This wedding and the gorgeous images from First Comes Love Photo just puts my mind at ease. It’s one of those where you feel instantly transported to the ceremony site when soaking in all the dreamy destination details. I can almost feel the sweet Mexico rays of sunshine on my face and hear the mariachi band strumming away. From the bride’s perfectly swishy dress to the groom’s sand colored suit, it’s everything that is fabulous about a destination wedding, and there is even more Mexico in the full gallery.
Click here to see the entire image gallery!
From the Bride… Rory and I chose to get married in Tulum, Mexico because it’ s a magical, beautiful place, and we wanted to keep our wedding a small and intimate affair. We always dreamed of having all our closest friends and family together somewhere sunny and sandy to celebrate with us. We had 40 guests join us on October 30, 2010 for a week long celebration of love and togetherness, and we couldn’ t be more pleased with the way everything turned out.
We were inspired by the culture and natural elements that surrounded us. We incorporated tropical leaves, white sands, and the vibrant colors of Mexico and its traditional folk art into our décor. We had custom papel picado flags and banners made that mirrored the save the dates and invitations. The flower colors were bright pinks, oranges, with green and gold accents on the tables, against clean white tables cloths. I made the seating cards, and brought the glass sphere place card holders, that I ordered online, which held sand and grasses which we collected on site. The leaves that sat on the table under the place card holders and candles were gathered on site as well. My mom and I brought down suitcases full of stuff for décor and welcome bags, including pretty sandlewood fans for guests to use, and the white honeycomb paper globes that were hung in the reception area. We also scoured the town of Tulum for unique little gifts for the welcome bags and communal basket at La Luna.There were so many little elements that made it really pretty and special, and to help make our guests comfortable. It was a lot of work, but so worth it in the end.
My dress and Rory’s suit were by J. Crew. My dress, oh I wish I could wear it again, was a limited release and oh so beautiful, and so pretty in the setting we were in, a sandycolor with gold tones and lots and lots of flowing French tulle. I wore a very special vintage pin (my something blue) on my dress that was a gift from my aunt Madalon, which had been passed down from my grandmother, a gift from my jeweler grandfather. I also held a beautiful embroidered handkerchief that is my mothers, to wipe away all the emotional tears during the ceremony. My gold earrings were also my mother’ s that she used to wear all the time. The flower in my hair was made for me at the Silver Moon in Chicago, with a vintage button center that I chose from their collection. My engagement ring and wedding band were vintage platinum pieces purchased from a close family friend, a man whom my grandfather mentored in the jewelry business.
We all went barefoot for the ceremony conducted by the local duo of Charlie and Maria. Charlie calls this ceremony a “cosmic wedding,” and it was a truly beautiful moving experience. We loved how interactive the ceremony was, and that in the end each and every guest played a role in our union. A five piece Mariachi band dressed all in white began to play immediately following the ceremony, and led ourguests to the bar for fresh margaritas.
Our fabulous photographer, Alison Bank was one of the best decisions we made. She captured the day with such love and light, and was such a wonderful calming person to be around on such an important day in our lives. She was great at wrangling people for group shots and was totally unobtrusive during the ceremony. I am so in love with our wedding photos, they are stunning.
Staff of La Luna created an amazing authentic Mexican buffet of traditional Yucatecan dishes, and sourced an incredible tres leches cake from a bakery in Tulum village that we topped with a Dia de los Muertos bride and groom we purchased in town. Every aspect of the wedding that was taken care of by Jacob and the staff at La Luna far surpassed our expectations, they never cut any corners, and were just awesome people to be around. We can’ t imagine having held our event anywhere else.
Wedding Photography: Alison Bank of First Comes Love Photo / Wedding Venue: Cabanas La Luna / Day of Coordinators: Gwen and Marion of Destination Wedding Tulum / Groom’s Suit: J. Crew / Wedding Dress: J. Crew / Hair Flower: Silver Moon / Wedding Invitations: Rick Leech, Friend of the Bride & Groom + Damian Riddell, Friend of the Bride & Groom / Custom Papel Picado Flags & Banners: Ay Mujer / Groom’s Pocket Square: Vintage / Groom’s Tie Clip: Purely Paige / Groom’s Wedding Ring: Tinah Dee / Wedding Dress Pin: Vintage