Stephanie and Joe had a destination wedding in Mexico. I really liked the colorful arch out of paper flowers they installed in the backyard of the house the where staying at, but most of all, I love how much fun these two are—and I have to say I hadn’t seen that much pictures of a bride with a beer in her hand since my own wedding… oops! They didn’t spend months thinking about every little detail of their day; actually, they went to a local bakery and a flower shop three days before their wedding… The bakery made a fake cake which had its little effect during the party! They also had the wonderful idea to hire some great photographers to capture this super special day of their life, Erin and Ben for the Chrisman Studios.

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The wedding took place in a small and quiet town in Mexico, La Manzanilla on April 13, 2013. Dear friends of the couple offered their house “Casa Golondrinas“, where the ceremony was held out in the open air as the sun was setting. A eight piece band of mariachis was playing as the guests arrived. From the bride:

We met in a way that neither of us would have thought possible….  We met online thanks to one of my clients who was not comfortable with me being single and created an online page for me. Joe was new to San Francisco after living in Australia for three years and one of his Aussie mates made him pay a month of match.com as a way to meet girls, and or perhaps be able to meet new people. I was not interested at all in dating, I was happy single but my client said “Stephanie, I invested in this, its been two months and you haven’t done anything…” wow, what could I do? I started going into the site, did meet a nice french guy with whom no romance happened but became a good friend (in fact he was invited to the wedding, couldn’t come) and then I saw Joe and the rest is a happily ever after…  

We can’t really explain why Mexico other than we have friends with a lovely house there that we had never seen or been to. But it sounded perfect. Why? Joe’s parents had never left the USA it was a way to have them experience something that might have seemed really scary to them and to show that the world is full of wonders.  My parents have a different story, very much world travelers their entire life… The point I am trying to make is that Mexico was perfect because it would give my dad a push to travel again as I hate my dad’s getting old. Joe and I loved getting married there it was really nice not only for us but for all the guest as everyone was forced into a vacation. If I could recommend to all brides and grooms I would most certainly advise a destination wedding, it is so special and a huge memory for everyone involved.

Name one thing you regret…

I think there were things that were a bit funny.  The flowers were a bit off from what we wanted. They arrived late, so as far as we knew there were no flower… it was a delight to see them as we arrived to the restaurant we rented on the beach.  Joe and I really wanted an intimate wedding but in the end we think we would have loved it more if it were a bit larger – we had fifty guests. As I write this I can also say that with fifty guest it was really nice to have time to hug and talk to everyone who came.

… And one thing you’re really happy about/ proud of.

My mom and I made paper flowers for months, a few every time I went to visit her. I think it was the best decoration of all, each flower we opened in Mexico was a reminder of many ideas and anticipation of the actual wedding.  Just about everyone in the family both mine and Joe’s had a chance to open a flower as well as my two best friends (my childhood friends) had their hands on them.  My two best friends Moema and Bia helped to decorate the “Casa Golondrina” with these colorful and vibrant paper flowers.

ONE very important detail I left is the Chrisman’s!!!  Our wedding day was so special with Ben and Erin not just the day but the entire weekend. They are not only professional but kind, warm, and not some awful photographer who is rude and intrusive – I find it awful when I go to weddings and at every moment they are interrupting a momen).  beside a destination wedding I would say put the most MONEY/TIME in the photographers, they will capture moments that are truly priceless. That is an advice I have told everyone I know who is getting married. Actually my advise is always gotta have the Chrisman’s.