This wedding was featured on Mexican wedding magazine blog Zankyou Bodas. If you don’t read Spanish, you may want to translate the page. View it here.
We love all of our clients, we truly get some of the most amazing couples to trust us with their biggest day. But this particular wedding was one of the most special weddings we have planned. Sidney is my best friend, and when her fiancé Aaron proposed to her inside the Vatican in Rome, they FaceTimed me immediately after getting back to their hotel to officially ask me the question I’ve wanted to hear for years: “WILL YOU BE OUR WEDDING PLANNER?”
Sidney later also asked me to be her Matron of Honor so it was going to be my first “double-duty”, in a foreign country, but hey that’s why we’re here!
Aaron is Mexican, so they decided getting married in Mexico would be amazing, and fun for all their friends and family. But Sidney is not a “Wedding Package A” at a resort type of girl, and while Sidney and Aaron were engaged, they happened upon a private Hacienda in Puerto Vallarta that was on a travel show as a hidden gem travel destination. Wondering if they did weddings, Sidney sent me the link and we just kind of kept it in mind just in case. So, job #1 while they were still in Rome, I contacted the hotel and started having discussions about their wedding venue. Hacienda San Angel is an absolutely gorgeous villa perched up in the hills in Puerto Vallarta. After a few email conversations with them, I knew this was the place, and planning began!
We settled on natural colors so as to not compete with the natural beauty of the venue, and Sidney loved succulents, hanging amaranthus, and other organic elements to be incorporated. We added bronze and shiny elements to give the historic site a little EL style.
The inspiration board we created for Sidney+Aaron
We decided to put bridesmaids in ivory, after Sidney settled on what I deemed the best wedding dress of all time. Is this perfect for a Hacienda or what?
The guys wore navy which was a great contrast with the rest of the wedding party and looked really sharp with the white and green flowers.
The girls got ready in a suite on one end of the Hacienda, and the guys got ready across the street in the villa. So before setup even began, I was literally running the streets of Puerto Vallarta all day!
Sidney and Aaron’s First Look was very intense for them both. It was private, but when I sent Sidney down to meet Aaron I knew there would be tears. Along her way, she accidentally intercepted her brother who would walk her down the aisle. So she was already a bit emotional when seeing Aaron.
The ceremony took place in the same space as the reception. The open-air but covered chapel overlooked the ocean and the city below, as well as another church whose church bell randomly struck just once after the Officiant asked for a moment of silence for guests who could not attend, particularly the bride’s father who passed away in 2006. Needless to say, we all pretty much broke out into tears right at that perfect moment.
After cocktails took place in a different space, we flipped the chapel for dinner and dancing.
Sequin tablecloths were Sidney’s dream, so we brought some from BBJ along with us in suitcases. The venue and photographer said they’d never seen anything like it in Puerto Vallarta, so it was nice to know we’d done something unique and modern yet completely fitting to the historic venue. Flowers were outstanding from Fran Salazar (Vodax) and looked amazing spilling out of clear glass containers and cigar boxes that we also brought with us.
Tables were named after different tequilas, and mini tequilas corresponding to the table name were placed at each person’s placesetting.
After all the formalities and toasts and first dances, it rained cats and dogs and because it was so hot that day, several people ran out to enjoy the downpour..
It was an amazing day in Puerto Vallarta but we weren’t done! Part II was yet to happen. Check out Part II here.
The Dream Team:
Event Design and Planning: Events Luxe
Venue: Hacienda San Angel
Photography: Photo Shoots Vallarta(Evgenia Kostiaeva)
Florist: Francisco Salazar Chavez
Linens: BBJ
Hair and Makeup: Sebastian Hair Salon
Mini tequila favors: Local P.V. purchase
Stationery: Bride