Reader Inspiration Boards - Mexico in the Spring
I thought it was time to feature some of our reader inspiration boards…it’s been far too long! Our first board was designed by Sarah, who is getting married in Mexico next Spring…
From Sarah…
My fiancé, Jivan, and I live in San Francisco but grew up together in a small alternative life style community in the middle of Iowa. We fell in Love in India and got engaged in Mozambique. Jivan is African American and Christian, I am Jewish and white. We are planning to get married on the beach in Mexico and then honeymoon on the Everest Base Camp trek in Nepal. We are thinking to hold the wedding in April or May (09) at a private villa or small boutique hotel on the Mexican Riviera but we haven’t found the perfect venue (yet).
Although we are getting married in Mexico we really want to avoid having a Mexico theme party or a beach theme party– no seashell décor or wedding flags. It’s really important to us that our wedding be filled with unique personalized details that make our guests feel relaxed, at ease, and cared-for. I hope that this will be an opportunity for all our close friends and family, from all over the world, to go on vacation together.
I would like the wedding itself to be bohemian in feel with elements from the many different cultures we bring together woven in. I want the décor to be warm, fun, light, and vibrant. I just hope I can figure out a way to make it feel cohesive instead of disorganized. We are also on a tight budget so we are grateful for all the creative DIY ideas on your blog!
Comment by L on 2 May 2008:
this sounds a lot like my wedding. Here’s a few of my ideas… I am having a light blue and red color scheme with pops of yellow (kind of festive).
I am decorating with tons of red paper lanters and LED lights (easy to travel with) and I am using mexican food cans as my vases. I am filling baskets with maracas for guests to grab. Instead of a guest book, I am going to have a glass jar and stones for guests to write on with a sharpie.
Maybe to include your backgrounds you could write short passages or poems that reflect your culture on stones displayed on the tables…
hope this helps.
Comment by Cyd on 2 May 2008:
Sarah, I love your inspiration board and your story. Thinking of all of the many different people and cultures that will together on your wedding for the simple act of celebrating love is really an inspiration in and of itself. I wish you the best of luck in planning and hope you will be able to share photos of your day afterward.
Comment by christine on 2 May 2008:
after looking at this inspiration board i thought to myself, “how did this girl get into my computer and look at all my inspiration photos?”
we have a very similar wedding vision. love love the colors, where is the photo of the lacey luminary from? and the tiny flower vase at the top left? i love this bouquet, i think it would work great with your wedding: http://housemartin.typepad.com/housemartin/2007/12/un-holiday-brid.html
love the pop of blue along with the rasberry and citrus colors. would be fun to incorporate fruits (are kumquats fruits?) into different aspects of the wedding
Comment by christine on 2 May 2008:
i forgot to mention, i’ve always wanted to get married here http://www.maromahotel.com/ it’s on the mexican riviera and is somewhat secluded. love the pictures of the spa there, i wonder if you can get married in it?
Comment by ShopLittleGifts on 2 May 2008:
Beautiful inspiration board. Love the tropical colors and hot island elements.
Comment by jessamyn harris on 2 May 2008:
what an amazing story! I can see them just bringing in small elements from their world travels and different backgrounds together to make the wedding extra unique. what I wouldn’t do to shoot a wedding like this! ; )
we are planning a birthday/ anniversary trip to the riviera maya, and a friend recommended Cesiak in the Sian Kaan Biosphere, http://www.cesiak.org/. Very simple and rustic, but not overhwelmingly expensive, and gorgeous! good luck and happy planning!
Comment by sarah on 2 May 2008:
Hi All,
Thank you so much for all the wonderful suggestions! Cyd please keep in touch as you are planning your wedding.
Cesiak looks lovely! Maroma also looks so wonderful but it is likely a bit pricey for us.
The liminaries are from a real wedding shot by the amazing Lisa Lefkowitz.www.lisalefkowitz.com/
Sarah
Comment by Jessica on 2 May 2008:
Sarah,
The way you describe your wedding sounds like what my fiance and I are trying to plan our wedding to be, and I have a suggestion for a wonderful place to have it. I, too, love the Mexican Riviera - and the Mayan Riviera, where others have suggested places - as a San Francisco resident myself, I wanted to find somewhere on the western coast of Mexico. After getting frustrated with the options in Baja and in the bigger cities like PV and Zihuatanejo, we got a recommendation through my wonderful mother-in-law for a place in Chacala, a very small town about an hour and a half drive (beautiful drive, I must add) north of PV. The hotel is called Mar de Jade, and more than a hotel, it truly is what it calls itself, which is a vacation-retreat center. The website is http://www.mardejade.com. It is owned and run by a doctor (Laura del Valle) who also runs a medical clinic in the nearby town of Las Varas. They are very accomodating, reasonably priced and the size is such that you and your family, like ours, would probably be able to book out the entire place. Although we haven’t had the wedding yet (it is in October), after visiting last December and then working with Laura, the owner, and her daughter, Angelica, I can’t say enough positive things about the incredible environment that they’ve created. Check out their website and if you are inspired by the place, feel free to e-mail me at scrileyosu@yahoo.com and I can send you some of the other information that we’ve gathered regarding holding our wedding there.
Buena suerte,
Jessica
Comment by Kara on 2 May 2008:
Sarah,
Love your inspiration board and share your passion for an intimate and unique wedding day. My fiancé and I are marrying in Mexico and eventhough it is an elopement we are crafting our day to be just as memorable as an affair at home. We are torn between two locations: Hacienda De San Antonio near Colima (http://www.haciendadesanantonio.com) and Hacienda San Angel (http://www.haciendasanangel.com) in Puerto Vallarta. Both locations are wonderful but if you’re having guests the latter is probably better. What makes San Angel so special is that it is super romantic and the owner, Janice has spared no expense in the decorating, food, accommodations and overall ambiance of her small boutique hotel. It’s located in historical PV away from the mega hotels on the beach. Also, there are tons of affordable accommodations in PV for your guests, so they can choose what suits them best. San Antonio is just as beautiful and located inland just outside Colima about 15 miles from their namesake live volcano. Both are stunning, you should definitely check them out…words are not enough to describe either of them.
Also, the luminaries from Lisa’s site are super easy to make! I’ve listed the instructions on my blog. (http://twelveyearsinthemaking.blogspot.com)
Have fun and enjoy the “process”!
Kara