You guys ready to get married?
Let's do it! You're the scout.
Okay, so destination weddings are super popular.
The average cost of one of these things is $28,000,
but we're gonna show you how you can say "I do" on a shoestring budget
or spending all the money you have.
If you say "I do" 200 miles or more from home,
you are definitely having a destination wedding,
and there is a vacation rental for any type of wedding that you want to have.
Whether eloping on a budget
or blowing it out with a 300-person extravaganza...
We are on a journey to show you
there's a perfect rental for every kind of wedding
and budget.
From this lavish Tuscan villa in the vineyards of Southern California...
To this unique 200-year-old hacienda in the heart of Old Mexico.
To this bargain stay on a pink sand beach in the Bahamas.
This car, Luis. Great touch.
Oh-ho! Thank you very much. I thought you'd like it.
Wine is romantic. The way it tastes. The way it's made.
- The way it's shared, all of it. - Yes.
Now when it comes to a wedding destination,
there's not a better, more romantic place than a winery.
For our luxury destination,
I am bringing us to Santa Ynez in Southern California's wine country
to an extravagant vacation rental that can host everything
from a weekend getaway for a group of friends
to a high-end wedding for 350 people.
Ah, look at this.
This is a castle!
- You've outdone yourself with this. - Ha-ha!
Okay!
This is ridiculous!
Okay, I want you to picture that this is your wedding,
like you're about to get married.
And let's just see how far we can take our wedding dreams.
Just think it's all yours.
Suddenly, I might just wanna get married.
Of course, you do.
The villa at Sunstone Wineries was built in 2004
and is surrounded by sweeping views
overlooking the entire 55-acre estate and working vineyard.
The villa is an old world architectural masterpiece.
Built from limestone imported from a small village in France
and wood beams and roof tiles
reclaimed from a 19th-century English property,
the Tuscan-inspired villa is 8,500-square-feet of luxury living space.
There are five impeccably decorated suites
and all have an en suite bath.
Wedding packages start at $50,000 for two days.
This estate has eight fireplaces and multiple terraces and patios
with views of the mountains and vineyards.
A perfect place for a wedding and to enjoy with family and friends.
The owner of this property wanted the color scheme of France,
but the style of building in Tuscany.
Everything you see here was imported directly from Europe
to make it look like an authentic European villa.
- It does. - Yes.
With a lawn this big, you can have a wedding for up to 300 people.
- This is gigantic! - Guys, this is Davia.
Hi, Davia.
- She is our wedding designer. - This is how you plan a wedding.
- Salud. This is so nice. - Cheers!
The beauty of this place is set. You can do anything here.
We've done elopements with just bride and groom.
- Mm! - And it's beautiful.
- That's gorgeous. Can we see the inside? - Yes, absolutely.
I wanna show you guys the kitchen.
Megan, you're about to have a heart attack. Wow.
Oh, my gosh!
The amount of natural light that's flowing in this
makes it feel like the sun is inside.
A lot of character. The beams.
The beams are actually from Queen Victoria's lavender farm.
- No! - Yes.
The stone sink is ethereal.
- It's a thousand-year-old stone sink. - A thousand years old?
A thousand-year-old sink from France.
That's amazing.
So welcome to the sleeping foyer and let's start with my bedroom first.
Let's go see my bedroom.
Wow!
- Ooh, nice! - Ooh!
Oh, my God, this is incredible.
Nice tub. In front of a fireplace.
Your two favorite things, a fireplace and a tub.
Mm. Very nice.
- Oh, my goodness! - Oh! Look at the view!
Okay!
Wow! Guys, I think we did well.
I think you did well!
Killed it!
Girls, why don't you go check out your bedrooms?
I really want the girls to feel as though this is their wedding.
So I set up a few surprises for them this weekend.
Wow, look at this.
Gimme a hug! You're crazy.
It's just a romantic space. This bathtub, the bed.
The beams. It's very extravagant, feels grounding.
The room is perfect.
I set up these dresses as a surprise for you guys.
This is so... oh, my God.
Because we're gonna do it all the way,
and each one of them is tailored to your specific size.
Look at this train!
This is too much.
I really wanna get married now!
Look at this balcony over here too.
Oh, it's so beautiful!
Whoo-hoo!
This place is incredible.
Look at this gorgeous limestone.
Absolutely breathtaking.
And this Venetian plaster wall.
It goes up to the ceiling so it covers you in this really calming feel,
which is what I wanna feel on my wedding day.
Wow, I've only seen places like this in magazines and in movies.
This just sweeps me off my feet.
Oh, what a beautiful room.
Why are you crying? Come here.
Mm-mm.
It's nice, no?
This interior is what I... my house looks like this,
because I love it so much.
And then you have that tub and then you have those ceilings
and then you have this stone and this bed. And, oh, my God, you got so much!
Look at this beautiful fire.
Places like this, with this type of architecture
and passion behind it, create the set for these experiences.
It really shapes a lot of who we are.
Ah, now I'm gonna have a glass of wine from the winery.
And I will play until I fall asleep. Good night.
I always get accused of doing nothing.
That should happen no more.
As important as a wedding day is also breakfast in bed.
- Oh! - Buenos días.
Stop!
Oh, my God!
Oh!
We got mimosas, croissants, prosciutto,
strawberries, handpicked and a little bit of grapes.
Here's what you need.
- Okay, I'll take one. - Cheers to you.
I love that you have all the windows open.
It's the only way to sleep.
You have to do it.
What a life!
Today, I have arranged for Megan and Jo
to continue this fantasy wedding experience.
So we're going to audition
some vendors you might book for the wedding of your dreams,
and since I've selected a vineyard,
obviously, we have to start with a wine tasting.
When somebody books a wedding here, is a tasting part of that package?
Yes, definitely.
You've got the whole vineyard around you,
which is what makes this place incredible.
The next step is finding a perfect photographer
who can capture your love story in this beautiful property.
Amazing!
That's my shoe!
Wow, I love this picture.
Perfect.
Honey, I'm ready to play dress up!
Of course, no wedding prep is complete
without trying on a few hundred bridal gowns.
I don't believe what I am wearing.
The dresses with the beautiful backdrop of the stone and the reclaimed wood.
- The veil! - This is incredible.
Ridiculous!
And finally,
our caterer has prepared a special tasting just for us.
Well, actually, an elegant four-course dinner.
- Oh, there they are. - Entrees.
- Whoo! - Ah!
It's garden herb red wine braised short rib
with a snap pea lobster risotto.
Wow, this is really good.
I hope you've enjoyed this whole experience here.
I've definitely enjoyed it.
It's very interesting just to put yourself in the mind of the wedding person.
For the wedding, because you don't wanna stress,
if you could afford it, you would come here.
Yes, anything is possible.
It was a nice sample trial.
Hey, we're still single and traveling the world.
Hey, that's the good news! Cheers!
Okay, chicos, bienvenidos a México.
- Wow! - Whoo!
Isn't it so good to be in Mexico?
I wanted to bring you guys here
because the weddings here are unlike I've ever seen before.
I doubt you guys are ready for what we're about to experience.
Our next stop are the cobblestoned streets of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico.
We're here to experience the charm of a non-traditional wedding celebration.
Welcome to San Miguel de Allende.
I'm already loving the streets we're going down now
with the clay tile roofs and the cobblestone streets.
It's getting really romantic.
And that's the point.
The way they do weddings here, it's a huge party.
And it's not just for a bride and groom and their guests.
It's for the entire town.
This property, I think both of you guys are gonna panic when you see it.
And it's not a venue. It's a home.
Oh! Gracias.
Wow, this is a big house.
Okay, my friends,
I know it doesn't look like much from the sidewalk,
but when we open these doors to Casa San José,
you will be welcomed into your Mexican paradise.
Ooh!
Ta-da!
Whoa!
Wow!
This place is incredible!
Wow, every inch of this place is gorgeous.
Located in the center of San Miguel de Allende
with incredible views of downtown,
Casa San José is a 12,000-square-foot hacienda
with over 200 years of history.
It has six bedrooms...
seven-and-a-half bathrooms.
On the ground floor, there's a living room,
game room, kitchen...
indoor and outdoor dining rooms,
and four en suite bedrooms.
On the upper level are two primary bedrooms,
an outdoor living area and several rooftop terraces.
It sleeps 12 guests
and runs for about $1,800 per night or $10,500 per week.
So this is our home for the next few days and also our wedding venue.
This is the formal living room.
- Wow, so many textures! - Do you see the stone?
This is a gorgeous room.
There's a game room in here.
You got billiards. You got a poker table.
Nice.
Down here on the first floor, there are four suites,
and we can take a peek at one of them.
Naranja!
They all point to the courtyard, which is nice and beautiful.
French doors everywhere is my vibe.
This is the naranja bathroom.
Oh, wow, these arches are beautiful.
It's huge!
You know what? Those doors open up to the courtyard. Look at that.
Really? Oh, nice!
Yep! After you're done showering, you just walk right out.
- You're ready for the day! - Who needs clothes?
And this is the kitchen, Megan.
- Don't lose your marbles. - Oh!
The backsplash is the first thing that I saw.
They do a good job with colors too,
because, like, with old, really dark wood here,
you've got really warm tones, and the floor's black.
The cabinets are black. It grounds you. It's really nice.
You can imagine caterers in here working on the wedding day.
There's enough space to work. You can bring them here.
- This is what Mexico is to me. - Yeah.
Artisan beautiful craftsmanship.
Way more fun than formal, and I love that for a wedding.
So you get your second courtyard.
No!
So this is where the weddings are held,
and then everyone parades through the streets into the town square.
- This is incredible, incredible. - The stone archways here.
And you have a secondary outdoor dining space with a bar.
Imagine a bunch of family members coming all around here,
pass apps, hors d'oeuvres, cocktails, live music, mariachi band.
Here's my first impression of this house. It has touched my heart.
Why? It reminds me so much of old San Juan back home.
Same aesthetics, the same feel, just a little bit away from home.
Sometimes you find properties that just hit right home,
and this one just did.
There's a whole world to explore upstairs.
Ooh!
So, Megan, this is your bridal suite.
Oh, so gorgeous!
- Ta-da! - Beautiful!
A sunken stone tub. I'm not leaving here.
I'm not getting married 'cause I'm not leaving here.
Look at this, you can see a church from here.
- Ah, the view! - Look at that.
Oh!
I love this house so much.
This is a classical design of a big family home.
- Mm-hmm. - It's a very family layout.
It actually tells you a lot about the culture.
It tells you about how important family is.
I love it. I love it here.
This is the groom's room. Luis.
Wow, very nice.
I love that they still have the black tile all throughout.
You can tell everything is so antique.
The bedroom is beautiful, but the show is really outside.
- Private balcony terrace here. - Oh, wow!
A beautiful size.
This is amazing.
So you can imagine wedding photos being taken up here.
Yeah, absolutely.
- You see that church on the left? - That one? Yes.
That's the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel.
- That's, like, the famous church here. - I love that one.
Yay, there's more to see!
- There's still a third-level terrace. - Of course there is.
- Oh. Luis. - Yes.
- Welcome, honey. - I think it gets better.
This is the type of house I like to show for my clients
because it just gets better and better and better.
- Sold! - Let's make an offer.
San Miguel de Allende. There are so many weddings happening here.
This is prime real estate for a wedding.
It's the whole romance, you know. It's a romantic city.
It's the wedding. Look at the view, come on.
It's the Paris of Mexico.
- Yes! That's a good way of putting it. - This is the Paris of Mexico.
So what do we think of this house for a wedding?
When you think about it, you have so many different areas
that you could congregate with the people you wanna be with.
And at the same time, with a big family, with my big family at least,
you want a little bit of time to be away as well.
Especially on a stressful day, like a wedding sometimes could be.
And the fact that there are so many terraces in this house,
you have so many options of how to see the skyline.
Cheers.
I absolutely love the design of this entire property,
but what I feel myself gravitating towards specifically the most
is this technique called concreto pulido, which means "polished concrete."
They mix color and concrete,
and this is the final product that you get.
This room is called the verde room for obvious reasons, 'cause it's green,
but they carry this theme throughout the entire home.
You have the siena room. You have the naranja room.
It even continues here in the kitchen, which as we all know, is my favorite room.
Our house is in the heart of the historic district,
so we had to take a stroll.
This is the center of town.
So this is the pink church.
- Wow. - This is beautiful.
These are the streets that newlywed couples parade down
after their wedding with their entire wedding party.
The town joins in, donkeys show up and these giant puppets called mojigangas.
Okay, welcome to the Mojiganga Allende Studio.
Wow!
Hola, Antonio.
- Wow! - Oh, this is cool!
These are mojigangas.
They're massive papier-mâché puppets that are critical in any celebration
here in San Miguel de Allende, but specifically weddings.
Wow!
- Is this Megan? - This is me!
This is gonna be Megan. And that is gonna be Luis.
This is so cool.
When this is all complete, it'll look like this
and then there's a dancer inside of the mojiganga,
designed after you,
dancing behind you as you're dancing in the street.
So as you go through the streets, the neighbors are seeing you.
- They can actually join you in the parade. - They enjoy the music.
Everybody's enjoying the mariachis, the music.
You have a donkey with the tequila cart. How cool is that?
That's how every wedding should be.
It should be a fiesta. It should be a celebration.
It should be fun and lighthearted and a true celebration.
- A donkey tequila cart? - Yep!
Oh, look, it's Megan!
It's a mirror.
Wow!
After we met the mojigangas,
Megan, Luis and I decided to throw a huge party at Casa San José
because it's too beautiful to waste that space.
Megan and Luis, bienvenidos a la boda!
This is your wedding!
That venue is perfect for a part y, and so we brought our mojigangas.
We brought our donkeys, and we brought our mariachis.
Now double turn, double turn.
Two wives! What a life!
What a life!
Welcome to the Bahamas!
- Wow, what a beautiful day! - Whoa!
Gorgeous water!
This is budget, but this is a million-dollar view, Megan.
Now we're in Eleuthera. Eleuthera. How do you pronounce it?
Local talk, you say, Eleuthera.
- Eleuthera. - So locals say "Eleuthera."
"Eleuthera." When you say it like that, you are island girl.
Ah!
We've come to the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas.
It's a budget traveler's paradise, and the perfect getaway to elope to
for a beach wedding that costs pennies, but looks like a million bucks.
So why did you pick the Bahamas of all the places?
- I wanted to be on the water. - Yeah.
Somewhere on the water. Beachfront, waterfront, something.
And here it is.
Cayo Loco. Welcome, guys.
Hi, guys, how are ya?
- Good. - This is my wife Anna.
- Hi, Anna. - Welcome to Cayo Loco.
- Wow, what a place! - You look at that view?
- Look at that blue! - Exactly!
This is the main house.
This is the main house. Those are the cottages that we rent down there.
All right, so where do we get married?
On the beach!
Perched on a pink sand beach,
Cayo Loco has everything you need for a vacation stay
or the island wedding of your dreams.
You can rent the colonial style main house and two smaller cottages,
sleeping a total of six guests.
Perfect for a small elopement.
The main house rents for about $550 per night,
and the cottages are about $375 per night.
All three feature full kitchens and bedrooms
and full beachfront access.
This is so nice.
- So this is the main house. - Oh!
Ooh, I already wanna live here.
Doesn't it feel so calm right when you walk in because it's all white?
It's all clean lines, colonial style and so many windows.
And if you think about it, it's not that big,
but everything has so much separation.
- Look at the living room, dining room. - Mm-hmm.
Look at the size of this kitchen.
For a beach house, that's a huge kitchen.
Whoo!
This is a very cozy, "I'm ready to sleep" kind of a bedroom.
It's super quaint.
You have access to the terrace from the toilet.
- No! - What?
Look at this deck!
Oh, wow! It goes all the way around the entire house.
- Nice. - This is a huge, huge porch.
- We're still walking on the deck. - Wow, look at this!
We're getting our steps in.
That goes around the entire house.
Look at that!
Too good to be true.
That is a million-dollar view on a budget.
Wow.
Don't take your eyes off of the ocean, okay?
Step back.
Back. Sit.
And then lay.
Ah!
That's the best seat in the house.
You're a tropical king on a tropical throne!
I wanna see the inside of the cottage.
We're so fixated on that view, we still have more to look at.
All right, you look, tell me all about it. I'm gonna be here, watching.
You see, this to me is one of the finer things in life.
You know, there's houses here that are selling for 18, 20, 25 million,
and you have a multimillion-dollar view, and it's all for yourself.
You have a private beach. There's no one there.
The color of the beach is finest.
This is luxury.
What a great beach for a wedding ceremony.
It feels spacious. There's a lot of natural light.
And the airflow. Look at these ceiling fans.
This fully equipped kitchen, I know you're gonna be cooking.
This has everything you need. All the pots organized by size.
Did I do this?
It feels like you've already been in here.
If I were to come here to get married with the person that I'm madly in love with,
I wouldn't need more than this. It's really beautiful.
I love it.
This beach is why everyone, including me,
loves this as a wedding destination.
Wow!
This is the ideal rental property and beach location for a small ceremony
with anywhere from four to 50 wedding guests.
- Wow. - It gives me chills.
This would be so beautiful to get married in front of.
My mom would die. She loves this.
Like, how does something like this exist?
If I die, take my ashes here.
- Who has the champagne? - There you go!
Okay.
I did it.
One thing is, a budget wedding is a mediocre wedding.
It's not gonna be mediocre.
I don't think anything can be mediocre with that beach.
Okay, tomorrow, I'm gonna be on the beach finding conch shells and coconuts
in order to make a lot of the decorations
and then figuring out how to spruce this place up
for the night after you get married.
There's gonna be a night after? This is fake! Let's not forget.
The sound of the ocean, the sound of the trees.
The sound of the breeze.
No people, no traffic.
It's just you and a private cottage facing the ocean in the middle of nowhere.
So before you get hitched in the Bahamas, you need to know a few things.
First of all, you gotta be here for at least 24 hours.
Then you can apply for your marriage license.
It's gonna cost you $120, pretty cheap,
and don't forget your two Bahamian witnesses
that are 18 years or older.
If you have all those things, you're ready to get married, boo-boo.
I wanna marry this view!
When planning a destination wedding in the Bahamas,
there are some really great and unexpected ways
that you can stay under budget and still look like a million bucks.
So, people donate these dresses after they get married in the Bahamas.
After the wedding was finished, they had no use for the dresses.
We start with rental wedding dresses.
How much would a dress rental cost with alteration?
$100 a day.
- That's a great deal. - Oh, wow!
Then I'll show them how to decorate your wedding location with local materials.
Luis and I got conch shells and coconut
that we're gonna put on the side of the walkway.
- How far in the water you want this? - Okay, right there! Nice!
Look at you, creating romantic moments.
And how to dress up your wedding suite.
You got real live flowers that we picked from the property.
I also took the flowers and put them in these little knots,
just to add pops of color around the place. It just looks amazing.
- That is so fresh. - This is a Bahamian lobster.
Finally, how to prepare your wedding dinner.
- You ready to slam some? - I'm ready to slam anything.
Bahamian style.
Work it! Work it!
Go! Bahamian style!
I designed a small wedding for a party of four.
These are my numbers today, but including airfare from New York,
two nights at Cayo Loco, a wedding dinner prepared by Jeremy
and Bahamian paperwork,
we can do it all for under $5,000.
That is a budget wedding.
And you get a beautiful wedding on the beach.
I'd be happy walking down to this.
Here we are, honey.
Wow, you guys look like you're really getting married.
- You know what? I changed my mind. - Cut! Cut!
- I feel like this is a true wedding. - This is nice.
A thousand percent!
Megan got away with putting together an amazing wedding
in the Bahamas for less than $5,000.
Yep, and we got some extra cash to spend on the after-party.
- All right, let's do it! - Let's get married.
I really wanna get married now!
The villa at Sunstone Winery, to me, was the perfect combination
of France, Tuscany and Southern California.
I have to say my favorite wedding destination has to be Casa San José.
Not because I picked it, but because I saw you guys have so much fun.
I mean, it's the perfect place for any celebration.
I loved the beautiful pink sand beach in Cayo Loco,
but my favorite is Casa San José.
Everything was so beautifully laid out,
and I saw that weddings don't have to be formal and stuffy.
My favorite wedding destination
has to be Casa San José in San Miguel de Allende.
Everything about it was romantic.
The town was romantic.
The house was romantic, and it hit me right in the heart. Perfection.
What a life!
♪ All around the world we move ♪
♪ All around the world we go ♪