What should a bride consider when deciding on a mountain wedding vs a beach wedding?

When deciding what destination you want to be married in, consider the mountains for the following reasons:

• Unparalleled majestic views for the backdrop of your day with many homes available for rent with these glorious views. There are many more in “beach front” homes with views in the mountains than there are on the actual beach front.
• Endless outdoor activities from, skiing & snowboarding, snow shoeing, ice skating, white water rafting, boating on the lakes, mountain biking, hiking, fly fishing, golfing, horseback riding or walking around the quaint little mountain towns.
• Temperatures in the mountains are fairly mild compared to the heat and humidity found at many beach resorts.
• Winter weddings and summer weddings are equally attractive in the mountains due to the unbelievable weather in the summer & pristine snow in the winter time. Some of our favorite weddings have been on horse-drawn sleighs into the meadow with the snow lightly falling all with the backdrop of a beautiful mountain-scape.

What is a must have “signature” thing a rocky mountain wedding must have?

This is true with every wedding but my best advice is to always have a Plan B for any outdoor venue. From hurricanes on the coast to snow in July, one must always have a good and viable Plan B.

If a bride wanted a high-profile wedding, what location would you suggest?

Even celebrities have chosen to get married in the Rockies from locations in Telluride to ranches in Steamboat Springs to world-class golf resorts in Keystone Colorado. We have all the top-secret locations which can be not-so-secret if you want them to be.

If a bride wanted a low-key, intimate wedding where would you suggest they go?

There are so many magnificent homes around the mountain region and many of them allow you to rent them for special occasions. Many of them can host up to 100 guests and sleep nearly 35 of your closes family and friends all the while offering you the opportunity to have a ceremony on their huge deck overlooking the mountains. Many mountain wedding vendors enjoy the transition of a home during a celebration like this, they have it down to a science and it is very quaint and can be as low-key & high end as you want it.

Guest Interview with Julie Byrd, Director of Sales at Earth, Sea & Sky Vacations

What would you suggest to any bride planning a wedding in Cabo?

Each bride has her own needs and we have something to fit every taste. Whether it’s a resort or villa wedding, or even just accommodations for the group, we can arrange it. I’d first suggest the couple narrow down their vision of the perfect wedding, whether it’s barefoot, on-the-sand casual or a black-tie affair on the ocean view terrace of a magnificent private villa. Once we’ve narrowed down their vision, we can get down to the details of budget, venues and options. The best part of a wedding in Cabo, beside our many spectacular vacation properties, is the breathtaking natural setting and ideal weather for an al fresco event.

What makes a wedding at a private villa different from anywhere else?

The privacy of a villa wedding is a unique experience. There’s also increased flexibility with the choice of vendors, whereas at many venues you’re restricted to their preset food service. We have many professional caterers with a broad variety of menus from which to choose. Furthermore, the couple has the freedom to select the time for their event; they won’t be hurried along to keep on a schedule to accommodate other wedding parties. Not having to travel from location to location on the day of the wedding is another big perk. Everything comes to them on the big day; they never even need to leave the luxurious privacy of their beautiful villa. A villa allows for a completely customizable day. We can arrange beauty services, the officiate, catering, decorating, entertainment and cleanup. And if they choose to have family or the wedding party stay at the villa, there’s no worrying about somebody showing up late.

How many people can attend a wedding at a private villa? Do they all have to be under 25 people?

We can accommodate weddings up to 250 people at some of our private villas.

Where does one honeymoon after a wedding in Cabo?

The choices are endless! They can choose to remain at the location of their wedding or move to another luxurious resort or villa that fits their honeymoon needs. From VERY private villas offering the ultimate in seclusion to properties located just steps to Cabo’s nightlife and dining, we can help the happy couple find the perfect fit.

Just for grins I conducted a little Google Trends search and compared the search term “wedding” to “marriage”. Wedding beats out marriage by a margin close to 4:1. You can conduct your own trends analysis at Google Trends.

The top regions are lead by South Africa and Ireland.

1. South Africa
2. Ireland
3. Philippines
4. United Kingdom
5. United States
6. Australia
7. New Zealand
8. Canada
9. Malaysia
10. India

And although the US is only #5 in the regional list they have 6 of the top ten cities. I guess that means those folks in Ireland are researching like crazy.

1. Dublin, Ireland 2. St Louis, MO, USA
3. Minneapolis, MN, USA
4. New York, NY, USA
5. Thames Ditton, United Kingdom
6. Chicago, IL, USA
7. Philadelphia, PA, USA
8. Birmingham, United Kingdom
9. Brentford, United Kingdom
10. Atlanta, GA, USA