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Hola! I was in Mexico recently, enjoying the sun and the wonderful sites. As many of you know, I love a great wedding and especially a destination one.

During my research vacation, I have been working on tips for couples who are planning a destination wedding, but I never had any idea that I would actually witness a wedding or that I would have the honor to meet Sarah, the gregarious and bubbly bride who got married at the hotel where KC and I were staying.

Sarah is definitely someone into the details, but for her Mexico destination wedding she learned quite a bit about what really worked for her and her fiance, Charles. Mixing some of her sage advice, I wanted to share with you some of her wedding tips and images. You will love the simplicity of the wedding that embraces the beauty of the venue and the heart of this couple!

Wedding Tips for Planning a Destination Wedding from Sarah and Charles:

1) Go Native - Sarah and Charles are New Yorkers, and are foodies who have discerning palettes. Although they could have gone with a traditional 4 course dinner for their wedding reception, they opted for local Mexican cuisine because it was cost effective and more important - festive and entertaining.

When you have a destination wedding, part of what makes it so colorful is embracing local cuisine as well as other local traditions. Another example, instead of a string quartet which the hotel thought the couple would prefer, they hired a mariachi band for the cocktail receptions and received great raves from their guests! Once again, when planning a destination wedding try and add some of the local flavor into your wedding.

2) Communicate: Put it in Writing - Planning a wedding is hard enough but planning details with someone in a different time zone and with a language barrier can lead to major mishaps. Our bride Sarah revealed that she communicated via email and made sure that her requests were understood. Yes, that meant that she had to email more than most brides, but it was key to send information and images in writing. She sent numerous photos of what she was looking for, which really helped her local contact. For example, when she wanted orange roses for the centerpieces, she sent images to the Westin Puerto Vallerta wedding coordinator so that there were no mistakes. And she also requested that the local coordinator send back what she could do. This made for less stress.

3) Think of Your Guests - Because many guests were coming from out of town (or out of the country), Sarah and Charles put their guests’ needs as a high priority. Since many of the hotel and lodging options in Puerto Vallarta were all inclusive (which includes all meals as part of the hotel price), they felt a hotel which didn’t include all meals was a better option since the couple knew that they would be hosting many of the functions. They also thought about location and about the style of their guests. Even though they are really hip, they knew with some guests a hip, new hotel might be a turn off. They liked the fact that the Westin was a symbol of quality so that helped with the choice.

In terms of hotels versus private estates, they opted for the hotel option so that the majority of their guests would be in one location, and thus they could spend more time with their friends. On top of that, they were able to get room blocks with added amenities because they were getting married in the same hotel (keep in mind that you should make sure when you sign the contract that blocking rooms is not a problem).

Because of the money they saved, they also made some great welcome guest bags, which is a great idea I strongly recommend. For a guest bag for a beach-style wedding, think about sunscreen, flip flops, sun visors, lotion, and lip balm as possible ideas. I like that this couple thought about their guests first!

I also like the fact that Sarah had a US contact. If she had a question and her local coordinator could not communicate, it was a good thing that she could call Westin’s corporate offices. I think this is a huge plus given that things can always get lost in translation, and it is good working with a large corporation like the Starwood hotels so if conflicts arise they can be dealt with.

Plus, Sarah was really smart to pick a hotel in the Starwood chain so that she could get points! Good thinking, Sarah and Charles.

4) See the Big Picture, Relax on the Details - For most brides, it is easy to get caught up in the details. Sarah admits that it is normal to become obsessive and if her wedding was in New York City, she might have been tempted to stress over each and every minor detail. However, with a wedding that is thousands of miles away, she knew that details would have to take a backseat to what was truly important, which was entertaining her guests. Trusting the details to a professional was key. Whether you hire a coordinator or work with your local hotel vendor, trust must be established.

Sarah and Charles enjoyed their wedding so much, because they partnered with their trusted vendors and worked to resolve things with their hotel advisor. Sarah made very practical decisions and defaulted to the advise of experts in areas in which she really had to rely on a local expert. For example, when she found out that orange mini callas had to be imported, she asked the Westin hotel coordinator what other options were available. When imported liquor would hike up the cost of the bar, she looked to the hotel to provide other affordable options.

Working together was key.

5) Take Advantage of Global Crisis - Because of the current global finance shakedown, Sarah and Charles had no idea that it would positively affect their wedding. Twice as many guests showed up than they expected, because flights were much more affordable after the market crashed last summer. Even room rates fell considerably as the dollar has strengthened.

Even though the guest count doubled, their budget for a destination wedding for 100 guests was still less than what they would have spent if they had a wedding in New York City. Keep this in mind that many costs like food, liquor, photography in other countries might be more competitively priced.

Bottom line, take a look at doing a destination wedding in countries where the dollar is gaining strength.

6) When in Doubt, Hire a Coordinator - The one thing that Sarah did regret is not picking an event designer or wedding planner from where she lived. Having an expert in wedding planning would have helped, because she did have to do some of the small details herself a few days prior to the wedding. Many times since she didn’t have a planner, she didn’t know what things she could have asked the venue to assist on. She also didn’t know what the other options were other than what the hotel provided. Even though the Westin PV did an amazing job, she does wonder what else could she have done and thought of. Thus a planner would be helpful. I couldn’t agree more. I do think having someone else focus on the small details, assist with vendors, would benefit any bride regardless if it was a destination wedding or not.

Thank you Sarah and Charles for your assistance on this post. I hope this was informative and insightful.