Modern and Romantic Riviera Maya Wedding
From Sean Cook Weddings... Bianca and Derek's destination wedding blended their California style with timeless black-tie attire for the wedding party, all in a stylish oasis in the Mexican jungle. Unico 20°N 87°W has a modern Mexican energy and was the perfect backdrop for it all, including their pool-side reception.
From the bride... Derek and I love to travel and we knew we wanted to share that with our loved ones and make that a part of our wedding experience. We knew that many of our family members would be traveling fairly far anyway to be at our wedding, so it was very important to us that we had time with our guests and could fully relax and enjoy them. We wanted a smaller, intimate wedding with our closest family and friends, where we could plan several events that would be unique and memorable for all of us. I like to create experiences, so planning the details of each event was exciting and fun for me. We wanted our guests to feel like their trip for our wedding was a welcomed vacation and seeing/hearing that they enjoyed their time meant the world to us.
When it came to our wedding style, I always wanted something classic but we were also intrigued by a destination wedding so I knew the details would have to be customized to fit the venue we chose. I knew I wanted greenery and nature and I wanted the reception to be outside and under the stars. Lighting is really important to me, and I am obsessed with candles. I think they create a sophisticated and beautiful ambiance so it was extremely important to me that we incorporate as many candles and twinkling bistro lights as possible. When I was looking for inspiration, I found that the things I liked didn’t necessarily fit into one category and I was attracted to details from many different wedding styles. I tried to create something romantic and elegant, but with a fun Mexican jungle/tropical flare to fit the space we were in in Riviera Maya, if that makes any sense.
Derek is a designer, so in addition to the save the dates and invites, he also designed the menus and place cards. We wanted them to be simple with a little character, so he added the palm trees on the save the dates and tiny palm tree background on the back of the cards and invites to keep it fun and tie in Riviera Maya somehow. We tried to keep the the theme cohesive throughout. Again, ambiance is super important to me so I wanted the live guitarist, plenty of candles, and open air reception to create a feeling of warmth and romance in beautiful Mexico.
Our color palette was mostly neutrals because I wanted colors that felt classic and timeless to me - colors that I knew I would still love 50 years from now. I did want to incorporate a little flavor and pops of color or detail to make it fun. I also love the beauty of nature and foliage, and wanted the beautiful jungle to be the main backdrop so we decided on classic black tux, white dress, and nudes or neutrals as the main colors, with small pops of color or detail like polka dotted socks and ties for the guys, red lips, gold shoes for me, for a little touch of character. For my dress, I knew I wanted a dress in classic white and I knew I wanted it to be fitted. This particular dress was the one that I kept thinking about and I loved the simplicity and elegance of the dress, and the combination of romantic lace with sleek silk crepe.
Overall, I think my favorite memory from our wedding was breaking plates and dancing! My family is Greek and Romanian and it was very important to me that we incorporate our traditions in our wedding. To be hand in hand with Derek and see my family dancing, and Derek’s family and our friends jumping into the circle to celebrate us and honor our traditions, made me tear up and made my heart so full. For years, I have enjoyed this tradition at many celebrations, and I had always dreamed of doing this at my wedding one day. It was so special that Derek and I were able to break the plates ourselves, and a lot of fun too!
When it came to our wedding style, I always wanted something classic but we were also intrigued by a destination wedding so I knew the details would have to be customized to fit the venue we chose. I knew I wanted greenery and nature and I wanted the reception to be outside and under the stars. Lighting is really important to me, and I am obsessed with candles. I think they create a sophisticated and beautiful ambiance so it was extremely important to me that we incorporate as many candles and twinkling bistro lights as possible. When I was looking for inspiration, I found that the things I liked didn’t necessarily fit into one category and I was attracted to details from many different wedding styles. I tried to create something romantic and elegant, but with a fun Mexican jungle/tropical flare to fit the space we were in in Riviera Maya, if that makes any sense.
Derek is a designer, so in addition to the save the dates and invites, he also designed the menus and place cards. We wanted them to be simple with a little character, so he added the palm trees on the save the dates and tiny palm tree background on the back of the cards and invites to keep it fun and tie in Riviera Maya somehow. We tried to keep the the theme cohesive throughout. Again, ambiance is super important to me so I wanted the live guitarist, plenty of candles, and open air reception to create a feeling of warmth and romance in beautiful Mexico.
Our color palette was mostly neutrals because I wanted colors that felt classic and timeless to me - colors that I knew I would still love 50 years from now. I did want to incorporate a little flavor and pops of color or detail to make it fun. I also love the beauty of nature and foliage, and wanted the beautiful jungle to be the main backdrop so we decided on classic black tux, white dress, and nudes or neutrals as the main colors, with small pops of color or detail like polka dotted socks and ties for the guys, red lips, gold shoes for me, for a little touch of character. For my dress, I knew I wanted a dress in classic white and I knew I wanted it to be fitted. This particular dress was the one that I kept thinking about and I loved the simplicity and elegance of the dress, and the combination of romantic lace with sleek silk crepe.
Overall, I think my favorite memory from our wedding was breaking plates and dancing! My family is Greek and Romanian and it was very important to me that we incorporate our traditions in our wedding. To be hand in hand with Derek and see my family dancing, and Derek’s family and our friends jumping into the circle to celebrate us and honor our traditions, made me tear up and made my heart so full. For years, I have enjoyed this tradition at many celebrations, and I had always dreamed of doing this at my wedding one day. It was so special that Derek and I were able to break the plates ourselves, and a lot of fun too!