Elsa Dilasser & Maria Jose Garcia are the founders of Palms Wedding & Events, one of the top luxury wedding planning service in Los Cabos with almost two decades of experience in Cabo’s wedding industry, they specialize in cultural weddings in particular South Asian celebrations, offering one of the most comprehensive planning services in town.
I reached out to Elsa & MJ to ask about what advice they had for couples planning their weddings in Cabo during the Covid crisis. The experts provided really great pointers that take into consideration the information we have so far and what are the things couples as well as their entire wedding team need to take into consideration during this new reality.
Here’s what they had to say:
“We understand that it can be overwhelming to plan a wedding and especially during these uncertain times. Here is some advice we like to share with you to guarantee the safety and well-being of your wedding guests. Please note these points are based on current information and resources we have regarding Covid19 and may change as we learn more about the virus.”
1 CHECK CANCELATION & POSTPONEMENT POLICIES
“Please carefully read over all vendor contracts as much can be overlooked in all of the excitement and with working with so many different vendors.
Does the contract include a cancellation or postponement clause? Are the details of the refunds clear? Note some deposits may not be refundable or partially refundable. Most of the time it will depend on the time or supplies your vendor has already invested in your wedding.
Also during this time new vendors’ contracts should include a hygiene and sanitization clause, especially vendors such as hairstylists and makeup artists. But also caters, cake vendors, rental companies, or any vendor in direct contact with your guests food and beverage. Make sure you are aware of their policies protocol.
As wedding and events coordinators we are currently reviewing all this information with our vendors to make sure that they all fulfill the new health and hygiene requirements.”
2 CHECK WEDDING VENUES AVAILABILITY
“Also ask the venues you are interested in how many weddings a year do they do, if they are about 60, chances are that you will have a hard time rescheduling your wedding on a weekend. Keep in mind that other brides will need to do the same and the weekend that is best for you might not be available. If you are open to getting married on a week day or Sunday then you should not have any issues postponing as most of the weddings take place on Saturdays.”
3 CONSIDER BOUTIQUE HOTELS, OFF-SITE LOCATIONS & BUYOUTS
Villa Santa Cruz in Todos Santos 
“Depending on the size of your wedding you should look for a small boutique hotel, an off-site wedding location or a venue where you could do a buyout. Indeed after this episode we anticipate guests would feel much more conformable to be surrounded by only the guests of your wedding vs. huge hotels with several hundreds of guests. That would give at least a little peace of mind to your guests.
We advise you to look for a secluded venue or remote location. Baja offers many options from luxury villas to small boutique hotels from Todos Santos to the East Cape. You are sure to find the perfect spot.
There are also countless farm-to-table restaurants providing you with a safe environment for you and your guests. To name a few of our couples favorites for the delicious food we recommend Flora Farms, Acre, Tamarindos, and Jazamango.”
4 CONSIDER ELOPEMENTS WITH LIVE STREAMING
“Don’t give up on your wedding dream in Mexico as elopement is a good alternative. Providing it will give you peace knowing your loved ones are in the comfort of their home. The best news is that we now have available in Cabo videographers offering professional live streaming so no one misses a moment of your celebration.”
5 CONSIDER SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES
“Our design esthetic currently situates tables at the recommended six feet of social distancing to allow easy service flow. We will recommend a private area such as a terrace if you are staying in a hotel, for example, to avoid any outsiders approaching your setup.”
6 CONSIDER BUFFET & LIVE STATIONS
“In this current situation buffets are unfortunately not recommended at this time due to health regulations. Luckily we have very creative chefs in Los Cabos and we know they will come up with tasty plated options for all our events.”
7 CONSIDER WELCOME BAGS & GIFT PACKAGES
“Something new will appear in the welcome bags such as customized wedding masks. Another item that is not so new, but we tend to not put systematically with the goodies, is the Sanitizer Gel.”
8 CHECK VIABILITY TO FLY IN OUTSIDE VENDORS
“As much as we love working with outside vendors from all over the World, at this time we need to take a closer look at safety measures and what is best for you and your guests. Please check with the airlines for the most up-to-date information prior to travel as new policies may have been instilled such as no carry-on luggage which will inhibit professional musicians, photographers and videographers, from carrying their equipment.”
Want to learn more? Elsa & MJ are more than happy to help, just reach out to info@palmsweddingsandevents.com