5 Simple Steps: How to Elope in Riviera Maya, Mexico
I know, this sounds a bit overwhelming at first, but don’t worry, this is why we have wedding planners! They will hold your hand through it all. (Contact us[3] to be connected with the best!)
*An important note: If you are a US citizen who wants to get legally married in Mexico[4], certain states will require your marriage certificate be translated into English to be recognized as legal. Find your state on the list here[5].
Our Keep it Simple Tip!
If you would rather not jump through all these hoops, we have a solution:
Have a symbolic (non-legal) ceremony instead! You can have anyone you want to perform the ceremony, like a friend or a Mayan Shaman, and you don’t need witnesses, so your ceremony will be intimate and uniquely yours. Then you simply visit city hall in your hometown for the legal paperwork.
2. Do you want an all-inclusive resort wedding?
The next step in planning your Riviera Maya elopement is deciding on a wedding venue for your ceremony. Many people automatically think of all-inclusive wedding resorts[6] when they think of getting married in Mexico, and this can be a fantastic option with hundreds of resorts to fit your style and budget.
The upside to planning an all-inclusive resort elopement is that everything is taken care of for you. You are assigned a wedding coordinator, and they take care of the rest!
The downside is that you will lose any creative control. You will need to use their wedding vendors, or be faced with an outside vendor fee, or what they might call a vendor penalty. In a nutshell, if you want to bring in your photographer and videographer, hair and makeup, florist or officiant, they will charge you a hefty price to do so. Read more about Outside Vendor Fees[7] and how to handle them.
Our Keep it Simple Tip!
Stay wherever you want, and then plan your elopement off-site or off the resort. We have fantastic, professional wedding planners in the Riviera Maya who will take care of all the details for you. But where else can you get married? This brings us to step three…