Who doesn’t love Jewish destination wedding? Just imagine making it official in a tropical paradise like Mexico or the Caribbean, with the ocean breeze drifting through your chuppah – pure perfection!
That said, there are some extra considerations you’ll need to keep in mind when planning your Jewish wedding abroad – and we brought in our friends at Destination Weddings by Vacationeeze to walk you through them.
Vacationeeze is a family-owned full-service travel advisor specializing in destination weddings in Mexico and the Caribbean. They’ve helped many Jewish couples from all kinds of backgrounds create the weddings of their dreams, and they’ve got an awesome portfolio of top resorts who understand how to bring a Jewish wedding to life.
The team at Vacationeeze understands how important your Jewish wedding is, and they’ve shared with us some of the key things to consider when planning your special day. We’ll let them take it from here…
What type of ceremony?
One of most important decisions you need to make is about what kind of ceremony you want. Do you want a traditional Jewish ceremony, or something more personal with Jewish touches? Or maybe you’re interfaith?
Regardless, you’ll need to secure your officiant – whether a rabbi or cantor or otherwise. You might choose to fly out someone from home, or you can work with your planner or venue to help find a suitable local officiant who suits your needs. Not all locales will have a rabbi or cantor available – especially if you need one from a particular denomination – so this is something to sort out right at the start of your planning.
How do you find a venue?
Choosing a venue that’s familiar with Jewish weddings is a great way to streamline your process, and Vacationeeze can help steer you toward a great one.
In their opinion, the best options for a destination wedding in Mexico or the Caribbean are all-inclusive resorts, where you can not only host your wedding but also accommodate your guests for a full wedding getaway experience, all in one spot.
The other benefit of choosing a resort is that they often offer competitive wedding packages that will save you both money and the hassle of sourcing all of your vendors one by one in a foreign country.
What kinds of unique venues can you find in Mexico and the Caribbean?
Mexico and the Caribbean are full of gorgeous wedding venues. Many of them will allow you to have your chuppah on the beach (in a private-access section to make sure you’re not bombarded by sunbathers, of course!).
If the idea of sand between your toes as you make it official is a little too much, there are others with dreamy rooftop venues with panoramic ocean views, such as Breathless Cancun Soul Resort and Spa, or private piers extending over the water, like Zoetry Paraiso de la Bonita, have private piers extending over the water.
If you’re as interested in local culture and history as you are in natural beauty, you could opt for someplace like Dreams Tulum, which is home to a lavishly decorated authentic Mexican piazza!
This is just a small sampling of what you can find in the region – the team at Vacationeeze are pros at matching Jewish and Jew-ish couples with their dream venues!
How do you find a wedding planner?
Most resort wedding packages include the services of a wedding planner. This means that all of your wedding organizations can go through the same channel, relieving you of stress and simplifying the process. Of course, it also helps to reduce the overall costs of the wedding. The team at Destination Wedding by Vacationeeze specializes in acting as advocates to ensure that your resort’s wedding planners give you the wedding you want, without surprises or compromises.
If you want more choice as to who will plan your wedding and how involved they will be, you may wish to work with an independent wedding planner. This is a more costly choice, but will give you the ultimate in freedom to do as you please for the big day. If you do opt to go for an independent planner, we’ve got some wonderful recommendations here at Smashing The Glass.
How do you find vendors?
When you opt for an all-inclusive resort, the vendors are often part of your package. This can save you a lot of time and money, but it does mean you won’t get to handpick each vendor according to your particular tastes and preferences.
Supplying your own vendors may come at an extra cost, depending on the resort’s policies. This helps them to keep their operations in-house, and results in lower cost to the couple.
If choosing your own vendors is very important to you, be sure to select a venue that will allow you to do so in a way that fits your budget. Should you choose to go this route, it’s smart to work with a wedding planner who’s familiar with the area.
Make sure your venue and vendors can accommodate Jewish traditions
As you make your decision about a venue (and whichever vendors you are sourcing indepedently of the venue), make sure they can accommodate whichever Jewish traditions you plan to include in the day.
Here’s a quick checklist of things you may want to consider that haven’t been addressed elsewhere:
Chuppah
Make sure your venue (or whoever is providing the chuppah) understands your requirements for the structure – be sure they’re clear that any old arch or gazebo won’t cut it.
Likewise, if you have strong feelings about the look of the chuppah – or if you want to use a family tallit or some other sentimental fabric for your chuppah canopy – be sure to communicate this early on as well.
Challah
If it’s important to you to have challah at the wedding, can this be sourced by your venue or caterer?
Location for ketubah signing, tisch, badeken, and yichud
If you’re including any or all of these elements in your day, does your venue have appropriate spaces you can use for each them?
DJ/band
Can your band or DJ provide music for the horah? What about Jewish songs for the chuppah? If they’re not already familiar with the Jewish music you want, are they willing to add it to their repertoire?
Be clear about your expectations – explain exactly what you want!
It’s so important to be clear about your expectations with the wedding planner, venue, rabbi, and other vendors. This is true in planning any wedding, but it goes double for an international destination wedding where there might be cultural differences as to how things are usually done.
It’s always smart to get your expectations in writing – and it doesn’t hurt to put together a timeline of your day outlining all the Jewish elements you’ll be including, such as yichud or dancing the horah.
Lean into the venue’s strengths
Presumably you and your guests are going to be spending at least several days at your destination – so be sure you make the most of it!
Especially if you opt for a resort, there are some great perks – like the option to hold a private Shabat dinner for your loved ones pre-wedding, lounge around (and maybe enjoy some luxe spa treatments) with your best gals, and more.
And when you’re figuring out your décor, lean into the local color – for example, local tropical flowers can work beautifully on your chuppah!
Shipping items vs travelling with them
You’ll probably have several important items that you want to bring from home for your wedding. This may include your wedding dress, ketubah, kiddush cup, tallit, and/or glass to smash, among other items.
For the highest-value items – like your wedding dress and ketubah, as well as any sentimental family heirlooms – it’s best to take them carry-on if you can.
As a second choice, or for items that aren’t quite so valuable, unique, or fragile, Vacationeeze recommends travelling with them in your checked baggage over shipping.
A special note regarding ketubahs: if you want to display your ketubah in a frame on your wedding day, consider whether you want to transport a frame with plexiglass (rather than breakable glass – which is not recommended for traveling), or if you’d rather source a frame at your destination.
Choose the date
In addition to making sure you pick a date when Jewish weddings are permitted (if you’re having a traditional wedding), be sure to consider which times of year are best for visiting your destination of choice.
If you’re getting married in Mexico or the Caribbean, October and November are ideal. Hosting your wedding during this period allows you to take advantage of the shoulder season’s drop in tourism while enjoying the more pleasurable temperatures following the peak of the summer heat.
Dietary restrictions
You’ll need to decide whether or not you want a kosher wedding. If kosher catering is a must, that will inform your venue choice, as it’s not an option in all areas. However, if kosher-style is an option (or if you don’t need kosher at all), the sky’s the limit.
If you do opt for a kosher-style menu, make sure to communicate clearly with your caterer about which foods are and are not acceptable. Your team may not be familiar with the concept of kashrut, so it’s important to spell it all out to make sure everyone’s on the same page. You’ll of course also want to communicate about any food allergies or special diets.
Still have questions?
Reach out to Vacationeeze! They’ve spent decades helping lucky couples of all religious backgrounds achieve the wedding of their dreams, and they’d love to help you plan yours. Reach out today to get started on your destination wedding planning journey!
+215-454-2070
jared@vacationeeze.com
www.destinationweddingeeze.com
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Location: Philadelphia, PA
All images courtesy of LOMAS Hospitality
