Blue Venado Venue Tour and Tasting by Barefoot Bride Sophia Wilder

Our wedding is fast approaching and we are so excited to see our vision come to life at Blue Venado! Back in November 2024, my fiance and I went to Playa del Carmen to tour a couple wedding venues. We had previously made a deposit, sight unseen, for Blue Venado Pa’amul and wanted to ensure we made the right choice for us. Excitedly, we boarded our flight from Atlanta to Cancun and made our way to Mexico.

Prior to our trip, we had arranged a venue tour and tasting with the venue planner, Christian, who we were put in touch with when we initially reached out to the venue for information. Christian managed to schedule us in for a last minute tour and tasting and after looking over the provided menu, we made our tasting selections.

Just looking at the Blue Venado menu, you know that you’re about to have a good experience. From cocktail hour bites to the dinner options, to the late night meal selections, there is such a wide variety that can truly accommodate any taste. They had options for cultural / religious accommodations too, and while that is not something we need, we loved how it was an option. 

Once we arrived in Cancun, we headed to Playa del Carmen where we stayed for our trip. Blue Venado Pa’amul is about a 20-30 minute drive from the city so we had some fun exploring Playa del Carmen before we actually headed to tour the venue on a Sunday.

When Sunday came around, we drove to Blue Venado Pa’amul and were greeted by a large security gate. We appreciated this feature as Blue Venado is a private beach venue. When we entered, we drove down a gravel road surrounded by lush greenery. It was the perfect beach-jungle vibe we were hoping for. We parked our car, walked up to the palapa, and were greeted by Christian who began the tour. 

The covered palapa is typically where the party takes place, although some people choose to party on the beach. The palapa was spacious and open with high ceilings and wooden floors (perfect for ladies wearing heels). It was stunning. There was a large bar located in the back corner and connected to the venue kitchen.

Once we had the chance to take in the palapa, we went to the beach. This space is where we will be having our ceremony and it is the most stunning beach I have ever seen. Secluded yet open, the beach looks out to an ocean of varying shades of blue. Palm trees on either side of the arch space are perfect tropical accents and the sand was sturdy enough that I could wear the heels I wanted!

Right next to the ceremony space is where people typically host the cocktail hour. Beautifully stationed overlooking the ocean with string lights, the space was perfect. Right next to the cocktail space was the bridal suite which was also very lovely. The downside of it is that although beautiful, it wouldn’t comfortably accommodate my large bridal party to get ready. We will be having 11 women receiving hair and makeup services so when you add in the hair and makeup artists, it would be a bit crowded. Other than that, the space was lovely.

The way Blue Venado works is that they give you a blank canvas, inclusive of the palapa, beach, cocktail space, etc, and then give you the creative freedom to make the space your own. The venue allows for full creative freedom without the constraints that a resort might have in terms of vendors, decor, etc. This was ideal for us because we had a very specific vision and we are confident Christian will help deliver it for us.

After the tour, we sat down in the palapa for our tasting. We tried a few welcome drinks, the margarita and the lemon daiquiri, ultimately selecting the lemon daiquiri. With our package, we were able to select five cocktail hour bites and landed on bruschetta, inverted sushi, shrimp tempura skewers, mini salbutes de res, and ceviche. Each bite was more delicious than the last!

For our appetizer, we tried quite a few options from salads to ceviche to the dish we chose, tuna tartare. The tartare was phenomenal but I also loved the ceviche. My fiance and I were in arms about this so ultimately we decided on the tuna tartare as our appetizer and ceviche as an option for cocktail hour. For our main course, we tried a few options, all of which were amazing. We decided to choose three options that our guests can select from: beef filet with foie gras sauce, salmon and asparagus stuffed mero with caviar cream sauce, or vegan lasagna. Our guests have a variety of food restrictions so this selection covers them for everyone nicely.

For dessert, we tried a few options as well and landed on bananas foster as our choice. It was amazing. The avocado mousse was also delicious and will be served to those who select our vegan option. We also tasted our wedding cake options and decided on a lemon-rasperry-cream flavor. My fiance loved the cake but I preferred the other dessert options when it came to taste. Lastly, we selected beef and veggie tacos as our midnight meal, something we are looking forward to providing to our guests because we will be partying at the venue until 2am.

All in all, we are so happy with our decision to book our wedding at Blue Venado and have had an amazing experience with Christian who has made us feel confident along our wedding planning journey at every step. We can’t wait to see the vision come to life for our celebration in just a few months!