Can I bring my own photographer to Secrets Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa?

Outside photographers are allowed. Published 2026 rates list a $300 outside vendor fee for photography, paid by the couple, which is low for this corridor. A separate $90 wedding pass appears on the same rate sheet, so confirm with the coordinator whether it also applies to vendors.

How many guests can Secrets Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa hold for a wedding?

164 all-suite adults-only property. Ceremonies to about 200 at the Preferred Gazebo, receptions to about 300 in the Ballroom, listed to 500 guests overall.

When is the best time to get married at Secrets Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa?

November and February through April are the driest and most settled. May through October brings afternoon storms, heat and heavier seaweed, and August through October carries the highest storm risk.

Skip to the short answer

Venue Guide

Your Wedding at
Secrets Riviera Cancun
Resort & Spa

Puerto Morelos

An adults-only, all-suite Hyatt Inclusive Collection resort on the Puerto Morelos coast, sited between the Caribbean and the Bahia Petempich lagoon, with a wedding lineup that runs from an oceanfront gazebo to an air-conditioned ballroom.

Check your date

01The short answer

What couples ask first

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

1.1Outside photographers: $300 USD, photography.Outside photographers are allowed.
1.2Capacity: 164 all-suite adults-only property.
1.3Wedding packages: 2026 packages roughly $1,500 to $11,500, before per-guest charges.Published rate. Confirm with the venue.
1.4Best months: November and February through April are the driest and most settled.
1.5Airport transfer: Roughly 15 to 20 minutes from Cancun International.

02Why couples choose it

What couples choose it for

2.1
Every one of the 164 suites belongs to the Preferred Club tier, so there is no upgraded category to negotiate and every guest on the room block gets the same level of service.
2.2
Cancun International is roughly 15 to 20 minutes away, which keeps the arrival day short for guests flying in from the United States and Canada.
2.3
An outside photographer is permitted for a published 300 dollar vendor fee, which is well below the 500 to 1,500 dollar range common across the Cancun and Riviera Maya corridor.
2.4
Guests have free-flow access to Breathless Riviera Cancun next door, which adds pools, restaurants and a late-night club without a day pass or an extra charge.
2.5
Ceremony settings range from a waterfront gazebo to open-air rooftops and a deck set over the water of a pool, so the ceremony, cocktail hour and dinner can each look like a different place.
2.6
The resort is adults-only, which suits couples who want an eighteen and over guest list without having to write that rule themselves.

03The spaces

Where you would actually get married

Ceremony

3.1Preferred Gazebo200 seated
A waterfront gazebo built from natural materials and dressed with flowers in bloom, the largest ceremony setting on the property at up to 200 guests.
3.2Purple Rooftop100 seated
An elevated open-air terrace with an ocean view and a white tent, used for ceremonies and cocktail hours of up to about 100 guests.
3.3Purple Rooftop Lounge
The lounge adjoining the rooftop, an upscale and relaxed space that takes a ceremony or cocktail hour of about 100 and a seated dinner of about 80.
3.4Love Terrace
An open-air rooftop terrace with turquoise water views, and the one space that can hold the ceremony, cocktail hour and dinner for a small group without moving.
3.5Energy Dry Bar80 seated
A ceremony and cocktail setting built out over the clear water of the Energy Pool, for roughly 80 guests, and the most unusual look in the lineup.

Reception

3.6Preferred Beach300 seated
The main beachfront setting, with the Caribbean behind the head table, used for cocktail hours and dinners in the 250 to 300 guest range.
3.7Ballroom
The air-conditioned indoor room and the property's rain plan, seating a reception of up to around 300 and taking any decor scheme you bring to it.
3.8Energy Beach200 seated
A second stretch of sand with a more contemporary, rustic look, set for dinner receptions of up to about 200 guests.
3.9Foam Bar
A small poolside bar area with swings near the counter, opened after six in the evening for cocktail hours of about 60.

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 want the party outdoors and late.Outdoor entertainment has to end at 10:00 pm, so a party that wants to run later moves indoors or continues at the club next door.
You assumed every space in the brochure is on this property.Several of the named wedding spaces sit within the shared complex with Breathless Riviera Cancun, so which property each of your chosen spaces is on, and who else will be nearby, is worth asking.
You are working to a firm guest count.Published capacities differ between agencies, with the beach quoted at both 250 and 300 and the ballroom at both 300 and 350, so your numbers have to be confirmed in writing before the guest list is final.
You have children coming.The resort is adults-only and the brand applies that to every guest including day visitors, so children cannot attend the ceremony or the reception.
Your date falls between May and October.Sargassum lands heaviest in those months, so a beach ceremony then should have a rooftop or ballroom alternative agreed in advance.
You have a caterer or a baker you want to bring.All food and beverage is handled by the resort, so outside catering and cake are not options and the menu conversation happens with the on-site team.

05Before you book

The honest considerations

Outdoor entertainment must end by 10:00 pm; a later party moves indoors or continues at the club next door.
Several named wedding spaces sit within the shared complex with Breathless Riviera Cancun; confirm which property each chosen space is on.
The beach at both 250 and 300, the ballroom at both 300 and 350; get your numbers confirmed in writing.
The resort is adults-only for every guest including day visitors, so children cannot attend the ceremony or reception.
Sargassum lands heaviest May through October, so a beach ceremony that season should have a rooftop or ballroom alternative agreed in advance.
All food and beverage is handled by the resort, so outside catering and cake are not options; the menu conversation happens with the on-site team.

06Getting here

Arrival, and where you get ready

6.1Fly into: Cancun International (CUN).
6.2Then drive: Roughly 15 to 20 minutes.
6.3Arriving at: Puerto Morelos, on the strip between the Caribbean and the Bahia Petempich lagoon.
6.4Moving the group: For groups of 40 or more, a chartered coach usually costs less per head than individual vans.
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 suiteIn the resort's Secrets Spa. Treatment room and triple mirror.

What to ask the wedding office

6.7
Which spaces in our proposal are on Secrets and which are on Breathless, and what sits next to each at that hour?
6.8
A 2026 rate table lists a $300 outside vendor fee for photography and a $90 wedding pass; are both current, and does the pass apply to vendors?
6.9
Does the 10:00 pm outdoor end time apply to ceremony music and cocktails as well as the reception, and which indoor space do we move to?
6.10
What is the confirmed capacity of the beach and of the ballroom for our date, and which alternative is held if sargassum makes the beach unusable?

07Light and timing

How the light works at Secrets Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa

The beach faces the Caribbean, so the sun rises over the water and sets inland behind the property. That means a beach or gazebo ceremony gets bright frontal light early in the day and much kinder light in the last two hours before sunset, while the actual sunset colour sits behind the resort rather than over the sea. The rooftop spaces are the ones that hold light longest, being open on all sides and high enough to see past the palms, and they are where the sky does the most work at the end of the day. A useful rule for this coast is to start the ceremony about ninety minutes before official sunset, which leaves the vows in soft light and still allows time for family groups and couple portraits before it goes. Light disappears quickly here once the sun is down, so the ballroom, the beach and the pool deck all need brought-in lighting after dark rather than relying on ambient glow.

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. Puerto Morelos, 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