Are Indian Weddings At Mexico All-Inclusives Cheaper Than US Hotels?
- raj desai | april 25, 2023
Learn about how wedding expenses at Mexican all-inclusive resorts compare to hotel weddings in the US.
You might have a lot of motivations for digging into a destination wedding in Mexico vs. having one in the US. Like weeding out guests you don’t like (relatable). Giving the ones you *do* like a vacation and wedding rolled into one. Or saving on the outrageous expense of having a wedding at a hotel here in the US (highway. F’ing. Robbery.).
That last part, that’s what I’m curious about. Are big, fat, South Asian weddings really cheaper in Mexico?
If you're paying for the wedding, yes
Hotels in Mexico offer you a lot more for your money than hotels in the US. A lot of services that you may have to pay a la carte for stateside, like henna, hair and makeup, decorations, flowers, and electronic equipment (think mics and speakers), and even food (for the hotels with on-site Indian restaurants), could all be included in one package.
There’s a great web page that gives you an idea of different prices based on guest count. Keep in mind that these are generic figures that can change based on the hotel of your choice, plus different vendors that you choose to fly in (like your own DJ, hair and makeup artist, planner, photographer, and videographer).
Let’s not forget those pesky guests that your parents are desperate to invite, and that you couldn’t care less about. If your guest list of 300 dwindles down to 100-150 for a Cancun wedding, that saves you lots of money too.
The minimum price range for a South Asian wedding in Cancun, and this includes all the bells and whistles that you might need, is $17,000-$25,000. In the US, it can cost you a minimum of $20K *just* for the venue.
If you're a guest, no
I went to my very first destination wedding only a few weeks ago, and my husband and I very quickly discovered that being a guest at a destination wedding is expensive.
We had to pay for plane tickets, hotel fees, travel expenses to get to and from the airport, on top of the other normal wedding stuff (outfits, jewelry, alterations, cash gift). Our plane tickets were $1,000 per person, $3,000 total. The hotel for a Thursday-Monday stay was around $2,500. New outfits for my husband, son, and myself (and we got the cheap ones!) cost us between $600-700.
All in all, my little family of 3 spent over $6,000 to go to a destination wedding in Cancun.
Overall
I understand why destination weddings in Mexico are popular, I do! It is SO FRUSTRATING that US venues charge a small fortune just to host your wedding (‘Merica). If I was in your shoes, the only thing I would need to hear to pick a destination wedding in Mexico over some random hotel in NC is that you’re shaving off thousands of dollars from your wedding bill.
However, I think it’s also important to remember that should you choose a destination wedding, the costs for your guests will increase astronomically. And I gotta tell you, there are other trips that I’d rather spend over $6K on instead of a weekend wedding in Cancun. 👀
Interested in getting an accurate estimate of what your Cancun wedding cost could potentially be? Contact the most popular Cancun hotels for South Asian weddings to find out.
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