Mexico Destination Wedding Details
Wedding Date: March 1st, 2024
All-Inclusive Wedding Resort: Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta
Wedding Location: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Wedding Venues: Pureza Beach & Las Palmas Terrace
Wedding Photographer: Joel Ramos With Great Events Studio Puerto Vallarta
Destination Wedding Travel Agent: EverAfter Travel
Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta Wedding Resort Highlights
Family-friendly, all-inclusive resort surrounded by cliffs on both sides
Beachfront property located on a secluded stretch of beach (no vendors on beach)
Nestled in the Sierra Madre mountains with gorgeous sunsets
About 30 minutes from the Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR)
Only 10 minutes from the charming town of Puerto Vallarta
5 dining options with two open-air seaside restaurants and cuisines like Mexican and Asian
4 bars/lounges including a swim-up bar and a beach bar
7 pools including ocean view infinity pools and an adults-only pool
Seasonal opportunities for whale watching from the resort (December to March)
Non-motorized water sports like kayaking are included with your stay
Daily activities and entertainment including live shows and theme nights
Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta Wedding Review: Claire & Tanner
Why did you decide to have a destination wedding?
We wanted a more intimate setting and got to celebrate our big day in paradise for an entire vacation. We visit Puerto Vallarta almost every year and love it every time.
We loved getting to spend the entire week with our families and friends. It was also a lot cheaper alternative than a traditional wedding in the United States.
What were your biggest concerns about planning a destination wedding? What were you struggling with the most before reaching out to EverAfter Travel?
My biggest concern was choosing a resort that everyone would love. It is difficult enough picking a resort for yourself, but when you want all your guests to love it too it makes it feel more pressured.
Jodi at EverAfter Travel made this concern go away very early in the process. We were able to discuss our "must haves" and wants and with her help was able to choose the perfect resort that ALL our guests loved just as much as we did!
Another concern was that a lot of our guests would not be able to make it due to cost and travel, we found that the people we wanted there most made it happen and enjoyed the more intimate feeling with less guests. We knew and loved every single guest that attended our big day.
What were your "must haves" for your destination wedding? What were the deciding factors for choosing your resort?
Our must haves were an all-inclusive resort, private area for the ceremony and reception, not too many children or "spring breakers", a fun atmosphere, and good food.
We chose our resort based off reviews and Jodi's suggestions. Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta was extremely accommodating for all our requests and checked all our boxes.
Tell me about your wedding e.g. events, venues, special touches, etc. How many guests did you invite to your destination wedding and how many people ended up attending? If you're comfortable sharing, how much was the total cost of your destination wedding celebration (not including things like travel expenses, your dress, etc.)?
We stayed at the Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta for 11 nights and invited our guests for 7 nights. We invited about 100 people and had 45 guests attend.
We had our ceremony on the beach and reception on the oceanfront terrace (Las Palmas Terrace). The total cost for our wedding including the resort photographer was approximately $10,000. The venue, flowers, decor, photographer, lighting, and food were absolutely perfect and exactly what we dreamt of!
Was there anything you splurged on for your destination wedding and if so, did you feel like it was worth it?
We felt as if we didn't have to "splurge" on any extras for our destination wedding. Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta had a great wedding package that came with all our wants. We did upgrade our flowers but it was a very reasonable expense and turned out amazing!
Was there anything you tried to save on for your destination wedding and if so, did you feel like it was worth it?
We saved on the extra upgrades such as table cloths, chairs, and a DJ. I think this was worth it.
We had a guest be our "DJ" and got to play our own music, no one cared what style of chair they were sitting on, and all the florals and natural beauty of the venue was more than enough decor to make the space feel elevated. I would not change a thing about our decisions.
What were the most helpful online websites/social media groups/content creators/YouTube links that helped you during the planning process?
The resort social media sites, Google reviews, The Knot, and our travel agent Jodi.
Shout out to any wedding vendors you loved e.g. photography, DJ, makeup, etc.
Our photographer, Joel Ramos was AMAZING! The wedding planner at the resort Valentina Valencia was extremely helpful and was present throughout the entire wedding day and rehearsal.
What kind of feedback did you hear from your guests? This could be about the resort, the wedding, and/or EverAfter Travel.
The wedding was a blast! The venue was clean and beautiful. Everyone had a great time! They loved getting to mingle with both sides of our families and having a week long celebration.
Everyone was very happy with working with Jodi and EverAfter Travel and said she was extremely helpful with helping book and giving travel advice/details. Everyone felt well prepared for the trip, even our older guests that are not as familiar with traveling.
We were very happy with the Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta resort. Our only criticism would be service was a little slower than other all-inclusive resorts we have went to and the pool areas were very small. If we were having any larger of a wedding with more guests, it would have been difficult to find spaces for us all to gather together.
What advice do you have for other couples planning a destination wedding?
Make sure to focus on finding the right fit for the resort, try not to focus too much on the little details and enjoy the ease of a destination wedding. Choose a place that you LOVE and your family and friends will love it just as much!
What were your favorite parts about your destination wedding?
Getting to spend an extended amount of time with our guests, the low costs, and not worrying about paying for each plate or worrying about paying for drinks/alcohol since it was an all inclusive resort.
Is there anything you would change about your destination wedding?
Nothing at all!
Why did you choose to work with EverAfter Travel for your destination wedding?
We reached out to a few destination wedding travel agents and immediately knew Jodi and EverAfter Travel was going to be the best fit for us. We never felt pressured, took our time with our decisions, and loved all her suggestions.
She was the quickest to respond and gave us friendly energy throughout the entire process. We had a lot of questions and requests and never felt like we were a bother to Jodi!
How did working with EverAfter Travel make planning your Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta wedding easier/better/less stressful?
We would highly recommend Jodi and EverAfter Travel to anyone planning a destination wedding! She found our dream resort, she coordinated with all our guests, helped us layout the timeline, set up the logistics, and truly made the process seamless.
The second we started working with Jodi our stress levels were cut in half and we trusted here expertise and it paid off! Wish we could live our special day over and over.
Review posted by Claire and Tanner about their experience:
We cannot recommend Jodi and EverAfter Travel enough for destination weddings! She was a huge help throughout the entire process.
She was extremely attentive and listened to our wants, gave great resort recommendations, helped our family and friends with their bookings, helped communicate with the resort for all the logistics, and made sure we were comfortable and happy even during our trip.
Our wedding day could not have gone better and would highly recommend Jodi!
Related real wedding recap blog posts:
Other destination wedding blog posts:
Comments