The most unusual proposal...

If you want to propose to the one you love, do it properly!

We have many grooms-to-be who contact us for ideas on how they can propose to their beloved. The most common request is to arrange a beautiful candle light dinner for 2 on the beach but the possibilities are limitless...

The list on how to create a romantic or original proposal is literally limitless and there are always new and creative and unique ideas...  

We've had grooms that called their fiance in the room to come down to reception immediately and propose to her in the lobby with the hotel staff bringing a bottle of champagne and taking photos, we've had photo sessions and the ring happened to be found on the beach or in some flowers in the garden, divers who came out of the ocean and surprised the lucky lady, a message in the bottle that was washed up on the beach, a small plane with a banner popping the question, engagement rings frozen into an ice cube, the list goes on and on.... but nothing prepared me for this young man! Talk about being creative and think outside the box! 

I just had a young man from Austria who contacted me because he wanted to propose to his girlfriend. He was eager to come up with something different so we discussed various options over a coffee at Starbucks. Everything was set for the morning of the following day. 

He decided that he wanted to take her for a walk on the beach and hide the engagement ring in a big conch shell. So that nobody would take the shell, I sat nearby pretending to be a sunbathing tourist to could keep an eye on things and take some photos when the moment arrived....

I waited and waited but 'my' couple was nowhere to be seen....

Contemplating on what to do next, I eventually saw the groom-to-be running alone towards me around 30 minutes later. He doubled over to catch his breath, then he looked at me and just blurted out, "Plan abandoned, she's sick!"

Worried what had happened I asked him if she was all right. 

He explained that they all went out the night before and unfortunately the lady of his dreams had a few tequilas too many and was suffering from a monster hangover. 

I told him that I was really sorry to hear that and was just about to tell him that we could postpone it all until the next day when he replied interrupted me breathlessly, "Not a problem, I've just come to get the ring. It's not all down the pan but I didn't want to wait any longer, so whilst she was sleeping, I took her lipstick and wrote on the inside of the toilet lid 'Will you marry me?' She got up when she felt sick again and when she opened the toilet lid she saw the question, moaned and said 'yes' before returning to the bathroom... so I've just come back to get the ring.... but she's much better now!"

I am happy to say that I let them be after supplying him with some aspirin and some rehydrating drinks from the pharmacy...

Although he didn't plan it like this, I guess the most important thing for any proposal is that it comes from the heart! She seemed to agree because they called me up today freshly engaged, happy and feeling great to book their wedding with us next year - No tequilas though!

Tell us about your proposal!

If you are planning to propose to your loved one whilst on vacation, contact Cancun Wedding Center. We are happy to offer suggestions and arrange everything for you!

We want to elope!

Help! It's just the two of us and we want to elope! We need information! Do we need a wedding coordinator? Where do we go and where do we start? These are common questions that we are asked frequently.

Don't worry, all you need is your partner,  a minister and a photographer to capture the moment!

Time and again we hear from couples that hotels are not keen or forthcoming on helping couples without guests and that they struggle to get information. It's a fair assumption that this is probably because there is no money to be made! 

Don't let this deter you!

Just contact a photographer or minister or check on +TripAdvisor! They are always pleased to help and some even have a package deal that includes all you need to tie the knot!

Having no guests at your wedding can be liberating and also gives you a lot more choices in terms of doing something unusual on your big day! For example, why not get married in a helicopter, a private yacht or in a parasailer over the ocean? That's sure something to remember!

These are just a couple of ideas you can do when you're on your own that wouldn't work if you had guests.

If you want more information or ideas, please feel free to contact us at cancunweddingcenter@gmail.com or on our cancunweddingcenter facebook page

A few wedding mishaps ....

Working as a Minister certainly does have its advantages! 

The fact that 99.9 % of the couples I marry are extremely happy, is a great contributing fact for achieving near-perfect job satisfaction. No bad-tempered clients, no complaints and sunshine, blue sky, turquoise ocean, and a beautiful white sandy beach certainly help too! It's easy to smile and be nice when the couples you work with are all happy, excited, and friendly. I always tell each couple to 'go with the flow', chill out, and not to worry! It's ok if things go wrong, as long as nobody comes to harm! A perfect wedding will be remembered as just that - 'Perfect'; but it is certainly not going to be memorable! 

It's those little things that happen unscheduled and that may not always be funny on the actual day, which will make a wedding memorable and keep people laughing years later. 

With over 1000 wedding ceremonies under my belt, every single wedding is still exciting for me. Show me a photo of a couple I married years ago and for sure I will remember them! Some weddings don't require a photo to be forever embedded in my mind though. Whenever you come to a point in your wedding where you think it's getting tough, here are just a few 'memorable' weddings that will put some mishaps into perspective.

Some brides are very calm and quiet whilst others are nervous or excited, giggly or teary, and of course, there is the odd 'bridezilla'!

Contrary to wide belief and fortunate for most working in the wedding industry, 'bridezilla's' are still relatively rare, considering the amount of pressure each bride is under! It's always easy to judge others but one should always remember that we all have different tolerance levels, different expectations, and who knows, there may be a perfectly understandable reason as to why a bride 'flips'; - we just may not be aware of it! 

For me, the easiest way to deal with any stressed bride is to calm her down and reassure her - not always an easy task, I agree. It's often easier for an outsider to take over this task than for a close relative or friend where the temptation to 'try and reason against all odds' is much higher. Touch wood, in my entire career working as a Minister, I only ever came across one completely uncontrollable bride who, I may add, should have come with a serious health warning! 

Sadly, the bride was bi-polar, which, as far as I am aware, can in most cases effectively treated by medication. Too bad for me and all who came in contact with her that her medication flew out the window and was swiftly replaced by Mexican Tequila the minute they touched down in Cancun! 

It was truly THE wedding from hell, one minute the bride squeezed and hugged everyone in joy, the next minute anyone close to her was ducking for cover and I seriously thought I would have to exchange my Ceremony Book for boxing gloves to defend myself! It was not only THE wedding from hell, - it was also a truly scary experience to anyone that was within range, onlookers, wedding guests, or staff! I decided to grit my teeth and put on a brave face and somehow managed to get through the ceremony - after deciding to make a rapid exit during one of her 'hugging phases'! 

This was by far the 'worst' wedding I ever officiated and I am sure the bride didn't enjoy her big day as much as she could have done, if she would have taken her medication either! Always remember not to 'skip' medication because it's your wedding day, it could ruin your wedding!    

Then there was the wedding in the dark, with guests slowly being roasted by the tiki torches, bugs the size of bats, and a completely drunk father of the bride. This particular bride went through immense trouble choosing a set up overflowing with roses - a rose wedding arch, roses on the aisle, on the chairs, and wherever they could possibly be placed. The smell was intoxicating, - and after the bride eventually made her entrance 1 1/2 hours late, the guests were intoxicated too - in particular the bride's father! 

The bride eventually arrived after sunset and everyone hurriedly staggered to their seats. By this time it was pitch black outside, there was no moon and the only lighting came from the tiki torches that lined the aisle. As the guests rose and strained to see the bride making her entrance, swaying gently from side to side from the effect of the pre-ceremony drinks, they were slowly being smoldered and smoked by the tiki torches. 

The bride literally carried her father down the aisle with obvious difficulty whilst the groom and I patiently waited at the altar. As they slowly swayed towards us, the bride's father suddenly decided he had enough of walking and just nonchalantly pushed his daughter towards me and just fell into a chair without giving me the chance to ask 'Who gives this woman away....' 

I will always admire her for keeping her cool as very dryly whispered to me with a straight face: 'Just skip that part!' 

It was so dark, that in order to be able to read the ceremony script, I had to get as close as possible to the tiki torches. Between coughing fits from the smoke and avoiding to be set alight by the flame, the ceremony continued relatively smoothly, except for a few interruptions by the odd scream or wild carfuffle by some of the guests trying to fight off near bat-size bugs that were obviously extremely attracted by the fire and intoxicating smell of the roses. All in all everyone had a great time but for those brides planning on making a late entrance, I would just like to add that I am usually not in a position to wait that long for a bride to arrive, and please also spare a thought for your poor guests! :)  

There are also other hazards that don't immediately spring to mind when planning a beach wedding! A box of tissues may not always just serve the purpose of wiping tears of joy away! During one of my ceremonies a flock of pelicans decided to make a formation flight right overhead the ceremony site and one of the birds left a rather generous present mid-flight. It was not gladly received by the poor bridesmaid who was unaware of the danger from above, and who led out a high pitched scream as the generous 'offering' landed on her beautiful dress with an audible splash! One of the groomsmen came to her rescue by immediately taking off his shirt for her and the ceremony continued with a rather odd-looking bridal party - a groomsman wearing nothing but his trousers and a bow tie and a maid of honor wearing a dress shirt above her bridesmaid dress! The bride had meticulously written schedules for her entire wedding day, covering all eventualities with 'Plan B + C', however ....overhead pelicans were not calculated for.... 

These are just a select few wedding mishaps & 'dangers' I encountered as a Minister and it has hopefully given me the panache of staying cool even in the most outrageous situations! 

Author: Petra Rattue