“The beach has been a common theme throughout our relationship,” say Christina + Anthony, the newlyweds whose stylish seaside sunset destination wedding in Mexico somehow made the Cabo San Lucas coastline look even more beautiful than it already is 🌊☀️.
“We met in Pacific Beach (a coastal neighborhood in San Diego, CA where many surfers, students, and young adults live) on a taco Tuesday at a fun dive bar a block away from the ocean,” the couple recalls of their love story’s beachy beginnings. “We both lived in Pacific Beach for several years and then moved to downtown San Diego together for about 6-7 years, and now we actually just bought a house back at the beach in La Jolla!”
So it makes ALL the sense in the world that these two beach-loving lovebirds found their way to Cabo and its iconically gorgeous shores for their destination “I do’s.” The couple chose The Cape as their location, and while we truly can’t get over the way the waves were literally crashing in the background during the ceremony there, it’s the day’s unique approach to design inspiration that we’re most excited to share with you.
You know that feeling when you walk into an exciting new restaurant or a swanky rooftop bar and the vibes are *unmatched*? Food, drinks, and most importantly decor? Christina + Anthony live for moments like that. They’re avid collectors of beautifully curated hospitality experiences, so when it came time to plan their wedding with Bliss Events they summoned the memories of all their fave spots to help them design a truly unforgettable day.
“We were inspired by restaurants and hotels we love,” the couple explains. “We love going out to restaurants with a trendy, yet old timey vibe. There is a restaurant group in San Diego called Consortium Holdings/CH Projects that puts on Seneca, Born and Raised, The Lafayette Hotel, and other places we frequent. They invest heavily in their design and we’re always inspired by how the design helps curate moments and experiences with each other and our loved ones.”
And the inspo didn’t stop with the CH Project’s San Diego spots. A handful of iconic hotels served as design fuel, too — namely “Hotel Del Coronado, The Beekman in Manhattan, Proper Santa Monica, 1 Hotels, and Soho House.”
“It was a balancing act in terms of choosing ‘themes.’” Christina + Anthony say. “We wanted vintage meets trendy, but still timeless and cozy. Romantic and dramatic, but still tasteful and inviting. Coastal, but not too cool – we wanted warm.”
The ceremony was all golden hour, ocean views, and elegant low floral arrangements. The reception was fringe lamps and modern furniture and a custom-built arched bar with a mercury glass mirror. Christina’s swoop neck strapless gown was a true stunner. And Krista K Photos captured it all.
So if you + your person live for a vibey night out, if you love sharing a meal in a spectacularly designed space, if you can’t resist a rooftop bar: this one is for you!
SO enchanted by the forever-keepsake vibes of this embroidered vow booklet!
Christina wore the Cher Crystal Embellished Pump by Badgley Mischka as her wedding heels, and that pearl clasp shell shaped wedding purse? A vintage piece from her Yia-Yia (grandmother in greek). “This was so special to me,” Christina says of the bag, “and I felt honored to get to use it.”
Christina’s romantic half up half down weddin hairstyle and flawless bridal makeup were done by Los Cabos Makeup.
“I went with a more boutique designer after a stylist at Lovely Bride San Diego showed her to me,” says the bride of how she discovered her Renhue gown. “I fell in love with the quality of the fabric, the boning, and the swoop neck. The swoop neck and overskirt added some detail that made the clean gown still very intricate and unique.”
“Renhue prides its gowns on being “future vintage” which i loved. I hope to pass this down to family.”
Anthony WOWed in a timeless Armani tux which he paired with Louboutin shoes.
“The first look was really special,” Christina remembers. “Seeing Anthony for the first time that day reminded me of what this event is truly about: this new chapter we’re about to embark on together. While it was great having the fun destination wedding, I could have done a courthouse ceremony with just the two of us.”
“I really recommend first looks to all brides,” Christina adds, “not just because I have a planning background and it’s easier for all of your vendors, but it helped take some of the nerves away and it was really nice getting through the family and bridal party photos before the ceremony so everyone could enjoy cocktail hour!”
“Each bridesmaid was assigned a color and picked their own bridesmaid dress,” says the bride. “I sent them this inspo board below which was aligned with my color palette – colorful cabo fun (pinks, bright greens) meets moody romantic fall (burgundy, olive, and rust) with gold falling in the middle of the spectrum.”
Get the LookShop These Picks
We are kind of obsessed with this color palette!
Our Favorite Memory
Some Favorites from the Bride:
-My nephew (the ring bearer) had a loose tooth all weekend and finally lost on the wedding day and came into the bridal suite while we were all getting ready
-Hearing Anthony’s vows and everything Nicole (our officiant and Anthony’s sister) prepared for the ceremony
-Fireworks! They were truly spectacular, it was such a pinch me moment. We felt like kids at disneyland.
-Greek dancing - the Kalamatiano and wine glass dance - it was a fun way to honor my greek ancestors…Anthony and I weren’t the best, but my cousins definitely made up for our shortcomings!
A Ceremony By The Sea
This ceremony 😍 🌊 Straight up seaside destination wedding dream fuel.
Marveling at the muted romantic floral magic that Cristina G Florals created for the altar area.
“I kept going between a ballgown and a more form-fitting dress, so then the idea of an overskirt came to mind,” Christina remembers of her best-of-both-worlds dress shopping decision process. “It was truly perfect.”
“My veil also flew off halfway through the ceremony, but I was honestly happy it did because I ended up getting another look from that.”
“I wore the overskirt for the ceremony, then took it off for sunset photos, then bustled my dress for reception so it felt like I truly had so many different looks in one, which is something very me.”
“I felt so beautiful in it.”
“Do You Have a Reservation?” : A Restaurant-Inspired Reception
“We had an audio guest book with a vintage style phone where guests got to leave marriage advice, or leave heartfelt messages,” the couple says.
“Our friends like to joke that we will always find a rooftop bar in every city we go to, so it was fitting our cocktail hour was at The Rooftop with sunset views of El Arco.”
Inspired by these fabulous guest style pics to up your fashion game for the next wedding on your calendar? That’s exactly why we created our wedding guest style guides!
How dreamy is the calligraphy on this hand-written seating chart!
Campbell Paper Co. really made this whole setup feel like a giant hand-penned love letter 💌
“We transformed the reception space from a concrete slab with a black wall to an old-timey, lively, restaurant-vibe,” the couple remembers of the venue’s restaurant-inspired glow up.
“The velvet fringe lanterns over the head table really nodded back to much of the lighting at those CH project restaurants we love.”
Our Advice
General advice:
We loved having a long engagement, it allowed us to truly relax during the planning process and cherish this special point in time together, and helped our guests get a head start on making out travel plans.
The little things make all the difference - we did individual notes for each guests (one from Anthony and one from me) - this was a labor of love but something guests still talk about months later.
A main concern for everyone planning a wedding is the budget. Allocate your budget to the places people spend the most time and focus on highly trafficked areas - ie. Reception bar, dance floor, etc..
Destination weddings are so worth it. With the majority of our guests coming from California, Cabo was easier to get to compared to most other international locations and we knew our family and friends love to visit.
Go with your gut when it comes to picking vendors. Hire people you trust and really understand your vision for the day.More specific tips:
If you’re particular about music, curate your playlists for every moment - getting ready, pre-ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, and reception.
If you can pick a venue where most of your guests can stay onsite, do it. It made the weekend feel like a luxury adult summer camp.
Avoid long bar lines by ensuring you have enough bartenders for your guest count (1 for every 50-75 people) Also make sure to have tray passed drinks ready at cocktail hour.
Furniture from Yaya Rentals (like that flare based table!) filled the celebration with unique shapes + silhouettes.
Warehouse Rentals outfitted the warm + romantic tabletops with chic, contemporary design details.
“The entire bar and arched wall was custom built by Bunker. We designed this for a year,” Christina + Anthony say. “They also did our dance floor!”
“We wanted to bring in a warm, moody, textured, romantic feel without making the space too dark. The foggy mirror background for the bar gave it an art deco vibe.”
OKAY — quick romantic restaurant-related proposal story moment 🍽️💍: “We had been wanting to try a restaurant at the Alila Merea resort in Encinitas,” Christina remembers, “so Anthony took me there on a Friday night (with a 5pm reservation so we could catch the sunset). We walked over to a nice overlook spot, and all of the sudden he got down on one knee and proposed!”
“There was a photographer posed as a local yogi who caught it all. My family was also all on property waiting for us and watching from afar.”
“Instead of going home after, Anthony took me to a beach house where all of our friends and family were waiting to congratulate us. It turned into a weekend-long party.”
Custom matches? One of our all-time hall-of-fame fave wedding favor ideas.
“We did handwritten notes for each guest instead of name cards from both Anthony and me,” Christina shares. “We still get comments about how thoughtful this was.”
“We surprised guests with a choreographed first dance after taking lessons at The First Dance Place.”
Our Musical Choices
Processional"Still the One I Want" (cover) - teddy swimsRecessional"Ain't No Mountain High Enough"First Dance"Can’t Take My Eyes Off You" - Frankie Valli
“One truly special thing about doing a destination wedding where most of your guests stay onsite is that you get so many moments in between all the big events: passing people in the lobby, at breakfast, in the gym, at the pool, etc…and the hats were fully embraced which made it a fun ice breaker for our guests to connect. Seeing our loved ones from all different eras of our life come together was amazing.”
Congrats, Christina + Anthony! Five stars all the way for every detail of your restaurant- and hotel-inspired wedding in Cabo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ All the best from GWS!
Featured in This Wedding
Events by Bliss
Los Cabos Makeup
Warehouse Rentals
Interested in becoming a GWS Preferred Artist? Apply Here.
Other Vendors in This Wedding
Rentals: YAYA Rentals // Rentals: cristina g rentals // Photography: Krista K Photos // Venue: The Cape, a Thompson Hotel // Wedding Dress: RENHUE // Dress Boutique: Lovely Bride – San Diego // Bride's Shoes: Badgley Mischka // Videography: Dave and a Camera // Photo Booth: Premium Photo Booth Experiences // Content Creator: Candid Creations // Signage: Campbell Paper Co // DJ: Alex DJ // bride's reception shoes: Jeffrey Campbell // custom bar: Bunker Project Studio
