A garden ceremony around a fountain, a vintage Monique Lhuillier gown, and a reception where guests enjoyed family-style Mexican food before dancing late into the night. For Chloe and Patrick, the appeal of getting married at Museo Casa de la Bola was that the historic estate already had so much of what they loved about Mexico City: lush gardens, classical architecture, and a secluded setting in the middle of a busy city.

The couple, who first met in high school and reconnected a decade later, chose Mexico City for their destination wedding after considering Portugal and Italy. It was already one of their favorite places to visit, Patrick has Mexican roots, and the location was convenient for guests traveling from Southern California and Dallas. With help from Junebug vendor Ganesha Wedding, they planned a celebration that made the most of the venue while putting much of their budget toward food, drinks, and music.

What We Love About This Museo Casa de la Bola Wedding

• A circular garden ceremony where guests passed the couple’s wedding rings around to offer blessings
• A vintage 1999 Monique Lhuillier gown that Chloe tracked down after the original sold
• An aisle that allowed both of Chloe’s fathers to accompany her during separate parts of the processional
• Talavera tile seating favors, restaurant-inspired table names, and cocktails named after the couple and their cats
• A family-style Mexican dinner with Filipino touches, including calamansi curd for dessert
• DIY illuminated calla lily wands that Chloe’s aunt and cousin assembled the night before the wedding

Featured Vendor:
Ganesha Wedding

A Historic Garden Venue Worth Planning a Wedding Around

Chloe discovered Museo Casa de la Bola while researching outdoor wedding venues in Mexico City. The estate immediately reminded her of The Secret Garden, one of her favorite childhood movies. With its secluded gardens and historic architecture, it had the atmosphere she and Patrick had been looking for.

It was the first thing they booked. Once they had a venue and date, they began working with Ganesha Wedding. Their planners had previously coordinated weddings at the property, which was reassuring for a couple organizing everything from abroad.

The venue also influenced how they approached their budget, allowing them to invest more heavily in food, beverages, and entertainment. Their color palette incorporated cobalt blue and hunter green, although settling on those colors proved surprisingly difficult. After disagreeing over the shades, they eventually worked things out during an afternoon in the paint swatch aisle of a hardware store.

A Wedding Morning Together, With the First Look Saved for the Aisle

Patrick was determined to see Chloe in her wedding dress for the first time as she walked down the aisle. But that didn’t stop them from spending the night before their wedding together at the Sofitel. They woke up, ordered room service, and exchanged private vows that morning before heading off to get ready separately.

Patrick spent the morning with his two sisters and two cousins, who each helped him with part of his outfit. Chloe got ready with her mother while a younger cousin documented the preparations on a camcorder, interviewing both her and Patrick.

After hair and makeup, Chloe jumped on the hotel bed to shake off some nervous energy, which also made for some memorable photographs. Once she was dressed, she asked for a few minutes alone before leaving for the ceremony.

A Circular Ceremony, Blessed Wedding Rings, and Two Walks Down the Aisle

The garden ceremony took place around a fountain, with guests seated in a circle. Chloe’s cousin Twyla officiated, having spent time with the couple beforehand to learn more about their relationship. During the service, she shared a story about a farmer and an astronaut that described their different personalities.

Before exchanging vows, Chloe and Patrick passed their wedding rings among their guests, asking everyone to offer a blessing or prayer. One guest later observed that the rings traveling around the circular seating arrangement resembled the Earth orbiting, an unexpected connection to Twyla’s story.

Chloe was adopted by her biological father’s older sister after her parents divorced, and she’d long struggled with how to handle the tradition of being given away. At one point, she even considered eloping to avoid having to choose between her two fathers.

The garden’s layout offered a solution. Her biological father accompanied her along the first section of the aisle, then handed her over to her adoptive father at a ramp crossing the planter. Her adoptive father walked her the rest of the way to Patrick. “It was very healing for me to accept and honor both parts of my identity and have my husband waiting at the end of it,” Chloe shared.

The Search for a Vintage Monique Lhuillier Gown

Chloe had her heart set on wearing a vintage wedding dress, preferably something she wouldn’t see on another bride. She’d long admired Monique Lhuillier, whose Filipino heritage was an added connection for Chloe, who is also half Filipino.

While browsing vintage bridal accounts, she spotted a 1999 Valerie Monique Lhuillier couture gown on Saturn Bridal’s Instagram. Unfortunately, someone had already bought it. She visited the shop anyway, tried on other dresses, and eventually found a gown at another salon that she liked well enough. But she kept searching for the original.

With seven months left before the wedding, she was starting to worry. Then Saturn Bridal posted another Valerie gown, this time in ivory rather than blush. Chloe immediately arranged an appointment and rushed over with her parents. The dress fit almost perfectly, including the hem, as long as she didn’t wear heels that were too high.

The silk satin gown featured a pleated bodice, delicate straps, a full tiered ball skirt, and tiny silk bows down the back. Chloe paired it with pearl-detailed Jimmy Choo kitten heels and a custom tulle neck scarf that her tailor, Tashina, dyed to match the dress. Patrick gifted her garnet studs, and she commissioned baroque pearl earrings from her friend Mary’s jewelry company, Drippy Gems.

She completed the look with a sleek twisted bun and fresh, understated makeup. Patrick wore a black suit with stingray boots and a bolo tie, along with vintage Christian Dior malachite cufflinks Chloe had given him.

A Fallen Tree Branch and a Few Last-Minute Wedding Day Surprises

There were a few complications behind the scenes. Chloe and Patrick got caught in Mexico City’s Friday afternoon traffic and arrived later than planned. Their officiant also accidentally ordered an Uber to the wrong address, although she caught the mistake midway through the trip.

More seriously, a large tree branch fell over the ceremony area before guests were seated. The couple only learned about it afterward. They later wondered whether their delay in traffic had actually been fortunate, since guests might otherwise have been in the area when the branch fell.

Ganesha Wedding handled the situation, along with the other last-minute issues, without involving Chloe and Patrick in the details. The couple were able to enjoy the ceremony and reception without knowing much of what had happened behind the scenes.

Restaurant-Inspired Tables and a Family-Style Mexican Feast

Food was one of Chloe and Patrick’s biggest priorities. They love trying restaurants together, ordering different dishes, and sharing everything, so they wanted their guests to enjoy dinner the same way.

The reception featured a family-style Mexican menu with a few Filipino additions, including chayote salad and a dessert with calamansi curd. Large platters circulated among the tables, and the servings kept coming until everyone was full.

Chloe compared the service to Harry Potter, where food seems to reappear as soon as it starts running low. Servers also circulated with drinks, remembered guests’ orders, and offered refills before anyone needed to ask.

The table details were equally specific to the couple. Each table was named after a restaurant associated with one of their favorite dates. Cocktails were named after Chloe, Patrick, and their two cats, while blue-and-cream Mexican Talavera tiles served as both seating guides and guest favors. The menus and table signage borrowed from the street signs around Mexico City.

Their flowers included white narcissus in Chloe’s bouquet for Patrick’s December birth flower and carnations in his boutonniere for her January birthday. An ofrenda honored loved ones who had passed away, and a black-and-white photo slideshow in the foyer featured at least one photograph with every guest.

DIY Calla Lily Wands and a Dance Floor That Filled Up Fast

Music was another major investment. Chloe and Patrick helped select songs for the pre-ceremony gathering, dinner, and reception, drawing heavily from music they’d listened to throughout their relationship.

After the ceremony and family portraits, they entered the reception to cheers and a crowd waving illuminated calla lily wands. Chloe had found the DIY idea online and purchased the supplies, but ran out of time to assemble them before leaving for Mexico. Her aunt and cousin stepped in and finished them the night before the wedding. Guests loved the wands, with several asking whether the flowers were real. Many took them home afterward.

The couple shared their first dance to “Stella by Starlight” followed by speeches from Patrick’s two sisters and Chloe’s two cousins. When the dance floor opened, it quickly filled up, and the party continued into the early hours.

A Welcome Party at Broka and a Post-Wedding Trip to Xochimilco

Chloe and Patrick kicked off the wedding festivities with a welcome party at Broka, complete with plenty of food and custom papel picado decorations. They later framed the decorative paper banner and brought it home as a keepsake. The day after the wedding, they organized a trip to Xochimilco, where everyone could ride the colorful boats along the canals and spend more time together before heading home.

If there’s one thing Chloe and Patrick would recommend to anyone getting married abroad, it’s hiring a local planner. Between finding the right vendors, working through language barriers, and handling a few unexpected wedding-day surprises, the Ganesha Wedding team took care of the details so the couple could enjoy the day without worrying about what was happening behind the scenes.