Details, details, details! April and Matt's purple-themed destination wedding was gorgeous. The purple in the bride's dress was carried through to her beautiful fresh flower bouquet, tulle at the altar and favors for all of her guests. Before the wedding, April and friends made DIY welcome bags for guests full of beach vacation necessities, like koozies, a hangover kit, Sudoku and more. The beautiful destination wedding was held at the family-friendly Azul Beach Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico in March 2012.

"When we decided to have a destination wedding (our requirements were blue water, white sand, bare feet) and I was recommended by a family member to DestinationWeddings.com, I was a little hesitant. But it was a great decision. Debbie R. helped us find a fantastic location in the Azul Beach Hotel. The planners there were amazing, the planner in the US, Amanda was so helpful, and the resort was more beautiful than I could have imagined. Our guests all had an amazing time, and they all commented it was the most beautiful wedding they had ever attended. It was the perfect day. I couldn't have asked for anything better. It was a great decision to use DW.com and their services. Thanks to everyone who made it a most memorable experience. Matt and I couldn't imagine a better setting or day." -April (Bride)

All photos taken by Bruce Best Photography

To learn more information or get started on your own destination wedding, please click here!

Less than a week ago, the former President of DestinationWeddings.com, Quentin ‘Bud’ Carmichael Jr., attended his daughter’s destination wedding at the beautiful El Dorado Royale Spa Resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Out of thousands of available venues worldwide for his only daughter’s special day, El Dorado Royale was a choice second to none. The beautiful adults-only resort hosted guests from all over the world for this occasion, including the UK and Italy. The guest list also included the owner of the El Dorado properties, Sr. Jose Martinez, and his wife, Ma. Dolores Lopez Lira, Director General of Lomas Travel.

We send a warm ‘congratulations’ to Lauren and Brendan on their recent nuptials and wish them a lifetime of happiness!

Ready to start planning your own destination wedding? Click here!

Lindsay and Christopher's destination wedding in Riviera Maya, Mexico was simply beautiful! They incorporated a number of little details to personalize their special day - photos and frames, hanging lanterns, fresh flowers and etc. They even had a fun 'trash the dress' photo session on the beach. We know you'll be inspired by this beautiful destination wedding...

"DestinationWeddings.com (DW) helped to make our beach wedding dream come true! Shelli, our DW Specialist, was professional, friendly, and thoughtful. She helped us select a resort that fit our needs and those of our guests, worked with us and our group to coordinate all travel logistics, and even left us a welcome message at the resort when we arrived. Thanks to Shelli, the planning process was such a thorough, pleasant, and stress-free experience, which ensured that once we got to Azul Sensatori we could focus on us and spending time with our family and friends. We have already recommended Shelli to friends and will continue to recommend her to others. Thank you DW!" Lindsay A. (Bride)

Photos taken by Marco at Azul Sensatori Hotel and Lindsay Mathwick.

Inspired? We thought so! To start planning your own special destination wedding, please click here.

In last week’s blog, Dressing Your Bridesmaids for Your Destination Wedding, we put together a few tips and pieces of advice to help you get started dressing your bridal party. We absolutely love sharing photos so we’ll continue the trend in today’s blog. Take a look at how some of our past destination wedding couples outfitted their wedding parties. From formalwear to more casual looks, they did what worked for them and looked great. Enjoy the photo inspiration below and if you’ve got tips, advice or ideas of your own, please share in the comments section below!

How is your destination wedding party going to look? Comment below!

With a rich legacy of personalized service and hospitality, Real Resorts proudly presents the THE Royal Cancun. Real’s flagship property, conveniently located next to the Gran Caribe Real in the best location in the heart of Cancun’s Hotel Zone, is a luxurious adults-only, all-suite, all-inclusive resort where guests will experience a truly “Royal” escape. With an uncompromising commitment to luxury, THE Royal Cancun has been designed to provide a joyful ambiance of casual elegance. An intimate atmosphere, flawless service and traditional Mexican warmth and hospitality live up to Real Resorts’ guiding principle of “Exceeding Your Expectations”.

Types of Weddings Offered:

• Civil
• Symbolic (Catholic, Mayan and Vow Renewals)

Venues for Ceremonies:

• Oceanfront Wedding Gazebo
• Oceanfront Chapel
• Beach Locations

Venues for Wedding and Cocktail Receptions:

• Ballrooms
• Five restaurants (Spice, Pelicanos, Asiana, Maria Marie and Tapas & Pintxos)

Wedding Packages:

• Free Wedding
• Romance Wedding
• Classic Wedding
• Classic Catholic Wedding
• Mayan Ceremony
• Eternal Romance Wedding
• Luxury Wedding
• Ultimate Luxury Wedding

To learn about all about THE Royal Cancun, including resort amenities, restaurant specifics, wedding package details and more, please click here. In the meantime, enjoy the photos below!  

Not enough? Learn even more about THE Royal Cancun as you watch our very own Chief Operating Officer of DestinationWeddings.com, Ed Cotton, talk with PR Manager of Real Resorts, Walter Dagri to discuss this beautiful resort.

Ready to start planning your romantic adventure to THE Royal Cancun? Click here!

WOW! Germin and George hosted their Coptic Orthodox Christian destination wedding in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. They were so sweet to share their photos, video, and their destination wedding story with us. We hope you enjoy everything as much as we did!

DestinationWeddings.com was great in helping us plan our destination wedding in paradise! All of our guests loved our Certified Destination Wedding Specialist, Sonia, and the help she provided in the traveling plans! We had about 62 people fly to attend our wedding and also plan a mini-vacation. We all stayed at Sandos Playacar Beach Resort then went to Xcaret for the wedding.

Our ceremony was unique in that my priest came to perform the ceremony for our Coptic Orthodox Christian wedding in Xcaret in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We were the only people in Xcaret Park after 6:30 PM and were graciously escorted to the Chapel and then to the reception hall. The hall was an exotic cave with a strong bamboo covering overhead and an underground river below. We also had a lighted dance floor that was specially ordered to add to the special lighting provided by Xcaret.  The food was delicious, the DJ was amazing, and the service was beyond exceptional! All of our guests raved about the unique setting for our destination wedding and reception and still talk about it until now!

Our wedding was perfect in every way, thanks for the exceptional efforts of Weddings in Cancun and the staff at Xcaret. Our photos were taken by Claudia Rodriguez Photography and our video was done by Mike (Miguel) Cantarell. They did an AMAZING job in capturing all of our special moments from beginning to end. Also, we had a breath-taking trash-the-dress session that was also taken by Claudia Rodriguez two days after the wedding. Those pictures are our favorite because they were not only beyond beautiful but definitely unique!

If we had to do it all over again we would not change a thing! From the travel agent to the photographer to the wedding planner, everything was flawless for our special day!

-Germin and George F.

Don't forget to watch Germin and George's destination wedding video as well!

To start planning your own destination wedding, please get started here!

When it comes to choosing bridal party wear, where does a bride start? Sometimes, brides want all of their bridesmaids to look exactly alike from their dresses to their accessories and right down to the color of their nails. Other times, brides want their bridesmaids to go along with a general theme or color scheme, but have optionality to customize their look. Whatever a bride may desire, here are a few steps to get started with…

1. Be honest. Do you want all of your bridesmaids to match exactly or have their own, individual looks? If you’ve had a vision of your bridesmaids, let them know upfront!
2. Talk to your girls (or boys). Do they have a budget? Do they have any preferences on color or style? Find out what their thoughts are and try to include them in the process as much as you can. After all, they are your bridesmaids and nobody likes a bridezilla!
3. Everyone is different. No two men or women have the same exact body type or look, so keep your options open. What may look amazing on one of your bridesmaids may not be so flattering on another. Be respectful!
4. Keep your location in mind. If you’re getting married somewhere warm, tropical and on the beach, will you really want something floor-length? Same goes for shoes – pumps aren’t the best shoes for a beach wedding because they tend to sink in the sand. Remember ladies, location, location, location!
5. Have fun. At the end of the day, it’s clothes and accessories. Enjoy the ride with your ladies and gents and just remember: it’s your BIG day! Twenty years from now, you’ll probably laugh at what everyone wore anyways!

Here’s some inspiration from a few of our past brides who we think did a fabulous job with their bridesmaids! What will you do!?

Now that you have some steps and photo inspiration to help get you started with outfitting your bridesmaids for your destination wedding, go for it!

Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts are available in a number of gorgeous locations, like Jamaica, St. Lucia, Bahamas, and Antigua. There are adults-only options for couples looking for kid-free getaways, and family-friendly options for those looking for a sweet family escape. Sandals and Beaches offer it all, from top of the line restaurants and bars with premium drinks, activities galore for guests of all ages, personal butler service and more. They take pride in their customizable wedding, honeymoon, and vow renewal packages,  All of this is available, while keeping their environmental commitments near and dear.

All Sandals Resorts & Beaches Resorts participate in the EarthCheck benchmarking and certification program. From recycling to conserving, Sandals takes its environmental commitment very seriously. Their "green" resorts are made for love, so loving the environment has become second nature. Sandals and Beaches Resorts follow sound environmental practices, like:

• Staff Awareness: Sandals’ team members participate in workshops and seminars conducted by environmental committees, government organizations, and also environmental organizations.
• Water Conservation Program: Sandals monitor total water use on their properties.
• Energy Management Program: Sandals uses timers on electrical equipment like at their Spa, outdoor lighting, and in their kitchens, to make sure energy isn’t being wasted.
• Waste Management Program: Sandals practices recycling of linen and bed spreads, food, office paper, and packages.
• Control of Hazardous Substances: Before product purchases are made, Sandals determines suitability of products and when necessary, provides full training for staff whenever new chemicals or equipment are involved.
• Social and Cultural Development: Local and ‘green’ tours are promoted and sold at the tour desks.

The next time you want to plan a romantic adventure and be earth-friendly at the same time, think Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts. You can have the time of your lives and leave less of a carbon footprint on the earth!  Enjoy the pictures below from all of the Sandals Resorts and see how you can travel and stay green!

To get started on your romantic adventure at Sandals and Beaches Resorts, click here!

In honor or Earth Day this week, we’ve decided to share a few of our earth-loving hotels and resorts who are making admirable efforts to ‘go green’. Today, we share Karisma Hotels and Resorts, a premier collection of Gourmet Inclusive® properties located in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

Whether you choose to visit the adults-only El Dorado Resorts or the family-friendly Azul Hotels, all of Karisma’s properties are doing what they can to be environmentally friendly. They are practicing sustainable tourism through environmentally friendly technology and education in Mexico. Some of their green efforts include:

• A 70,000 sq ft Greenhouse at El Dorado Royale that produces fresh fruits and veggies
• Hydro jets installed in all toilets to reduce the amount of water used
• Water treatment process to reuse water for gardens
• Solar panels heating 40 – 100% of the water at each resort
• Ozone laundry system, eliminating harmful chemicals
• LED light bulbs
• Extensive efforts to insure garbage is separated and recycled properly
• All air conditioners use Ecofreeze, which saves approximately 30% electricity

Karisma Hotels and Resorts takes their social responsibility one step further by educating Mexico’s local schools’ students with fun vegetable picking field trips in their greenhouse! How cool is that? And, students aren’t the only ones that benefit from Karisma’s social efforts, guests do too! The greenhouse produces enough fresh fruits and vegetables to supply all Karisma properties with fresh ingredients for their gourmet meals. So just think, the next time you're at a Karisma property for a destination wedding, honeymoon, or any type of getaway, you'll be treating yourself to fresh meals all while helping the earth!

Explore Karisma’s ‘going green’ efforts by taking a look at the photos below.

Now, do the earth a favor a take an eco-friendly vacation, it’s the right thing to do. Start planning your green getaway today, just click here!

Families and friends travel from all over the world to attend destination weddings and it’s always nice when brides and grooms go that extra mile to show their appreciation for guests’ attendance. Some couples will host a pre-wedding party, arrange to do group excursions or our favorite, tap into their creative side and make something for guests! Lots of brides choose to go the DIY route when it comes to their favors and it gives the perfect little touch to show their guests just how much they are appreciated.

Past bride April F. did exactly this and put together welcome bags for all of her and Matt’s attendees.

“I embroidered each bag (my friend and I did) with a flip flop and each guest's name and stuffed them with a hangover kit, pens that are maracas, Sudoku and crosswords, personalized can koozies, and welcome letters that I made which are fans. On each bag I put a flip flop luggage tag. I'm really proud of them and my guests loved them.” April F.

Phots taken by Bruce Best Photography

Couples can take this idea and totally make it their own; start with a theme, pick items your guests will enjoy and go for it! What will you put in your welcome bags? Comment below!