Happy Halloween, lovelies! We are seriously pinching ourselves this morning because we couldn’t have asked for a prettier or more festive wedding to share with all of you today. Sent into us by the super talented, and not to mention timely, Sara Richardson Photography, this Dia de Los Muertos inspired wedding will have you smiling from ear to ear all day long. It’s bright, casual and whimsical all at once and it’s all right here for you to see.
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From Allure Event… Dacia and Daniel, who live in Australia, were interested in having an out-of-the-ordinary wedding for their guests who were traveling from around the world to join them. Daniel is a drummer and covered in tattoos, and Dacia loves vintage ’50s pinup style! In their words, they wanted a bright, fun, Mexican fiesta with a vintage touch. To bring their vision to life, we incorporated authentic Mexican elements such as the equipal tables and chairs used for dinner, colorful otomi table runners, prayer candles, clay serveware for the taco buffet, sugar skulls as favors and cempasúchil flowers in vintage glasses.
We kept the ceremony setting relaxed and intimate by placing large drop cloths on the sand with colorful feather pillows for guests to sit on. A Spanish guitarist played as guests arrived at the ceremony site and continued to play as Dacia and her father made their way down to the beach for the ceremony. A light turquoise arch with a simple papel picado banner framed the bride and groom during the ceremony. Daniel’s ex-stepfather officiated their ceremony and Dacia’s father read “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss in lieu of a religious reading. After the kiss, guests showered the couple with dried basil flowers (they symbolize “best wishes”) to honor Dacia’s Italian heritage. To hold the basil flowers, we created small cotton cloth sachets and tied them with little milagros charms with red string and placed them in a vintage suitcase with a wooden sacred heart with little milagros.
The reception was held under the large palapa at Villas de Cerritos, which had been decorated with colorful papel picado banners hung over the equipal tables and two bright piñatas over the dance floor. For the cocktail hour, we created an intimate sitting area we named the Frida Lounge and used more colorful feather cushions, carrying some of the same elements used for the ceremony. A seven-piece mariachi band serenaded guests during dinner, while a DJ played for the rest of the evening. For the centerpieces, we used a combination of vintage goblets and glasses and modern bud vases filled with cempasúchil flowers, as well as garden-style arrangements in shades of red and pink with hints of purple and yellow. The wedding cake was flavored Mexican vanilla and filled with nuts and cajeta. The three-tier cake was decorated with Day of the Dead sugar skulls, which also served as the cake topper. The couple also cut into a Pan de Muerto (sweet, orange blossom-scented bread), which was served alongside the wedding cake on clay plates.
Wedding Photography: Sara Richardson Photography / Ceremony: San Pedrito Beach in Cerritos, Baja California Sur, Mexico / Reception: Villas de Cerritos Beach in Cerritos, Baja California Sur, Mexico / Event Planning: Vari Avila of Allure Event / Floral Design: Florenta Floral Design / Catering: Jennifer O’Toole / Wedding Cake: Criss Cake / Mariachi: Mariachi Cabo / DJ: Alex DJ / Wedding Dress: Zimmerman / Bride’s Shoes: Giuseppe Zanotti / Guitarist: Alonso Aguirre / Caterer: Jennifer O’Toole