WEDDING BLOG

Having visited the lovely Sayulita, Mexico myself a few years back, seeing amazing wedding photos like these from photographer Jillian Mitchell immediately take me back to the magic of this sleepy Pacific surfing town! Couple Gloria and Kevin did their Mexico destination wedding right, and after this blog post, they’ve got me dying for some quality time on the beach!

The Couple: Gloria and Kevin

The Wedding: Villa Amor, Sayulita, Mexico

Where did you choose to hold your wedding, and what was the inspiration for this location? (Gloria) We first read about Villa Amor in Sayulita, Mexico in the travel section of the New York Times in 2008, and just tucked it away in our minds. When it came time to pick a location for our wedding three years later, we had a lot of choices: Vancouver (my home town), San Luis Osbispo (his home town), San Francisco (where we live). Even though we had never been to Sayulita, there was something about this little seaside town that kept drawing us in. We did as much research as we could online and we kept hearing little stories from friends of friends who had been there, and thought it was such a special place. We went with our gut instinct and are so glad we did!

(Kevin) Selecting the destination was the first decision we made and it was the most important by far. Like a lot of people we know, our friends and family are all over the country – in fact, they’re all over the world. So, our wedding was going to be a “destination” wedding for some of our guests no matter what. We got the perfect location; it was exotic and warm, while still being affordable and easy to get to.

Were there any places where you broke the rules in your wedding planning? Why and how did you do that? Having a destination wedding in a remote place takes a lot of the decision making out of your hands, which is wonderful. It’s a lot easier to pick a cake when there’s only one bakery. Full disclosure: we had churros instead of cake and I don’t think anyone was disappointed!

Looking back, what are the moments, decisions or memories that you love the most about your wedding? People lose some of their inhibitions when they’re away from home. I don’t think I’ve ever seen people wrestling over a microphone at a wedding. My nephews, who we asked to dress in bow ties and moustaches, stopped the show when they performed a dance routine at the reception.

What piece of advice would you give to a bride planning her wedding today? If you’re doing a destination wedding, you need to trust your wedding planner. She is your counsel for everything from what to eat to what photographer to hire. We had someone we trusted and we slept better for it. This is the biggest party of your whole life. Plan accordingly.

The Wedding Team:

The Photographer: Jillian Mitchell
Wedding Planner: Karen Ruezga of Villa Amor
Ceremony & Reception Venue: Villa Amor
Invitation Designer: Sweet Penelope
Florist: Flor Mimo
Catering: O Restaurant
Wedding Dresses: Ceremony – Lazaro, Reception – BCBG
Bridal Accessories: Shoes – Topshop, Veil – Delicate Spirits
Bridesmaids’ Apparel: Victoria’s Secret
Groom and Groomsmen Apparel and Accessories: Apparel – Banana Republic, Shoes – Hugo Boss, Ties – Macy’s

Thank you so much for sharing our intimate wedding getaway with us! Best wishes, Gloria and Kevin!

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