How to Plan a Destination Wedding in Peru

Last Updated on February 3, 2023

JC and I finally made our dream wedding in Peru come true this year after almost 3 years of planning. It was everything we had hoped and wished it could be and more. But it wasn’t always easy planning a wedding from afar, especially with all the uncertainty caused by Corona. Working with wedding suppliers from across the world can also be a real challenge. Read below and discover all of our tips and tricks for how to plan a destination wedding in Peru: especially if you are planning it from outside of Peru, as we were.

All wedding photos by the talented Gustavo Rodas

*Our destination wedding in Peru at Viña Tacama was a dream come true* *but also took a lot of planning and coordination*

Hire a local wedding planner

Back in 2019, pre-COVID, we chose Peru as our wedding destination. JC is from Lima and we knew from almost the beginning that we wanted to host our wedding in Peru. However, planning a wedding from afar can be challenging. Between different time zones, cultures and languages, I knew we needed help. We immediately started looking for a wedding planner to assist us on our journey. It was actually my father who found Say I Do in Peru. They specialize in helping international couples plan weddings and wedding related travel for their guests in Peru. Say I Do in Peru also has a sister company, Magical Cuzco Tours, a travel agency. They were perfectly equipped to help us execute our vision of introducing our international guests to the many wonders of Peru.

Work with local vendors to save money on transportation costs

We knew almost from the moment we chose Peru as our wedding location that we wanted Hacienda Viña Tacama as our wedding venue. We had visited there before we were engaged and immediately fallen in love. The pink walls, horses, beautiful vineyards, amazing food, Viña Tacama is a magical place. However, our wedding planners had never worked with the venue before nor hosted a wedding in Ica. I remember receiving the first quotation for a caterer and decorator based in Lima to do the wedding in Tacama – the price was outrageous! The bulk of the cost was spent on transportation; Lima is about 5 hours driving from Ica.

*We fell in love with the pink colors of Viña Tacama and knew it would be our wedding venue long before we were engaged*

I immediately got on the internet and began researching wedding vendors in Ica. Especially ones who had worked with Tacama before. I luckily found this blog post on an amazing Peruvian wedding blog featuring a wedding at….Viña Tacama! All the vendors the couple worked with for the wedding are listed. This is how I found our decorator Red & Blue Peru, based in Ica, and our photographer Gustavo Rodas. Gustavo, while not based in Ica, is the twin! (yes, twin!) of our videographer Ronald Rodas. I made the introduction of both Martín at Red & Blue Peru and Gustavo to our wedding planners. Working with these vendors made it possible for us to be able to afford our dream wedding at Viña Tacama.

*We chose to have our symbolic ceremony in front of this beautiful fountain at Viña Tacama*

Keep your guest experience in mind when planning logistics of your wedding

JC and I were very attune to our guests’ experience at our wedding from the beginning. And I don’t necessarily mean the music, food and gifts – although these are important. More so how our guests would get from Lima to Ica and then back again. And then from the wedding hotel to the wedding venue and back (a 12 minute drive). JC and I have been to our share of weddings in which the logistics of guests had not been considered. Taxis can be difficult to find, especially for large groups of people. And especially when guests do not speak the local language. Since we told guests not to rent a car while in Peru, we had to come up with an alternative solution.

Consider hiring transportation for guests to take them to and from the wedding venue

We worked with our wedding planners to hire a 50 person bus that could transport all our international guests from Lima to our wedding hotel, Hotel Viñas Quierolo, in Ica. This same bus was also used to transport around 30 people to Huacachina for a pre-wedding excursion. We also offered this bus as transport from the hotel to the wedding venue and back. Providing this bus service additionally on our wedding day meant we did not have to deal with the extra stress of ordering taxis. And we didn’t worry about guests drinking and driving. Our guests were extremely happy to have this transportation option. Almost all of our international guests used the bus service, both to get to Ica and to the wedding venue.

*We planned many activities pre and post-wedding that we included on an illustrated timeline as part of our invitation suite*

Create a wedding website to communicate all important details

We created our wedding website for free with the US based company Zola. The platform is super easy to use. It allowed us to communicate all important information to our guests well ahead of the wedding. We had our wedding website ready before sending our virtual save the dates, which I sent using paperless post. Zola also has other great features, such as a guest list manager. This allows you to collect addresses from your guests (handy if sending paper invitations) via text or email. There is even a virtual seating chart planner and an RSVP overview for all your wedding events. I also really love the registry options with Zola. Our registry was full of cash funds for experiences, such as spa days, cooking classes and our African safari honeymoon. To use the registry you need to have a US address and bank account.

Incorporate local traditions and customs to give guests an authentic experience

When your guests think of Peru, they think of the food – choose to serve local food

We wanted our guests to have a really authentic Peruvian experience at our wedding. For us, this meant serving traditional Peruvian dishes at the wedding and rehearsal dinner. In Peru, especially in Lima, wedding food is usually more international: think American style turkey, Italian pastas, etc. Instead, we served dishes such as ceviche, causa, ají de gallina, huancaína clásica con papa amarilla, escabeche, carapulcra con sopa seca….and more. We also made sure to serve different Peruvian dishes as much as possible at our rehearsal dinner and on our wedding day so that guests would be able to try everything.

Incorporate local traditions that make sense with your venue

I have been horseback riding since the age of five. Since Viña Tacama has horses onsite and often features horse shows for guests, I knew I wanted horses to be a part of our wedding. I even considered riding a horse down the aisle!! When hosting a wedding at Tacama, you have the opportunity to add a horse show as well as a traditional Marinera dancer. We chose both for our cocktail hour. It is an approximately 20 minute horse show with multiple horses and riders and ends with one horse and rider accompanied by a Marinera dancer on foot. It was a really great way to incorporate my love for horses and Peruvian traditions in our wedding.

*We had a traditional Peruvian horse show during cocktail hour at our wedding at Tacama*

*The horse show ended with a traditional Marinera dancer*

Consider an ‘hora loca’ to liven up the party

An ‘hora loca’ – literally, crazy hour- is very typical in Peru at weddings. When JC and I had mentioned an ‘hora loca’ that incorporated American and Peruvian traditions to our wedding planners, we had received pamphlets with dancers dressed as Donald Trump and the Statue of Liberty. Not exactly what we had in mind for our beautiful wedding at Tacama. Consequently, we actually dismissed the idea of an ‘hora loca’ until the very end of wedding planning. For some reason we revisited the idea, and then got talking with Ingenio. With them, we were able to customize the ‘hora loca’ as we wanted it. Our vision was ‘música negra’ to match our wedding venue’s location in Ica, close to Chincha. In the end, the ‘hora loca’ was fantastic and probably the best part of our wedding party. It really worked to get everyone on the dance floor!

*An ‘hora loca’ is a great way to liven up the party and incorporate Peruvian tradition*

Choose music to please an international crowd

Especially if you have an international guest list, your song list needs to be carefully considered

JC and I put a lot of thought into our music list for our wedding, but ultimately, we needed a lot of help. Our international guest list meant that everyone would be looking for something a little different. The young Peruvians want full reggaeton, the older Peruvians want Carlos Vives and my friends want to hear American songs from the 90s and early 00s. How to mesh all this together and make it sound good? That’s where Dj Macha (Manuel Chamane) came in. He came recommended to us by Martín from Red & Blue. He was an absolute genius in terms of choosing songs to work for our entire guest list and really took into account the age and nationality demographics of the wedding. The result? A fantastic party everyone danced to!

Consider events both pre and post wedding

We are both addicted to travel (hence this blog). We knew that for many of our guests this would be their first and maybe only time traveling to Peru. For this reason, we wanted to plan as many events both leading up to and after the wedding. The day before our wedding, we used the same bus that transported us from Lima to the wedding hotel to visit Huacachina, a desert oasis about 20 minutes driving from Viñas Queirolo, with about 30 of our guests. We went in dune buggies (driven by professionals) for a wild ride at sunset. Guests then had the opportunity to sand board down the dunes. Our guests loved this experience and if you are in or around Ica I would highly recommend it, especially at sunset. It was also a really great way for our guests to get to know one another before the wedding.

A trip to Peru would not be complete without a visit to Machu Picchu

We knew that we wanted to take as many of our guests as possible to Cusco and Machu Picchu after the wedding. Of our 80 person wedding, about 20 guests traveled with us to Machu Picchu for one week after the wedding. We worked with our wedding planner to put together the travel itinerary for the week after the wedding. Since JC and I have both been to Machu Picchu before, we used our experience to make what we thought was the ideal itinerary for first-timers to Machu Picchu. Of course, the itinerary was just a suggestion, and could be customized with the help of our wedding planner. You can see our travel itineraries here.

*We made the trek up Wayna Picchu with a few brave friends early in the morning – I would highly recommend!*

*We had a great time visiting Cusco and Machu Picchu with our wedding guests after the wedding*

We hope that this post helps you plan your destination wedding in Peru! Any questions, please feel free to reach out or leave a comment below! And watch our wedding video teaser below by the talented Ronald Rodas.