Riviera Maya · October 2022
Two Ceremonies, One Weekend
- Where
- Dreams Aventuras, Riviera Maya
- When
- 21–22 October 2022
- Length
- Two days, five events
- Ceremonies
- Hindu and Catholic
Most of what gets published about destination weddings is a single ceremony photographed from the front. This is the opposite: a complete weekend, in order, from the first bowl of turmeric on Friday afternoon to the last of the dancing on Saturday night.
We are showing it because it answers the question couples actually ask — not “what does a beach ceremony look like”, but how do you fit a haldi, a mehndi, a sangeet, a baraat, a Hindu ceremony, a Catholic ceremony and a reception into one resort in one weekend. Here is one couple's answer, hour by hour.
Haldi
Friday · 12:58 – 16:00
Patio restaurant
The weekend opened in the middle of a Friday afternoon, under the thatched palapa roof of the resort’s Patio restaurant. A hand-lettered sign on an easel welcomed guests to the haldi; a dress code of yellow was clearly in force, down to the guests.
Turmeric paste and marigolds were set out in shallow bowls on a low table, and the couple sat together while family took turns applying it — parents, grandparents, cousins, one after another, most of it ending up on their faces. Canapés circulated on tasting spoons between rounds.
Mehndi & Sangeet
Friday · 17:48 – 21:30
Resort grounds & terrace
Once the haldi cleared, the couple changed — a mint and gold lehenga, a yellow nehru vest — and walked the resort’s palm-lined roads down to the water while the light went gold. Those frames are the quietest of the whole weekend, and among the best: the two of them on the sand, a twirl at the shoreline, the lehenga catching the last of the sun.
The mehndi had been applied by then, and it photographs beautifully: dense work running past both wrists, stacked bangles over top. After dark the sangeet took the terrace under a lit tree and strings of bulbs, and the dance floor stayed full through to half nine.
Getting Ready, Baraat & Hindu Ceremony
Saturday · 08:04 – 13:48
Suites & beachfront mandap
Saturday started just after eight. The bride’s jewellery was photographed laid out before any of it was worn — a layered gold temple necklace, a maang tikka, a nath — and the bridal party got ready together in matching floral robes on a terrace with the Caribbean behind them. In another room, the groom’s safa was being tied.
The baraat came through the middle of the resort: a dhol player at the front, the groom in a red safa and sunglasses, and a moving crowd of guests dancing backwards ahead of him past the shops and the pool.
The mandap stood on the sand at the edge of the lagoon — a red rose canopy over ivory and gold drape, with rows of chiavari chairs facing the water and palms on either side. The rites ran through the middle of the day: the kalash and puja thali set out on the platform, the seven steps taken across a floor scattered with rose petals, the whole thing finishing early afternoon.
Catholic Ceremony
Saturday · 14:13 – 16:46
Beachfront, under canopy
Barely half an hour after the Hindu ceremony ended, the same weekend changed language entirely. A second ceremony, Catholic, on the beach — and with it a second aesthetic: an arch of pampas grass and red bougainvillea instead of roses, a white dress and veil instead of red, gold chiavari chairs under a white canopy, and guests in guayaberas and panama hats.
The vows, the rings and the register signing all happened with the sea directly behind the arch. It is the clearest argument on this page for why couples do this abroad: two ceremonies, two traditions, two hours apart, and one set of guests who did not have to travel between them.
Reception & Party
Saturday · 17:47 – 22:06
On the sand
The reception was set directly on the sand as the sun went down: long tables and rounds under papel picado bunting and festoon lights, red rose runners down the head table, and a sweetheart table framed by florals with the water immediately behind it.
The details were photographed before anyone sat down — place settings, rose and eucalyptus centrepieces, painted guest-book stones, a seating chart on an easel, lawn games waiting on the sand. Then it turned into a party: a teal lehenga for the bride’s entrance, dancing under the lights, and tequila poured straight from the bottle for anyone who stood still long enough.
The full set
171 frames from the weekend
The complete curated gallery, numbered and grouped by event — the ceremonies, the details, and the 95 frames with neither of them in shot: the venue, the florals and the rituals on their own.
View the galleryPlanning something like this?
Multi-day, multi-ceremony weekends are the whole reason to go abroad — one resort, one set of guests, no minimum guest count. Tell us what you have in mind and we'll tell you honestly whether it works.
Start the conversationAbout this wedding. Pooja and Geiler were married at Dreams Aventuras, Riviera Maya on 21–22 October 2022. Shaadi Sands did not plan or coordinate this wedding; it is published here with the couple's permission as an illustrative example of a two-day fusion celebration at a single resort. Photography by Adventure Photos, Playa del Carmen, reproduced under their written copyright release.