Having been to a destination wedding in Mexico, I can safely say they’re awesomeness wrapped up in sunshine and love. And the details of this affair, think driftwood with calligraphy by KAKalligraphy and florals from Canteiro, add a layer of all out romance to this tropical locale. Have a look at the full affair choreographed and designed by LVL Weddings And Events along with imagery by Brandon Kidd Photography right here.
From The Bride…Three adjectives that describe the day are: beautiful, romantic, and wild.
We wanted it to feel like an extension of us, as if we were having a casual dinner party at our house but with amazing food and everyone dressed up. We let the natural ocean side surroundings really shine by keeping everything else quite intimate. The details we did use were pulled from our likes and backgrounds. Me, being in fashion, I love textiles and things with texture so many of the details we used were from that inspiration. I loved the chairs we draped with soft multi colored ribbon, and the arch we built that was filled with yards and yards of fabric draped over ocean driftwood.
The flowers were beautifully different. We incorporated lots of textures, driftwood, branches, dusty miller, tulips and roses. I wanted so much to have anonome’s but since we were married in the south of Mexico where virtually no flowers are grown there, we either had to fly them in or use the ones they offered so we decided to add in ribbon and extra fabric from my bridesmaids dresses to make them unique but at the same time really brought the whole look together.
We rarely followed the typical “wedding protocol” We are traditional people but we are also very fun and we like to do things our way. So, we tried to steer away from the “traditional” wedding things. If we did the traditional things, we did them our way, like our first dance, we lead into our first dance right after our entrance, and we didn’t do it to your typical love song, we danced like crazy to the song by Hall and Oats, You make my dreams. It was great, and much more a reflection of us than your typical slow dance. Same thing with other traditions like not sleeping in the same room the nights before, etc. We not only stayed in the same room, but we got up together as we normally do and had breakfast as a couple with our friends. We tried to make it a more casual, relaxed and un-planned.. more so than a day full of times, and places we had to be.
We didn’t have many challenges as our planning team and the hotel helped accommodate all of our wish list. If anything, it would probably be, just getting all of our friends, family and vendors down to mexico.
By far, our most memorable moment of the day is the pool party! Jason and I had joked about who was going to go into the pool first and we never thought is would be us!! Once we finished with Cake cutting, we were able to sneak away to “get cleaned up” (we both had cake all over us!) so, everyone was not paying attention to us, we quickly prepared our photographer, and took off our shoes and 1-2-3! JUMPED in the pool!! At first I think our guests were shocked that someone would be so rude to Jason and Heidi by ruining the wedding and getting in the pool but once they saw it was the bride and groom (FULLY clothed in wedding attire still…) were the ones who jumped in…it was a free for all. Jason and I laughed in the pool while we watched people jump in from every side of the pool! It was like they were jumping from a burning building, everyone was doing it, and they were jumping from every angle. It was so fun because our amazing musician, Kevin Miso, played a great session while we all splashed like 10 years old in the pool for a while!
We did not write our own vows, but we had some input on what we wanted included in our ceremony. A theme, throughout our wedding was a quote we love by Jeremy Taylor, “Love is Friendship set on fire.” We even had a reading during the ceremony of a poem by Laura Hendricks. “Love is friendship caught fire; it is quiet, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection, and makes allowances for human weaknesses. Love is content with the present, hopes for the future, and does not brood over the past. It is the day-in and day-out chronicles of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories, and working toward common goals. If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things you lack. If you do not have it, no matter what else there is, it is not enough.”
I’m a perfectionists and very detail oriented so my brain automatically goes to the logistics of the day….like; make sure you outline the songs, make sure you have enough welcome bags, we must have a vegetarian option for dinner, table seating arrangements, etc….but at the end of it all, my only real advice would be to surround yourself with the people who truly matter to you. The ones who you could laugh all day with no matter what’s happening. Because, everything could go wrong on your day from the weather to vendors not showing up, but at the end of it all, if your jumping in the pool fully clothed (wedding gown and all) with your best friends and family, all that other stuff goes away. No one can remember what color flowers were on the table or even what song you first danced to. Those people remember the experience and who they were sharing it with. So, focus on the people you are celebrating with and the person you are committing your heart to and nothing else matters.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was having our close friend marry us. We opted for a more personal feel by having someone who really knows us and our story be the one to help us commit our futures to each other. So we had the best man do double duty and he was our officiant. We didn’t say vows but Karl told our story better than I think we could have.
Photography: Brandon Kidd Photography | Event Design & Planning: LVL Weddings & Events | Floral Design: Canteiro | Invitations: Wiley Valentine | Brides Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Bridesmaids Dresses: Bella Bridesmaid | Calligraphy: KA Kalligraphy | Grooms Attire: Hugo Boss | Groomsmen's Attire: J.Crew | Beauty: Styling Trio | Brides Cape: Erin Cole | Brides Dress: Erin Cole | Brides Flower Pin: Erin Cole | Brides Jewelry: Ryan Seacrest Distinction | Bridesmaids Jewelry: J.Crew | Bridesmaids Robes: Plum Pretty Sugar | Groomsmen Gift: Apple Tv | Live Music And DJ: Kevin Miso | Mini Moon Planning: Ever After Honeymoons | Resort: Viceroy Riviera Maya | Runners, Napkins And Linens: BBJ La Tavola | Save The Dates: Prim & Pixie | Specialty Sequin Linen: Modmix Studio | Table Numbers: Better Off Wed | Video: Digital Cinema | Welcome Bags: Wedding Chicks