This is why I love, love, love SMP Destination.  On any given day, we can be celebrating side by side with a darling duo upon a mountaintop, soaking in a breathtaking European locale or, like today, smiling happily with two sweeties as they say “I do” in paradise. Two sweeties, actually, who whisked away their family and friends to the Grand Velas Resort for a weekend of fun in the sun and happily ever after.  It’s vibrant hues meets stunning ocean views meets an entire gallery of lovely captured by Elizabeth Medina Photography.  Join me there for all of the pretty.

 

From the bride… My husband Neal and I were destined for a destination wedding.  Neal is a pilot for United Airlines and flies a small plane for fun on the weekends.  One of our favorite things to do together is to take spontaneous weekend trips to the beach.  In fact, that’s how we actually met.  Neal was flying a group of my friends on a six seat Bonanza airplane from the East Hampton to Rhode Island for the day.  I joined the group at the last minute, never suspecting that I would meet my husband on the spontaneous trip. Neal and I had been dating a year when we took another last minute trip to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico to escape the East Coast winter.  We stayed Grand Velas Resort and fell in love with the location.  As we laid by the beautiful pool overlooking the ocean I said to Neal “ We need to figure out a way to get all of our family and friends here to enjoy this amazing place with us”.  Little did I know he was proposing to me two months later and our wedding planning began.

The Grand Velas was the natural choice for our wedding.  Late January was the perfect time for our family and friends to escape the Midwest and East Coast winter.  150 guests hoped on planes from New York, Michigan, Chicago, California and even Australia to celebrate our wedding at the beautiful beach resort. We were inspired by the spectacular surroundings of the beach location. We decided to keep the wedding simple and elegant to compliment the scenery.  The wedding colors, fuchsia, purple/blue and sunny yellow, were inspired by the resort’s pink bougainvillea, blue ocean view and sunshine overhead. The ceremony was held on the beach which we kept simple with rustic chairs, grass mats and a white hoopa framed with fuchsia flowers. The bridesmaids wore fuchsia dresses by Amsale.  The groom and groomsman wore Hugo Boss navy suits and fuchsia ties. My dress by Reem Acra was the first dress I tried on.  It was it was light and airy, perfect for the beach ceremony but also beautifully elaborate with intricate beading up close.

Neal and I are very close to our niece and nephews and it was important that everything aspect our wedding to be child-friendly.  Our nephews Jack and Max, 2 and 3 years old, wore navy blazers, striped bow ties and white Converse shoes.  Alexa, the flower girl, 5-years-old wore a little white dress and a flower wreath in her hair.  We included little gifts at for all the children at their table place setting with stickers and color books. The reception was held along the pool at the Grand Velas.  Maria Elena Glacia, our planner did a beautiful job perfecting every detail.  Square tables, all white lines and chairs were the perfect setting for the bright monochromatic flower arrangements in blue/purple, pink and yellow.  

Greenwich Letter Press designed our invitations with a beautiful Mexican tile print. We incorporated this motif into the table numbers hand-painted by LuckiiArts and menus by Laura Hooper calligraphy, who we found on Etsy.  The Mexican tiles were used on many other wedding details including chocolate tiles on the cake! White paper lanterns framed the palm trees and floated in the pool.  The full moon and cloudless sky was the perfect last touch for magical night.  Elizabeth Media, our photographer captured the simple elegance and most importantly the happiness of our wedding with absolute perfection.

[doted]

Photography: Elizabeth Medina Photography | Ceremony + Reception Location: Grand Velas Resort, Riviera Maya | Event Planning: Maria Elena Galicia of Playa Wedding | Floral Design: Roberto Galan, Agromexpress | Cinematography: PlayaWeddings | Invitations: Greenwich Letterpress | Table Numbers: LuckiiArts | Menus: Laura Hooper Caligraphy | Hair + Makeup: Styling Trio Riviera Maya | Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Bride’s Dress: Reem Acra | Bridesmaids Dresses: Amsale | Groom + Groomsman Suits: Hugo Boss

Laura Hooper Calligraphy is a member of our Little Black Book, Love what you see? Take a look at their portfolios.

Laura Hooper Calligraphy

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Destination weddings rock.  That’s an honest to goodness fact.  And when it’s a destination wedding held at the beautiful Viceroy Riviera Maya in the always-breathtaking Mexico, it rocks and then some.  Which is exactly why we happen to be loving every last second of this sweet day captured by Del Sol Photography, which combines a plethora of pretty, pretty details (think fab paper goods from Spark + Minted and a beyond dreamy Monique Lhuillier gown) with a fun-filled weekend with devoted friends and family.  In other words, it’s amazing.  Click here for all of the pretty.

 

From the Bride… I am so excited to share my wedding with Style Me Pretty readers! I read the blog and searched for inspirational images throughout our entire engagement. It was really amazing to see our wedding come to life on October 13, 2012.

We chose Riviera Maya, Mexico for a variety of reasons. Peter and I have spent three vacations there (and got engaged there on in January 2012). We love the beach and traveling — it is one of the first things that bonded us and we’ve been on numerous trips in and out of the US together. As one of our favorite things, we wanted to get married away from home and share that experience with our guests. Our friends and family are scattered — from Chicago to San Francisco to New York to Los Angeles to Tampa to Washington DC. We were thrilled so many of them could join us.

And then, we chose a smaller venue (compared to all the large resorts in Riviera Maya) — the Viceroy Riviera Maya. We wanted a more intimate setting. It was the perfect setting to spend a lovely weekend with close friends and family, as well as lots of quality time with each other. It was not just a whirlwind event that’s about making everyone else happy. Each couple stayed in their own private jungle villa, complete with outdoor shower and plunge pool. The wedding could not have been more perfect — the sun shone, we spoke our custom vows and we all enjoyed the dinner and party.

Some special touches included our favors (maracas bought locally in Playa del Carmen), our invitations including the the places the guests were traveling from, wearing a flower in my hair with no veil (I just adored the beachy look), a family toast with tequila after the recessional, cocktail hour on the beach and the natural beauty of the setting.

Wedding Photography: Del Sol Photography | Wedding Venue: Viceroy Riviera Maya | Floral + Event Design + Coordination: Viceroy Riviera Maya | Wedding Invitations: Spark | Menus + Programs: Minted | Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier | Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Earrings: Judith Ripka | Groom’s Attire: Hickey Freeman + Yaly Couture | Groom’s Tie: Thomas Pink | Hair + Makeup: Styling Trio

del Sol Photography and Minted are members of our Little Black Book, Love what you see? Take a look at their portfolios.

del Sol Photography

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Minted

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Spending an entire week in Puerto Vallarta with your closest friends and family is one seriously awesome vacation, on that we can agree.  But spending that seriously awesome vacation all in celebration of your Big Day?  Even better.  Which is exactly why these two sweeties rounded up their nearest and dearest and headed south of the border to say “I do” amongst the breathtaking landscape and towering Palm Trees.  It was a week that was more beautiful than you can imagine, complete with sweet DIY details, a stunning Pronovias gown and one gorgeous moment after another captured by Elizabeth Lloyd.  See it all in the full gallery.

 

From the Bride… When Rob proposed to me during a backpacking trip along the Lost Coast, a 25-mile stretch of uninhabited coast in Northern California, every part of it was perfect. The sun was setting above a clear day and we were alone on the beach with the nearest person miles away. We were without our cell phones and I had to wait until we returned from our trip to share the news with family and friends (which was no easy feat!), but spending the first two days of engagement alone was special. Much like the announcement of our engagement, we took our time planning our wedding, making sure to take in each step of the process, enjoy the moment, and cherish it.

As we began discussing our wedding plans, our vision was clear. We could not fathom an entire year of wedding planning for just 6 hours with our family and friends on our wedding day. So, just like that we decided on a destination wedding in Puerto Vallarta. We rented the Quinta Maria Cortez and Casa Tres Vidas, a beachfront bed and breakfast and it’s adjoining 3 villa property for 4 nights, filled it with our closest friends and family, and had the most epic wedding week ever. For our theme, we wanted a rustic yet elegant and romantic feel and chose soft pinks, taupe, ivory and pops of coral for our colors. We had a simple ceremony on the beach, officiated by our friend who introduced Rob and I, a cocktail hour on the beach listening to the sounds of a live trio band, then moved into one of the villas for the reception.

I spent months leading up to our wedding working on DIY projects. I sewed every single chiffon flower on the napkin rings to match our rustic, blush pink and ivory color theme. I incorporated our multicultural roots by making straws and cocktail stirrers that said “cheers” in Korean and Portuguese, and of course Spanish. I made pinwheel fans printed with significant dates in our relationship, places we traveled and dined, concerts and movies we watched, and words that described us as a couple.  Our guests later told us how much they enjoyed reading the fan as they waited for the ceremony to begin. For the ring bearer pillow, I made a burlap pillow with chiffon flowers for my nephew to carry down the aisle. Lastly, for our program I drew two lovebirds on the program wearing running shoes. Rob and I first met on a relay running team, and we trained for and ran a marathon together. It has played a big role in our relationship and our programs were the perfect place to symbolize it. I gave boxes of everything I made to Tamara and Lucie of Vallarta Incredible Weddings days before the wedding. They pulled all of our ideas together (there were many), and beautifully executed how we envisioned our wedding. Full of our closest family and friends, food, and love, our wedding celebration went beyond anything we could have ever dreamed up!

Wedding Photography: Elizabeth Lloyd | Assistant Photographer: Yanen Ali | Wedding Venue: Casa Tres Vidas in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico | Event Planning: Lucie Aubert + Tamara Bradley from Vallarta Incredible Weddings | Wedding Stationery + Decor: DIY by the Bride | Guest Book: Etsy | Wedding Dress: Pronovias | Bride’s Veil: Melissa Sweet | Bride’s Shoes: Kate Spade | Groom’s Attire: Hugo Boss