Real Wedding: Kyana & Logan at Dreams Riviera Cancun

Wedding Date: May 3, 2025 ~ Resort: Dreams Riviera Cancun ~ Photographer: Adventure Photos ~ Bridal Salon: Tie The Knot Bridal Boutique ~ Tux Shop: Men's Wearhouse

Why did you choose Romance Travel Group?

I'd say that Romance Travel Group chose us! :) We were looking at destination weddings, travel agencies, etc. and stumbled across social media/ ads for RTG. After looking at the reviews and their website and the process, it seemed like such a user-friendly company and the communication right away was seamless!
 
What led you to choose a destination wedding?
Logan and I moved to Florida almost 8 years ago. Most of our family resides in Wisconsin, however, our friends are scattered all over the United States (Minnesota, Florida, Arizona, Wisconsin, etc.) We knew that planning a wedding in Wisconsin when we don’t live there would be more stress on us, which we didn’t want. And we also realized that our guests would have to travel regardless if we had it here in Florida. So, why not have them travel just a little bit further and make a vacation out of it with an all-inclusive resort. Seemed like the best option for us that suited us well. 
 
How did you select the resort? What were the deciding factors?
Selecting the resort was the hardest part of this entire process. We took into account the amenities that the resort had to offer. We also looked at the distance from the airport to the result, as we didn’t want our guests to have to travel for an extensive period of time after they already made the long trip to Mexico. We also looked into resorts that were kid-friendly and adult only, as that was something we battled for a while. And then most importantly, we looked at what wedding packages came with the resorts and what deals/rates they could offer us.
 
Were there any objections from your wedding guests about your decision to have a destination wedding? If so, how did you handle overcome those?

For a lot of our friends and family, it was their first time traveling out of the state- let alone country. Many guests did not have passports, some did not like traveling via airplane, there was a negative stigma about Mexico, etc. At the end of the day, we reminded guests that this was our choice and our wedding and is what made the most sense for us and our future. We didn’t want to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a wedding for 1 night (we would rather use that for a honeymoon or new house! I also was in my last semester of grad school and we rescued a puppy - we had a lot going on. I didn’t want or have the time to plan a wedding and I knew this was the best option for us to keep our sanity but also give us a celebration and vacation to look forward to. We made sure to validate our guests feelings and ensured that we were very understanding and recognized that if we did a destination wedding, we would likely have less people attend and that was okay for us.
 
What were some of your biggest fears about having a destination wedding?

Biggest fears of planning a destination wedding was the lack of communication or ability to have someone speak our language to best answer our questions. Additionally, not being in control of everything and knowing exactly what was going on behind the scenes. 
 
Did you invite guests in a unique way, like a themed save the date or announcement party?

We made our save the dates look like an airplane ticket!

Describe what it was like working with the wedding coordinator at the resort? What went well? Any challenges?

I think the biggest challenge was that we felt we did not get connected to her until we were 3 months out. By that point, I had so many questions and thoughts and worries and fears and things I needed clarified. My husband had to remind me that they do this every single day for a living. They are not worried about a wedding 3+ months from now when they have one tomorrow. It was just a matter of my Type A personality needing some type of control and realizing that I needed to be patient and that truly it was out of my hands, so whatever was going to happen was going to happen regardless. At the end of the day, they truly are experts!!! Everything went so smoothly, organized, put together, better than I ever could have imagined. I went into it with little to no expectations and they exceeded it.
 
Tell us about your wedding attire – How did you find it? Who went shopping with you? How did you feel wearing your wedding attire?

Pinterest, Pinterest, Pinterest. I knew that I wanted my bridesmaids to wear different shades of green. I felt that with the ceremony being on the beach, me having green eyes, and it being a tropical wedding - the different shades of green would look amazing. As for the groomsmen, I went back and forth so much on what they should wear. But, I ultimately kept seeing similar outfits on Pinterest of the tan linen suits (looked so beachy and tropical) and that is what we went with! The groomsmen all wore green bow-ties to match the colors of the bridesmaid dresses. and the groom wore a green tie to off-set himself. The groom also wore the full vest and jacket- whereas the groomsmen wore suspenders, white shirt just the linen pants. 
 
Describe the booking process for your guests. Did they find that to be easy to navigate?

I barely heard about guests booking process because Romance Travel Group handled all of that for us. Which was amazing because those were the little details that we did not have time to deal with it and it took a lot of stress away from us- having them navigate the guests.

Describe the meeting you had with the onsite wedding team when you arrived at the resort.

We met with our wedding team the day we arrived. We handed her all of the decor that we brought to Mexico and went through the timeline of the weekend, the events we had planned, finalization of numbers and food, and all the tiny details! Our wedding planner answered all our last minute questions and then walked us around the resort to show us where each event would take place. Meeting her the day of our arrival eased so many worries so that I could start to relax and enjoy the celebrations!
 
Were your guests wowed by the resort and the all-inclusive concept? What was their reaction upon arrival?

Our guests were so pleasantly surprised at the resort!! The grand entrance was so big and beautiful. Everyone was greeted right away with drinks upon arrival. We really felt like royalty. 

How easy/difficult was it to travel with your wedding attire? Did you carry-it on, where did you store it? Did you get a lot of comments at the airport?

We did not let the wedding dress or tuxedo out of our sight!! We had both items as our carry on and then we each brought a personal item and checked the rest of our bags. So many people complimented me at the airport, said congratulations, and asked if I was the bride. They put our wedding dresses and tuxedos in the flight attendants closets on the flights, which also made it feel so special!
 
Tell us about your wedding – did you have a traditional wedding with a cocktail hour, dinner reception and dance? What was different about a destination wedding compared to a wedding at home?

We had everything a traditional wedding would have had. We had a welcome party to kick off the festivities on the second day of arrival ("Last splash"-- everyone wore blue for the "something blue"). We had a ceremony, cocktail, dinner, reception, and after-party in the resorts dance club that is open after-hours. The only difference was that I didn’t have to worry about anything or plan anything! We picked what decor we wanted, what food, the location of these events and we showed up and everything was magically just put together!
 
What was the best part of having a destination wedding?

The experience. All of our closest friends and family had 3+ days of making memories, being in a beautiful destination, and having so many fun activities together. A traditional wedding is just one night. We had 3+ days of events, activities and felt truly special the entire weekend long. When would you ever get to be in Mexico or on vacation with 80 of your closest friends and family!? That will likely never happen again and everyone was there because of us.

What is your most favorite memory of your wedding experience?

My favorite memory was my husband’s reaction as I walked down the aisle. It is something I will truly never forget. Another of our favorite memories was having one of our guests and best friends sing our first dance song live. It was so special and unique and was a big hit!

In what ways did Romance Travel Group make the planning less stressful for you?

In every way possible. There was no way that we could have ever planned a destination wedding without RTG. From helping guests book rooms, to taking special requests of rooms (certain views, certain beds, rooms next to one another, etc.) to arranging all the flight arrival/departure times and guests travel to/from the airport--- they are MIRACLE WORKERS!! They did everything I never would have wanted to do which allowed my focus to be on other things.

What would you do differently? What advice would you give to couples just starting the planning process?

Do not wait until you get connected to the wedding planner 3 months before to start planning. Get as much done as possible beforehand. (place cards, seating charts, decor, bride gifts, bride pajama sets, guest food order, etc.) Create a Facebook page or group chat for your guests with all surveys and information to communicate. Makes it much easier!
 
What surprised you the most about having a destination wedding?

I was most surprised by how many people attended! We thought that because it was a destination wedding, a little more expensive, peoples fear of traveling, etc. that our number of guests would have significantly declined and we were wrong! We expected maybe 30-40 guests and we ended up having 80! People want to vacation and celebrate :) I was also most surprised at how fast and efficient the resort was. They put up and took down the decor so fast that I didn’t even recognize it happening. They had everything timewise down to a T. They had radios to communicate to one another. They really are experts at this and it made it feel so much more secure and real that this was a production they are used to doing every day.
 
Would you recommend Romance Travel Group to other couples who are considering a destination wedding?

1000000%

---