After picking the right partner, choosing the right location for your destination wedding is one of the most important decisions you make (and also one of the most fun). All Inclusive Weddings can help you brainstorm potential places that fit your needs, taste, and budget and help lead you to a decision. The rest of this article takes a closer look at specific locations worth considering — from places in the United States and Canada to exotic tropical islands to chic European cities. We even tell you what you can expect if you’re thinking of sailing into matrimony on a cruise ship. So get ready for some globetrotting armchair travel.
Finding the Right Destination: There’s a Place for You
If you’ve decided to have a destination wedding, congratulations. You’re embarking on an experience you won’t ever forget. Now the big question looms: Where?
Before you start the decision-making process, understand that a destination wedding location consists of three parts, all of which you need to line up. Normally the process follows this order, drilling down from general to specific: choose a destination, a resort, and a property.
The site is the physical space where you’ll speak your vows, such as in a chapel, on the beach, or on a terrace.
Bermuda
May–October
Too chilly for swimming much of the year, Bermuda blossoms in summer.
Caribbean
December–May
Hurricane season stretches from June to November, but doesn’t reach Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao.
Mexico
November–May
Summer, the rainy season, is extremely hot and humid country-wide.
Checking in on hotel and all inclusive resorts
Couples with active, love-to-party guests may find an all-inclusive resort the most costefficient option for their tribe. Not only can guests eat, drink, and play to their heart’s content, their revelry remains safely within the perimeter of a protected property. The appeal of an all-inclusive is that you pay one price that covers food, drinks, lodging, sports, and entertainment during your stay. Spa treatments and excursions are normally extra.
To make their facilities even more enticing, some all-inclusive resorts offer a free basic wedding package to couples who commit to spending a minimum number of honeymoon days there after the ceremony.
Mexico and the Caribbean are home to the majority of all-inclusive resorts that promote wedding packages ranging from modest to spectacular. Nearly every one offers the choice of setting the wedding on the beach or in a gazebo, chapel, or tropical garden. (See Figure 6-1 for an example of a better all inclusive resort.)