Getting Married at Cartagena, Colombia

Hi Beautiful! You are not alone. We know how overwhelming planning a wedding can be.
Something I really appreciated when I was planning my wedding was learning to TRUST the wedding planner, chef, florist designer, photographer, photo booth, DJ, and the venue – you’ll feel so much better. It’s one day that will never repeat, so: delegate, TRUST and enjoy.

This picture was the venue where we had our wedding, I planned everything online and was going nuts.  I realized that I was putting so much pressure on myself, being anxious and my fiance couldn’t help me that much. We did a destination wedding in my country (Colombia) and he doesn’t speak a word in Spanish, (Un poquito) so it was me who was talking, negotiating, comparing quotes, looking at portfolios, translating etc…

How to plan a destination wedding?

1. Choose your location and Venue 

Think “what are your expectations as a couple?”

We love to travel and backpacked for 6 months throughout South America.  We wanted his family to enjoy and have the best Caribbean experience possible. So, we looked for outdoor venues, preferably with the ocean as a background, we wanted palm trees and lights hanging from the roof.

It took us three months to compare, review and get quotes from all over Cartagena.

2. Wedding planner?

If they do, awesome!! Ask him/her to show you pictures of previous weddings, arrangements, etc.  Set up a Skype meeting if you can’t meet in person!

3. Choose a date

Think about whether and availability. (Cartagena, Colombia has a dry season and it’s February –  March. It doesn’t rain (unless God is upset with us, haha)  February ended up being the best month for our destination, not too hot and no rain.

4. Ceremony location?

In the same place as the reception, or somewhere else? Think about transportation, are you going to rent a van for all the guests or let everyone take taxis?

5. Think about logistics!

In Cartagena and in the Caribbean it gets really hot during the day. Since we wanted to have photos with natural light and enjoy the sunset we chose to have the ceremony at 4:30 pm.

6.  Wedding invitations

 Since I love to design, create, and I already had 1000 ideas in mind, I made my own wedding invitations. I saved some money and made them how I wanted.

 

7. The Dress

I’m sure, even before you got engaged you’ve already saved a couple dresses on Pinterest! Just make sure you look for it months before the wedding. Some places take between 3-4 months to deliver or make alterations.

In my case, I think I tried 10 wedding dresses from different places and in the end I made a crazy decision -I ordered 2 wedding dresses online! And guess what? I loved one, so I sent the other one back and kept the one. I fixed a couple things and that’s it! I saved over $1000 USD and used that money to make the wedding cooler.

8. Decor

What flowers, colors, and style are you going to have? Believe me, I changed styles around 5 times. First, everything was white, then blue, then more tropical, etc… I had tons of Pinterest boards with a lot of ideas.

9. Your wedding cake

Dylan and I don’t like traditional cakes so we wanted something that fit our personality. We chose passion fruit cake decorated with fruits, We loved it!

10. Food & Drinks

I recommend that once you have picked your venue, let them take care of that. Cafe Del Mar had  7 options with appetizers, entrees, desserts, and drinks.

11. Bridesmaids?

I had the most amazing bridesmaids I could have ever dreamed of. I love them all and they made the whole night magical. All of them are from different countries. So, I decided to give them a color and let them choose a model, design, and shape they wanted!

 

13. Photo Booth

I LOVE PHOTOS! Since my dad, husband and I are photographers I knew that would be a great addition (Plus I love to be on the photos) 😉

I designed the print templates matching our wedding invitations, also my dad surprised me with a brand photo booth and a guest photo album (He has 6 photo booths in Colombia) so he went BIG haha, we had 50 guests and the photo booth took 350 photos! all my friends kept a photo and I kept the album with amazing notes and the best memories ever.

ATTENTION!

This Photo Booth is now available in Philadelphia, PA United States. Contact me (Laura Walker) and I’ll take care of you giving you the best ideas for your wedding.

14. The toast & first dance.

After you’re done with your photo session. make sure that before you and your partner walk in. That everyone has their champagne or cocktail for the toast. Thank everyone for being there and get prepared for your dance 🙂

The good stuff is just about to come up! Yeah!! I love to dance, I’m Colombian so I have the flow in my blood, haha. We picked a really cool song from Colombia which made me feel even more proud to dance hahaha. Bomba Estereo “Somos Dos” You’ve gotta play it!

I also danced with my dad to a song that made us cry the whole time while we were dancing, creating this amazing flashback from every stage of life.

Whatever you decide, make that night memorable, smile and enjoy it to the fullest.

15. Hora Loca – Crazy Hour  and more poses in the Photo Booth

If you are definitely planning a wedding in Colombia. Please! get a hora local! is the BEST!