Before you leave…
🛬 Please share your travel details and DJ song 🎶 request with us by filling out the travel form:
❌ Don’t pack any gifts, please! While we don’t expect gifts, there will be a card drop box.
Here’s our general packing list… feel free to follow along or do your own thing!
🌞 Sunglasses, Chapstick with SPF, sunscreen (we pack a pump bottle in our checked bag), aloe vera/Solarcaine (for when you get a little too much sun), 10 oz. or 12 oz. Yeti (to keep your drink cold at the pool), flip flops/sandals, tank tops (☀️ out, 💪 out), swim suit(s), and a beach bag/canvas tote bag.
📚️ Download audio books, eBooks, Spotify playlists, podcasts, etc.
- Claire’s beach read recommendations: Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree (fiction, cozy fantasy), I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston (fiction, YA romance/mystery), Beach Read or Book Lovers by Emily Henry (fiction, hetero romance).
- Brad’s beach tunes recommendations: Sunny Beats (chill, tropical vibes only), Yacht Rock (smooth grooves), and Lounge – Soft House (spa vibes).
💃 Sundresses, hair ties/scrunchies, and face sunscreen/moisturizer.
🕺Shorts, tank tops, and Hawaiian shirts. 🍍
✈️ Masks (we still wear ’em on planes), mask strap extenders (your 👂️ will thank you), Bluetooth headphones, hand sanitizer, a “Mom Bottle” (Tums, Advil, Tylenol, Benadryl), ear plugs, and toiletries.
🪅 Attire for the wedding itself is beach casual. Women in the wedding party are wearing tulle skirts and white tops or casual flowy dresses. Men in the wedding party are wearing khakis/sandy linen pants and white linen shirts. Shoes optional.
🏦 We usually get a bunch of $1 and $5 bills from our bank before we depart for tips — there’s a whole tips section on tips and money below.
For a smooth journey…
🚕 Book an airport transfer with USA Transfers, install their app (Apple Store, Google Play Store), and login before you leave — it’ll make finding your driver super easy! (You can always get a cab, but USA Transfers isn’t that expensive and we’ve found it to be easier door-to-door!)
📱 Check In with your cell phone company: not all plans include free international data, texting, or calling. The resort has decent Wi-Fi coverage and if you’re not planning to leave the resort to explore the Rivera Maya, you can probably just leave your phone on airplane mode. (We highly recommend disconnecting/uninstalling your work email, Slack, etc. from your mobile device to reinforce healthy work/life balance.)
📣 Install WhatsApp (Apple Store, Google Play Store), a free messaging app that we can all use to chat between now and through the event. After you install it, join the group chat:
🏨 Install Melia’s app (Apple Store, Google Play Store) and login/find your reservation. You can use it to access info on the resort’s amenities and peep the restaurant menus 👀.
ℹ️ If you haven’t already put the first night deposit down for your room, the hotel will be contacting you to do this soon. If you have any concerns, you can reach out to the hotel at groups.paradisus.cancun@melia.com and they’ll be happy to help.
⚠️ At the Cancun airport, after you collect your checked bags, there will be a bunch of “helpful” representatives that will approach you — ultimately, they’ll try to sell you a timeshare apartment or tours or excursions – it’s a waste of your precious vacation time to chat with them, so just keep your eyes ahead and exit outside where you will find your transfer to the hotel.
While you’re there…
📸 Please take lots of photos and videos and share your favorite photos with us on WhatsApp to help us remember our wedding!
Here are some of our food and drink tips…
🍽️ Review the hotel’s restaurant list. To avoid waiting for a table at dinner, you can get a reservation. You can do this by calling (from your room) or showing up to the restaurant earlier in the day. Taquería Blue Agave is 🔥 for a delicious 🌮 and passion fruit margarita.
💲 Almost all of the restaurants are all-inclusive, but oddly all of the restaurants had prices on the menus in pesos (perhaps for local visitors that are not staying at the hotel.) Some restaurants have premium items that are additional cost, but the menu usually indicates it clearly. You can always ask a server if you’re unsure.
☕️ Get a Carajillo (kaa · ruh · hee · ow) to kickoff your day – espresso with Liquor 43 and milk shaken with ice.
🧉 For a refreshing afternoon drink, order a tequila, soda, and lime – our go-to is Hornitos tequila.
😰 Party too much? Order a piña colada which comes fortified with a bunch of coconut fats/sugars, pineapple juice, and of course, rum.
🧒 Kids can enjoy in the fun, too. Order a virgin piña colada, strawberry daiquiri, or Mexican Coke (it’s better).
🍹 For after-dinner drinks, the Kanna Beach Club is a really chill outdoor option (quieter, beach vibes) and Ginger Bar is a more upbeat indoor option (traditional bar/club.)
A few tips on tips (and money)…
💵 There’s really no need for pesos unless you’re planning to go out of the resort to explore the Rivera Maya.
💳️ Take a quick look at your credit cards to find the one that has no foreign transaction fees – most charges from the hotel and airport will be in pesos and some banks/cards will charge you a fee that you’ll want to avoid. (Need a new card and travel a bunch? Here’s a referral link for American Express Platinum.)
🙏 While tipping is discretionary and optional, it is very appreciated. We tip often, because it’s a relatively small amount of money to us that makes a huge difference to the amazing resort staff. If you tip well early in the trip, the staff will go the extra mile – remembering your drink order and will go out of their way to ask if you need anything. Here’s what we usually do:
- $1-2 per drink (sometimes we’ll tip $10-20 at the beginning of a pool day and give a bit more throughout the day if service is really good)
- $3-5 every morning on your pillow for the room cleaning staff
- $3-5 per meal for restaurants or room service
- $5-10 per day for the concierge (if you’re in The Reserve)
- $1-2 per bag for the bellboy when arriving or departing
- $5-10 per person for the airport shuttle driver each way
Heading home…
🛍️ Plan ahead if you’re going to buy duty free items at an international airport. Oftentimes you will be able to carry them on to your flight in Mexico, but you will be required to put items like alcohol into a checked piece of luggage when you go through customs in the first US airport that you land at.
😔 Even for direct flights from Cancun, sometimes TSA will require you to recheck your luggage and reclaim them on the domestic side of the terminal because you have to go through the domestic terminal to exit baggage claim (looking at you, CLE 😑).