Today marks the first date of hurricane season, which officially runs June 1 – November 30.

First, let’s put things in perspective. The likelihood is high that absolutely nothing will happen. Hurricane season doesn’t at all guarantee that hurricanes are headed to Puerto Rico. In the 10+ hurricane seasons we’ve lived and worked on this beautiful island, in only one year did hurricanes affect our weddings and result in cancellations. Even in that year, 2017, we still hosted Puerto Rico’s first destination wedding after Hurricane Maria, only three weeks later.

Second, a bit of local knowledge. Islanders don’t generally start watching for storms until mid-August or so. That’s when the water temperatures are warm enough to allow for ‘Cabo Verde’ storms to form off the coast of Africa. Historically, storms tend to miss Puerto Rico entirely (there’s an island expression that “they always turn north”), but there are of course exceptions.

Like everything else related to weddings and the weather, it’s important to stay calm, consider what you can and can’t control, and plan ahead. Here are our recommendations for a stress-free destination wedding during hurricane season.

Some practicalities to consider:

Many companies offer destination wedding insurance for $150-500, without deductibles and including deposit reimbursement. Travelers Insurance has coverage for around $250; call or email Diana Smith (888) 342‑5977 dsmith@protectmywedding.com and she’ll get back to you with what’s needed for a quick online quote.

Like many event companies, we don’t offer refunds for any reasons. We can be flexible as to moving your wedding date, but insurance is highly recommended.

We find much of the online and media hurricane coverage to be sensationalistic and fatalistic. If you want to stay informed, we recommend to go straight to the source by monitoring the four-times-daily updates at https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/.

How communicative has your wedding company or venue been during the planning process? How do they plan to communicate with you in the case of a storm? (For instance, the communications plan at Puerto Rico Destination Weddings, Inc. and Hacienda222 ensures we contact all our upcoming weddings in the case of a forecasted storm, and stay in touch as the forecast develops more. We understand our couples’ travels and special considerations, and we work to keep them informed and consider Plan B’s and alternatives if needed.) Having an on-island presence that will be responsive and professional is very important

Does your event venue have an off-the-grid plan? What if there’s a power or water outage? Will your event go off as planned if there are infrastructure complications?

What amenities does your lodging have? Many hotels have generators, and many private rentals have solar systems. What is the plan if there is an outage? Will your reservation hold?

No matter how uncommon, hurricanes and tropical storms are a reality in the tropics, and it’s important to plan ahead. Contact us for more information on having a stress-free wedding or event during hurricane season in Puerto Rico!