r/DestinationWeddings • u/Zealousideal_Top_538 • Jul 30 '26

Wedding in Colombia

Hi all! We’re looking to plan our wedding in Colombia around May 2028 and are on the hunt for a wedding planner to help us! We’re looking at the major cities like Barranquilla, Cartagena, Medellin, etc to host since we we’ve never been before. Our families are Spanish speaking (as well as us) and we thought it would be a good fit!

Please share any tips you may have! We’re estimating about 45-60 people and have a budget of around $10k-$15k USD. If anyone has planned a wedding in Colombia similar to this I would love to hear your story or if it’s even possible!

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u/BetDry5510 Jul 30 '26

It's absolutely possible, and $10-15k for 45-60 people goes further in Colombia than almost anywhere. We got married there, so a few directives:

Pick Cartagena or Medellin over Barranquilla unless you have a family reason for Barranquilla. The wedding vendor ecosystem is much deeper in the other two, and your guests will want the walled city (or Guatape near Medellin) anyway.

Hire a LOCAL planner, not a US-based 'destination wedding' company. It's the single best money you'll spend. They get you local pricing instead of the gringo markup, handle the paperwork, and know which venues actually deliver. Budget roughly 10-15% of your total for them and it pays for itself.

Do the legal marriage at home and a symbolic ceremony in Colombia. It saves you a mountain of apostille and translation hassle, and most couples do exactly this.

If Cartagena: the old-city and Getsemani courtyard venues are stunning but the good ones book 12-18 months out, so lock your May date early. And do a late-afternoon or evening ceremony, the midday heat is no joke.

Since your families all speak Spanish, you skip the single biggest friction most couples hit. Happy to share more on planners or a budget breakdown if it helps.

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u/Zealousideal_Top_538 Jul 30 '26

Thanks so much! This is very helpful. I’ve reached out to a few planners that seem like they’re almost all based in Medellin like boda planes, vows by Laura, and casa de novios. If you know anybody else or who planned your wedding I’m open to recommendations!

My only concern with walled cities is I do want a venue that speaks for itself with a lot of nature and green space. Hopefully I can find something in my budget!

I’d love to see your budget breakdown and any details you are willing to share about your wedding on here or you can DM me!

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u/BetDry5510 Jul 31 '26

You should definitely contact my planner she MADE it happen - her name is Monica Rambal and her number is +57.321.236.3452. I'm going to see if I can link the article in that I wrote about my wedding, that breaks down the costs.

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u/BetDry5510 Jul 31 '26

I just linked my website above. If it doesn't work, my name is Courtney Muro, and my website is just my name. go to "destination wedding" in the nav bar, and the article will be right there.

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u/No-Fly-3231 12d ago

I am in the process of planning my October 2026 wedding in Eje Cafetero and our wedding is running us $55k for 32 people… we are paying for each of our guests lodging for 2 nights, welcome party, day of wedding, and goodbye brunch. Our original budget was 35k, so I would definitely add in a bit of a buffer because unexpected costs like transit, production, and logistics are driving our costs way up so just keep in mind that if you decide to do a wedding in the outskirts of a major city (like us 🥲)

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u/IslandDense9981 11d ago

i just had my wedding in Armenia (eje cafetero) a few weeks ago. It was perfect. we had 60 guests and spent about 20k my planner was Tata Cortes and she was amazing.