Jenny and Jeff - Villa Verde

Funny thing. Lots of couples these days want to get married in Mexico but want very little Mexico reflected in their wedding. I get it. Many people immediately associate Mexico with sombreros, pinatas, cactus and tequila.

What many people forget is that Mexico, as much as it has its share of sombreros, pinatas, cactus and tequila, is also a country wealthy with hand-painted pottery, intricately beaded artwork, festive colors, beautifully-designed iron work, succulent tropical fruits and so much more. A Mexican-themed wedding can speak to the vibrancy of the culture through subtle and natural elements as in Jenny and Jeff's wedding this past Monday! Their color palette of fuschia, orange, red and green brought a punch of color to the brick terrace while the decor focused on Mexico . . . in a beautiful, non-sombrero way!

Believe it or not, our inspiration for this wedding came from a couple cakes Jenny liked:



Both cakes had the word "Love" on them - well, we decided to take that idea, add local flare and voila! "Amor" was the theme of this wedding . . . and wow, did it fit the occasion! This celebration focused on the love, uh hum, amor between this amazing couple, their gathered family and group of friends!

A beachfront ceremony in June calls for some shade for guests, and what better way to add color to the beach than with natural bougainvillea suspended over a natural wood structure. Ivory curtains blocked sunlight filtering in from the sides while still allowing for a beautiful view!







Upstairs on the terrace, festive and shaded "cabanas" awaited guests during cocktail hour!





A special children's area was set up for five youngsters! Of course even their area combines with the rest of the wedding!



Guests were seated at beautiful dinner tables that popped with colorful flowers emerging from terracotta pots filled with limes!




Gotta love the cake! A fun and festive combination of several cakes Jenny loved . . . made with "amor" by Charme Reposteria!


After dinner and dessert, guests danced the night away beneath the palapa! Additional seating was placed around the space for those who needed a rest, and decorative terracotta pieces added candlelight and flowers to the area!






Mexican tortas (sandwiches), cookies and milk were served at the end of the night - what a popular treat!

Congratulations Jenny and Jeff - we loved being a part of your festive Mexican celebration . . . filled with mucho amor!

Sneak Peek - Dana and Mark

Woo hoo! A perfect start to the 2008-2009 wedding season! We just couldn't wait to have professional photos to post, so here is a sneak peek at some of our snapshots of Dana and Mark's Saturday wedding celebration at Villa Verde! Enjoy!

Julie and Grant - Villa Verde

The weekend after Ron and Christine’s bright citrus wedding, we were back at Villa Verde again but this time with a very different design at hand.

Simple, elegant, uncluttered, relaxed. These are the four words with which Julie and Grant described their wedding vision. The couple sent us a photo of this scarf as the inspiration for their wedding – they loved the very natural color palette and the simplistic texture.

They weren’t in love with candles but wanted some used in common areas and around the pool. They preferred natural plants to flowers (with the exception of Asian lilies in either white or perhaps a couple “pops” of orange), and wanted to incorporate the beach in a rustic and natural way. Whew – this one had us thinking!

Julie and Grant’s choice of invitation design as well as the bridesmaid dresses helped us get started!


One look at these two and you know immediately that they are laid back, natural and very down-to-earth!



This is what we came up with for their natural elegance celebration!

The bridal party flowers were kept very small, simple and natural – a combination of creamy roses, white lilies and white orchids tied with burlap and lace.


The ceremony, (while quite elaborate and not at all simple to set up!), had a very simplistic and natural look to it! Stained bamboo and palm plants created a beautiful structure and a few very simple and tasteful strings of capiz shells added a subtle touch of “beach.” Maracas painted white were available at the entrance of the ceremony, and palm mats led the way to the altar!





A very natural lounge was set up on the beach nearby – utilized during cocktail hour and post-reception for an “after party” with snacks and drinks!





Following cocktails, guests were invited up to the villa terrace for dinner and dancing. We created special place cards using the same motif as Julie and Grant’s invites and displayed them on a table with interspersed candles wrapped in burlap.



Dinner tables displayed a fabric we found (similar in style to Julie’s scarf!) arranged loosely in the middle of the table, deep glass bowls with a variety of beach textures – finger starfish, white stones, shells, seagrass, willow and Casablanca blossoms. Table numbers were marked on wine bottles with specially created labels (again in the invite motif)! Lighting was provided in the form of twinkle lights strung on wooden trellises placed throughout the reception area!







A few of my favorite details from this wedding –

1) Julie and Grant fell in love with a cake they saw in a magazine and wanted to recreate the very cake. Sugar flowers, sugar shells, sugar anything is tough in this climate (which I explained to the couple who understood and asked us to decide on a cake for them). But I was determined to do everything possible to get them their cake! Our baker was very hesitant about taking on the request, however, after lots of practice and lots of sugar shells, he was ready! So when the cake was brought out, the couple was pleasantly surprised by a replica of their original request! I love this cake!


2) Throughout the planning, it became very obvious that a good wine selection was important to the bride and groom. Taking this as our cue, we created a winery for their favors! Personalized labels . . . (you guessed it – the invite motif) were placed on small bottles of wine and displayed in a wine rack in the reception area!




Photographer Elizabeth Lloyd shot this wedding and did a great job! A couple other photos I want to share:

I love this photo of Julie and Grant during their first dance! I think it is romantic, and captures a really intimate and beautiful moment between the newlyweds!


Fireworks are always fun, and I love this photo.


This photo of Julie, Grant and their entourage is beautiful! Their attire, the beach, the energy of the group – it makes for a beautiful shot!


Congratulations Julie and Grant! We loved working with you!