For many brides a destination wedding means going away, a change of  scenery, and a mini vacation before the big day. The highlight of the destination wedding is experiencing the journey with family and friends. Personally I love destination weddings, it is an exciting way of celebrating a big step in the future for any couple.

It is not only a weekend away, it is about creating an experience that allows a group of diverse people to bond. Remember, the guest list consists of the bride’s and groom’s family and friends that on the most part don’t know each other .

Let's take a wedding I did in Cartagena, Colombia.

So why Cartagena?  In this case they wanted a central location for all their guests which happen to come from Miami, Peru, New York and even as far as Seattle. The hotel, an old fort, converted into this  amazing boutique hotel was our host for the 5 days. With a center court surrounded by palms and peacefulness, I greeted all the guests who seemed delighted to be there.

First night, the white party, starting with a tour in a "chiva." We hired babysitters for the kids. Guests were safely picked up out front and with live musicians, rum, aguardiente onboard, the guests were off for a night of fun! 

Second day, with no questions asked and a lot of happy faces, we sail to The Islas del Rosario, a 2 hour boat trip into the Caribbean ocean.

The day at the beach, a typical Colombian lunch, and a relaxing afternoon was the set for this day.

Still more to come, we scheduled a night out in the old town and a romantic carriage ride for those who wanted to check out the scenery. There was a whole array of places were at their finger tips for those who wished to explore.

Third day was the Wedding Day.

While we were setting up, guests went for a city tour, to the Fort of San Felipe, the old town and all it’s history and magic. Everyone was back in time for the big day.

The Wow moment came when the violist opened the party with a tune called “hora loca,” which means crazy hour. It is a typical Colombian dance show and trendy. For this crazy hour, we decided to theme it with a soccer infusion. While all the world soccer songs were played, the guests played with mini soccer balls throughout the whole hour, as well as dance and balance the balls at the same time.

Wedding ended at 6 am with most of the guests ending up at the airport straight from the party!

The OOPs moment was at 3pm. I found out that the delivery truck that consisted of all the bottle of champagnes was stolen. Within 2 hours, I collected liquor from the local hotels because all the liquor stores were closed.