Welcome to Yellow Umbrella Events Hotel Xcaret Mexico Wedding Guide – the one place where you will find more information about hosting a wedding at Hotel Xcaret Mexico than anywhere else. The Yellow Umbrella Events team has helped more couples host weddings at Hotel Xcaret than anyone in the world (over 250 couples), and we can’t wait to help you as well!
Hotel Xcaret Mexico is one of the most beautiful and unique resorts in the Riviera Maya zone of Mexico and it has quickly become one of the most sought-after destination wedding locations in the world!
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I’m sure this seems like a lot happening all at once! Don’t worry, we’ll help you through the entire process – working with the wedding department to secure your wedding date and contract, obtaining room rates and additional details on a room block for you and your guests, and more.
And this next part is VERY IMPORTANT – In addition to the purchase of a wedding package, all weddings at Hotel Xcaret Mexico require a MINIMUM room block contract, depending on the day of the week that your wedding is held, as follows:
Additionally, 80% of all your wedding guests must stay at Hotel Xcaret Mexico for a minimum of 3 nights.
Yes, the wedding packages include all necessary tables, chairs, and basic linens for your guest count for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception (if the wedding package you choose includes one of these events).
It varies according to the season. The capacity of the resort allows them to host more than 1 event on the same day without the events interfering with one another. Though they try to keep the weddings to only 1 per day, it’s possible that there may be a social event or corporate event occurring in another venue on the property on the same day as your wedding. This is normal for most hotels and resorts and they do a great job of keeping these events separate.
Your initial deposit is based on the total anticipated amount of your wedding package choice, plus any additional guests over 30 guests. You will pay a deposit equal to 30% of the total of the wedding package plus 30% of the total of the additional guest count you expect over 30 guests. If your guest count later increases, you will owe an additional amount equal to the increased guest count.
It is important to note that you are not able to decrease your guest count, once you book your date and finalize your wedding contract, so be very careful not to overestimate the number of guests that you think will attend. For example, if you sign a wedding contract for 50 guests and only 40 attend you will not receive any type of refund or credit for the 10 guests that did not attend. You can always increase your guest count but you are not able to decrease your guest count.
Your final wedding package payment is due 60 days before your wedding date.
Your first wedding package deposit must be paid by bank wire transfer. Once the wedding contract is sent to you and you sign the contract, you’ll need to make this wire transfer and send proof of the wire transfer to the resort. Once you’ve made this initial payment by wire transfer, all subsequent payments and the room block deposit and payments may be made by credit card.
Though you may have a specific date in mind we often advise our couples to be open to a particular month, season, or day of the week, since dates are typically so limited. Requesting dates one year or less away will likely return with few if any open date options. Hotel Xcaret Mexico is truly that popular!
You are welcome to bring in your own vendors from outside the resorts, both from the local area and internationally, for a fee ranging from $570 – $870 per vendor. This fee is charged per outside vendor.
FYI, you may bring your own independent Wedding Planner and not incur an outside vendor fee but you will pay a day pass fee for each of the staff members if they are not resort guests.
If you would like to use outside vendors for your Hotel Xcaret Mexico wedding, we recommend working with vendors that include a number of services, so that your outside vendor fee is reduced. For example, we’d recommend you choose a vendor that offers both photography and videography or a decorator that includes flowers, linens, and lighting. That way you pay less in outside vendor fees.
Of course, if you choose your vendors from the in-house vendor list at Hotel Xcaret, there will be no additional fees to use their services, other than the cost of the actual services rendered.
There is one great exception to this outside vendor situation. If you bring a vendor with you, like a photographer or hair and make-up artist, for example, and they stay at the resort in your room block for 3 or more nights, there is no outside vendor fee. This is a perfect solution for those couples that want to bring their own photography and videography team with them from their hometown or choose a local vendor that they love and want them to photograph or take video of multiple days of events.
Yes. You actually have a few choices for hair and make up on your wedding day. There are 2 great in house vendors – Sara Tamargo Make Up & Hair and Styling Trio. You may also work with the on site salon, located at Muluk Spa at Hotel Xcaret Mexico.
If none of these are options for you, you can secure your own hair and make up team from the local area, by paying a Day-Pass fee of $100 (price subject to change) per person for each hair and makeup artist that will have access to the facilities and services of Hotel Xcaret Mexico.
Additionally, if you need more space than just your personal room to get ready in, access to the Bridal Get Ready Suite can be purchased for $700 for a 4-hour window of time (or $1,000 for the combined Bridal Get Ready Suite and Hair Salon area for 4 hours). Due to this cost, if it’s feasible for your travel dates, we recommend that the couple rent a Junior Suite for 3 nights (3 nights is the minimum rental time for a Junior Suite) so the wedding party can get ready in the couple’s suite on the wedding day.
The Junior Suite is 1,356 square feet and includes the full normal resort suite room, connected to a large living area, complete with a sofa seating area and TV, dining table, kitchen and bar area, a double patio, and a separate guest bathroom. The Junior Suite also includes private luxury transportation from the airport to the resort. The additional cost (over that of a lower category room) ends up being about the same as the cost of the Bridal Get Ready Suite rental, but gives you a larger suite where you can entertain guests for 3 nights/4 days. Our couples normally rent this option for at least the 3 nights either at the start of their stay or overlapping the wedding day (1 day prior, the day of the wedding, and 1 day after).
Yes! There are a number of ceremony and reception locations at Hotel Xcaret Mexico and they are all amazingly beautiful. The ceremony and reception locations you can have will depend on availability and your guest count, as some locations are better suited to either smaller or larger guest counts. We’d be happy to help you narrow down the right location for your wedding!
Yes, and it’s amazing and has extraordinary views! There is nothing like the Capilla de Todos Los Angeles at Hotel Xcaret Mexico for your Catholic ceremony. There is an additional fee of $2,513 (2024 pricing) to utilize the chapel for your wedding.
Unfortunately, Capilla de Todos Los Angeles at Hotel Xcaret Mexico is only available for Catholic weddings. If you are not Catholic but would like to get married in a chapel, you may want to consider Hotel Xcaret Arte (the adult-only sister property next door), which has a non-denominational chapel (called Ecumenical Chapel) that can be used for all religious or non-religious weddings, including same-sex weddings.
You may choose up to 2 locations – one ceremony location and one combined cocktail and reception location. Larger groups may require up to 3 locations but most wedding groups will have the option of just 2 locations.
It will be a difficult task to choose just 2 amazing locations but your guests will thank you for it! There’s nothing worse than being a wedding guest and being shuffled to too many event locations in one night. Having no more than 2 locations also saves on decor expenses since you won’t need to decorate more than 1 – 2 different spaces.
Hotel Xcaret Mexico offers a discounted room rate of 20% off for one stay for those that have already booked their wedding at the property. This will give you a chance to meet with the wedding department staff and tour the ceremony and reception venue locations. And enjoy all the resort has to offer, of course!
They do not, however, offer a discounted rate to those that are still simply considering the property.
You must have a booked wedding date to enjoy the wedding visit discount. You’ll need to book this trip through the wedding department to be able to take advantage of this discounted rate.
Pro Tip! Want to have your food and cake tasting during your stay? You’ll need to schedule this visit in the 7 months or less prior to your wedding, as tastings are only offered up to 7 months prior to the wedding date.
Hotel Xcaret Mexico frequently sells out of certain room categories (or completely sells out) and your guests may be left with no option to stay on-site for your wedding. This is part of the reason that the resort now requires a room block to be able to book your wedding at this property
For example, if you want a block of 20 rooms, that will cost appx $2,520 each – $840 a night for 2 guests for 3 nights, (which is the minimum number of nights required for wedding guest room nights) your deposit could be up to $15,120 ($756 deposit per room for 20 rooms) when booking direct with the resort. From there your guests will need to contact the hotel directly to book their room.
If you book with us as your destination wedding travel agent you will still select the number of rooms and room categories you’d like to block and sign the room block contract but your deposit amount may vary.
For example, our couples (those that work with Yellow Umbrella Events) only pay a $100 deposit per room, regardless of the room cost or amount of nights. For example, if you want a block of 20 rooms your deposit will be a total of $2,000 ($100 per room for 20 rooms – and the $2,000 payment will be applied directly to the wedding couple’s room) instead of the $15,120 ($756 per room for 20 rooms) fully non refundable deposit you would pay when you book direct with the resort, saving you over $13,000 on the upfront deposit. Also, the resort’s initial deposit is 100% NON refundable, whereas Yellow Umbrella Events couples have the ability to have all but the first $5,000 of their deposit refunded if they cancel, up until a certain point.
Pricing by booking direct or booking with a travel agent are currently the same. Hotel Xcaret Mexico works on parity pricing, meaning that they offer the same room rate through all booking sources. If you are wondering what you can expect for a room rate, it is typically the lowest rate offered on their own website, so it’s easy to find. This resort does not discount room rates for weddings or other group events, no matter the size. They now simply “stop the rate” where it is when you initiate your room block contract, so that guests will benefit from a room rate that won’t increase (up until a certain point).
Of course, we would love to work with you on booking your wedding room block at Hotel Xcaret Mexico but even if you don’t choose us, please choose to work with a travel agent. It will save you a ton of hassle, requires a smaller upfront deposit from you, and will be so much easier for both you and your guests.
Hotel Xcaret Mexico requires at least 80% of the total number of your wedding guests to stay at the hotel. All guests that are not staying on-site at the hotel must pay a fee of $90 per person (please note this is the current fee and could change at any time).
This fee allows them to enter the property appx 1 hour before the ceremony time, and they must leave at the end of the reception.
All outside events must end by no later than 11 pm.
Most guests go to Cantina Los Faroles after the reception ends. This is a restaurant during the day but turns into a bit of a nightclub from 11pm – 4am daily. They typically have live music or a DJ, and an open bar. (And a taco cart is normally right outside the entrance.) There is an adult only sports bar upstairs as well.
No, due to the design of the resort it is not possible to use golf carts for the transportation of the guests.
Yes and no. There is a small bridal get ready suite where you can hang your dress and get your hair and makeup done.
This space will only be suitable for about 2 – 3 people to get ready in at once but is normally used for a rotation of people getting hair and makeup, one after the other, throughout the day.
It’s not very suitable for a bridal party of more than a few people that will be in the room at once. (You’ll actually walk through the salon area of the spa to get to this room.) A lot of our ladies prefer to use their suite to get ready with their wedding party and friends (most couples upgrade to a Junior Suite for this). You can order room service and make it a special time for everyone to spend together.
This suite is not guaranteed, is available upon request and availability only, and rents for $700 for a 4-hour window.
There is not a groom’s suite, unfortunately. Most of our grooms and their wedding party and friends use one of their guest’s rooms to get ready in and then hang out in the Lobby Bar prior to the ceremony.
Yes, there is a great space that we recommend for this. It’s a large private room with a beautiful resort and jungle view, located on the same level as the main lobby. The resort will set up space with tables, chairs, and some mirrors.
It’s called Sala de Usos Multiples (Multipurpose Room) and the price on this varies. You can even use this space for a small event if the weather is inclement. It’s basically a very small ballroom space that can serve multiple purposes and can easily hold 25 – 50 people, depending on the layout.
Yes, you can have a rehearsal time the day before your wedding ceremony, if you request it. Due to availability, your actual ceremony site may not be available, though, which means you may have to practice in another location. You or your wedding planner will need to be in charge of the running of the rehearsal since the wedding staff does not include this in your wedding packages.
This depends on if you will have a legal or symbolic ceremony. Legal ceremonies will need to arrive and be on-site 3 – 4 business days (Saturday & Sunday doesn’t count) before your wedding. Symbolic (or civil) ceremonies have more flexibility and we normally recommend an arrival time of at least 2 days in advance so you can take care of any last-minute details and complete your final wedding walk-through, and still have a little time to relax and enjoy some downtime before the wedding day.
Yes, you will meet on-site with your assigned Hotel Xcaret Mexico wedding coordinator a few days before your wedding to finalize all the details. You may add any additional last-minute services at that time as well, but please note that any services that are added last minute are subject to availability.
Yes! So any more than you could possibly imagine. One of the fantastic features of this resort is how many beautiful backdrops there are throughout the resort. It’s an instagrammable paradise. I personally love the area near Teatro del Rio for first look images, since this area is basically completely empty of guests during the day (since the dinner theater only operates at night).
Capilla de Todos Los Angeles – this is a Catholic Chapel that is located at the highest point of the Xpiral Pyramid. The views from this chapel are out of this world, featuring an expansive sea view. You can literally see for miles around. There is nothing like the view from this chapel!
*Insider Tip: Even if you don’t (or can’t) have your wedding at the chapel you can still take photos up there if it’s available during your event. This chapel is open to all resort guests.
Cuevas Kayak – there aren’t many places on earth where you can have your wedding in a cave and Hotel Xcaret is one of them! Cuevas Kayak is just one of the many features of this gorgeous resort that make it so unique.
*Insider Tip: Cuevas Kayak is the only air-conditioned cave space! Bar Bio (which looks similar in style) is a smaller venue at this resort, but it is not air conditioned in the inside cave dining area. Also, this is the only reception venue at this resort that offers a connected indoor/outdoor option for a reception.
Palmeras Beach – Palmeras Beach is the main beach ceremony location and you’ll easily see why. It’s a beautiful space set amongst tall palm trees but it’s set back from the beach just enough to feel private but still give you full ocean views.
Caleta Fuego – Caleta Fuego is a sandy beach area located in the inlet zone (the lagoons/coves) at Hotel Xcaret Mexico and is nearest to the Fuego building area. The water in this lagoon area comes from an underground river. This area has a bit more lighting at night in this area, which can be a perk. You can enter the ceremony site from under a cave entrance or from the stairs. This is the most perfect outdoor location for larger groups.
*Insider Tip: There are really cool bridge walkways all throughout this area and they make great photos. With small guest counts, you can have all of your guests stand together and have the photographer stand on a nearby bridge and take a cool photo or have all of your guests group up on the beach and have the photographer take the group photo from the bridge, looking down.
Bio & Bio Bar (Formerly called Cuevitas & Bar Cuevitas) – are ideal for smaller groups. They’re similar in style to the Caleta Fuego area in that they are both inlets on a sandy beach area and are set right next to each other, but they are both smaller areas than the larger Caleta Fuego.
You can choose Bio Bar to host either your ceremony or cocktail hour and reception location, but not both, due to set up timing restrictions. It also has a stunning waterfall backdrop!
Bio Bar also has a small bar area set above the beach area, carved into the cave sidewall. Another logistical perk is that this area is very close to the restrooms.
Explanada Xerro – This location is at the base of the Xpiral Pyramid, has a wide flat space, is flanked by the jungle, and the Pyramid provides an amazing backdrop for photos throughout the night. If you want an outdoor event with a “hard surface” that is not on the sand, Explanada Xerro is an excellent choice. It’s also a solid choice for “white weddings” where your primary decor will be white since this area is primarily white/off white, or for weddings with bold colors since they will stand out nicely against this neutral backdrop.
Playon Viento – Playon Viento is a large open-air event space located at the corner point of the Casa Viento buildings. It’s set amongst a pool and the river, with amazing views of these gorgeous stone cave-like walls that run alongside the river. The ground surface is stone, so you have the benefit of not hosting your event on the sand. The biggest benefit of this area is that you can host a larger event here, so if you have more than 150 guests this is a great location.
*Insider Tip: Both Playon Viento and Playon Xpiral will have direct sun until the sun sets, so if you’re planning an event here during the daytime hours, you’ll want to rent patio umbrellas or shade coverings for your guests.
Playon Xpiral – Playon Xpiral is almost identical to Playon Viento but is located facing the Xpiral Chapel, so you have the chapel as your main view.
HERE’S A QUICK RUN DOWN OF WHAT’S NEXT IN THE PROCESS:
1.) Receive a wedding date confirmation – We’ve sent in your request form and connected you with the resort wedding team. Now we will wait for the resort to respond with date options and you’ll decide on a date for your wedding. This usually takes a day or two.
2.) Request Room Block Rates and Details – Once you’ve said yes to a wedding date the resort will hold this date while we move forward with setting up your room block. First, we’ll request room rates from the groups department and the resort will send these to us for your review. We normally receive the rates approximatly one week after we request them.
3.) Make the Room Block Contract Request – Once you’ve reviewed the rates, you’ll make the room block contract request. We’ll give you some guidance on what room categories and quantities to select. You’ll normally have approximately one week to make this contract request from when you receive the rate details.
4.) Receive/Deposit Room Block Contract and The Wedding Contract is Prepared – Approximately one to two weeks after we request the room block contract we’ll receive it. You’ll normally have two or three days to review it, sign it, and make the room block deposit. Once the deposit it made we’ll request the resort to release the wedding contract and they’ll send this to the you for your payment and signature.
5.) Invite Guests – Our team will reach out to you as soon as your room block contract is finalized to help you through next steps. We’ll set up a one page weblink for you and your guests that will give them all the details they will need to book their room. Soon you can invite all your family and friends to begin booking their room in your room block! See a sample link https://www.yellowumbrellaevents.com/events/nikki-and-tj/
6.) Follow the Process – We’ll periodically keep you up to date on who has made reservations in your room block and keep your guests on track with payment dates and travel details. From here, you’ll work with the resort staff on wedding day specific planning details.
*Please note – This does not mean it always happens this way and in this amount of time but, based on our experience and tracking, these are some “what’s next” type steps in the process and the ranges of time each step normally takes.
If you book your room block directly with the hotel or through another source this timing may differ, and you could experience longer wait times. This is just a general guide to help you have realistic expectations throughout this complete wedding date booking and room block booking process.
I find that couples have a bit more anxiety with how long things can take at this resort, so having an idea of what everyone else is also experiencing can help put most couples more at ease. Hopefully it helps you as well.