Romance Travel Group
  • Home
    • Sample Wedding Website
  • Destination Wedding
    • Start Here
    • Cost Calculator
    • Destinations
    • Ceremonies
    • Packages
    • Budget
    • Indian Destination Weddings
    • LGBTQ+ Destination Weddings
  • Planning
    • Step by Step
    • Timeline
    • Details
    • Save The Date
    • Guest List
    • Guest FAQ
    • Guest Travel
    • Travel With Your Dress
    • Facebook Groups
  • Real Weddings
  • Blog
  • Schedule Consult
  • About Us

The Very Best Wedding Blog

Real Wedding:  Sarah & Mike at Hard Rock Los Cabos

12/29/2020

0 Comments

 
Wedding Date:  December 2020 ~ ​Resort:  Hard Rock Los Cabo ~ Photographer:  Bella Donna Studios ~ Travel Agency:  Romance Travel Group
Real Wedding:  Sarah & Mike at Hard Rock Los Cabos
​Why did you choose Romance Travel Group?
We attended a destination wedding in Riviera Maya in 2019 that was planned through Romance Travel Group and loved how seamless the entire booking process was, so we decided to reach out to Shelli to plan our destination wedding!

How did you select the resort? What were the deciding factors?
We were given a couple of amazing options through Romance Travel Group, but we knew we wanted a modern resort that could accommodate all age groups just in case anyone wanted to bring their kids. This led us to the Hard Rock Hotel Los Cabos – brand new, modern, and fun for families and adults alike. Plus, they have waterslides!! 

How did you come to decide on your wedding date? Is there meaning behind it?
We decided that a destination wedding would be more appealing during winter months so our friends and family could escape a very cold Chicago. December 5th happened to be the day we first met (in 2012), and we loved that we could make it our official anniversary and celebrate with sunshine.

Describe what it was like working with the wedding coordinator at the resort? What went well? Any challenges?
We booked our wedding without seeing the resort in person, which was a huge leap of faith!  Because of this, we leaned heavily on the wedding coordinators based in Miami to give guidance and advice from previous Hard Rock weddings. The only challenges we faced were due to the changes put in place due to Covid-19.  We had originally wanted a buffet meal at the reception, but for safety we had to choose plated.  It actually made a lot of decisions easier because we only had 1 option instead of many (I suffer from analysis paralysis). A month before the wedding, the Miami coordinator transitioned us over to the wedding coordinators onsite in Cabo to finalize it all before our arrival.

Describe the booking process for your guests. Did they find that to be easy to navigate?
We sent our save the dates with information about our wedding website about 11 months prior to our wedding to encourage early booking and direct guests to the FAQ page.  Having all the information online (with our catchy domain/website name) made it so seamless to book, or at least bookmark the page until they were ready to book.
 
What were some of your biggest fears or things you worried about as your wedding date drew near? How did you get through this?
As our wedding date began to approach, the US was seeing rises in Covid-19 cases.  We had already lost a good number of guests because of the uncertainty of travel, and we wanted to ensure that it was indeed safe to travel while communicating to our guests that we were continuing on with our wedding as planned. The key to getting through it was continuing to email our guests our intentions, any research or data we had come across to highlight the safety protocols taken by airlines and the hotel and assure them we understood if they needed to cancel.  Luckily, we ended up with a solid group of 48 people!
 
Describe the meeting you had with the onsite wedding team when you arrived at the resort.
No detail was overlooked in the wedding process, and I was confident our onsite meeting would be seamless – and it was!  We arrived later in the evening, so our wedding coordinator planned a morning meeting with us the day after we checked in. They put up a picture and welcome note to us on their huge lobby projector when we showed up for the meeting. It was so thoughtful! 

We showed the coordinator all of the décor we brought from home: table numbers, placecards, frames, and other items for the reception.  I hadn’t had room for a gift/card box and they told me they could bring one for me – a relief! Then we ran through every detail with timing for our welcome party, ceremony, and reception. This gave us an accurate timeline to reflect back to our wedding party. Finally, we walked through each venue booked for welcome party, ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception.  Although I’d been curious enough to go check out the venues the evening we arrived, it was nice to walk through with the coordinator to know where the tables would be situated, which angle our ceremony would face in the garden, and that the grass would be watered and maintained before wedding day.
 
Were your guests wowed by the resort and the all-inclusive concept? What was their reaction upon arrival?
We had a mix of guests who had either never been to a Hard Rock resort (us included!) or an all-inclusive resort in general, so we were excited and a little anxious to hear everyone’s experience – especially knowing there were some restrictions in place due to Covid.  Every single guest raved about the resort. The food was delicious (and plentiful! Portions were not small). There were several restaurants at the resort plus unlimited in-room dining.  The swim up bars were closed at the pools but this didn’t affect anyone’s experience.  Masked and gloved servers everywhere taking your order and bringing to you directly in the pool.
 
How easy/difficult was it to travel with your wedding dress? Did you carry-it on, where did you store it? Did you get a lot of comments at the airport?
A friend of mine who had a destination wedding asked me how I planned to tote my dress to the wedding.  I hadn’t thought of it prior and just planned to bring the dress in the bag it came with, but she assured me I wanted something sturdier and let me borrow her dress bag. It folded up and was able to fit atop the carry-on bags in the overhead compartment on the plane, and I carried it like a duffel through the airport.  Since the bag was pretty inconspicuous, I actually didn’t garner any comments or attention at the airport – which I preferred!
 
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 chose a destination wedding for it to be a little less traditional than a wedding we’d host at home, but we still ended up with a pretty standard cadence of events on our wedding day.  Our ceremony was officiated by my husband’s father, lasted no more than 15-20 minutes, and we used music from Spotify for it all (low key!). After the reception, our guests were led up to our reception location for a cocktail hour with light appetizers. After that, the bridal party entered, we cut our cake, and were served dinner with speeches in between each course. Our wedding coordinator was insistent that we wait until sunset to start our first dance, so the dinner portion felt like it lasted quite a while but as soon as the dancing started – it never stopped!  We had no formal events or activities as soon as dancing started (no bouquet toss, garter toss, etc), but ended the night with a whole-group karaoke session which was the most memorable part of our whole wedding.
 
What was the best part of having a destination wedding?
This is a big question! Our original hopes for a destination wedding would be that it provided a vacation/relaxed feel for our friends any family.  Because so many people hadn’t traveled in 2020, it was even more appreciated, celebrated, and relaxed! The only real requirements for our guests were to attend our welcome party and reception, but the rest of their trip was completely up to how they wanted to spend time in Cabo!
 
In what ways did Romance Travel Group make the planning less stressful for you?
All of the travel details!  I used to manage travel for consultants at work and I know the tedious nature of collecting information, sending updates, and orchestrating all the fine details.  Shelli and Heather were incredible through the whole process from information gathering, sharing pictures and videos of resorts, communicating with our guests, and even troubleshooting flight discrepancies while we were all at the resort.  They mail every guest a packet of travel documents before the trip with advice for packing, tipping, etc.  It was wildly helpful and really helped everyone focus on having FUN!
 
What would you do differently? What advice would you give to couples just starting the planning process?
I wouldn’t change a single decision!  Both Romance Travel Group and our wedding coordinators through the hotel made the selection process easy.  We didn’t have to “shop around” for vendors and negotiate contracts, nor did we have to spend time on a bunch of calls with separate vendors.  If you want a chill/lowkey wedding, this is the way to go.  And if you want an extravagant wedding, this is also the way to go!  The options are endless and it’ll always be beautifully handled no matter what you choose.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Meet The Authors

    We are passionate about destination weddings and love helping couples make their wedding dreams a reality. We are the destination wedding experts.

    Romance Travel Group Dream Team photo

    Categories

    All
    5 Star
    Adult Only
    Affordable Wedding
    Awards
    Best Locations
    Best Months To Travel
    Best Price
    Best Resorts
    Boho
    Boho Chic Wedding Dress
    Bridal Fashion
    Bride Worries
    Deals
    Destinations
    Destination Wedding
    Destination Wedding Packages
    Destination Wedding Venues
    El Dorado
    Facebook Groups
    Family Friendly
    Flights
    Foodie
    Honeymoon
    Indian South Asian
    Insurance
    Jamaica
    Karisma
    LGBTQ+
    Luxury
    Mexico
    Myths
    On Location
    Overwater Bungalows
    Pier Wedding
    Planning Tips
    Questions Couples Ask
    Real Weddings
    Riviera Maya
    Shelli
    Tips And Tricks
    Travel Agent
    Use An Expert
    Vendors
    Vow Renewals
    Wedding Dresses
    Wedding Group
    Wedding Guests
    Wedding Planning

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    December 2016
    June 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    June 2014
    December 2013
    December 2010
    October 2009

Romance Travel Group logo
Plan Your Wedding

CALL 507.237.6133

[email protected]

Helping couples throughout the USA say “I Do”
Headquartered in Mankato, Minnesota
the knot icon
wedding wire icon

Home     Start Here     Destinations     Packages     Wedding Stories     Accolades     Blog     Our Team    Contact Us
Terms and Conditions     Privacy Policy

Copyright 2010-2024 Shelli’s Travel, LLC DBA Romance Travel Group. All Rights reserved. Users of this site agree to be bound by the terms of Shelli’s Travel, LLC DBA Romance Travel Group Terms and Conditions. ​​CST# 2123738-40, Washington UBI #603 569 955, Registered Iowa Travel Agency TA#1273. Registered Florida ST40286. Shelli’s Travel, LLC DBA Romance Travel Group materials (including, but not limited to, names, trademark, service marks, logos, marketing materials, etc.) shall not be used, reproduced, transmitted or distributed in any way, except with the express written consent of Shelli’s Travel, LLC DBA Romance Travel Group. While reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this website, Shelli's Travel LLC does not assume responsibility of any errors or omissions.
  • Home
    • Sample Wedding Website
  • Destination Wedding
    • Start Here
    • Cost Calculator
    • Destinations
    • Ceremonies
    • Packages
    • Budget
    • Indian Destination Weddings
    • LGBTQ+ Destination Weddings
  • Planning
    • Step by Step
    • Timeline
    • Details
    • Save The Date
    • Guest List
    • Guest FAQ
    • Guest Travel
    • Travel With Your Dress
    • Facebook Groups
  • Real Weddings
  • Blog
  • Schedule Consult
  • About Us