Mishka Designs

Also, I have a new addition to the "favs": Archie's Wok ... it's now my "go to" place when I want a special occasion dinner. It's a small Asian/Fusion restaurant located in Ollas Altas - they have a facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/archieswok. Just yum yum yum! I'm going to do a little food blog this summer (since I'll have a bit of time on my hands and will do pictures and directions, etc. to my favorite places to chow down .

Thanks guys . @FabiLara - blue and red ROCKS - it's one of my favorite combinations! But will admit to having a soft spot for the colors in this one - just very tropical and "beachy" yet modern .

I'm so sorry! I'm so use to nobody posting on my threads that I hardly check these . I'm not super familiar with Nuevo Vallarta - we only go to the Plaza there to hang-out in the children's play area from time to time. I know a couple of restaurants have opened-up out there that look nice but I honestly don't know what they are called! Anyway, I know I'm not much help but didn't want you to think I was ignoring you :).

I always post when we have first rain so that those of you who have weddings in June or who are looking for wedding dates for next year, have something to compare it to as to when the rain will start. The good news - it will cool things down. The potential bad news - if it stays true to norm we will have rain from here until mid-October every day. We'll just have to see!

Huge congratulations go to Lorena & Brad who tied the knot this past May 6, 2012 in Soliman Bay at Las Ranitas Hotel! I had so much fun working with Lorena on her design - we did a full design first and then made recommendations as to what she could do on her own and what we could send to her to complete her look - I cannot wait to see the final pictures! I can't believe we were just down the road at Taryn & Matt's wedding in the very same bay! DESIGN BOARD Old Mexico meets Spanish Morrocco - what could be more vibrant and romantic than that combination?! INVITATIONS I would be super remiss if I didn't point out that LizzyBLoves did Lorena's invites and she did a FANTASTIC job. Definitely worth going over there and taking a look. In case you are lazy, I've included the picture of her invites down below . I absolutely adore Lizzy and highly recommend her work . DESIGN-IN-A-BOX So, here's what Lorena selected: maracas, novia/novio signs, papel picado "place cards" to be put on the back of the chairs, paper flowers (they were for the backs of the chairs - I hope they came out okay!); punched hole tin baskets (for the cocktail); escort card tiles with guest name and table number written on back; and talavera table numbers to be propped up against Morrocan lanterns that Lorena was bringing from the States. You may notice that the table numbers match Lorena's invites - I found someone to paint them to match and was so excited! MARACAS Novia/Novio Signs Talavera Escort "Cards" Talavera Table Numbers Paper Flowers and Punched Tin Basket Papel Picado Placecard Banners The Whole Enchilada! Definitely a fun project, a beautiful bride and I couldn't be happier with the end result. Up next, Taryn & Matt's wedding blog - strangely enough on the same day, also in Soliman Bay - I can't make these things up!

Coordinator: Maria Tripaldi Staff Photographer: Sokos Villa: Villa Yardena, Soliman Bay, Riviera Maya Villa We Stayed At: Sol de La Playa Villa Agents: Vacation Playa Airline: Interjet You know how you have this defining moments in your life when something happens and you're like "wa-la"?! Well, thanks to Taryn & Matt, their wedding design and creation was PRECISELY that to me and my crew as we trekked out to Cancun to make Taryn & Matt's dream wedding a reality! I learned SOOO much on this trip (Soliman Bay is WINDIER than Chicago, oh yes it is!) and had a fantastic time designing something thousands of miles away only to see it become a reality months later. I will never, ever, forget this experience and it's all thanks to these two beautiful people! Before I get yakkety yakking I wanted to thank Maria Tripaldi for all her hard work and help on our trip - she made things a lot easier for us and allowed us to simply walk in and get started right away, as though we had been there forever and have been doing this for a gazillion years, instead of our first time . Also Villa Yardena was amazing to work with - their staff was super helpful and caring and the villa itself was beautiful! I highly recommend! Taryn actually first came to me to have me design some maracas for her - a couple of emails in, when she casually mentioned that she had considered changing locations just so we could design her wedding I said, "Well, we could go to YOU, if you would like" and there you have it! On our way! Taryn's description of what she wanted was "Fun, Fun, Fun" and "Sparkling lights and fairytale like." She also wanted bright, vibrant colors ... so her design board was born.... THE CEREMONY Taryn had seen a very simple set-up we had done back a while ago for Britt & Aaron and she wanted something similar. After seeing photos of the beach at Villa Yardena and how the water and the beach just stretched out, well, FOREVER I agreed with Taryn that the best back drop for the ceremony was the most simple one. (signs painted by Israel - awesome!) I fall in love with every wedding we do, but will readily admit to having a huge crush on this bouquet! Orange and yellow ranunculus paired with orange and yellow oncidium orchids and a touch of yellow and orange calla lillies just shouts "romantic beach". Each of the bridesmaids carried one color and one kind of bouquet - yellow or orange calla lillies and orange or yellow ranunculus. We matched the maracas to the invites (great job Omar!) and then Taryn surprised me with some ceremony programs which combined exactly with everything! We worked a bit on parasols for everyone, getting the color tones just right - in the end nobody used them except for pictures but they looked amazing both laid out and I can't wait to see the photographer's pictures with the bridal party. We were going to have a rose petal aisle with circus roses but the wind was sooo strong in Soliman Bay that, had we laid down the petal aisle, it would have blown away long before Taryn ever got to see it - so Maria went in front of the bride and laid out the petals as she walked down the aisle . THE COCKTAIL I knew I wanted bright, vibrant colors on the upper deck and white bowls but the idea of putting rich, yummy chocolate into them came to me later. We put the escort cards on ribbon with bead collar necklaces for each guest to take as a memento. Bright colorful pillows were laid out on the built-in sofas - I didn't get to try any of the food because I was busy busy but it looked good . THE RECEPTION When I first saw all the palm trees at the villa I knew we just had to have the tables interspersed in-between. I wanted to have turquoise blue chiffon fabric with white vases on top and colorful orange, yellow calla lillies, freesia and ranunculus inside. I'm very happy that Maria warned us about the wind, so we found some frosted glass candles and filled them with battery tea lights and they looked marvelous! Mirrors were painted with white numbers and a bit of floral decor served as table markers. I found this picture of napkins and wanted some just like it but thought my chances were slim - until I found some fabric and Gaby made some napkin magic! Woohoo! We matched the place cards to the napkins and the table was complete! I had wanted a different kind of chair but Maria searched high and low and couldn't find it but these white washed tiffany chairs were perfect and I was sooo happy with them! LITTLE DETAILS White floating lanterns with floral cut-outs and turquoise blue, orange and yellow chiffon inside floated in the pool (combination effort!). We built a little cupcake tower (rock on yazmine!) and used one of the lines from Taryn & Matt's first dance, Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol, reflected in the middle level (all that I am, all that I ever was, is here in your perfect eyes). I stumbled upon a fantastic artist who created talavera shot glasses just for Taryn & Matt- unique, one of a kind, never to be found again - which also matched the napkins - heart smoosh and swooshing going on! We had colored light bulbs in turquoise blue, orange and yellow hanging above the dinner tables and Chinese lanterns in various shades of turquoise blue, orange and yellow over the dance floor - which turned on just as they started their first dance (see "fairytale like" up above . I absolutely HEART HEART the photobooth with the colorful orange fabric, the vintage looking frames and the glasses, eyes and mustache props ALONG with chalkboard frames for writing - which honestly didn't get used much (you can never tell with a crowd what will get them going but I am sure a future bride will want it too - just too fun! I loved working on this wedding and with Taryn and would do it again in a heart beat! Of course, all work and no play wouldn't do ANYONE a bit of good so the day after the wedding, my family (aka "the rest of the work force" and I went to Cozumel, rented a bug and spent some time in the beautiful water! Can't say enough good things about Cozumel and look forward to going back . Side Note: We stayed at Sol de la Playa in Playa del Car and I cannot rave ENOUGH about our stay there - fantastic! If you need a villa to stay in, in that area, we hands down recommend this villa. And the awesome, wonderful people who helped us with our stay was all the folks at Vacation Playa - they helped us to get a great deal, as well as with various questions and issues we had before arriving - since we had never been there before, I had a lot of questions . The ONLY thing I would have changed about this portion of our trip, is I would have ordered groceries and had them delivered - by the time we got off the plane, rented the rental cars and got to Playa del Car it was close to midnight and too late to go grocery shopping or cook anything nutritional. I also give Interjet 5 HEARTS for super comfortable airline seats and amazing service - beats any other airline I've been on in the last EIGHT years HANDS DOWN without blinking! Next up ... Lili & Kieran's romantic Chacala wedding and oodles of maraca shout-outs and congratulations!

Crystal, Hello . I'm afraid I don't know any caterers who would be willing to do a dinner for $42.00 usd a head (actually buffet is more expensive than sit-down as more food is involved . You might try a place called "Karen's Place" in Bucerias - it's a little restaurant on the beach - I don't know what her pricing is, but a restaurant might be more willing to work with you on a limited budget. If you can raise your budget somewhat, you might also try DeSantos - again you would need to have the wedding at the restaurant in order to keep the costs low, but it's a beautiful space. I doubt you could get something for $42.00 usd a person but they might go for something a big higher - it would just be a matter of writing to them and see . I didn't know there was a Ztai in Bucerias - the only one I know of is in downtown Vallarta. If they have a place in Bucerias then I say go for it - their food (in the downtown location) is pretty good .

Wow. Where do I begin? When you work with a bride and groom for over a year planning their wedding, it's always hard to say "farewell" and to close a chapter of your life that was so important! We were truly honored to be a part of their big day and I will miss Tracy's great ideas and input and CJ's quiet and positive "you go girls" from the sidelines. This event would not have been possible without the help of these amazing vendors... Place: Don Pedro's Palapa Caterer: Don Pedro's Restaurant, Sayulita Co-Coordination & Transportation Experts Extraordinaire: Kerry & Enrique from Sayulita Wave Bride Photographer: The amazing Cody Raisig DJ: Reuben, from Sayulita Flamenco Guitarist: Latcho & Andrea Cigar Roller: Lourdes Ponce Band: The Traveling Band (truly awesome, btw!) Staff Photographer: Soko the Great Cake: Memo of Charme INSPIRATION BOARD Tracy sent me a design inspiration document and she had key words listed. Some of those were: Backyard BBQ, Clean and Simple, Vintage, Chic, Mexican stitched, Nature and Eco-Friendly. I was like, "Okay, I can do that" . THE CEREMONY The only real direction Tracy gave me for the ceremony was that she wanted the round chuppah we had used once before for Rose's wedding and some bamboo chairs. I knew we wanted to really keep this simple and focus more on the natural beauty of the surroundings and I found this awesome "artichoke" ceremony aisle when I was out and scouting for ideas and fell in love with it . Tracy & CJ's family came out a bit before the ceremony and made a huge heart in the sand and filled it with bougainvillea and I loved that they got involved:). One of my favorite touches was the antique looking lemonade stand ... and the red maracas with Tracy & CJ's logo (Omar created!) ... and I loved the red bridesmaid dresses which I had nothing to do with but didn't they look awesome? And, oh yes, I also loved the groom's outfit and the groomsmen ... the bottom line is - CJ and Tracy have excellent taste on their own which only complimented everything we did . THE COCKTAIL After the ceremony on the beach, everyone got into golf carts and taxis and headed up to Don Pedro's Palapa which overlooks Sayulita and the little bay. We had lounge furniture and cocktail tables decorated with reds and oranges and blues and some spots of black and white and yellow. We set-up one of my favorite pieces we've ever done, the gazebo swing for people to take pictures on and swing on together over-looking the amazing view and sunset. Cucumber mojitos and fresh squeezed lemonade was waiting the guests upon their arrival. THE RECEPTION As everyone entered the palapa, we hung glass paned panels along the sides with people's names and table markers - it's one of my favorite "escort card" ideas ever and Yazmine has an amazing hand to paint them out by name! Tracy had requested vintage, clear bottles with just single stems of daisies - we did a combination of daisies and matsumotos with sand and candles. Since CJ loves sailing, we decided to put a "nod" in there with the sailing boat table markers (Omar made these and I LOVE them!). Gaby sewed-up some beautiful vintage looking, eclectic napkins and I found these amazing little cork bottles which I filled with flavored tequila and we used those as place cards. The kids got "virgin lemonade" . THE DANCE FLOOR & Pinata Tracy loved the Chinese star lanterns so we used those but added-in a bit more red and orange to the mix. She also requested the biggest pinata EVER and that's exactly what we did - unfortunately I don't have a great picture of it but it was MASSIVE ... and I've never seen a group have so much fun breaking it as this group did at the end of the evening. CHURROS & Dessert Bar After cocktails, we took down the swing and put up a sign and, wa-la, the gazebo swing became our late night Churros and Dessert Bar. Yummy cake pops and chocolate covered strawberries were served, and we also served Cafe de Olla with this late night treat. CIGAR ROLLER Lonce graced us with her presence and rolled some mean Cuban/Mexican cigars! Cigar roller sign and mason jars filled with lights decorated this little scene . THE PHOTOBOOTH aka "Photo Boto" When I first saw this photo when looking for a unique photobooth I was super excited and I wrote Kerry and said, "Hey, do you think anyone has an old wooden boat they don't use that we can have?" Kerry laughed - seriously? Okay, that's alright, we'll BUILD ONE. My crew is quite use to my unusual requests and no longer bats an eyelid - although I do think I saw a bit of "you want me to build WHAT?" at the design meeting. But, hey, guys it doesn't have to FLOAT. haha! I think Antonio did an amazing job and I absolutely LOVED watching the guests pop in and out of the boat all night long with the various hats and props we had provided for the fun. THE TRAVELING BAND We're a pretty small town and all of us use pretty much the same vendors so I was surprised when Tracy said she had heard about this band and could I please track them down? I was a bit nervous, to be honest, that they would perform and do a great job when I had never heard of them before - but they were honestly AMAZING and blew me and everyone away. We recommend them hands down for a wedding with a beach/rock vibe to it. At the end of the evening, CJ & Tracy's friends performed a group fire performance - I'd never seen anything like it - it was amazing and scary (please don't set the groom on fire! but absolutely entertaining and something nobody at the wedding will ever forget! A job really well done! So sad to have to close this wedding out and wish our newlyweds "farewell" and "may your life be full of beauty and love" but, alas, that's how these things work! Next up, some more maraca shout-outs and coming-up our trip to Cancun to decorate Taryn & Matt's wedding - we are so excited about it and things are coming together so well -I can't believe it's nearly here!

Kristi - we're doing a yellow/blue/orange color scheme for a wedding in Cancun in May ... this is her design board to give you a feel ..... I'm loving how it's turning out .

A whole slew of shout-outs to make and no time better than now, before things speed up even more as we race towards an incredibly busy May! Huge Congratulations to: Brett & Rachelle who tied the knot at Dreams Riviera Cancun this past March 15, 2012! (based on Jenn) Brianna & Robert who said their "i dos" at the Grand Sunset Palace this past March 16, 2012! (based on Palm Trees) Clayton & Whitney who said "absolutely" this past March 16 at the Azul Sensatori Puerto Morelos! (based on Jenn) Alexis & Todd who tied the knot right here in Vallarta in Las Caletas this past March 17, 2012! I also think Alexis takes the creativity award this month for their cute leprechaun hat maraca designs! (custom design) Carlos & Ashley who said "absolutely" this March 22, 2012 somewhere here in Vallarta! (based on White Flowers) Rob & Dana who tied the knot somewhere in Vallarta this March 24th, 2012! (based on Jenn) Kevin & Shannon who said their "i dos" this March 26, 2012 at the Hotel RIU Palace in Cabos! (based on White Flowers) Next up ... Tracy & CJ's Amazing FIESTA (and it WAS a fiesta!) this past March 29th in Sayulita!

We have some congratulations in order for the following brides, so without further ado... Kristen was our WINWIN winner this year and, while her wedding is yet to come, her maracas have been ordered, painted and delivered! Hurray! (based on Kate) Alex & Farnaz said their "i dos" this March 3rd at the Dreams Riviera Cancun. I love the way this color combination turned out! Great job Israel! (based on Jaime) Jenna & Ali tied the knot this March 9th in Cancun. We customized this slightly from Jenna's invites and I like the color combination and the design so a cheer to our artist, Antonio as well . (custom design) Les & Rheanna said "yes" in our very own backyard right here in Vallarta also March 9th. Rheanna also chose some of our wooden fans and I think Omar did a fantastic job! (design based on Jenn) Jay & Ashley said "yes, absolutely" this March 10th at the beautiful Dreams Riviera. I heart the bright colors. (based on Laura) Mandi & Michael who also tied the knot this March 10th in Tulum. They chose the maracas we had done for Chris & Jessica's wedding and I'm so glad they did - one of my favorite designs ever . (based on Chris & Jessica) Coming-up - more congratulations to maraca/favor brides and, after a year of planning, Tracy & CJ will be saying their "i dos" end of the month - I am so excited as their wedding is coming together in such a fun way!

Well, it's that time of year again ... when the days start flying by so fast and "i dos" get exchanged faster than one can blink, love in the air, and and and ... until July! So, without further ado, huge big Congratulations in order for: Well, actually, I don't know the name of the bride but Monica's friend's wedding hasn't actually happened yet, but she did order some example maracas so she could take a look and see which she would rather select for her wedding this upcoming November. I thought Yazmine did a fab job, so wanted to go ahead and present them ... wa-la! (based on Kate, Lacy Romance & Amanda) April & Joshua who said "i do" this February 11th in the Riviera Maya. (based on Jenn) Melissa who wed her groom this February 15th at the Royal Decameron right here in Nuevo Vallarta. I heart heart this custom design, created by Israel - great job! (custom design) Sara who tied the knot with her groom this February 18th at the Azul Beach Hotel in Cancun. (based on Amy Youngblood) Missy & Tom who said "absolutely!" this February 20th in Tulum! (based on Liz) Katherine & Cedar who tied the knot this February 25th at the Marriott in Cancun. I heart this color combination as well - turned out really pretty. (based on Heidi) Moira & Fernando who said their "i dos" in Four Seasons, Mexico City also this February 25th. (based on Kate) Then we made a few vintage signs for PLUSH catering for a wedding they had last weekend. I think they turned out pretty well . Coming-up ... more maraca orders and Tracy & CJ's wedding in Sayulita!! Woohoo!!

Holy Cowzers! I knew I was a bit behind but had no idea until I took a look at my shout-outs! I'm so sorry my sweet brides but better late than never ... HUGE congratulations are in order for: Ivana & Neal who tied the knot right here in Vallarta under the coordination of the beautiful Priscilla from Prisar on November 23rd. (based on maracas from Jenn & Kent) Bailey & Liam who said their "i dos" also right here in Vallarta this past November 25th. (based on White Flowers) Melanie & Richard who said "yes" at Dreams Riviera Cancun this past December 1st. (based on Jenn) Melissa & her groom who tied the knot at the Marival in Nuevo Vallarta this past December 2nd. (based on Palm Trees) Pam & Brandon who also tied the knot at the Azul Sensatori Hotel in Riviera Maya on December 3rd. (based on Palm Trees) Kevin & Jessica who said their "i dos" at the Bahia Principe Azul this December 8th. I really heart the two-tone color combinations. (based on Heidi) Kristen and her love who said their "i dos" at the Dreams Huatulco this December 9th. Unbeknownst to Kristen we included a hand-painted fan because I've never had anyone do such an amazing job of ordering as she did . I heart how the fan turned out too . (based on Heidi) Jade & Paul who said "yes, absolutely!" right here in Las Caletas this December 10th. (based on Heidi) Lauren and her groom who tied the knot at the Maroma Resort Riviera Maya this December 10th. (based on Amanda) Sing & Kevin who said "i do" at Hotel El Pez in Tulum ALSO on December 10th . (based on Amanda) Emerald and her groom who tied the knot in Cancun this December 17th. I heart heart the "shake me tags" which Gabi did! (based on Lacy Romance) Dave & Vanessa who said "yes, we do" at our very own Playa Fiesta this December 20th. (based on Talavera) Erica & Michael who tied the knot right here in Vallarta this December 28th. (based on Liz) Dustin & Tiffany who said "i do" at Dreams Cancun this January 12th. (based on Melanie) Patty & Jim who said "absolutely!" at Hilton Los Cabos this January 14th. (custom design) Kathleen & Sherwin who tied the knot at our very own Las Caletas this January 14th. (based on Jenn) And last but not least Trista & Stephen who said "we will" in Dreams Tulum this January 17th! (custom design) WHEW! Was that ever a mouthful?! Coming-up more shout-outs (I know, I know!) as many of you are tying the knot end of January and we are working on some really pretty new custom orders as I type .

I love this wedding design so much and the couple involved that it's hard for me to post and say "adios" to the whole experience . Jessica was big into fashion and that whole world so patterns and visualization was a very big deal to her and she taught me A LOT with her own wedding dress selections (she had 2!), her daughter's flower girl dress (so super cute), the varied patterns and designs for her bridesmaid dresses and the amazing decorative ties the groomsmen and groom carried off. It's not often I have a bride who says "let your creative self go - I'm all for it" - much like letting an artist into a studio and giving them thousands of colors to choose from in order to create their picture. I knew we would hit it off when Jessica sent me their invites - a replica of Frida & Diego Riviera's wedding photograph! And, of course, to top it off, Chris & Jessica are completely heart people - when I first met Chris, the day before the wedding, the first thing he did was give me a huge hug and tell me how happy he was to meet me. Sweet! And Jessica is just light and warmth incarnate. Place: Hacienda Camino del Mar Caterer: Andres of ByB Bride Photographer: Vallarta's very own Elizabeth Lloyd aka photographer rockstar DJ: Hombres del Negro Staff Photographer: Soko the Great Minister: Tamara Bradley de Morales of Chic Concepts Cake: Memo of Charme INSPIRATION BOARD We needed something vintage, something colorful, something artistic and artesanal, a nod to Frida Kahlo but not about Frida Kahlo ... and this is the end result design board... THE CEREMONY Jessica had really loved a scene in the movie Frida where Frida and her friends are having a dinner party - once we established that this was going to be the feeling we wanted for the wedding, I realized that I wanted to have pops of color for the ceremony but utilize a variety of chairs and chair colors - to continue the feeling that you just brought down the chairs from your house to have the ceremony. I love this chuppah - painted a bright turquoise blue with beautiful handmade papel picado - Omar did an amazing job of incorporating some of the elements popular in Frida's paintings as well as popular Mexican folk art. I asked my sister-in-law, Yazmine, to paint the stained glass circular centerpiece and blew me away how close it came to the original idea. I had ordered some special wedding bubbles from Etsy but they didn't arrive in time so the team swung into action and my other sister-in-law, Gaby (I did mention, right, that the business is a family affair created these awesome cloth covered bubbles with cute heart tags. Antonio worked hard on the milagro heart wooden fans and we had a picture perfect ceremony set-up. Jessica had sent me this amazing photograph of a big red floral bouquet and I knew I wanted that deep rich, red color but a bit more wild floral look to it. I found the heart charm on her bouquet on a trip to Tonala in Guadalajara. I don't think we have a picture of the matching heart we also placed on Chris' bout. Jessica had told me that she didn't care if the bridesmaids held flowers or not or if they just had flowers in their hair and I thought having them carry signs, representative of the signage we had through-out the wedding, would be perfect. When they lead Jessica to the ceremony the signs read "Here Comes the Bride" and when they left, they flipped their signs around to read "Happily Ever After." Ruby looked beautiful in her flower girl dress - Jessica had mentioned wanting a butterfly bouquet for her and I found these amazing beaded butterflies and we created some butterflies made out of loteria paper - Omar did an amazing job and I heart heart the end result. THE COCKTAIL After the ceremony, we led everyone back up to the Hacienda for cocktails up at the main house. Jessica had brought a pretty poster which we laid out for guests to sign. We hung memory boards along the cocktail area and placed pictures which Jessica and her family had brought to share. I do believe it was as much fun for us to see as the guests . We had hand punched metal tins with bright paper flowers for cocktail centerpieces. That was actually a last minute purchase I saw when I was out and about and fell in love with. And, of course, colorful papel picado banners. THE RECEPTION After the cocktail, we led everyone up to the roof top - I've always wanted to do something up there - it's so beautiful - but just never had the right event. We used mismatched tables and couches to create a very intimate dinner scene. Centerpieces were bright talavera pots filled with miniature roses, ranunculus, mums zempazuchil and alstromeria. We had colorful wine bottles topped with colorful candles and spots of talavera tiles laid on the table. Tables were covered with lace table runners. And, of course, mismatched chairs and sofas covered with pillows representing the bride's colors and love for pattern. Dinner was set-up in stations so that people could go and get tacos al pastor or carne asada quesadillas right as they were made. We did have a bride and groom table created especially for Jessica & Chris - I love how colorful it was and how intimate - right in the midst of a big dinner party . We had been talking about a scene from The Princess and the Frog (seeing that we both had 3 year old daughters, well, it makes sense , and we both had loved a scene with bright colored bottles hanging in the trees. I had some beautiful colored bottles made and then asked Yazmine to put her artistic touch on some of them with various patterns and colors. We turned them on just as they started their first dance and the "oohs" were awesome to hear . As the dancing went into full gear, we passed out colorful maracas with a gold painted milagro heart and their names and date on the back. They wanted a cake that looked absolutely edible (even though, in reality, is not real and Memo did a fantastic job - both with the cutting cake and the actual cake which was absolutely delicious! THE PHOTOBOOTH I heart heart this photobooth - it was a lot bigger than I had imagined it to be but that worked out well as people loved to cram into it all night long and take wild and crazy pictures. This wedding was so much fun to design and create and the open heartedness of the couple, along with their guests, was the cherry on top of this yummy ice-cream sundae. Coming-up I have OODLES of shout-outs to maraca brides so more maraca pictures will be here soon, I promise! And don't forget to enter the WINWIN contest to win 20 of our hand-painted maracas - contest drawing is January 15th!

Aww thanks guys - I'm so use to nobody posting on my posts that I forget to check . Happy Holidays!

When Shannon first emailed me she told me she would be one of the easiest brides I ever had. Well, that can always go one of two ways ... either she really WOULD be the easiest bride EVER OR things would be a bit more detailed than that . Turns out, Shannon was by far THE most laid-back, relaxed bride I've ever had and I've had some really relaxed brides! Every time I tried to schedule something Shannon was like "oh, that's okay, we'll just decide when we get there" ;). Of course, part of it could be that Shannon & Craig were renewing their vows after 20+ years of marriage . Place: Casa Guillermo Caterer: Casa Guillermo Minister: Tamara Bradley de Morales Staff Photographer: Soko There were a few things Shannon told me she wanted ... one of which was candles on the beach. I loved that entire idea! She knew she wanted the color plum, but was open to whatever suggestions I might have. This is what I came up with . THE CEREMONY I knew the biggest attention would be going into the ceremony, because they really wanted a simple cocktail arrangement for dinner. We lined lanterns down the walkway to the beach and I had the guys make some papel picado bags, as I wasn't quite sure the lanterns would make an impressive enough walk-way ... which they did! So, we put the papel picado bags around the ceremony area. I wanted the ceremony to look a bit more like you took chairs down from the house and used them as part of the ceremony, so I chose the Versalles, instead of the Chivari. I thought the phrase "From this Day Forward" was really fitting, considering the renewal of vow ceremony - I suppose like a marker ... a continuation . Shannon's bouquet was a mix of roses, lisianthius, calla lily, a bit of delphinium and purple filler. I made the bridesmaids bouquets out of white roses and lisianthius. I'm not entirely sure where the maraca idea came from, but I stumbled across it as I was doing research and I loved the look of it - I think Omar did an incredibly beautiful job with this talavera like flower. COCKTAIL/DINNER After the ceremony, everyone walked back up to the villa and we had a small cocktail party underneath the palapa. We had a couple of cocktail tables draped with plum and light blue fabric with a small, beach-like floral arrangement in the same flowers as the bride's bouquet. We strung some Christmas lights up above, placed some floating lanterns in the pool and, wa-la, ready to relax and party . We did have a small surprise for the bride and groom at the end of the night with a small firedancer show - but I don't have pictures of that - it involved a lot of fire and dancing :). Shannon and her group were sweet, kindness personified and completely chill. We are very honored to have been part of their renewal ceremony. I do have some shout-outs and the photos from Jessica's wedding are burning a hole in my computer and her wedding blog will be coming-up right around Christmas time - nice eye candy to view while you're cuddled around the fire . Don't forget to enter the WINWIN contest and have the opportunity to win 20 of our hand-painted maracas - the drawing is less than a month away!

In the midst of getting caught-up and I have so much to blog! Jenae came to me nearly a year ago to her wedding day ... but it was Trae who made the first contact - he told me later that he was to find the vendor and Jenae's part was to put it all together . There was one thing I knew right away - that, somehow, the college mascot, the Spartan, had to be incorporated somehow - that was the first picture I received of them both - with the college mascot! Place: Terra Noble Spa Caterer: Andres from ByB Bride photographer: Erin Werner DJ: Hombres del Negro Staff Photographer: Fernando Reyes INSPIRATION BOARD Jenae & Trae loved peacocks and peacock colors but didn't want a "peacock themed" wedding ... the other request was not to utilize a large amounts of flowers, as Jenae was not a huge flower person. It took me a bit of thinking to tie-in the feel and colors of a peacock without actually using a lot of peacock imagery ... in the end I heart heart what we ended-up with! THE CEREMONY After reviewing a lot of footage of Terra Noble, Jenae ran across some pictures from another wedding which had utilized a house next door. It's not often up for rent, but since the caterer and the owner were good friends, we managed to secure a rental for the house for both the cocktail and the ceremony. I knew I wanted something simple, yet elegant - the scenery itself was already so beautiful, so I wanted to add to the surroundings with just a touch of romance. I had run across a photo of a chuppah by a lake and fell in love with it and that inspired me to "upgrade" it a bit with some beautiful gold crinkle fabric. We used gold Tiffany chairs and had maracas painted with an artistic version of a "peacock" with Jenae & Trae's first initials. I love the shake me tags - some of my favorite tags of all time . Jenae provided beautiful ceremony programs and the whole ceremony came together in a neat little romantic package . Jenae's bouquet was a combination of large and small mums with a crystal broach accent she brought as well as a beautiful crystal hummingbird which was placed in memory of her grandmother. We also had a ring bearer box for her sweet little nephew! Based off an example the bride showed us on Etsy I thought "we can do a bit better than that" .. I heart heart the box but, um, just realized before posting that I don't have a good picture of it - haha! Trust me - it was awesome . THE COCKTAIL After the ceremony, guests moved over to the Cocktail area. Since there was some movement going-on (especially to the reception) we had oodles of signs to indicate each of the areas - created to look like chalkboards but with a bit more of an elegant touch to them and each with a touch of artistic peacock "feathers." The cocktail itself I decided to drape with shades of blue and top with a gold vase, filled with a peacock feather and a small sprig of dendrobidium orchid. THE RECEPTION With various signs, we led the guests out of the house towards Terra Noble for the reception. I wanted to create the feeling of entering a completely different world - something candle-lit and romantic. We had candles along the lower path, leading guests up the stairs, past the jacuzzi with floating lanterns into the candle-lit reception area where a portrait menu awaited them before entering the reception area. Before entering the pathway, we provided the guests with escort Mexican cookies, with the college logos of both Jenae & Trae designed specifically for them, in the shape of a heart. At the entranceway (in order to block the view of the guests of the caterer) we had created a huge papel picado peacock - one of my favorite touches at the wedding! We decided to utilize square wooden tables and filled the middle section with various shades and sizes of blue, turquoise and green glass, filled with water and floating candles. The tallest glass was painted in an artistic, modern view of "peacock feather" with the number of the table painted on - each table had a uniquely painted vase. Each place setting had a gold napkin with a touch of peacock feather and a place card which carried one of the lines from Jenae & Trae's first dance song. I knew that we needed a "bride/groom" sign for their chairs and love the rustic, yet touch of gold we added to give it a bit of rustic elegance. THE DANCE FLOOR Jenae had told me that one of the things she loved was the Christmas parties her mom held around Christmas time and that she and Trae loved alternative, soft lighting. I found the perfect, white flower twinkle light and we wrapped them all around the palapa to give off a romantic glow, along with hanging glass vases, filled with a bit of water and a floating candle. Pillows were done in the jeweled tones of the wedding, and we hand-painted a few of the pillows with a different artistic rendition of "peacock." MAD LIBS Jenae had found these really cute "mad libs" for guests to fill-out and I lucked upon a vintage-looking "mailbox" on a buying trip in Guadalajara and we used it for guests to put their mad libs in and then gave it to the bride and groom as a surprise gift! FLIP-FLOPS Jenae brought some flip-flops from Old Navy with tags with sizes on them and we put them out near the dance floor - it was truly awesome for the ladies to change into when their feet got tired from dancing in high heels! THE CAKE The bride and groom told me that as long as the cake was white with some blue accent, they would be happy with the cake ... I decided to incorporate some of the lines we had used through-out the wedding on the cake with a few of the jeweled tones added - I heart heart the cake . THE EXTRAS This was a night filled with surprises. First, we had a cigar roller ... who encouraged the groom's dad to roll his own cigar and then keep it as a keepsake - super fun! Then we had Mexican paletas arrive in a traditional Mexican ice-cream cart. Guests could choose from a variety of flavors - my favorite is coffee! Not to be outdone, the churro station arrived so that guests who didn't want something cold, could chew on something nice and hot and sugary sweet! Of course, what evening would be complete without firedancers to light-up the night sky and send everyone home with an amazing show?! There was so much love this month at each of the weddings, and I couldn't have asked for a more incredible couple to start off our wedding season. There isn't anything more fun for a wedding coordinator than to see all the guests enjoying themselves and the love a bride and groom have for each other which spills and splashes with everything they do. True joy... Next up, Shannon & Craig's vow renewal ceremony and wedding reception! And, in case you are new, please don't forget to enter the "winwin" contest and win 20 of our hand-painted maracas.

I'm ready to blog about Jenae & Trae's wedding but need to give some shout-outs first! Huge congratulations to: Taylor & Greg who said their "i dos" in the States before heading down to Vallarta to have their reception dinner celebration. I just did a few centerpieces and some other floral arrangements - unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of their centerpieces which were tall vases filled with ginger and heliconia and big rose floral balls on top, but I do have one picture of the floral balls. A really beautiful, kind-hearted couple - gracious even when I mixed up the dinner dates! Ivana & Neal who said "we do" this November 11th here in Puerto Vallarta under the superb guidance of Priscilla & Hector of Prisar Weddings. Tabitha & Luke who said "yes" this past November 19th in Nuevo Vallarta. I love the color combination of these maracas. Megan & Mark who tied the knot November 25th at the Barcelo in Cabos. And last but not least, Erin & Shane who said their "i dos" this November 26th somewhere in Quintana Roo under the guidance of Leanne Marie Weddings. I really heart heart this design. Next up ... Jenae & Trae's wedding blog! I'm so excited!! And please don't forget to enter the WINWIN contest and win 20 of our hand-painted maracas. Details here!

The month of November has just flown by and I wanted to get some Congratulations out before the month is over before I know it! So, big huge shout-outs to: Chanel and her new husband who tied the knot this November 4th at the beautiful Las Caletas. I've always been a big fan of this color combination - just says "fiesta" to me . (based on Kate) Lee Ann who tied the knot this November 11th right here in Vallarta with Michael & Eva from Vallarta Weddings - Lee Ann seriously sent me the most graphic detailed example of what she wanted that I've ever gotten and I think the end result was mah-ve-lous! (custom design) Beth & Chip who said "we do!"this November 12th in Cabos ... I really heart heart these maracas - the color combination and the design - just really pretty. (custom design) Shannon & Anthony who also tied the knot November 12th at the Hotel Playacar Palace in Cabos. Love red and blue! (based on Kate) Caroline & Jean-Nicholas who said their "i dos" this November 14th Iberostar Grand in Quintana Roo! (based on Lacy Romance) And last but not least Katherine & Mike who said "yes!" this November 16th at our very own Dreams in Puerto Vallarta. (based on Lacy Romance) Coming-up Jenae & Trae's wedding blog! And don't forget to enter the WINWIN Competition and win 20 of our hand-painted maracas in the January drawing! Whootwhoot!

Hello dear brides - wedding season is upon us and I am soooo excited for what's coming-up!! Meanwhile, we have some big shout-outs to make for: Alison and her love who tied the know in Las Caletas this past October 20th. Unfortunately, we don't have a picture of the chuppah itself but it looked EXACTLY like the drawing down below . Nicole and her beau who said "yes" this past October 22nd in Cabo San Lucas. Elizabeth Schoell was her coordinator and a real sweetheart to work with . We have Jenae & Trae's wedding coming-up this Friday and I'm so excited about it I just can't stand it! I've shown the design board on our facebook page but in case you're more of a bride blogger than a bride facebooker, here it is again! Fun! Don't forget to enter the WINWIN contest to win 20 of our hand-painted maracas - FREE - who doesn't like free maracas? ;)

He doesn't answer his email ... to contact him you need to dial (from the states): 011-52-1-322-180-9358

I think Franc is great if it's just you you are worried about . If you want a party of you to go to the salon, then you might be better off at Salon Sebastian which has several stylists on staff to help - as mentioned, Franc is now at Top Salon at Plaza Caracol - it's not very far from downtown - maybe 15-20 minutes from Old Town/Downtown Vallarta. Shannon, one of our brides from last season, had Franc come to her villa and do her up-dos and her bridesmaids and he did a fantastic job - very professional. This shows her hair a bit - but it was just the way she wanted it and I know she was very pleased.

Hello my dear brides! Our season has just begun and, while off to a slow start, we are gathering speed! Huge congratulations are in order for.... Adam & Kristin who said "i do" at Puerto Vallarta's very own Villa Mia this October 15th. Orange and white were the colors of the day and Kristin chose to do two different designs - lovely! (based on paisley and palm trees) Angela & Julio who said their "i dos" at the Now Jade in Cancun. I love the color combination Angela chose as I think it really pops the design off the maraca! (based on Jenn) Jessica and her groom who are saying their "i dos" today - coincidentally also at the Now Jade in Cancun! (based on Laura) Coming-up ... more maraca orders, our first wedding of the season at the beautiful Terra Noble and on and on we go! Don't forget to check out the WINWIN competition which is now underway - win free maracas - who doesn't love that?!

You might also try Bodeguita del Medio - cuban bar with live salsa music every night after 10 p.m. http://www.labodeguitadelmedio.com.mx/

Solymar ... you might try Terra Noble - it's not a villa, but it's a spa with a view of Vallarta - the prices are super affordable. You might also try Martoca - it's located right on the beach and has a beautiful garden. Also Don Pedro's Palapa which is located in Sayulita - palapa overlooking Sayulita - also affordable event rental IF you use their catering services .