Playa del Carmen Beach Wedding: Jamie + Justin

Happy Friday everyone! I thought this fun destination wedding at the beach was so perfect for today. :) And I love what Jamie shared with me about their wedding location decision…

From Jamie, “My husband Justin and I are the happiest in warmth and surrounded by our friends and family. When we started planning our wedding we knew that the city we call home, San Francisco, while convenient for our nearest and dearest, was not a place known for warmth much less predictably warm weather. We decided almost immediately that we wanted to have a destination wedding and set out looking for the perfect place. We crossed more remote locations like Italy off our list early knowing that the trip would be too difficult for many, and decided on Mexico. On a site visit, we found Le Reve Hotel and Spa in Playa Del Carmen and fell in love with its location, contemporary decor and kindness of the staff. Before our formal invitations went out, we let everyone know that we were going on vacation, were going to get married while we were there, and would like nothing more than their company. Thankfully most could attend, and it was a wonderful long weekend where people could share friendships, relax, enjoy the sunshine and participate in our big day.”

Love their beautiful ceremony setup right on the beach!

Most memorable moment of your wedding day? For me, the most memorable moment of the day was when we took a bit of time after the ceremony to share some champagne in the privacy of our room and toast each other as a newly married couple. For Justin, he looks most fondly on the toasts that were given by our friends and family. Hearing sincere words from those closest to us was truly an amazing experience.

Any advice for those planning now? Two things, really.

1. If you want to have a lovely party, and that means a lot to you but you don’t have the time or the skill set to plan it yourself? Hire a planner. Our wedding planners at Alison Events were brilliant. We let them know early on that we would leave many of the details to them, gave them our vision in broad strokes, and those ladies executed like crazy. In revisiting the photos, our appreciation for their style and detail only grows. A great planner will work with your vision, budget and location and make magic for you. If you aren’t emotionally invested in the details of your wedding, let it go and focus on things that are more important. After all, the people you’ve invited will love you dearly and not judge you if your table cloths don’t exactly match your napkins. At the end of your big day, you and your guests will only remember how happy you were!

2. Spend the majority of your budget on the things that are the most important to you. For us photos and food were critical. We invested in a partnership with Paco & Betty, a husband and wife photography duo based in San Francisco and asked them to travel with us to Mexico. We loved their work and were nothing short of amazed by the wonderful moments they were able to capture of our day. We’re in the fortunate predicament of having to figure out how we’ll spread these wonderful photos around our home! Food and beverage were also very important to the two of us. We worked with the staff at Le Reve and our wedding planners to customize a menu for us that we believed everyone would really enjoy. Our planners tasted the menu in advance, provided recommendations, and we settled on a menu that was everything we hoped for.

Thanks so much for sharing your details + advice Jamie! Best wishes to you + Justin!!

vendors

venue name: Le Reve Hotel and Spa // event design: Alison Events // wedding dress: Legends by Romona Keveza // hair stylist: Doranna // makeup artist: Doranna // groom attire: Al's Attire // paper goods: Design by bride and groom, with help from Hello!Lucky // music: Plugin Audio Visual // photography: Paco & Betty (see more from the wedding on their blog) // Shoes: Diane von Furstenberg // floral design: Planner 1 Events // invitations: Design by bride and groom, with help from Hello!Lucky