Y’all I have some great news! We’ve officially shot our first wedding back after a six-month hiatus due to covid. We’re back in action! And to start us off, we had the pleasure of capturing Mallory and Thomas’ beautiful elopement at Kukua Beach Club.

If you’re a future bride, you’ll already know how difficult it is to plan a destination wedding during a pandemic. There are a lot of ups and down! You truly have to be ready for anything. Schedule changes, hotel closures, re-booking flights (just to name a few). 

These are all things that Mallory and Thomas had to deal with leading up to their wedding day! With the help of some amazing vendors, and with a lot of patience and understanding, they got it done!

Their elopement was absolutely magical!!

 

Why Should You Elope?

Honestly, there has never been a better time to elope! This pandemic has changed the way we do a lot of things, and big wedding celebrations certainly are one of them. For the time being, it’s not safe to get all of your family and friends together for your wedding day. But you do have other options!

Now, you can always hold off on wedding planning until things calm down… Or if you simply can’t wait to marry the love of your life, then it’s time to consider an elopement!

Here are three reasons why you should elope!

  1. There’s less stress! (And I’m not just talking about covid stress here.) It’s everything! From the venue to the decor, food, flowers, drinks, and everything in between. You have A LOT less to do when it comes to planning an elopement. You only have to worry about you and your fiance. It really can’t get any simpler than that!
  2. You’ll save a ton of money. This one’s pretty self-explanatory. Fewer people = lower costs. And since you’re saving money on the wedding, maybe you want to splurge and upgrade your flights or your hotel room. Or book an epic photoshoot to somewhere like Altos de Chavon. Just a thought 😉
  3. You get to make the day all about you! It’s not about pleasing everyone else or following traditions that you really could less about. The day is all about you and your partner. You can focus specifically on celebrating your love for one another. Isn’t that beautiful?

So what do you think? Are you ready for your own elopement?

 

Kukua Beach Club

Whether you decide to elope or have a grand destination wedding, Kukua Beach Club is a great option for your wedding venue. We’ve worked here for years, and they always do an amazing job! Feel free to check out some of our previous weddings at Kukua.

Their wedding planners, Mayte and Rachel, are the ultimate team. Rachel will walk you through every step of the wedding planning process and Mayte will bring your wedding dreams to life. Trust me when I say: you are in good hands with these two!!

Did I mention how beautiful Kukua Beach Club is? You’ll feel like you’re in paradise with the beautiful white sand beach and the gorgeous view. It’s the perfect venue to celebrate your wedding day! 

The food is amazing, the drinks are even better, and their customer service is beyond compare.

I’m telling you:

You’ll never want to leave!

 

Planning an Elopement During a Pandemic

I can not express enough how happy I am for Mallory and Thomas!! It was a long journey to get to their elopement at Kukua, and it was certainly not an easy one.  I’ll tell you a little story of how it all worked out in the end.

First of all, their original wedding date was set for July 8th, 2020. 

As you can imagine… covid changed that plan.

They rescheduled their wedding date twice more, finally settling on September 20th, 2020. 

But if you thought the story ended there… you would be mistaken. 

Shortly after they set their final date, they found out their resort would not be reopening by the time they got to Punta Cana. What luck! 

But not to worry!

They were able to make arrangements at the Hard Rock Punta Cana, and their wedding planning could resume!

As the day got closer and closer, we had to update their wedding-day timeline multiple times in order to fit with the curfew in the Dominican Republic. At the time, it was 5 pm, so they’d have to be back at their hotel by then! (FYI: the curfew is no longer 5 pm).

To make sure we had enough time for everything, we had to start the ceremony at 1 pm, which is a lot earlier than most of our weddings. (Check out the best time to get married in Punta Cana here.)

But it was spectacular! The colors were bright and vibrant all day, and the ocean looked beautiful. Not to mention how gorgeous the couple was!! 

 

Mallory & Thomas’ Elopement at Kukua Beach Club

Their elopement day finally came!! Mallory was stunning! And I still can’t believe how calm and collected she was throughout the day (and actually throughout the whole wedding planning process).

She is seriously a rockstar for all she went through!

Thomas deserves some credit as well. He was just as calm as Mallory. Happy to be there, on the beach in Punta Cana, marrying the love of his life. And why wouldn’t he be? He’s a lucky guy! 

Check out some photos from their elopement at Kukua Beach Club below.

Wedding Venue: Kukua Beach Club
Wedding Planner: Rachel Enright
Decor: Mayte Marie
Hair and Makeup Artist: Olga Montilla
Wedding Officiant: Alejandro Angulo
Photographer: Punta Cana Photographer
Videographer: Punta Cana Photographer

Ready to start planning your own elopement at Kukua Beach Club? Get in contact with us today!