A comprehensive 10-chapter guide on planning a destination wedding in Puerto Vallarta, written by local experts.
My husband and I have worked as wedding photographers in Puerto Vallarta since 2019, where we’ve seen a significant rise in its popularity as a top global destination for weddings. However, when we started planning our own wedding, we encountered a frustrating issue: there wasn’t a comprehensive guide for wedding planning in Puerto Vallarta. For example, what are the best wedding venues? How much does a wedding typically cost in the area? How do I build my dream team of local vendors? And voilà, the idea for this all-in-one guide to planning a destination wedding in Puerto Vallarta was born. Not only do we possess professional experience in the industry, but we also have personal experience, having married in Puerto Vallarta just last year.
In this series, we’ll provide a step-by-step guide to planning your destination wedding in Puerto Vallarta, covering setting the budget, selecting the venue, choosing the date, assembling your dream team, and everything in between. For optimal results, we recommend following this guide sequentially, starting with chapter 1 and concluding with chapter 10.
CHAPTERS.
New chapters published weekly (subscribe to our newsletter to get notified):
Chapter 1 | Dream: Explore the initial phase of wedding planning, perfect for visionaries who enjoy daydreaming and creating vision boards. In this chapter, we’ll guide you on how to get on the same page as your partner, craft your dream wedding vision board (including Mexican-inspired wedding themes for inspiration), and how to add Mexican flair to your wedding!
Chapter 2 | Budget: Understand the costs associated with a wedding in Mexico and start building your budget using our spreadsheets and calculators. In this chapter, we’ll uncover the average cost of a destination wedding in Mexico, what influences the cost of a destination wedding, how to create a realistic wedding budget, a 3-step system to save for your wedding, plus 7 ways to cut wedding costs. You won’t want to miss this chapter!
Chapter 3 | Location: Discover Puerto Vallarta’s best wedding venues, from all-inclusive beachfront resorts to intimate boutique hotels, plus an interactive map. Bonus: since we’ve worked in the wedding industry in Mexico for over 7 years, we know exactly how much each venue charges for a wedding, and we’re sharing it here!
Chapter 4 | Setting The Date: Month-by-month wedding planning timelines for long and short engagements, along with insights into the best seasons for weddings in Puerto Vallarta. In this chapter, we’ll explain how long it takes to plan a destination wedding, the pros and cons of a long engagement (12 months) vs a short engagement (6 months), the best months to have a wedding in Puerto Vallarta, a look at a typical wedding schedule in Puerto Vallarta, plus wedding planning timeline samples.
Chapter 5 | Guest List: Learn how to curate the ideal guest list, whether you envision an intimate affair or a lavish celebration. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to craft your wedding guest list and registry, what to include in your wedding invitations (plus a wedding invitation cheat sheet), and helpful templates such as a wedding guest list form you can download to track your guests’ RSVPs.
Chapter 6 | The Dress: Find your perfect dress with a style guide that emphasizes feeling beautiful and true to yourself. In this chapter, we’ll discuss where to look for your wedding dress, what to include in the dressmaker contract, tips on shopping for your shoes, plus must-have wedding dress accessories.
Chapter 7 | Menu & Flowers: The wedding menu and flowers are the cornerstones of your wedding reception. This chapter addresses topics such as sit-down vs buffet, how to find the right caterer, pastry chef, bar manager, and florist, and questions and sample contracts.
Chapter 8 | Photography & Music: Build your creative wedding team of photographers, videographers, and musicians! We’ll show you how to hire a wedding photographer (plus a list of the best wedding photographers in Puerto Vallarta), a wedding videographer, DJs, and musicians, plus the importance of scoring the ceremony and reception.
Chapter 9 | The Rentals: Access a straightforward article detailing the top local rental companies and tips for effective communication to stay within budget. In this chapter, we’ll cover how to hire a high-quality and reliable rental company to get everything from linens to lighting, chairs to tables, plus a guide to hiring a transportation service for transporting guests to your wedding.
Chapter 10 | Making It Official: Navigate the process of hiring an officiant and selecting wedding bands, plus a marriage license checklist for Mexico. In this chapter, we’ll guide you on hiring the right officiant who will set the tone for your ceremony, how to select wedding bands, with a breakdown of gold, platinum, palladium, and titanium options, plus a marriage license checklist if you’re opting to legalize your union in Mexico.
Bonus Item: Introducing “Taylor’s List” – Your Insider Guide to Puerto Vallarta’s Premier Wedding Vendors! Subscribe to our newsletter and be the first to receive this curated collection of top-tier venues and vendors. Crafted by industry experts Taylor and Diego, a husband-wife duo with over 7 years of experience (and their own unforgettable Puerto Vallarta wedding!), this exclusive list takes the guesswork out of planning. Drawing from their deep local knowledge, they’ve hand-picked the city’s finest to ensure your dream destination wedding is a seamless, joy-filled affair. Don’t miss this invaluable resource – subscribe now!
