We travelled to Playa Del Carmen for the wedding of two of our closest friends – Albert & Kati. It was an incredible destination wedding. The resort and wedding were both incredible, and we had a chance to catch up with several friends that we went to grad school with.
This was our first time in the area, we enjoyed learning a new place in Mexico, and made it to Tulum after the wedding!
The Wedding
The wedding was right along the Gulf of Mexico, and the weather couldn’t have been better. It rained earlier in the day, which made the wedding cool and dry once the rain subsided.
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There were some thoughtful nice touches, they had blue and yellow maracas to commemorate their time at grad school in UC Berkeley. The other nice touch was a GoPro strapped on to a tequila bottle. We’ll share a mixtape of those shots soon!
After exchanging their vows and sharing some fun stories, it was time to party. The speeches during dinner were terrific, and Michelle was one of the speakers!
The nicest part about long weddings like this is that nothing felt rushed. The dinner, speeches, and dancing all felt just about right. There was a ton of time to catch up with all of our friends that flew in.
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The bar would not stop serving tequila. You could safely assume that every time you came up for a drink, that you were going to be taking at least 2 shots with different friends.
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We even had time for mariachis to swing by! The wedding went until 1am, and culminated with all of us in the pool. We’ll see what pictures we can share from the pool. In the meantime, here’s a lovely photo of the couple before things got weird.
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Beach Olympics
No destination wedding is complete without a beach olympics. The games included tug of war, cone running, water bucket filling, and beer chugging.
Kati & Albert’s team made it to the finals against the team we were on. The winner was determined by “dizzy bat”, where you spin your head on a hat. Michelle put her body on the line for the win, but Kati & Albert came ahead to win the gold medal.
Where to Stay in Playa Del Carmen
We stayed at the Mahekal Beach Resort in Playa Del Carmen. They had multiple pools, restaurants, and bars.
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The resort includes breakfast and the option of lunch or dinner. We recommend taking the free lunch, so you can have dinner at one of the restaurants we recommend.
Their seafood tacos and mixed ceviche were the favorites. We ate those multiple times. For breakfast we recommend the ciabatta or avocado with egg.
Your room is what steals the show. Each room feels like it’s own little hut. You’ll have a front porch with a hammock or two as well!
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Playa Del Carmen Restaurants
The food at the resort was solid, and we took advantage of the free breakfast and lunch.
We went to some great dinner spots as well though, and we recommend checking them out if you’re in the area.
Piola
Piola is an Italian restaurant with excellent thin crust pizza. We get it, pizza is the last thing you have in mind when you’re in Mexico. After enough fish tacos, it’s nice to change it up, and Piola is a terrific option.
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Make sure you also order their basil martini!
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Fuego Restaurante y Cantina
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Don Sirloin
Don Sirloin is a great spot for late night tacos. We ended up going here after the wedding with Bruce, Stephanie, and Brandon. We highly recommend the pastor tacos.
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Playa Del Carmen Travel
We had a blast at Playa Del Carmen. Albert & Kati’s wedding was incredible, and we loved catching up with all of our friends from grad school.
Playa Del Carmen is a great place to relax and hang out. We would definitely stay at Mahekal Beach Resort again, and recommend that you give it a shot if the price is right as well!