Can I bring my own photographer to Arcadia Events Tulum?

The venue states there is no restriction on vendors and no extra charge: couples may hire any wedding planner, caterer, DJ or photographer they wish, and the venue takes care of the special permits.

How many guests can Arcadia Events Tulum hold for a wedding?

A Tulum directory lists 2 to 90 guests; one planner's blog puts the practical limit nearer 50, and a published review documents a 62 guest wedding here.

When is the best time to get married at Arcadia Events Tulum?

Arch's guidance for this corridor puts the sweet spot between October and December, with June to September the rainy season and December the busiest and priciest.

Skip to the short answer

Venue Guide

Your Wedding at
Arcadia Events Tulum

Tulum

Arcadia Events Tulum, which also trades as Arcadia Hidden Arches, is a privately rented jungle property a few minutes from Tulum, built around sculpted stone arches, a colossal antique door and planted gardens rather than a beach.

Check your date

01The short answer

What couples ask first

5 figures, each with the caveat that comes with it.

1.1Outside photographers: The venue states there is no restriction on vendors and no extra charge: couples may hire any wedding planner, caterer, DJ or photographer they wish, and the venue takes care of the special permits.
1.2Capacity: A Tulum directory lists 2 to 90 guests; one planner's blog puts the practical limit nearer 50, and a published review documents a 62 guest wedding here.
1.3Wedding packages: Venue lists an elopement offer at $900 USD for 2 hours plus photos.Published rate. Confirm with the venue.
1.4Best months: Arch's guidance for this corridor puts the sweet spot between October and December, with June to September the rainy season and December the busiest and priciest.
1.5Airport transfer: Cancun airport to Tulum is about an hour and a half by road on a good day; the Tren Maya links the airport terminals to Tulum station as an alternative.

02Why couples choose it

What couples choose it for

2.1
There is no restriction on vendors and no surcharge for bringing your own: the venue states couples may hire any wedding planner, caterer, DJ or photographer they wish.
2.2
It is one of the few private properties in the area, set in a secure gated jungle community, so the whole site belongs to one celebration for the day rather than a corner of a busy resort.
2.3
The property arrives already designed, with stone architecture, sculpted arches, ceramic art, potteries and planted landscape, so couples can decorate heavily or do almost nothing and let the setting carry the day.
2.4
Ceremony, cocktail hour, reception and after-party each take place in a separate and distinct area of the property, so the evening moves rather than sitting in one room.
2.5
Because the setting is inland jungle rather than beachfront, the seaweed influx that lands on Riviera Maya beaches between roughly May and October never touches the ceremony backdrop.
2.6
The venue handles the special permits and publishes on-site security, Wi-Fi, electricity, parking and a covered area in case of rain.

03The spaces

Where you would actually get married

Ceremony

3.1The Stone Arch
Hidden at the back of the property, a stone arch stands as the ceremony backdrop.
3.2The Colossal Antique Door
A six metre (20 foot) antique door the venue offers as a dramatic ceremony entrance, and which doubles as a portrait backdrop.

Reception

3.3The Castle
The sculpted arches, which the venue also calls The Castle, form the reception setting.
3.4The Jungle Garden
A spacious garden in the heart of the jungle used for cocktail hour and for the party.
3.5The Tree Top Lounge
An elevated lounge the venue describes as offering a panoramic view, used for couple portraits or for a drink during cocktail hour.

04The honest case against

When another venue fits better

Every point is drawn from the venue's own published terms and documented weddings. None of it makes this a bad venue.

You are planning around a fixed guest count.Published limits disagree, from a directory listing of up to 90 down to a planner's blog citing 50, with a client review documenting a 62 guest wedding here. Confirm the number against your own floor plan directly with the venue.
You want your guests to stay where they celebrate.The venue publishes no guest rooms, so everyone stays in Tulum and travels in. In one published wedding the couple got ready at a nearby rental rather than on the property.
You want a single number that covers the whole day.This is a venue rental rather than an all inclusive package, so catering, bar, planning, rentals and music are all contracted separately and the site quotes a personalised proposal instead of a published price.
You need a rain plan with a roof and walls.The property is open air jungle and the venue lists a covered area in case of rain rather than an indoor ballroom, so the wet weather plan is worth settling early with your planner.
You are researching it by name before you commit.It trades under two names, Arcadia Events Tulum and Arcadia Hidden Arches, which splits the reviews, real weddings and directory listings across two sets of search results.
You want the venue and your planner to be separate businesses.The founder also runs the planning agency Your Wedding Planner Tulum, whose Instagram bio reads wedding planners at arcadia.events.tulum. The venue's stated policy is still that there is no restriction on vendors and no extra charge, so an outside planner is permitted alongside the in-house route.

05Before you book

The honest considerations

One directory lists up to 90, a planner's blog cites 50.
No guest rooms are published; everyone stays in Tulum and travels in.
This is a venue rental, not an all-inclusive package; catering, bar, planning, rentals and music are contracted separately, quoted as a personalised proposal.
The property is open-air jungle with a covered area for rain rather than an indoor ballroom; settle a wet-weather plan early.
It trades under two names, Arcadia Events Tulum and Arcadia Hidden Arches, which matters when searching for reviews or listings.
The founder also runs the planning agency Your Wedding Planner Tulum, an in-house option alongside the venue's open policy on outside planners.

06Getting here

Arrival, and where you get ready

6.1Fly into: Cancun International (CUN).
6.2Then travel: About an hour and a half by road to Tulum on a good day. The Tren Maya links the airport terminals to Tulum station as an alternative.
6.3Arriving at: The Lum-Ha gated jungle community, a few minutes inland from Tulum town.
6.4Tell guests: There are no rooms on site, so guests book in Tulum and come in for the day. Send the venue's own map pin, and warn them the property answers to two names when they search.
6.5At the airport: Ignore anyone offering a ride between the arrivals door and the curb, however official they look. Only pre-arranged and federally authorized transport may pick up at the terminal, and the walk-up offers are where the overcharge stories come from. Ride-hailing apps work for the trip back to the airport but are unreliable for arrivals, so do not plan a pickup around one.
6.6Book the drive before you fly: Reserve a private transfer in advance: the driver meets you with a name sign, at a fixed price agreed up front, and tracks your flight if it runs late. We use Private Driver Cancun, WhatsApp +52 984 132 3989, mixofcultures.com. USA Transfers and eTransfers are two long-established operators for larger guest lists.

Where you get ready

Details below are venue-published.

Bridal roomA private room for the bride and her party. Sized for touch-ups and a second-dress change rather than a full morning of preparation.

What to ask the wedding office

6.7
What is your outside photographer fee and any day pass charge for our date? Please confirm in writing.
6.8
What is the full rental for our date and guest count? Is the USD 900 two-hour offer or 15 percent early-bird discount live? Promos date to May 2024.
6.9
What is your real maximum seated guest count for our floor plan? Published figures for you range from 50 to 90.
6.10
Which special permits do you obtain on our behalf, and is that genuinely included in the rental with no extra charge?
6.11
What exactly is the covered area you list for rain, and how many of our guests does it seat?

07Light and timing

How the light works at Arcadia Events Tulum

This is an inland jungle property, so there is no ocean horizon and no sunset over water; the light story here is dappled canopy, stone and greenery. The ceremony arch sits at the back of the property screened by trees, which makes for an even, shaded ceremony backdrop rather than a backlit one, and a late-afternoon start keeps the contrast between canopy and sky manageable. Arch's published planning guidance for the region is to set the ceremony a few hours before sunset so the portrait window lands in golden light, and that holds here for the tree top lounge, which the venue describes as having a panoramic view. The six metre antique door and the Roman bath with giant pillars in the jungle garden both read as built portrait backdrops rather than incidental scenery, and are worth naming in a shot list.

The best time to start your ceremony

Arch's own rule for this coast is to begin the ceremony about 90 minutes before sunset, which leaves the vows in soft light and still keeps time for portraits afterwards. Start times are rounded down to the half hour. Tulum, Quintana Roo. UTC-5 all year: the state left daylight saving in 2015. Times are town level, so they run within a couple of minutes of the property.

4:30 pm: January, October, November, December
Sunset around 6:00 pm
5:00 pm: February, March, September
Sunset around 6:30 pm
5:30 pm: April, May, August
Sunset around 7:00 pm
6:00 pm: June, July
Sunset around 7:30 pm