Beth and Jason - Casa Las Palapas

Beth and Jason married in late May at a private villa in Nuevo Vallarta. Their colors were orange, orange and more orange, and we absolutely loved putting together this couple’s festive celebration!

There were so many lovely photos from this wedding that it was difficult to choose which ones to post! Here are a few of my favorites that I believe tell the story of the day!

I have to include this photo first as I believe it is my favorite wedding dress photo ever! Taken by local photographer Paulina Ulloa, it is absolutely gorgeous!


Photographically speaking, having a beautiful bridal party doesn’t hurt, and Beth and her gals were absolutely lovely! I love these “getting ready shots!” Everyone looks so spirited and so ready for a wedding!




Like many of our brides this past Spring, Beth requested an all-white bouquet! We added just a touch of color with a special cotton fabric tie. Beth’s father who recently passed was honored in several ways during the day – the first of which was the special locket and photo used in coordination with the bouquet.


Beautifully composed bridesmaid bouquets included various tones of orange roses, circus roses, mango calla lilies and orange parrot tulips!




A guitar duet welcomed guests to the beach ceremony area. Chairs were decorated simply with draping chiffon secured with ribbon and a single orchid blossom! Petals and pillar candles detailed the ceremony aisle.




The Jewish wedding ceremony took place beneath a chuppah created from Beth’s father’s tallis, another beautiful form to honor her dad’s life.


Following the ceremony, guests were ushered to the villa garden where bowls of scented water (in Mint and Melon) were available in a rustic sitting lounge for foot-refreshing!



Guests seating cards were secured by strips of coordinating fabrics and ribbons on panels hung on garden trees.


Tables with crisp white linens held beautiful wooden boxes of flower arrangements with tiny touches of white coral peeking out. Placemats were embroidered with the same coral design from Beth and Jason’s invitation.



This couple shared a passion for museums, and as a special touch (decided on just weeks prior to the wedding), we included an “Art Park” – a special garden area with enlarged and framed photos of the bride and groom hung on trees and resting against Mexican pots. Sometimes the last minute inspirations are the biggest hit!



And last but not least . . .
The combination of a beautiful wedding veil and an ocean breeze could be interpreted by many as a “wedding day challenge,” but for photographers, it presents a great opportunity for shots like these!


And this wonderful veil series of the bride and groom:




Congratulations to Beth and Jason – we were so pleased to be part of your amazing day! We received this from the happily married couple:

Dear Michelle and The Dazzling Details team,

Thank you so very much for making our wedding so magical! You truly are dazzling - all of the details were so well thought out. We love the way you incorporated all of the coral and orange elements! And the "Art Park" was an unbelievably thoughtful surprise! The whole affair ran so smoothly, and many of our guests have requested the dj's playlist and commented that they would use use the caterer if he were local! We have received our video - which is wonderful - and are eagerly anticipating the arrival of our photographs! Thank you again for making our wedding day so unforgettable!

Beth and Jason

Michelle and Clinton - Casa las Palapas

I met Michelle and her mom during a planning trip in June 2007, and like many brides who come to Vallarta for preliminary wedding scouting, by the time I met them, they were overwhelmed, confused and even a bit frustrated - they had seen so much and talked to so many people that the wedding seemed simply overwhelming!

Michelle really wanted a venue for her March wedding that would provide her intimacy for the celebration away from the Marival Hotel where guests would stay. Immediately, I thought of Casa las Palapas in Nuevo Vallarta, and our bride fell in love with the venue! Casa las Palapas is a rustic-style villa located beachfront with an extensive garden and a large palapa! The house has character and offers a truly Mexican experience!



After much debate over colors, Michelle decided on purple and red; she was attracted to the passionate combination and felt the colors would invoke a feeling of elegance and richness. The bridal party flowers were a combination of deep red roses, purple roses, purple lisianthus with touches of deep red and purple miniature mums.




The ceremony took place on the villa garden overlooking the ocean. Flowers and flowing chiffons dominated the daylight ceremony décor:









Following the ceremony, a trio played as the bride and groom took photos and family and friends enjoyed cocktails!


Dinner tables were set up in the garden with crisp white linens and deep purple napkins. Rich roses, lisianthus, agapanthus and mums adorned the dinner tables in chocolate wooden boxes. The bride’s love of Maya Angelou and dancing were combined and used to create unique table seating assignments. Dinner tables were named with quotes from Angelou’s work and printed on dance artwork that marked each table.





A couple special touches on the tables made the wedding even more personal:

The couple chose a cranberry mojito as their signature drink during cocktail hour, and the recipe was printed on the back of the guests’ name cards and inserted into red-rimmed water glasses that served as favors for guests to take home.



The villa’s character allows for creative décor including flowing linens from the large palapa and small flower arrangements tucked in corner niches.



One of Michelle and Clinton’s requests was to have a sandcastle wedding cake! They found several examples, and we combined them and came up with the following tasty creation:


A couple other favorite photos from this wedding:

Michelle’s very stylish mom showed up on wedding day wearing a fabulous hat; it takes a really classy woman to be able to pull this off, and she certainly did!


I love carrying my camera around on wedding day as you just never know when you’re going to need to catch a special moment! I snapped this quick shot when the bride and groom kicked off their shoes and left them behind in the rose petals to take barefoot photos on the beach with the photographer:


Michelle and Clinton were super relaxed and a pleasure to work with! Congratulations to them and best wishes for a lifelong marriage full of the happiness they experienced on their wedding day!