Let's be real: Island time is a real thing. Ashley knows how to eliminate the back-and-forth with the resort's wedding team that can easily stretch a two-day conversation into two weeks.

She'll walk you through the four-season cost framework for Mexico and the Caribbean (peak, mid, low, and hurricane season), major holidays that affect perks and airfare, and the real tradeoffs between mid-week and weekend dates. That's exactly why we're here and will help you nail down the best date available for your wedding.

Setting the Date

step 2

Here's the piece most couples underestimate: a properly structured room block is the financial engine of your entire destination wedding. It's how you earn perks like free nights, upgrades, and group perks. But only if it's structured correctly.

We've developed a specific formula for estimating the right room block size — one that accounts for who will actually book vs. who says they will. (Those aren't the same list.) Then we review the contract together before anything gets signed.

step 3

Building Your Room Block

Why this matters
If guests book rooms on their own, the hotel has no record of them as part of your group. You don't just leave perks and free nights on the table. You lose every form of leverage you had with the resort. We've seen it happen, and it's a hard thing to fix after the fact.

What Ashley is thinking about after 160+ destination weddings. 
Some resorts black out dates entirely — no group bookings, comps, no exceptions. Others get wiped out by corporate buyouts you'd never see coming but don't check this before locking you into a date. I check all of this before we get attached to a date.

Every AYBT couple gets a custom wedding page on the Alpaca Your Bags site. This is where your guests find rates, room types, FAQs, and the reservation form. We build it. You proofread it. It goes live when you're happy with it. Want to customize your own site? We have options for that too!

Your Wedding Website

step 4

Save-the-dates, invitation wording, guest communication strategy. Ashley has done this hundreds of times and has the system to keep this part easy breezy.

(nothing get's lost in DM's or mom's group chat)

Sharing the news!

step 5

What Ashley is considering that you may not be.
What is the hotel's planning timeline? Does this resort have the right venues to accommodate your vision, guest needs, and overall headcount? Can this hotel handle special accommodations well? How is their communication style and speed? Flexible or no? 

After your planning call, Ashley builds a short, curated list of resorts and destinations based on your specific needs. Not a dump of every property in Mexico and the Caribbean. Your list. For you.

This collaborative process builds in time for you & your partner to review the hotels that were hand-picked for you. Your feedback is key for narrowing down the options until you have a clear winner.

The Thought Starters

step 1

What's Next?

We'll take it from here for a while.

Now, you get to relax for a bit. 
Collect ideas, use Pinterest or a mood board, start curating that vision while we take care of the hard guest work. When your guests start driving you crazy, you can turn them over to us!

Guests fill out the reservation form, receive their quote, approve it, and pay their deposit. We're tracking everything and you get to follow along and see how your guest list is coming along.  Exciting!

Guest Bookings Start Rolling In

step 1

What you don't have to do
Answer your Aunt Ruth's twelve questions about room types. Follow up with the cousin who said he'd book "next week" (as three weeks have now passed). Coordinate the two friends who want to share but haven't figured out who's paying what. We handles all of it. You enjoy the season of being engaged.

The room block contract has hard deadlines. Reduction dates. Final payment dates. Cancellation policies. Missing them costs real money. We track every deadline and share reminders well before they arrive, not the morning of.

Milestones & Deadlines, oh my!

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We're also checking every guest's travel plans to catch wrong dates, wrong airports, and passport names that don't match before any of that becomes a wedding-week crisis. (This happens more than you'd think.)

About 3-5 months before the wedding, you'll begin planning with the hotel wedding coordinator. AYB is fluent in "resort wedding planner," including the nuances of working together. We're here to help you communicate most effectively, advocate when responses are slow, and steer you in the right direction when it comes to what to splurge on and when to save.

Meet Your Resort Wedding Planner

step 3

What having us in your corner actually looks like
Resort coordinators are great at their jobs — and their job is to serve the resort. We'll show up in your inbox when something feels unfinished, tell you which recommendations are genuinely worth it, You've planned this wedding and we've planned hundred. This is the gap we close working together. 

Travel & Post Wedding Wrap Up

You're in the Home Stretch!

 This is where preparation meets celebration. Transfers are finalized for each guest, travel documents go out and you're busy preparing for the best day ever. 

Starting about 60 days before travel, we send a bi-weekly email sequence to all guests: what to pack, resort activities, travel health and safety, money and cell phone tips, all things immigration, transportation logistics. These emails are tailored to your specific resort and reflect whatever's actually happening in the world right now,.

Pre-Travel Prep

step 1

Couples consistently tell us their guests show up more prepared and ask fewer last-minute questions. (Your family group chat will thank us.)

Prior to travel, we're busy preparing final guest documentation, verifying guest air details and coordinating transportation. We're making sure that all of your guests travel plans have them arriving into the destination as smoothly as possible. 

Logistics Matter

step 2

Here's what most couples don't realize until it matters: we're still here during travel. Air delays, cancellations, a panicked guest text at 6am — that's still us. We're not done until everyone's home safe

Now that everyone's home, we want to hear everything. How did it go? How did the resort treat you? What was your favorite part of the week? We'll be in touch to gush over the photos, and walk you through the final steps to close out your group.

Post-Travel Check In 

step 3

Good news: Perks from your wedding
Once everyone checks out, we'll calculate exactly what you've earned in comp room nights and make sure it all gets back to you. If you earned it, you'll get the credit.