Venue Guide
Your Wedding at
Paradisus Playa del Carmen
Playa del Carmen
A large all-inclusive resort on the northern edge of Playa del Carmen, split into a family side and the adults-only Paradisus La Perla, with ceremony sites on the sand, on a beachfront bridge and in a ballroom that seats hundreds.
Check your dateWhat couples ask first
4 figures, each with the caveat that comes with it.
- 1.1Capacity
- Beach and gazebo ceremony sites are listed at roughly 100 to 200 guests, while the indoor Cypress Ballroom is listed for up to 800.
- 1.2Wedding packages
- Complimentary to about $13,000 for 30 guests.Published rate. Confirm with the venue.
- 1.3Best months
- October to December is the corridor sweet spot, with the rain eased and cooler evenings.
- 1.4Airport transfer
- Cancun International is about 53 km away, a 45 to 55 minute drive south on Highway 307 depending on traffic.
What couples choose it for
- 2.1
The property is really two resorts side by side, a family side and the adults-only Paradisus La Perla, so guests travelling with children and guests who want quiet can each get the holiday they came for.
- 2.2
Ceremony settings run from open Caribbean sand to a raised beachfront bridge to a thatched gazebo, so the look of the day is a genuine choice rather than one fixed backdrop.
- 2.3
The indoor Cypress Ballroom is listed for up to 800 guests, which puts large celebrations and multi-day South Asian weddings within reach at a property that also has a small-group option.
- 2.4
It sits on the northern fringe of Playa del Carmen, roughly two kilometres from Quinta Avenida, so guests can get into town for dinner or drinks instead of being stranded on a resort strip.
- 2.5
Melia publishes four named wedding collections plus a South Asian offering, including a complimentary one for very small groups booked against a room-night minimum, so there is a defined starting point at several budgets.
- 2.6
Same-sex couples are offered the same packages and services as anyone else, and the resort also accommodates Jewish and South Asian ceremony formats.
Where you would actually get married
Ceremony
3.1North Beach (also listed as Beach La Esmeralda)200 seated
An open stretch of Caribbean sand on the family side, listed for ceremonies of roughly 160 to 200 guests.
3.2Kanna Bridge150 seated
A beachfront bridge set into the resort's landscaped grounds, listed for ceremonies of up to 150 guests.
3.3Beach Gazebo La Esmeralda160 seated
A gazebo at the edge of the beach on the family side, listed for up to 160 guests for a ceremony or cocktail hour.
3.4Gazebo La Perla (adults only)100 seated
The gazebo on the adults-only La Perla side, listed for up to 100 guests and described as a private setting.
Reception
3.5Cypress Ballroom800 seated
The indoor ballroom, listed for up to 800 guests and described as completely private.
3.6Kanna Club150 seated
A beachside club under a palapa, listed for a cocktail hour or dinner of up to 150 guests with entertainment allowed until 1:00 am.
3.7Solarium200 seated
An open-air terrace in the heart of the resort, listed for cocktails up to 200 guests and a seated dinner up to 150.
3.8North Pool Terrace120 seated
A poolside terrace listed for cocktails up to 120 guests and a seated dinner up to 80, with entertainment until 11:00 pm.
3.9Palapa 1 and 230 seated
A pair of small garden-view palapas, each listed for around 30 guests for a cocktail hour or dinner, with entertainment until 11:00 pm.
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 bringing your own photographer.An outside vendor fee reported at $1,000 per vendor applies. The current figure, who it applies to and any waiver terms all have to come from the coordinator in writing before you sign.
- You are budgeting from the package price.Several of the best spaces, including North Beach, Kanna Bridge, Kanna Club and the North Pool Terrace, carry a venue fee charged on top of the wedding package price.
- You want the party to run late.Music curfews differ sharply by space, from 10:00 pm at the Solarium to 11:00 pm on the beach and terraces, 1:00 am at the Kanna Club and 3:00 am in the Cypress Ballroom, so a long party narrows your reception options fast.
- You want no strangers in the background.The beach and the beach gazebo on the family side are described as not private, so other guests will be in the background. The Cypress Ballroom and the adults-only gazebo are described as private.
- You are planning from older reviews and photographs.The Gabi Bridge is now the Kanna Bridge and Gabi Beach is now the Kanna Club, and the two sides still appear under the older La Esmeralda and La Perla names, so older reviews may not match what your coordinator quotes.
- You want the date to be yours alone.Sources disagree on whether the resort hosts one wedding a day or two, so whether you are sharing the date, and which slot you hold, is worth settling before you sign.
The honest considerations
- The outside vendor fee is reported at $1,000 per vendor for your own photographer; confirm the current figure, who it applies to, and any waiver in writing.
- Several top spaces, including North Beach, Kanna Bridge, Kanna Club and the North Pool Terrace, carry a venue fee on top of the package price.
- 10:00 pm at the Solarium, 11:00 pm on the beach and terraces, 1:00 am at Kanna Club, 3:00 am in Cypress Ballroom.
- The beach and family-side beach gazebo are not private, with other guests visible; the Cypress Ballroom and adults-only gazebo are private.
- Gabi Bridge is now Kanna Bridge and Gabi Beach is now Kanna Club, and La Esmeralda and La Perla names still appear.
- Sources disagree on one wedding a day versus two, at 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm; ask whether you share the date and which slot you hold.
Arrival, and where you get ready
- 6.1Fly into
- Cancun International (CUN), about 53 km away.
- 6.2Then drive
- A 45 to 55 minute drive south on Highway 307 depending on traffic.
- 6.3Arriving at
- The northern edge of Playa del Carmen.
- 6.4Tell guests
- The resort is split into a family side and the adults-only Paradisus La Perla, and the two sides still appear under the older La Esmeralda and La Perla names, so tell people which side they are on.
- 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 come from planners and photographers who have worked the property, not from the venue's own material; confirm with the wedding office.
- Bridal suiteWhere the resort's hair and makeup team comes to the bride, as couples' reviews document.
What to ask the wedding office
- 6.7
Is our date exclusive to us, or are you running a second wedding that day, and which slot do we hold?
- 6.8
What venue fee applies to North Beach, Kanna Bridge, Kanna Club and the North Pool Terrace on our date?
- 6.9
What is the current outside vendor fee, who does it apply to, and does lodging our vendor in our room block for 3 nights waive it?
- 6.10
What is the confirmed music curfew for each space in our proposal, under its current name?
How the light works at Paradisus Playa del Carmen
The resort sits on the east-facing Caribbean shore at the northern edge of Playa del Carmen, so the beach, the Kanna Bridge and the beach gazebo take direct sun through the morning and settle into softer, more even light as the afternoon goes on. Sunset falls behind the property rather than over the water, which means a late beach ceremony is lit from behind your guests and the sky above the sea turns pastel rather than fiery. Placing the ceremony a couple of hours before sunset gives warm, low light for the vows and a full golden hour for portraits straight afterwards. The beach and the beach gazebo on the family side are not private, so resort life will be in the frame at those hours, while the adults-only gazebo and the Cypress Ballroom are described as private.
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. Playa del Carmen, 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, June, August
Sunset around 7:00 pm - 6:00 pm
- July
Sunset around 7:30 pm
Planning a wedding at Paradisus Playa del Carmen?
We are based in Playa del Carmen, so there is no travel fee anywhere in Cancun or the Riviera Maya.