So today was Day 1 of the Love Mexico Destination Wedding Conference. This year’s conference has been extended from three days to four and has an impressive 300 wedding planners and travel agents from all over North America, who specialize in destination weddings.
Mexico, specifically Cancun and the Mayan Riviera, remains the #1 choice of Canadian couples looking for the perfect location for their destination wedding. Between the wide variety of flight options (all the major Canadian airlines offering plentiful flight options to Cancun from gateways all over Canada), with about 400 hotels to choose from on this Eastern strip and with a vibrant culture, heritage and gastronomic specialties… it’s easy to see why!
This year’s conference is being hosted at the Moon Palace resort in Cancun, about 15 minutes from the airport. This 2445 room resort is one of the favourites of Canadians, both for vacations and weddings. Palace Resorts offers an amazing array of wedding packages to choose from with incredible flexibility in terms of customizations. And they are one of the few properties where your wedding reception can go to 1am (most everyone else makes you close down at 11pm). Plus I’ve always wanted to visit Moon Palace so this is a real treat!
Today was a light day, with agents and planners arriving well into the afternoon. The incredible staff at the Moon Palace resort set up a sample of their “Romantic Red” wedding collection which just plain looks amazing from any angle:
Then it was off to my room to dump the luggage. My room was situated in the corner of the property, far from the beach unfortunately but right next to the convention centre (I guess that is to keep me focused on the fact I am there for business not too much pleasure this time!). Unfortunately, the weather was terrible today (lots of rain) but here is the view from my room, looking towards the ocean:
Tonight was the Welcome Dinner. Originally this was to be set up on the Moonlight Terrace under the stars and right near the beach, a favourite spot for wedding receptions. Alas, with the rain it was moved indoors but we made the best of it:
And what would a Mexican party be without a Mariachi Band?
Tomorrow we have a full day of learning and meeting representatives from the various resorts all around Mexico. But then we are off to the Royalton for a gala dinner. Stay tuned!
