Same Sex Destination Wedding in Mexico

Micaela and JaChel wed in the small town of Bucerias, Mexico at the beautiful private property, Villa Encanto.  But their story began years previously online.  Micaela shared their journey with us.  “We met online in 2005 on a social networking site living in two different parts of the world, the U.S. and Spain. When we finally met we became almost instant close friends. 2 years later we were dating and almost 6 years later, here we are married! When we are together color is brighter, food tastes better and everyday life experiences are so much richer. We can’t imagine it any other way.”

Micaela and JaChel knew exactly what they wanted when the set out to say “I do.”  Micaela, an event designer, had a list of must-haves when they began their search for the perfect place.  “I have designed a lot of amazing events. But a gorgeous setting alone does not guarantee your guests will want to stay and have a great time. We wanted to make sure our wedding was not just another wedding full of pomp and circumstance, ripe with details with no attention paid to an actual enjoyable celebration or guests. We wanted to be able to ‘spoil’ everyone in attendance and give them an opportunity to really get to know us a couple. What better way to celebrate than to have a ‘vacation’ of sorts with our closest friends and family? We looked at many destination locations all over and settled on Bucerias, a small town near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The location was perfect for many reasons: we wanted a destination where JaChel could have her dream beach wedding but also allowed for the more formal setting that I wanted, a private venue without beach onlookers, a place where same sex weddings were welcomed and even celebrated, a place with great weather and affordable for our guests with relatively short plane ride from most cities in the US. Bucerias was perfect! We rented a private 7 bedroom beach front villa that had a gorgeous lush green lawn and old world Mexico stone fountain.” 

“We were totally inspired by Ellen DeGeneres and Portia Di Rossi’s wedding 4 years ago. I didn’t realize it until I actually begin designing our wedding that we were totally smitten by the private display of love that they shared at their home. They had these wonderful embroidered napkins with their initials, we replicated this idea. We had silk teal napkins embroidered with our wedding logo and of course one long dinner intimate dinner table just like them!”

“The color inspiration for the wedding decor was the jewel tone colors of the peacock feather (purples, deep blue, emerald green colors, teal, chocolates, coppers), though we did not want any actual feathers displayed.  We wanted deep and bold colors, which we used for our table linens, pillows on the lounge furniture, the invitations and fabrics on the wedding canopy. We wanted color everywhere and this is easy to do in Mexico, the country is rich in so many colors. And to keep everything fresh and light, we added white and cream elements.”

Everything about this wedding was personal.  “We LOVE natural crystals and especially love amethyst for its great purple color and metaphysical attributes. We both have beautiful pieces on our night stands and it just so happens my engagement ring ‘sleeps’ on it when I take it off at night. We also used the amethyst as a tray for our rings during the ring warming ceremony. Guests were invited to say a special blessing for us as they passed the rings around.”

For the reception, guests enjoyed the delights of a tequila bar and vanilla flavored cigars on the beach.

Every little space and detail was an opportunity for this couple to weave in their theme.

Then guests sat down to dinner at one long feasting table lit with candles and lanterns peppered throughout the flowers.

“Because we had one long dinner table and such a small guest list of 30, seat escort cards were not really necessary. But we still wanted a special way for guests to find their seats and to keep with the theme of making sure they knew we had thought about each and every one of them. I used copper wire and shaped it into each of our guest’s name and it also was a personalized take away.”

After dinner, speeches, dancing, cake and even a beach bonfire was on the agenda before the last guest said good night.

But not before the final parting gift was given.  The favors were also an homage to their favorite things back home.  “Our guest favor was a piece of uncut amethyst crystal.  As a glimpse into our lives for our guests, we thought it was be a great idea to give them a handpicked piece to take home as an ‘I love you’ from us.”

Congratulations to the newlyweds!

Destination Wedding Photographers: The MINNERICKS Photographers

Wedding Vendors: Location: Villa Encanto in Bucerias, Mexico, Event Design & Custom Invitations: M.RED Events, Event Coordination: Mar Weddings, Caterer: Turquoise Catering with Chef Badir Hazael, Wedding Dresses: Micaela – Ann Taylor, JaChel – Distinct Elegance Bridal