Posts in CANCUN
Wedding Spotlight: Melanie and Chris's Destination Wedding at TRS Coral
 

Lauren: Why did you choose a destination wedding?

Melanie and Chris: We chose a destination wedding because it was different from your traditional wedding. We wanted a medium size wedding and if we did a traditional wedding we would've had double the amount of people. At our wedding in Mexico it was intimate and we were surrounded by people who knew both me and Chris. 


Lauren: How many attendees did you have?
What kind of experience did you envision your guests having? 

Melanie and Chris: We had a total of 63 guests attend our wedding. We envisioned our guests having a vacation and enjoying themselves. We were adamant that our guests only had to dedicate one day to us, which was wedding day. 

Lauren: What was one part of planning your wedding that you knew you couldn't have done alone?
How did having a Destination Wedding Specialist help with that?

Melanie and Chris: One part of planning my wedding I knew I couldn't do alone was manage everyone's room and answer every question they could have throughout this process. Chris and I are very thankful for Lauren and how much she made our booking and searching for the right resort process so smooth. A plus was that she was also very helpful with transportation. Lauren had transportation for all guests set up from when they arrived to when it was time for them to depart. Another thing I couldn't do alone was communicate with the wedding department. I learned early on it was easier to get an outside wedding planner so they could handle all communication. I noticed once I hired my wedding planner Diana the resort would respond quickly to her versus with me I would wait anywhere from 2 plus weeks to hear back. 


Lauren: What piece of advice would you give to couples who are just starting the planning process?

Melanie and Chris: The groom's piece of advice is whatever you think it will cost it will probably become double so to always be prepared for that. Coming from a bride's perspective I would say to have an idea of what you want and then trust the process. A destination wedding is stressful but not as much especially when you have a travel agent and a wedding planner. 


Lauren: What’s one “extra” you’re super glad you splurged on?  What surprised you the most about your wedding? 

Melanie and Chris: The one "extra" we are super glad we splurged on was the Mariachi band. Our guests absolutely loved them, they definitely got the party going. Chris and I did our big walk in with them, they stayed for an hour, they were able to sing a song at every table during dinner and had time to put on a show in the middle of the dance floor after.

What surprised us most about our wedding was that every single guest danced all night long. Every chair was empty, all our guests plus us were so shocked when the dance party was over we were ready to dance all night! 

Lauren: If you could choose three words to describe your wedding, what would they be?

Melanie and Chris: Our three words would be Fun, Intimate, and beautiful 


Lauren: What is your favorite memory from your big day?

Melanie and Chris: Our favorite memory from our big day is when it was dinner time and we stopped to look at all of our guests to soak up all the love that was in the room. Chris and I could not get over that all these people traveled to Mexico to celebrate our big day! We felt so thankful and loved!

A Note from Lauren: I am so thankful to Melanie and Chris for trusting me with their big day! It was a blast to work with them! Also, I love this last photo and how Chris is looking at Melanie!

 
Wedding Spotlight: Kiley and Austin's Destination Wedding at Finest Playa Mujeres
 

Lauren: Why did you choose a destination wedding?

Kiley and Austin: We both love to travel and wanted our wedding to represent us both as a couple.


Lauren: How many attendees did you have?
What kind of experience did you envision your guests having? 

Kiley and Austin: We had 30 people attend! Since most of our guests were couples we envisioned them enjoying this as a vacation for themselves and being apart of our wedding.

Lauren: What was one part of planning your wedding that you knew you couldn't have done alone?
How did having a Destination Wedding Specialist help with that?

Kiley and Austin: ALL OF IT! We have only left the country on a cruise so this was MUCH different. There are so many moving parts to leaving the country and throwing a wedding in the mix did not make it any easier. With all the back and forth between the resort and our guests I would have not been able to do this on my own.


Lauren: What piece of advice would you give to couples who are just starting the planning process?

Kiley and Austin: Trust the process! It can be overwhelming and communication with the resorts is slower than you would get with someone in the states. Planning over a year in advanced was a huge help.


Lauren: What’s one “extra” you’re super glad you splurged on?  What surprised you the most about your wedding? 

Kiley and Austin: Our DJ! We are huge music lovers so the perfect DJ was a must for us and we did not regret it. 

I was surprised at how smooth it went! 

Lauren: If you could choose three words to describe your wedding, what would they be?

Kiley and Austin: Stunning. Timeless. Romantic.


Lauren: What is your favorite memory from your big day?

Kiley and Austin: Finally walking down the aisle! I had so much anxiety getting ready that morning that it felt like time stood still. 

A Note from Lauren: It was so much fun to work with Kiley and Austin to plan the wedding that they have always dreamed of!

 
Wedding Spotlight: Kathie and Adam's Destination Wedding at Unico 20'87 in Cancun, Mexico
 

Lauren: Why did you choose a destination wedding?

Kathie and Adam: We attended our friend’s wedding in Cancun a couple years before and had the absolute best time. We’ve lived all over so have friends and family that would have to travel no matter where we got married. We also really wanted to have the opportunity to allow everyone get to know each other over a long weekend.


Lauren: How many attendees did you have?
What kind of experience did you envision your guests having? 

Kathie and Adam:  We had 85 guests! Fun and relaxing

Lauren: What was one part of planning your wedding that you knew you couldn't have done alone?
How did having a Destination Wedding Specialist help with that?

Kathie and Adam: Coordinating the rooms and all the guests. Everyone came with their own needs- Lauren did an amazing job accommodating each guest (even if it meant booking a different hotel for them). It’s exhausting enough to plan just the wedding, it’s so helpful to have a travel advisor help with all the other stuff.


Lauren: What piece of advice would you give to couples who are just starting the planning process?

Kathie and Adam: Send out invites early to get a head count.  We did not expect so many guests to come.


Lauren: What’s one “extra” you’re super glad you splurged on?  What surprised you the most about your wedding? 

Kathie and Adam: The “all in” package for the wedding ceremony/reception.This saved a lot of headaches and number crunching. Most surprising thing was how great of a time our moms had 🤪 We also really enjoyed all the pre-wedding events we had at the hotel. 

Lauren: If you could choose three words to describe your wedding, what would they be?

Kathie and Adam: joyous, loving, beautiful 


Lauren: What is your favorite memory from your big day?

Kathie and Adam Our good friend Matias being our officiant and marrying us.

A Note from Lauren: Planning this gorgeous Destination Wedding in Cancun with Kathie and Adam was so much fun! I was actually able to go do a tasting with Kathie before the wedding and the food was phenomenal. It was so much fun to be able to help this amazing couple and friends plan this once in a lifetime event. Congratulations to Kathie and Adam on a beautiful ceremony!

 
Wedding Spotlight: Tammy and Jhony Destination Wedding at Excellence Riviera Cancun in Cancun, Mexico
 

Lauren: Why did you choose a destination wedding?

Tammy and Jhony: We decided on a destination wedding because we were on a budget. We wanted an affordable wedding with an open bar and we knew a destination wedding would check all of our boxes. Also, a destination wedding allowed us to have an intimate ceremony and reception with our family and close friends.

Lauren: How many attendees did you have? What kind of experience did you envision your guests having?

Tammy and Jhony: We had 24 guests total attend our wedding. We envisioned our guests having a great time and enjoying the open bar all through the night.

Lauren: What was one part of planning your wedding that you knew you couldn't have done alone? How did having a Destination Wedding Specialist help with that?

Tammy and Jhony: We wouldn’t have been able to choose a resort without the assistance of our travel agent! She provided us with so many resorts to choose from based on her own personal experience, which was extremely helpful. We decided to go with an adults only resort, which was a great decision!

 
 

Lauren: What piece of advice would you give to couples who are just starting the planning process?

Tammy and Jhony: Book a knowledgeable travel agent and physically travel to the resort. This will allow couples to personally meet with the wedding planner to ensure it’s the right resort/fit for you.

Lauren: What’s one “extra” you’re super glad you splurged on? What surprised you the most about your wedding?

Tammy and Jhony: We were glad we splurged on the flowers. They were beautiful and were used for both ceremony and the reception. The weather was surprisingly great! Our previous visits to Mexico always had rainy weather; however, this trip and our wedding day had the best weather.

Lauren: If you could choose three words to describe your wedding, what would they be?

Tammy and Jhony: Fun, Memorable, Affordable!

Lauren: What is your favorite memory from your big day?

Tammy and Jhony: The whole day was great! The ceremony was short and sweet and we had a blast drinking the night away at our reception.

 
 

A Note from Lauren: Planning this gorgeous Destination Wedding in Cancun with Tammy and Jhony was an absolute pleasure. This was a true testament to perseverance and flexibility as this beautiful couple was truly tested during the constant waves of the pandemic. In the end, they got to celebrate along with ~25 of their closest friends and family in what turned out to be a truly magical ceremony. Congratulations to Tammy and Jhony on a beautiful ceremony!

 
HOTEL XCARET ARTE: EATING AT RESTAURANT CHINO POBLANO
 
Hotel Xcaret Arte: View from Casa Artista

EATING AT HOTEL XCARET ARTE: RESTAURANT CHINO POBLANO

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Hotel Xcaret Arte: Eating at Restaurant Chino Poblano
Hotel Xcaret Arte: Eating at Restaurant Chino Poblano

My husband and I just finished an amazing stay at the brand new adults-only all inclusive Hotel Xcaret Arte. It was seriously one of the most amazing all inclusive experiences that I have ever had! (and that’s saying something as I have been to a ton of all inclusive resorts haha!) This post is just about their amazing Chinese-Mexican fusion restaurant, Chino Poblano.


Chino Poblano

We experienced an 8 course tasting menu developed by Chef Jonatan Gomez Luna that was so amazing and unique. It was such an awesome experience and the food presentation, wow!

To start, the welcome drink, Chinchin (lichi margarita), reminded me of a mango lassi, it was so good! The shot was a Green tea Tepache with rice wine and green tea powder.

Hotel Xcaret Arte: Eating at Restaurant Chino Poblano. Welcome drink
Hotel Xcaret Arte: Eating at Restaurant Chino Poblano

courses 1, 2, and 3

Edamame with macha and roasted onion oil. Walnut foie with walnut sauce praline and soya caramel. And candy balls with mezcal that almost killed me haha!

Hotel Xcaret Arte: Eating at Restaurant Chino Poblano
Hotel Xcaret Arte: Eating at Restaurant Chino Poblano

COURSE 4

Ceviche marinated in a sweet and sour sauce. This was topped with chicharrón (a dish generally consisting of fried pork belly) like a tortilla.

Hotel Xcaret Arte: Eating at Restaurant Chino Poblano

COURSE 5

Grilled bao topped with a duck and almond mole stuffed with pork. The almond mole was so flavorful - my mouth is watering as I type this!

This was probably my favorite course along with the ramen!

Hotel Xcaret Arte: Eating at Restaurant Chino Poblano
Hotel Xcaret Arte: Eating at Restaurant Chino Poblano

course 6

Grilled marrow roasted with five spices on a bed of smoked chileatole and escamole (chileatole - thick soup made of corn masa or corn kernels, which is cooked with corn chunks, epazote, salt, and a sauce made of chili peppers and pumpkin leaves.)

Hotel Xcaret Arte: Eating at Restaurant Chino Poblano
Hotel Xcaret Arte: Eating at Restaurant Chino Poblano

COURSE 7

Guata Ramen: huatepe broth with lamb from Cuetzalan

Hotel Xcaret Arte: Eating at Restaurant Chino Poblano
Hotel Xcaret Arte: Eating at Restaurant Chino Poblano

COURSE 8

Peking duck with mole poblano and plum sauce, accompanied by fresh corn tortillas, Chinese crepes and chives. Garnishments were Bok Choy with pumpkin sprouts, sesame praline and corn smut and a Potato froth with Pao Kai, crispy potato and onion ash.

Hotel Xcaret Arte: Eating at Restaurant Chino Poblano

DESSERT

For dessert we had a lemon (Yin Yang) filled with bitter chocolate with soya, sesame seeds, eggnog and caramel. The five EL PARIÁN CANDIES were Borrachito jellybean, Brittle soya bar, Coconut candy, Eggnog marshmallow, and Xcaret fortune cookie.

Hotel Xcaret Arte: Eating at Restaurant Chino Poblano
Hotel Xcaret Arte: Eating at Restaurant Chino Poblano

Did I mention how beautiful this resort is??

Hotel Xcaret Arte: Main pool

If you are contemplating a trip to the new Hotel Xcaret Arte, then DO IT ASAP! You will NOT regret it! You can find a link to the full menu for Chino Poblano. They also have a separate menu for dining for an additional charge. You can find that here.

I do recommend using a travel agent when booking as you are supporting a small business and secondly, the resort is very confusing during the booking process. Also, there are so many added things that you are unaware of when booking yourself, so save a headache and let someone else do all the work for you!

If you have been to Xcaret Arte, what was your favorite restaurant? You can also find my full review here as well as my post on the restaurant Arenal here.


 
PIN FOR LATER!

PIN FOR LATER!