Top tropical destination weddings to book now

Love and marriage, love and marriage — go together like a … double margarita and a hammock nap?

Rhyme fail. But forget the horse and carriage bit.

In the twilight of 2021 and onward, travelers are craving the tropics and their many splendors.

Mexico, Anguilla and the Bahamas are among the top-booked destinations for travelers in the final quarter of the year, according to internal data from the vacay wizards at Virtuoso.com.

So, nuptial nomads, here are the best palm-treed love nests to swap those “I dos.”

And if you’re still OK with that whole “for richer or for poorer” thing, err on the side of the former.

It’s worth a shot

It’s not some fictional place set in a bad telenovela — Tequila, Mexico, really does exist IRL. The Jalisco town’s name means “place of tribute,” and it’s the birthplace of the eponymous fire water. As such, Tequila (the place) has even been anointed a UNESCO World Heritage site.

You and your intended are more than encouraged to toss back a few in fitting tribute at its 2020-opened Casa Salles hotel (it’s conveniently right next door to the historic La Guarreña distillery, makers of El Tequileño).

With its intimate collection of 25 rooms, the boutique property requires a complete buyout for a little over $4,050 to host a ceremony (from $1,000 to $50,000).

Newlyweds can enjoy a stylish after-party — wink — with the help of an Ashley bed and a rainfall shower. Or, alternatively, any buyer’s remorse post-wedding can be worked out with a hot stone massage and a microdermabrasion facial at its Reposado Spa.

Rooms start at around $170 a night.

Walk down the isle

Opened in 2018, Anguilla’s Quintessence Hotel is as minimalist in room count as it is maximalist in perks: There are just nine suites in its Tropical Grand Mansion, which includes butler service and private beach access.

Book a minimum of five nights and as many suites and it’ll cater a wedding of up to 30 guests (but can only sleep 22, so a Sophie’s choice awaits). Cost is $10,000, including photos, cake, Champagne, a three-course dinner, boutonnières, corsages and bouquets, but necessary buyout accommodations are not included, and vary by season. Call 264-498-8106 for the sticker shock on all that. Oh, marriage math.

The max-guest number may grow this winter when Quintessence opens up Quinn, a four-suite addition with more affordable options. Either way, invite friends and family wisely.

Suites from $1,250 a night.

Marital blitz

It’s quite risky to be the thrower of anything around sack-happy defensive end J. J. Watt, but his now-wife Kealia Ohai was in no peril when tossing the bouquet at their wedding last year in the Bahamas.

The locale for the NFLer and the women’s soccer star? The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort, on exclusive-even-on-a-bad-day Paradise Island.

The Versailles Gardens have been a high-profile wedding go-to for years, and while the resort will be celebrating its 60th birthday in 2022, it  plans to undergo a top-secret refurbishment (details TBD) of its oceanfront Crescent Wing accommodations. It has already nip/tucked its two-, three- and four-bedroom villas in 2020. Maybe age is just a number after all.

Ceremony prices (two to 50 guests) start at $6,500; rooms from $1,170 a night.

Vow-canic eruption

Guatemala is too often off-radar. And much like marriage itself, it requires a leap of faith.

The brand new, 12-room (going on 15 in February) Villa Bokéh, a Relais & Châteaux joint in the southern Spanish colonial city of Antigua, practically has “bouquet” in its name, and is beyond perfect for a wedding. It sports private balconies, a lagoon, enclosed gardens with fire pits, panoramic views of volcanoes… wait, what? Yeah, that’s right, you’re not the only ones, Hawaii and Iceland.

Is it any wonder Bokéh’s weekends fill up insanely fast with wed-heads? Weddings are curated to your tastes, and a reception for 100 guests alone is $14,000 in addition to a property buyout/wedding planner/decorator/menu tweaks, all that jazz.

Rooms from $250 a night.