, what would it be and why?
We would have hired the photographer to stay the entire night. Instead we only had her stay until after our first dance since it was a small intimate wedding. Our family had so much fun singing and dancing later that night and I wish I had those moments captured on film.
Anything else regarding your wedding planning and services that you would like brides to know?
We had a small intimate, immediate family only wedding. If you are on the fence about an intimate wedding I would totally recommend it! The day was focused on love and not the event and it was a dream come true. Also, if Marcela and her team can pull off our dream wedding in less than a month I can only imagine what magic they could create if they had more time!
We’re so happy to hear that brides are still able to pull off the wedding of the dreams when facing a pandemic like COVID19 and Kali was no exception. Although she had plenty of challenges along the way, it goes to show that it ultimately comes down to the love they had for one another. She had a great team of vendors that were clearly willing to do whatever it took to showcase their love through a beautiful wedding day.
Vendors
Resort: Dreams Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resort
Travel Agent: Joy at TravelSmiths
Photographer: Moni & Adri Weddings
Hair & Makeup: Hair & Makeup by Sandy Mendez
Bride’s Dress: Allure Romance from Castle Couture
Groom’s Attire: Men’s Warehouse