Jamie and Vinh’s destination wedding at Unico Resort was nothing short of magical. In this post, they share their experience of planning a wedding away from home, tips for couples considering a destination wedding, and why a wedding specialist was key to making their dream wedding a reality.

Lauren: Why did you choose a destination wedding?

Jamie and Vinh: We chose a destination wedding because one of our very good friends got married a year prior to us and we loved everything about it. We loved that all the planning and preparation wouldn’t all be over in just one day. Instead, we were able to hangout and spend quality time with everyone throughout the whole week, which allowed us to really enjoy the wedding together  without feeling obligated to go from table to table all night. It also helps that everything was significantly cheaper compared to the US. We got everything we wanted for an incredible price. 

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

Jamie and Vinh: We had about 68-70 guests. The type of experience we envisioned for our guests was for it to just be a big weekend long party celebrating our love. I wanted our guests to have the trip of their life and to not worry about anything once they stepped on the resort except which drinks to order or what food they want to eat. I feel so lucky to have so many of our guests say it was one, if not, the best and most memorable wedding they’ve been to. 

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?

Jamie and Vinh: One part we couldn’t have done alone was definitely organizing all the bookings of the room, flights, and travel. Lauren’s direct relationship with Unico was also a great benefit. Just having Lauren’s experience with destination weddings and traveling in general was invaluable in planning a destination wedding. We had so many questions and had no clue what we were doing in the beginning and she made the process so smooth and easy. It was one less thing for us to stress about because she had it all covered. To say she was on top of it is an understatement. 

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

Jamie and Vinh: Some advice I would give to couples who are starting the planning process is that it will be stressful but it will all be worth it in the end. Just don’t forget that this day is all about you two, so try not to worry about all the noise and make decisions based on what you two want and what would be best for you. 

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

Jamie and Vinh: One extra we were glad we splurged on was definitely the fireworks during our first dance. The fireworks were a big hit with our guests and they were so shocked when they came on. 

What surprised me most about my wedding was just how amazingly smooth everything came together even though everything was planned through email, video chat, and phone calls. I never physically saw anything and yet it was everything I could ever imagine and more. Everybody that we worked with was amazing and a key player in helping our vision come to life. 

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

Jamie and Vinh: Three words to describe our wedding would be magical, intimate, exciting. 

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

Jamie and Vinh: It’s hard to pick one memory of our big day because we have so many but for Vinh, his was the fireworks during our first dance. For me, it was the last song when we had our friends and family surrounding us and singing with us. I just felt all the love at that moment. 

A note from Lauren: It was such a pleasure helping Jamie and Vinh with the wedding of their dreams!

Ready to plan your own unforgettable destination wedding? Contact me today to start planning your dream wedding at Unico Resort!

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!

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!

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!