Pilly and Mat said “I do” to a destination wedding in Riviera Maya at the Grand Velas Riviera Maya Resort. The couple opted for a beautiful blush pink and gold palette to reflect perfectly against the white sands and blue waters on the coast of Mexico. Pilly gave us a peek into their big day and the plans that led up to all of these magical moments.
Since we live in Florida, we decided to choose Mexico because it’s close, but far enough away. We researched some resorts we liked in Mexico & narrowed it down to two resorts that we liked. One of them being located in Playa del Carmen Mexico, which was Grand Velas Riviera Maya. We actually decided to vacation at Grand Velas Riviera Maya a year before our wedding & then went to scout another resort in the area. We loved Grand Velas Riviera Maya so much while vacationing there, we knew it would be the perfect place for our wedding. Grand Velas Riviera Maya is a foodie resort & we’re both foodies so great food & drinks are very important to us.
Favorite moments from the day? There are too many to choose! Reading each other’s letters, the first look, the ceremony, the first dance or just the whole day actually. We can honestly say the day was perfect & felt so magical. Honestly, we were both able to relax & enjoy the entire day as a whole pretty much stress free. It has been the best day of our lives thus far & we were lucky enough to share it with our closest friends & family.
For our wedding favors, we decided to go with maracas to tie in with Mexico & we thought they would be really fun & useful for guests during the reception. We wanted to personalize the maracas so they were all hand painted by some of the girls in our wedding colors & traveled with us all the way from Florida to Mexico as guest favors.
Advice for other destination wedding couples? Once we arrived to the resort, we enjoyed every single moment & was completely stress free for the wedding. Make sure to be very organized & plan things way in advance. We sent lots emails with pictures of what we wanted & how we envisioned everything to look. We were very specific about what we wanted. Keep track of all emails & communication with the resort, wedding planner & vendors. Mail save the dates & invitations out early since it’s a destination wedding, you need to give people enough time to plan. Be on top of everything & don’t wait last minute for final details. Do all the hard work & planning back home through email that way you only have to show up. Most importantly, enjoy your day stress free. :)
We stayed at the resort for a few days after our wedding, but we have yet to go on a “real” honeymoon. We are planning to honeymoon in Paris eventually.
Congratulations to the newlyweds!
Destination Wedding Photographer: Kristen Weaver Photography
Wedding Vendors: Makeup Artist: Backstage Hair & Makeup Professionals, DJ: Cel Trev, Veil: Erin Cole Couture Bridal, Location: Grand Velas Riviera Maya Resort, Dress Designer: Monique Lhuillier, Dress Store: Solutions Bridal Designer House, Invitation Designer: Wedding Paper Divas, Bridal Shoes: Christian Louboutin, Bridesmaid Gowns: Adrianna Pappell & Wtoo, Hairstylists: Nicole Beth, Studio 108 Jacksonville, Makeup Artist: Alejandra Gracia, Backstage H&M, Menswear: J.Crew & Express
