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Wedding Guide · Mexico

Puerto Vallarta Wedding Guide: Old Town Romance, Boat Access Coves, Costs, Seasons, and Planning Tips

By Emily Carter

Emily Carter

Editorial Director · WeddingUFO

Emily Carter is Editorial Director at WeddingUFO. Previously a senior editor at The Knot, she now leads WeddingUFO’s editorial mission: helping couples discover the wedding destination that fits them best.

July 16, 2026

Puerto Vallarta is the wedding region where the Sierra Madre walks into the Pacific, and the mountains change everything about how the place feels.

Banderas Bay is forty miles across, one of the largest bays on the continent, and the town climbs straight up from it in cobblestones and white stucco. The crown of the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe floats over the rooftops, the Romantic Zone hums a few streets south, and past the last road the jungle shore continues to coves that can only be reached by boat. Around the north curve of the bay the mood changes completely, first the all inclusive towers of Nuevo Vallarta, then the gated luxury of Punta Mita. What the postcard hides is a real wet season from June through October, humidity that tests hair and paper goods, hillside stairs and cobblestones that punish the wrong shoes, and the same civil ceremony paperwork that pushes most couples in Mexico toward a symbolic ceremony.

Puerto Vallarta rewards couples who choose it for warmth, scenery, and value rather than polish alone, and who plan the calendar around the dry season.

Quick Answer: Is Puerto Vallarta Good for a Wedding?

Yes. Puerto Vallarta is the best value of Mexico’s big three wedding coasts, with the most dramatic mountain meets ocean scenery, a deep bilingual vendor bench, venues from boat access coves to old town haciendas, and a decades long reputation as the most welcoming destination in Mexico for every kind of couple. The tradeoff is a true summer wet season, so the calendar matters more here than in Los Cabos.

Destination · Mexico

Puerto Vallarta / Riviera Nayarit

On Banderas Bay, the Sierra Madre drops straight into the Pacific and gives Puerto Vallarta the most dramatic backdrop of Mexico’s big three wedding coasts. Cobblestone s…

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A smaller Puerto Vallarta wedding with 30 to 60 guests often lands around $14,000 to $32,000 all in. A full weekend with 80 to 150 guests commonly runs $32,000 to $80,000. Punta Mita moves the math into Los Cabos territory, and estate weekends there clear $150,000 without trying.

Choose the Setting Before the Venue

An old town wedding keeps everything walkable, the church bells, the malecón, rooftop dinners, and guests stumbling home happy through the Romantic Zone.

A south shore wedding trades convenience for drama. Cliff restaurants hang over the water at Boca de Tomatlán, and past the road’s end the boat access coves like Las Caletas feel like a private country.

A Nuevo Vallarta wedding is the practical play, all inclusive resorts with real wedding programs, one wristband for every guest, and the shortest logistics list on the bay.

A Punta Mita wedding is the luxury play, gated estates and five star resorts on a swimmable peninsula, forty five minutes and a full budget tier away from town.

Best Time of Year

November through May is the season. The rain stops, the humidity drops, the light turns golden, and evening temperatures ask for nothing heavier than a linen jacket. Late November through early December is the local secret, green hills from the summer rain and calendars still open. February and March add humpback whales breaching in the bay. June through October is hot, humid, and stormy, with afternoon downpours nearly daily and the Pacific hurricane season in the background. Summer weddings happen, but they live indoors or under real roofs.

Cost Notes

Puerto Vallarta undercuts Los Cabos on almost every line. Old town venues charge a fraction of corridor resort minimums, local florals and mariachi come from a working market rather than an import chain, and guest lodging spans hostels to five stars inside a few blocks. The exceptions are the boat venues, where transport is a real line item, and Punta Mita, which prices like the luxury market it is.

Marriage License Notes

Like everywhere in Mexico, a civil ceremony involves blood tests, apostilled documents, and appointments in Spanish, so most visiting couples marry legally at home and hold a symbolic ceremony here, which requires no paperwork at all. One local wrinkle, the bay straddles two states. Puerto Vallarta is in Jalisco and Nuevo Vallarta and Punta Mita are in Nayarit, so if you do pursue a civil ceremony, the requirements follow the state your venue stands in.

Best Venue Styles

The boat access cove. Guests board at the marina, dolphins escort the ride, and the party lands on a beach with no road, no neighbors, and torches at dusk. One venue owns this genre here and it books far ahead.

The cliff terrace. The south shore drops into the bay in green walls, and a handful of restaurants sit right on the edge. Winter dates get whales below the vows.

The old town hacienda. Colonial courtyards, rooftop chapel views, and the church bells inside your soundtrack. The most romantic urban setting on Mexico’s Pacific coast.

The all inclusive weekend. Nuevo Vallarta’s giants run wedding programs daily, sleep every guest, and erase the transport plan entirely.

The Punta Mita estate. Gated, groomed, and swimmable, with the strongest service standard on the bay for couples with the budget to match.

Where Guests Should Stay

For old town and south shore weddings, keep guests in the Romantic Zone or along the south hotel corridor, where dinner, beaches, and nightlife are on foot. For Nuevo Vallarta weddings, keep everyone on property. For Punta Mita, decide early whether guests stay inside the gates at resort rates or in Saya or Punta de Mita village outside, because the difference per night is large and the gate makes casual back and forth impossible. The bay is bigger than it looks, town to Punta Mita runs forty five minutes or more, so pick one side of the bay and commit.

Logistics Couples Miss

The two state line matters for more than paperwork, some Jalisco vendors charge travel fees to Nayarit venues and the reverse. Boat venues need a weather call time and a plan B written into the contract. Cobblestones and hillside stairs are real obstacles for older guests, so old town weddings should note footwear on the invitation and budget taxis even for short hops. Every west facing terrace on the bay gets the sunset, but the sun drops fast at this latitude, so ceremonies should start at least an hour before the hour you want in photos. In summer, print menus and programs on heavy stock, humidity curls anything lighter.

Final Planning Advice

Pick the side of the bay first, town, Nuevo Vallarta, or Punta Mita, because that single choice sets the budget tier, the guest lodging plan, and the transport plan. Book November through May and treat the calendar as the biggest design decision. Then let the mountains, the bay, and a town that has hosted lovers since the 1960s do what they have always done.

FAQs

Is Puerto Vallarta cheaper than Los Cabos for a wedding?

Yes, usually by a wide margin. Old town venues, local vendors, and varied guest lodging keep totals well below the corridor in Los Cabos. Punta Mita is the exception and prices at full luxury rates.

Do guests really take a boat to Las Caletas?

Yes, and it is the best part. The venue is reachable only over the water, the ride at golden hour is the opening act of the night, and the return boat under the stars is the closing one.

What is the best month for a Puerto Vallarta wedding?

Late November through early December for green hills, dry skies, and open calendars. February and March trade the green for humpback whales in the bay.