A breezy destination wedding in Mexico is exactly the pick-me-up you need this afternoon. Katie and Mathew traveled to beautiful Puerto Vallarta with their closest loved ones for a glamorous beach wedding. Fer Juaristi gorgeously captured the couple on their day, highlighting the incredible landscape of NOW Amber Puerto Vallarta and the love between Katie and Mathew as they spent their first moments together as husband and wife basking in the romantic Mexican sunset.

The Couple:

Katie and Mathew

The Wedding:

NOW Amber Puerto Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

The Inspiration:

Matt and I always knew that we wanted our wedding to be simple and carefree. We chose Mexico because it would give us a chance to relax with our family and friends for a full week on vacation. Because we chose a beach wedding I envisioned light colours and simple accents. The atmosphere around us was enough decor on its own.

I chose a lightweight, flowing dress, a Love Marley design by Watters. It was called the Katy dress so I knew it must have been the right choice. I decided against wearing a veil and wanted to wear a unique custom piece instead. I ordered a unique crystal headpiece from Bo & Luca in Australia and wore it down the aisle. Matt and I chose to do a reveal so this was the one piece he hadn’t seen.

Instead of choosing a themed wedding from the resort, I decided to bring my own decor. My mom, sister and I spray painted tin cans rose gold, hand made grey table runners and created mint accents with the table numbers and our initials for the signing table. White roses, orchids, hydrangeas and dahlias filled the tin cans and we chose string garden lighting that hung between the palm trees. We gave away custom cigar matches as our favours which were used to light the hand rolled cigars and the wish lanterns we released once the sun went down. We also purchased small sugar skulls in town a few days before to add a bit of culture to the tables.

The Moments:

The most important thing to us for our wedding week was that our guests enjoyed themselves! Our favourite moment was looking up from the head table and seeing all of our guests celebrating. Our wedding took place 4 days in to the vacation and it was amazing to see how everyone got to know each other during that time to the point that we all hope to get away again as an anniversary trip in a few years! The whole day came together so smoothy and it made every moment memorable. At the end of the night we all lit Chinese wish lanterns on the beach. It was a special moment for us to see all of the lanterns in the sky and we felt very blessed to have everyone’s support on the most important day of our lives. Another favourite moment for me was walking down the aisle with my dad to a remake of my parents’ wedding song — “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Ingrid Michaelson (their first dance was to Elvis).

The Couple Recommends:

I came across Fer’s website while looking for a destination photographer. I followed his work for months before reaching out to him and loved every single photo that he had posted. What drew us to him was his candid style and promise to capture the feeling of the day through his photos. He seemed so down to earth with the photos he posted of himself with his family. We weren’t interested in having hours of posed photos taken and were looking for a photographer who just understood how important our day was. Fer and Bruno were amazing. They made us feel comfortable, they were professional and we had no doubt that we would remember our day forever through their photos. He got to know us throughout the day and felt like a friend who was taking our picture. He makes the process convenient by providing a drop box link and sent an amazing slideshow that brought us back to the day from the moment we woke up to when the sun went down. We have gotten so many compliments and I would recommend Fer and Bruno to any one looking for a wedding photographer.

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Fer Juaristi
Second Photographer – Bruno Rezza
Event Planning – Crystal Water Weddings
Venue – NOW Amber Puerta Vallarta
Hair & Makeup Artist – Lavish Salon
Wedding Dress – Love Marley
Bridal Accessories – Bo & Luca
Groom’s Apparel – Z Zegna
Rings – Breslauer and Warren

Thanks to Fer Juaristi for sharing Katie and Mathew’s gorgeous wedding at NOW Amber Puerto Vallarta with Junebug! Love Fer’s photography as much as we do? Check out Nina and Dana’s outdoor wedding in Rhode Island to see more!