Best Gazebo Destination Wedding Venues in Riviera Nayarit

A gazebo does three things at once, which is why couples who find one tend to stop looking. It puts a roof over the ceremony without putting you indoors. It frames the two of you in every photograph taken from the aisle. And it gives the whole thing a fixed point, so the ceremony has a centre rather than being a set of chairs arranged on open ground.

On Riviera Nayarit, two resorts have one, and both hold 100 guests. That’s a useful number here: large enough for most destination weddings on this coast, where couples average 45 guests, and small enough that the structure still reads as intimate rather than ceremonial.

Below is what each gazebo offers and how it pairs with the other venues at the same resort. Our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists can confirm availability and what decorating the structure involves for your destination wedding.

Best Gazebo Destination Wedding Venues at Top Riviera Nayarit Resorts

Two resorts on this coast have a dedicated wedding gazebo. Both are 4.5-star, family-friendly, and medium-sized, and both gazebos seat 100.

1. Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta

Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta sets its gazebo back into the resort’s planting rather than out on the sand, which gives the ceremony a quieter, more enclosed feel than a beachfront structure would.

The real advantage is what sits around it. This is the resort with the most venue range on the coast: Sunset Beach and Ciao Beach each hold 650, the Splash Terrace takes 160, and the Sanctuary Ballroom runs to 1,500. So a gazebo ceremony for 100 can lead into a reception of almost any size, which no other gazebo property here can offer.

It’s in Nuevo Vallarta, 25 to 40 minutes from the airport.

Learn more about Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta and get a free quote today >>

2. Iberostar Selection Playa Mita

Iberostar Selection Playa Mita has the White Stone Gazebo, an outdoor structure for 100 set against the Nayarit coastline out on the Punta de Mita peninsula.

All three of this resort’s venues are open air, and they sit close together, which makes it unusually straightforward to run. The Sunset Terrace, immediately by the gazebo, takes 120 for the cocktail hour, and the Poolside Terrace holds 100 for the reception. Guests move a few steps between each, and the whole day happens within sight of the same stretch of ocean.

The resort handles South Asian ceremonies alongside civil and symbolic ones.

Learn more about Iberostar Selection Playa Mita and get a free quote today >>

 

 

For a covered ceremony structure on the sand rather than a gazebo, the Beach Pergola at Grand Palladium Vallarta Resort & Spa holds 150.

More Information for Planning Your Gazebo Destination Wedding in Riviera Nayarit

Gazebos are simple venues with a few specifics worth settling. Here’s what our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists check.

Gazebo Destination Wedding Venues Appeal

Shade at the altar is the practical benefit. The two of you stand still for twenty minutes or more while everyone else sits, and on a west-facing coast in the late afternoon that’s a long time in direct sun. A roof over that spot changes how the ceremony feels and how the photographs come out.

Composition is the aesthetic one. A gazebo gives the photographer a frame built into the setting, so the shots down the aisle have structure to them. Open sand is beautiful and offers nothing to compose around, which is why beach ceremonies so often end up with a draped arch brought in to do the same job.

Two things to ask. Find out what decorating the structure costs, because draping and florals on a gazebo are usually quoted separately from the package and can run higher than an arch would. And check whether the gazebo is overlooked by walkways or guest rooms, since both of these sit within resort grounds rather than on an isolated stretch of beach.

Riviera Nayarit Destination Wedding Cost

The average cost of a destination wedding in Riviera Nayarit is $10,215 all-in for the couple, covering the wedding package, accommodations, airfare, and add-ons. Hotel costs average roughly $299 per person per night over a typical five-night stay, with airfare from $200 to $800 per couple. Couples marrying here average 45 guests.

These averages reflect real spend data from couples who booked their destination wedding with our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists.

A gazebo ceremony usually sits right around that average. The structure itself is normally included where the venue is, and the variable is decoration. Ask to see photographs of the gazebo both bare and dressed, so you know what the package covers and what the upgrade actually buys.

Riviera Nayarit Destination Wedding Packages

Complimentary and deposit-only wedding packages are widely available with a qualifying room block, running roughly $1,350 to $5,000 at entry tier, $5,500 to $7,000 mid-tier, and $7,500 to $14,000 and beyond for full productions.

Both of these resorts include a gazebo ceremony within their standard tiers with a qualifying room block. Where the tier matters is the reception, so decide what happens after the ceremony before you compare package prices, since that’s what separates one quote from another.

Riviera Nayarit Destination Wedding Travel Information

Licenciado Gustavo Diaz Ordaz International Airport serves the coast with direct flights from most major US and Canadian cities. The Nuevo Vallarta transfer runs 25 to 40 minutes, and Punta de Mita is about an hour.

That hour is the main difference between these two. The peninsula is quieter and more scenic, and it costs every guest an extra half hour in each direction. A gazebo ceremony is also one of the formats that holds up best outside the dry season, since the structure covers the part of the ceremony that matters most, though the November to April dry season remains the most reliable window.

 

Riviera Nayarit Gazebo Destination Wedding Venue FAQs

Which Riviera Nayarit resorts have a wedding gazebo?

Two. Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta in Nuevo Vallarta, and Iberostar Selection Playa Mita out on the Punta de Mita peninsula, which has the White Stone Gazebo. Both seat 100 guests.

How many guests fit in a gazebo ceremony?

Up to 100 at both resorts here. The structure itself holds the couple and the officiant, with guests seated in front of it, so the capacity is really about the space around the gazebo rather than inside it.

Is a gazebo better than a beach ceremony?

It depends on what’s bothering you about the beach. A gazebo gives you shade at the altar, level ground, and a built frame for the photographs. The beach gives you the ocean directly behind the ceremony and the sunset in line with the aisle, which a gazebo set back into the grounds can’t match.

Get Ready to Plan a Gazebo Destination Wedding in Riviera Nayarit

A roof over the vows, a frame for the photographs, and a hundred people seated in front of you. Two resorts on this coast offer it, and they sit at opposite ends of it, so the choice comes down to how far you want your guests to travel from the airport.

Fill out our online wedding planning form, and one of our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists will check availability and tell you exactly what each package includes.