New York Wedding Planner: Kimberly Richmond | Runaway Bride Destination Weddings

Planning a traditional wedding can be stressful, but arranging a destination wedding requires more “savvy.” Our team is adept in handling the unique tasks from honing in on the perfect flower arrangement in a remote destination to navigating the requirements for arranging a legally-binding union far from home.

Our distinctive approach of representing a handful of unique locales validates us as veritable connoisseurs of the places we recommend. Runaway Bride’s passionate team knows these settings intimately and has personal relationships with the people we work with.

We recognize that no two couples are the same and as such, no two weddings should be the same. The destination, venue and ambience should reflect our client’s personalities and lifestyles. Our personalized, hands-on approach ensures creative customization of every event with flawless execution and 5-star service.

Kimberly Richmond - President and Founder

The daughter of an award-winning travel writer, I was “bitten” by the travel bug at an early age as I accompanied my mother on numerous trips around the world. Following my passion, I earned a B.S. in Travel and Tourism from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (which included a year abroad in Oxford, England) and I’ve been globetrotting ever since.

During an eight-year career with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts in an international sales and marketing capacity, I was able to establish myself as an expert in the travel industry and was fortunate enough to live in some of the most cosmopolitan cities in the U.S. My wanderlust eventually led me across the Atlantic Ocean when I was recruited by Sol Meliá Hotels & Resorts as Director of International Sales in 2004. My tenure with Meliá enabled me to grow my international portfolio while leading a sales force that promoted 5-star, luxury properties in some of the most elite destinations in Europe.

When Saks Fifth Avenue came knocking on my door and offered me the dream job of Director of Marketing and Special Events in Manhattan, I traded my frequent flier miles for a pair of Christian Louboutins. While working at Saks, I planned and executed hundreds of large scale, lavish events for high profile clients such as the New York Jets; top designers such as Donna Karan and Stella McCartney, and celebrities Ellen Pompeo, Bethany Frankel, Julie Andrews and Patti LaBelle...to name a few.

The idea for the company was conceived when I became a “runaway bride” trying to plan my own destination wedding in Mexico - while living in the U.S. Despite the fact that I’m fluent in Spanish and knew the destination intimately, I quickly realized how stressful it was going to be to plan a fairytale wedding from afar- while working a full time job and balancing everything else. After an extensive search for a qualified U.S.-based planner who could make my dream wedding come true with the least amount of stress for me, I realized that such a person did not exist. So I took matters into my own hands and Runaway Bride Destination Weddings was established to pave a tranquil road for my fellow “runaway brides”.

I was born and raised in Mexico City, and despite my current Manhattan zip code, Mexico is a place that I will always call “home.” I’m as passionate about the destinations that Runaway Bride specializes in as I am about the events we design. I'm a global destination planner and have purposely created a boutique company for my clients. We only represent destinations and properties that we know well and I have close personal relationships with every vendor Runaway Bride works with. Having gone through this experience myself, I realize the importance of working with someone you trust and that is what I want to offer couples contemplating a destination wedding.

If it is your dream to say “I do,” in a unique place, run away with us and let us make that dream come true!