- Hello and welcome to another Legacy Travel Top Five Video.
This time I'm not in it.
The subject's gonna be dozens of wedding locations.
I know nothing about that, but the three agents
that are doing this video, they're gonna do
a great job for you, so I hope you really enjoy
the video.
(playful music)
- Hello and welcome to Legacy Travel's top five.
Normally if you've watched these videos,
you've seen us in front of a large table
with a glass of water, ready to start.
However, lately Legacy Travel has been on
a puzzle kick.
So far we've finished two puzzles on our free time
and we're currently working on our third,
which happens to be 2000 pieces and it's a map of the world.
So, there's puzzle pieces all over that table
at the moment, so you just get us today.
Today we're gonna be talking about our top five
favorite wedding venues in Cancun and the Riviera Maya.
I will start and then Jessica,
this is Jessica, she's normally in
our Chicago office, but she's visiting us
from the Windy City and she's here for
the whole month of February.
And then this is Miss Leslie.
- Hi.
- And I'm Hannah.
Alright, so I'm gonna start with my number five,
and then, just in case you haven't watched before,
we do not discuss this beforehand,
so these are all new to all of us
(laughing)
So my number five is gonna be the Terrace at
the Royalton Riviera Cancun.
I particularly love this property
because it offers three different sections,
so it's perfect for a bride and groom
that are looking for something that's
gonna be more adult-friendly
because they have an adult section,
but also allows children, they have
a family section.
And then they also have a preferred section called
their Diamond Club, which gives you butler service,
so it's an upgraded experience for those
that maybe want to spend a little more
and upgrade their room.
But the Terrace is lovely.
It overlooks the beach and the ocean,
so it makes for a more intimate ceremony
with really, really beautiful pictures.
And this resort also qualifies in my budget weddings,
so it's a really, really great option
if you don't want to spend a ton on your wedding,
but want a really, really beautiful, beautiful day.
- Well, that's actually on my list,
it's a little bit higher up though, so--
- That's okay.
- My number five is the Dreams Tulum Secret Garden.
So it's very special, it's super private.
It's not one that you'll think about
when you think of doing your wedding in Cancun
'cause it is a garden.
So it's super lush, it's super private.
I'm rauching it justice, so go on Google
and just type Dreams Tulum Secret Garden
and you'll see, you'll see what I mean
- And it's really pretty and they can accommodate
a lot of people, especially if you have
a large wedding party.
- So my number five is also Dreams Tulum,
not the Secret Garden, on the beach, actually.
One of our colleagues got married there
a couple years ago, so we actually got to
witness it first hand.
It's just fantastic.
The wedding coordinators are amazing,
so quick to respond.
They also actually just renovated,
I think, a couple of the buildings on site
as well.
They made an adults only building as well,
so if you do have families that are traveling,
but then also the adult travelers coming.
It's a family-friendly resort
with adults-only buildings.
So it's really nice, it's got a really Mexican hacienda
feel to it and it prices extremely well.
So that's number five on my list.
- Jessica, why don't you start us on number two.
- Number two.
- I mean four, sorry.
(laughing)
- Alright so, my number four is,
I wanted to throw in a chapel on my list,
and my favorite one is the one at Generations.
It's brand new, super spacious, and my favorite thing
about it is it has air conditioners.
(laughing)
Which most chapels don't have and it actually opens up
to the beach, so you get to really do photos
and videos there.
- Awesome, and air conditioners are really important,
- especially if you're having a summer wedding.
And what about you Leslie?
- So my number four was the Royalton Riviera Cancun.
I really love the sky terrace that they do,
but also they have this really crazy looking,
they call it a gazebo--
- Oh that's their chapel
- I think it's, yeah I think it's their chapel on-site,
but it's this, and I don't even know how
to explain it exactly, it's this very odd shape
in the middle of the resort, but then it overlooks
the water in the beach, so it's just gorgeous.
My favorite thing to do in grains and rooms
is have the wedding there or on the beach
and then the reception at the sky terrace.
So that way you're getting different venues for
the entire thing.
Also like Hannah said, it prices extremely well.
The family-friendly section is huge,
the adults-only section is a little smaller,
so if brides and grooms don't want to stay in
the family-friendly section the whole time
and then maybe upgrade for their honeymoon portion,
it's just so easy to do and you don't really have
to move far.
- Absolutely.
My number four is gonna be the Gazebo at
Secrets Playa Mujeres.
This'll be an adults-only venue option.
The really great thing about Secrets,
before I launch into the location,
is that there is a Dreams Playa Mujeres
right next door, so if you have
an adults-only wedding, but have a few children,
that maybe their parents can't find babysitters,
they can have a babysitter at the Dreams Resort
and the adults can come over for your ceremony.
So, ya know, Aunt Jane and Uncle Joe
don't have to miss the wedding because
they can't find a sitter for their 12 year old.
But the gazebo is really, really beautiful.
It can hold a lot of people.
It's actually on a concreted area next to the main pool,
so the gazebo itself doesn't have anything in
the background, except for beach and ocean
and it's an elevated view.
And it's completely open and you can actually do
your wedding setup their along with a cocktail hour
right to the side of it because of the large area.
And there's palm trees all over the place as well,
so it's a really, really great venue option for sure.
Leslie, what about your number three?
- So my number three is called
the Excellence Playa Mujeres.
It's in the same general area
that Hannah was just talking about.
It's also adults-only.
I've had a couple of very successful weddings
with them, but they're just so easy to work with,
which is what I judge a good wedding on a lot of times,
the wedding coordinator on-site.
Gorgeous beach.
The beaches in Playa Mujeres are just very pristine,
very spacious, the water's really calm,
and I just really love that resort.
It's got a really nice, almost like caribbean,
tropical shake feel to it,
so just a very modern appeal,
but it is a gorgeous property.
- Jessica, what about you?
- So it's already been mentioned.
(laughing)
I already told you it was on my list.
(laughing)
So you know that it's coming.
And it's gonna be the Royalton Sky Terrace.
I recently saw it and I did not realize
how long the walkway was to get to the end of it, so,
so you're walking down,
you start reminiscing about
(laughs)
memories and gives you enough time if
you don't really like that person to--
(laughing)
call off the wedding.
But it's a gorgeous walkway, it's super long,
and the views are great, so.
- So my number three is gonna be the pier
at Generations Riviera Cancun.
It's one of the, it's actually one of only two hotels,
that has a pier where you can get married,
in that area.
And it can accommodate quite a few people,
and it's absolutely breathtaking.
It goes out over the water and so it's just beautiful.
If you want something different,
maybe not your normal beach ceremony,
and you don't want to pay the additional
for a sky wedding, the pier--
and they actually have the wedding package
specifically for it,
it's just absolutely beautiful.
And Generations, if you aren't not familiar with it,
Google it.
It's right next to the El Dorado Casitas Royale
and the El Dorado Royale.
So you have many different options for your guests.
Generations is a family-friendly hotel.
However, the two El Dorado properties next door
are adults-only and the have exchange privileges
for the adults that are staying at all three properties.
So, wonderful, wonderful option.
The other thing that I really like about Generations
is that they not only offer one bedroom suites,
but they have the option for two bedroom
and three bedroom suites, and they're all ocean-front.
Alright, so I'll start with number two,
and my number two is also at Generations
and it's the Sky Wedding Location.
It's really, really hard to beat
a sky wedding location anywhere
because all you have is the sky above
and the beach in front of you and it's
just, just beautiful.
And I already told you why I love Generations,
so that's my number two.
Leslie, what about you?
- My number two is Dreams Riviera Cancun.
It's a little more kinda nestled right between
Cancun and Playa del Carmen, so you're more secluded,
but you have both cities very--
well closer by, if you want to go downtown
either way.
They have this really cool area by the pool
where they can set up the reception
and this, almost like, wooden walkway
in the beach, so they can set up the ceremony there.
Just a fabulous hotel.
It's just a very compact resort, I would say,
so very easy to get around.
They have these garden views with
the little private pools in the bottom.
Not technically swim-up I believe,
but just a really fun property.
And it is family-friendly, being a Dreams.
Because it's not as far from the airport,
I really enjoy it too, because guests coming
from all over, the transfer's really easy,
the time to get there's really easy.
But then again, the wedding coordination team,
the resort, the weddings they set up are just fantastic.
- I agree.
- Okay, this is number two right?
- Yes - Yes
- Okay.
So you're going to Mexico,
you probably want a beach wedding.
(laughs)
The best beach in the Riviera Maya is gonna be Maroma.
So my number two is Secrets Maroma. For that beach.
- Yeah, it's a beautiful beach.
- Yeah.
- And it has what we call air conditioned sand
where you can walk on the sand and it's not hot.
You know, like if you've ever been to a beach
in the States, the sand is always hot.
Well that sand is not only pure white,
but it is like air conditioning.
- Yes. - It's awesome.
- And you'll have a good time,
you won't want to come home.
One thing that you mentioned about the Sky Terrace,
I forgot to say but the Royalton Sky Terrace is shaded.
Which is what I like. Most of them aren't.
So this one, your guests don't have to sweat too much.
- Yeah, absolutely. Alright, number one, Jess.
- Really? - Yes.
I'm starting number one?
- Yeah.
- Okay, this is, it's at the Hyatt Ziva,
which is at a really nice location
just in front of the peninsula.
And they have a long gazebo that's
a little bit elevated.
So, it's overlooking sweeping views of the ocean.
And it's private, it's super private.
You're not gonna get people walking on the beach
or any photobombers or anything like that.
So, it's super private, it's shaded,
for the bride and groom at least.
(laughs)
And then it's just sweeping views of the ocean,
so that's--
- It's a really, really pretty one.
- And you can wear heels.
- Yes, very, very pretty.
- Don't have to worry about toes in the sand.
- So I struggled with this one.
I went back and forth between Secrets Maroma
and Secrets Akumal, which essentially
they're set up relatively similarly,
the properties are.
I got engaged at Secrets Akumal and I think
that the beach there is probably one of the best
I've ever seen in Mexico.
The water is so clear, you can just snorkel
with these big sea turtles that swim around in there,
and the beach is just huge, and the sand
is very, very white.
Just a really nice resort to have a beach wedding,
as I'm sure you can tell, I like the beach wedding idea.
I love sky terraces, but I just love
a beach wedding if you're going to Mexico.
But the Secrets Maroma has this really cool gazebo
on the beach too, where you can do the beach wedding,
but then just walk on over and set up the reception.
So I really struggled.
Those are kind of tied for my number one.
And because they're so similar, I don't know,
those are my number ones.
- That's cheating.
- Sorry I'm not certain.
(laughs)
- Yeah, most certainly.
- Can't go wrong.
- So my number one has already been mentioned,
and it's the beach location at Dreams Tulum.
I, you can't get anymore private than
the beach location there, and that is why
it made my number one.
A beach ceremony is really hard
because a bride, normally you picture in your mind,
just this serene setting where there's nobody
in the background.
But the truth is and the reality is
there are people on vacation there
and they can't stop people from swimming
in the ocean and from walking in the background
behind your beautiful venue.
And thank goodness for photoshop,
but it can definitely be distracting,
especially if you're getting married
during peak wedding time, April to August.
So, just something to keep in mind,
the beach location at Dreams Tulum
is off to the far right side of the hotel.
There's not another hotel on the other side of it,
so all you have on the other side is beach
and then a rocky area that kind of juts out
into the ocean.
And they post a little security guard,
kind of right by the wayside
and usually people are so, so, so respectful
just because there's not so much going on down there.
So, if you want a beach location,
you want it to be more on the private side,
I strongly recommend it.
Like Leslie said, one of our lovely co-workers,
Tara, who's also a destination wedding agent here,
she got married there and the setup was beautiful.
She had her ceremony and then they took the chairs away.
We had a cocktail hour there with cocktail tables,
and then the reception was just over behind it
on the beach also, so it was all right there
in that one little spot.
And then later after dinner they brought in
the DJ floor and we had a dance party,
so it was a lot of, lot of fun.
If you can't tell, we're all really passionate
about weddings.
We have other destination wedding agents
in our office also.
And all of the locations that you heard about today,
we're passionate about because we personally
have worked with them and sell those properties,
and we feel very confident recommending them
to our brides and grooms.
We look forward to working with you.
Thank you for joining us.
- Bye.