Sayulita is pure magic. Sunny, tropical, ocean views for days magic. And for a couple who wanted an intimate, zero fuss affair with a side of churros and the best dance party ever, this locale was a winner. So with fancy wedding day attire packed, loved ones in tow and Jillian Mitchell Photography enlisted to capture all the awesome, these love birds said “I Do” in true destination wedding fashion.
From The Bride…Entering the crazy realm of wedding planning solicited many conversations between my husband and I in terms of what was truly important to us for our special day versus what we didn’t need to spend much energy on. There were many wedding traditions that didn’t make sense for us, and that we didn’t feel the need to participate in, and it took us awhile to realize how much control we actually had in personalizing our day in a way that made sense for us as well. When it really came down to it, what we wanted more than anything was to have a personal, intimate wedding, with little frills and zero fuss…and…we also really wanted a churro maker and the most intense dance party that would make anyone’s toenails sore the next day.
Choosing to have a destination wedding kind of forced us to think outside the box, and by default, there were so many wedding related details we couldn’t possibly worry about, simply because we knew we wouldn’t have access to them. While we didn’t really have a theme, a consistent color palette, a bridal party, or other traditional elements, we were diehard about providing an environment for our friends and family to truly unplug, where cellphones didn’t really need to be on, and one that would undoubtedly encourage everyone to slow down a bit, with the end goal being that we could all truly “live in the moment” with each other. While traveling is such a part of our identity, the need for adventure makes up an even larger percentage, and we deliberately chose a wedding location that many had to pull up a detailed map of Mexico to find, and a location we had actually never been to as well (although it had come so highly recommended by a plethora of other travel-obsessed friends, we knew wholeheartedly that it was a perfect fit for us). Beyond the wedding day being one of the most emotionally exhilarating days in this kind of out-of-body way that we’ll never be able to articulate, we had invited all of our guests to our villa (that overlooked all of Sayulita and all of its wonder) for a cocktail party the night before. Seeing all of our favorite people meet for the first time and connect with one another was undoubtedly one of the most indescribable feelings that still makes us smile, months later. All of these people that we’ve loved over the course of our lives were so excellent to each other, and we had a mutual sense of proudness to call all these amazing people our biggest supporters. The memories we’ve collected from our “wedding adventure” in Sayulita still flood our daily lives and we still love to reminisce about “that one time we went to Mexico and got married in a place we’ve never been”. We STILL know exactly what those churros tasted like based on collective memory, and we still reference our dance party and the group speeches immediately followed by tequila shots. For lack of a better phrase, we wouldn’t change a thing about our wedding day, it could have been more “us” if we tried.
Photography: Jillian Mitchell | Wedding Dress: Enozoani | Ceremony Venue: Villa Amor | Jewelry: Gemologee | Makeup: Mindy Karuk | Hair: Haley Rae Weinrich | Suit: Hugo Boss