We found a wedding venue!

YES! YES! YES! We found a wedding venue!!!! Let me start by coming right out and saying it: Ben was right. And I’m so glad I followed his advice.

As soon as we decided that the Riviera Maya was our top wedding location pick (approximately 10 minutes after we got engaged), he said our best bet would be to take a short investigative trip. Although we’ve been many times, going with a mission in mind ended up being incredibly productive.

Here are the top things that I believe greatly contributed to us finding a place we are really excited about. I’d recommend anyone planning a destination wedding to follow as many of these as possible:

1. Knowing the language

(Or having a friend who does and letting them be your voice)

Let’s face it—If you are a rich foreigner, the assumption will be that you can afford more than your average local, and you will be charged accordingly. Therefore, the goal is to camouflage your foreignness to the best of your ability. Weddings are expensive enough without someone pulling the wool over your eyes!

In our case, Ben handled most if not all of the initial emails/phonecalls. In Mexico, you are less likely to be overcharged if your last name is Vargas than if it’s Tuggy. We even conducted our Google searches in Spanish, looking for sites that weren’t geared toward tourists. It takes a lot of scratching, but it’s worth it!

2. Going physically

(Having a friend who lives locally and lets you stay with her and use her car is a HUGE bonus—shoutout to the amazing Vania! We love you!!)

Clearly, nothing beats being able to see a place in 3D before committing to it. But it’s not just about the places; it’s about the people. Being able to shake their hands, to establish a rapport, to ask them questions, show them you’re legit and make sure they are too. Ben had a contact from one of the many phone calls he’d made prior to the trip (a DJ/light/sound guy), and he ended up being a goldmine of resources! He put us in contact with all the people in the wedding industry he worked closely with, and even calling them for us and telling them his “friend” was getting married so they’d give us the best deal possible! WOW, was that a relief, which brings me to my next point.

3. Keeping an open mind.

I had initially fallen in LOVE with a spot in Tulum that does gorgeous wedding packages, but it ended up being way out of our price range ($4000 dollars just for MIXERS for our guests, not including the alcohol! $3000 to rent the place but you HAVE to hire on their wait staff of 40, and oh, you wanted the sand on the beach as well? That will be another $3000. And let's not get into the cost of dinner, tables, chairs, sofas, flowers, a dance floor, you get the gist). Keep in mind most places are going to throw out crazy numbers. Why? Because people are willing to pay them! They know it’s one of the biggest days of your life, they know you’d rather not be bothered with the details and are likely willing to pay good money to have someone take care of everything for you. I was overwhelmed with what Ben was proposing—the idea of just renting a spot on the beach and being in charge of coordinating all the details ourselves. But somehow, miraculously I managed to stifle bridezilla and open my eyes to something I would have never thought of.

4. Opening your eyes to new horizons

This is basically an extension of my previous point. What I’m trying to say is don’t be rigid with decisions you’ve previously made. Be willing to look outside your original zone, and be flexible. I was dead set on Tulum. We both were. It’s a magical place, really. But the thing with magical places is that you’re never alone in thinking so. Demand goes up, prices go up, and this affects not only you, but your guests. We had completely ruled out Cancun on the sole fact that it reminds us too much of Vegas, but hadn’t thought of exploring the coastline a little further north. That’s when Ben’s contact came in: he suggested a sweet little place he had just done a wedding at a few weeks prior. Ample space? Check. Private beach? Check. Reasonable price? Check. No crazy rules or obligations? Check. (It's called Villa Chenera, for those of you asking.)

We think we made the right choice.

Vania was a wonderful host! / ¡Vania fue tremenda anfitriona!

We loved spending time with Vania & her mom / Nos encantó pasar tiempo con Vania y su mami

Ben the hopeless romantic / Benjamin, el romántico empedernido

We’re a little crazy together / Somos unas loquillas

We drove all over in search of the perfect spot! / Manejamos a muchos lugares buscando el ideal

Ben asking all the right questions / Ben sabe a quien hacerle preguntas para conseguir lo que quiere

Picked up some awesome people who were hitchhiking from Tulum to Playa del Carmen / Paramos por estos dos personajes que pedían ride en la carretera… ahora son nuestros amigos 🙂

Shrimp cocktails every day = obligatory beach behavior / El coctel de camarones como Dios manda! Comimos mínimo uno al día

It all started with our love / Todo empezó con nuestro amor

Isla Blanca is a kitesurfer’s dream! / ¡Isla Blanca es ideal para hacer Kite!

Nico, the guy we picked up, was a kitesurfing instructor. Ben didn’t let the opportunity slide. / Nico, el chico que conocimos en la carretera, resultó ser instructor de KiteSurf. Ben no desaprovechó la oportunidad.

The dirt road leading to Villa Chenera, our wedding venue / El camino a Villa Chenera

I can only imagine this with lights and tables and all our favorite people! / Me imagino el lugar lleno de luces, mesas y nuestras personas favoritas y me emociono.

*sigh* I could stay here forever / En verdad me quedaría mil años aqui.

Letting out my inner gymnast / Dejando salir la gimnasta que llevo dentro

The city of eternal spring

Never have 48 hours felt more like a week. I’m so proud of us. We don’t have many more days off this year, so we decided to squeeze every last drop of juice out of our weekend and hit up yet another wedding (this time, a beloved childhood friend of Ben’s). Did I mention that it has been wedding season since I was 23? I kid you not.Our destination was Cuernavaca, known in Spanish as “the city of eternal Spring”, not as in “the spring of eternal youth” but as in “not fall and definitely not winter”. Believe me, whenever you’re offered a ticket to run away from your least favorite season, you should take it.

On the day of the wedding we somehow squeezed in a tranquil morning coffee, an authentic mayan brunch (thank you, Jesus), getting lost courtesy of google maps, sightseeing in a taxi, and still having time to get ourselves spiffed up for the ceremony.

It took place at a gorgeous old-world hotel, decked out perfectly with elegant modern details. It’s different going to a wedding with your own in the forefront of your mind. We were definitely taking notes.

Highlight of the night: being placed at a table with two of the most interesting guys we’ve met in a while. I’m serious, the four of us just hit it off, to the casual observer we must have looked like long lost friends trying to catch up. They were such colorful characters, so inquisitive and appreciative and full of zest for life. They are also the first people in a long time to ask us about our love story and keep coming back to it even when we’d get interrupted. Most people find out we somehow met through the radio and then we trail off into realizing we are telling our story to ourselves. Needless to say, we think we’re inviting them to the wedding ;) It is worth nothing: interested people are always interesting.

Also, flying from Saturday to Monday is a lot less expensive than Friday to Sunday. #traveltip

To Xareni and Adrian, thanks for letting us be a part of your special day. We wish you a lifetime of happiness together!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fueron 48 horas  con sabor a una semana. Pero, ¡qué forma de aprovechar! No nos quedan muchos días libres este año, asi que decidimos exprimirle hasta la ultima gota de jugo al fin de semana lanzándonos a una boda más (en este caso, de una querida amiga de Benjamin). ¿Les mencioné que ha sido ‘temporada de bodas’ desde que tengo 23 años? Fuera de broma.

Nuestro destino fue la bella ciudad de Cuernavaca, o “La ciudad de la eterna primavera”, como le dicen los locales. Creéme que si la vida te ofrece un boleto para escaparte de la estación del año que menos te gusta (solo por eso del frío, discúlpenme pero NO es de mi agrado), debes tomarlo.

El día de la boda logramos tomarnos un cafecito mañanero, disfrutar de un desayuno auténticamente Maya, perdernos cortesía de google maps, turistear en un taxi un rato, y de alguna manera tener suficiente tiempo para arreglarnos para la ceremonia.

Se llevó a cabo en un hotel hermoso con una arquitectura rústica que contrastaba perfectamente con las decoraciones modernas. Es diferente asistir a una boda cuando traes la inminencia de la tuya en tu mente. Te aseguro que estábamos tomando notas.

Sorpresa grata de la noche: nos tocó sentarnos al lado de dos hombres súper interesantes. En verdad hubo química entre nosotros cuatro; empezamos a platicar y nadie ni nada nos podía parar. Eran personajes tan coloridos, tan inquisitivos y apreciativos. También son las primeras personas en mucho tiempo que nos preguntaron de nuestra historia de amor, y cada que parábamos o nos interrumpían, querían regresar adonde nos habíamos quedado. Generalmente lo que pasa es que nos preguntan, se dan cuenta de que nos conocimos de alguna manera gracias a la radio, y Ben y yo terminamos platicándonos nuestra propia historia de amor ya sin audiencia. Estos chicos nos preguntaban cada vez más por detalles y no solo por preguntar. Había un interés real. Sin duda, están invitadísimos a la boda. :)

Cabe recalcar que las personas que se interesan siempre son interesantes.

Tambien, viajar de Sábado a Lunes es mucho más barato que de Viernes a Domingo. #tipsparaviajar

Para Xareni y Adrian, gracias por invitarnos a ser parte de este día tan especial, ¡les deseamos toda una vida de felicidad juntos!