Destination weddings are the perfect combination of wedding and leisure, sentiment and fun in the sun, celebrating love and a gorgeous vacation… all in one fell swoop. Of course, when that fell swoop happens upon Mexico and is documented by Laura Ivanova Photography and Hollywood Cinema it becomes more like a beautiful ballet leap into Mr. and Mrs.- dom. Take a mid-morning vacay in the gallery for even more from this pink filled, sand-in-your-toes, wedding extravaganza.
From the Bride… The internet has brought many couples together in many ways, including us. Allen and I met 12 years ago in a chat room on AOL. We’ve been together ever since, and we both enjoy our common love for travel and food. When we got engaged, we knew we wanted to have a small, intimate wedding with our closest friends and family. Allen and I are not overly formal people, so we both agreed that it was important for our wedding to be fun and memorable, yet romantic. With all of that in mind, we decided on a destination wedding. Luckily for us, we came across the luxurious Grand Velas in Riviera Maya, Mexico, and we absolutely fell in love. This elegant and spectacular resort is situated along the beautiful white sand beaches in Riviera Maya. We thought the backdrop was absolutely breathtaking. and the award-winning hospitality and food made it the perfect spot to have our destination wedding.
When we started discussing the theme and feel of the wedding, Allen left it all up to me. Because I am a graphic designer, he supported all my crazy ideas (including buying a letterpress machine with which we made our own invites). I spent an insane amount of hours on all the DIY projects to make the wedding more personal. As a designer I got obsessed with typefaces, layouts and colors, but I have to admit I did enjoy designing our save-the-dates, invitations, programs and menus, as well as many other details. We also incorporated lot of small details that were inspired by our travel across the world. We created our guestbook using a suitcase of collected postcards from our travels together. Our table names were places we had traveled to together, and our escort cards were gold, vintage keys to direct guests to their seats. I was incredibly happy with how they turned out, and we had lots of compliments on these small details. It definitely gave our guests something to talk about over the reception. As for colors, blush is my absolute favorite color because it feels very romantic. My whole theme behind the wedding was that I wanted it to look very whimsical and fairytale-like. So for our wedding color palette, we chose to use soft forms of blush with gold accents. My sister Merry also made this lace table runner that added a soft touch to the reception table.
On the wedding day, all the vendors were amazing. The wedding planner, Elena from Grand Velas, helped in coordinating all the small details I knew I wanted. Our DJ, Julian, was a blast, and our peony centerpieces from Maya Floral were gorgeous. Last but not least, our photographer, Laura Ivanova, and our cinematographers, Richard and Margarita, captured every special moment on our big day. In the end, I cannot tell you how absolutely amazing our wedding turn out to be. The ceremony came together beautifully by the white sand beaches and turquoise water of Grand Velas Rivier Maya Resort. In the end we had an intimate destination wedding with 14 of our closest friends and family. It was unforgettable experience and truly one of the best memorable days for everyone.
Wedding Photography: Laura Ivanova Photography / Wedding Venue: Grand Velas Riviera Maya in Riviera Maya, Mexico / Wedding Planning: Elena Galicia of Grand Velas Riviera Maya / Floral Design: Maya Floral / Wedding Cinematography: Hollywood Cinema / Wedding Invitations + Stationery: The Bride / DJ: Mood Event Services / Table Runner + Headband: The Bride’s Sister, Merry / Travel Planning: Worldwide Group Travel & Events / Wedding Dress: Ronoche via Kleinfield / Bride’s Shoes: Bourne / Bride’s Makeup: Barbara Garcia of Grand Velas Riviera Maya (barbaragade@hotmail.com) / Groom’s Attire: Men’s Wearhouse