MKJH Riviera Maya | Fiesta in the Palapa | Lots of pictures! : )

[MJKH]

Our wedding package included a Mariachi Trio for 45 minutes...they really got the party started! They arrived just as we were coming back from photos...so they played us back to the beach. AWESOME!!!

 

 

 

 

[MJKH]

Our reception was held in the very romantic beach palapa space at the GSRM:

 

 

 

Our table favours were small boxes of Guylian seashell chocolates purchased at London Drugs on sale for just over $2 each. We created placecards (Vistaprint business cards with a "glossy" finish and a solid pink colour on the reverse side...worth the extra money!) which our WP attached and arranged using our seating chart.

 

 

 

 

The centerpiece vases were actually large hand-blown/cut glasses on clearance at Pier 1. We brought four back with us as a momento and will certainly enjoy a cold beverage or two from them in the summertime!

 

[MJKH]

Our personalized papel picado and bride and groom calacas for the cake (my groom's ONE request) were handcrafted in Mexico and purchased online from this company:

 

http://www.mexicansugarskull.com/

 

 

 

 

 

[MJKH]

The pinata I purchased in Playa Del Carmen at this party store and the resort's WP filled it with candy we purchased in PDC at Wal-Mart. I would have LOVED a wedding cake shaped pinata, but sadly there were none to be had!

 

http://intheroo.com/view/chiquifiesta

 

 

 

[MJKH]

Using leftover oot bag supplies and free samples I had been collecting, I created toiletry baskets for the washrooms at the palapa. Our guests were out at the ceremony/reception site from 1:30 pm until 11 pm, so the items hopefully came in handy for a few folks. We included scissors in each basket for those guests who wanted to remove the resort wrist bands.

 

 

We wanted very much for the kids to feel special (and stay occupied!) during the rehearsal dinner and the wedding reception dinner. We purchased these very inexpensive but fun kits from Michaels and Dollarama and included them in little gift bags for the kids.

 

 

 

As part of her "thank you" gift, I purchased a very inexpensive terry towel cover-up for my niece at Target, and had a local woman embroider it:

 

 

 

[MJKH]

Pashminas were rolled and tags attached (Vistaprint glossy business cards with a solid colour back cut in half). 

 

[MJKH]

PHOTOGRAPHY

 

I found out about and fell in love with Elizabeth Medina's work here on BDW. She lives in Merida, Mexico (is originally from the U.S.) and travelled to the GSRM to shoot our wedding. We will always be grateful to Elizabeth and Lindsey for giving us such wonderful photographs and memories of our wedding day.

 

http://elizabethmedina.com/

 

 

 

 

 

[MJKH]

As I mentioned earlier, we opted to distribute our wedding week survival bags (aka "oot bags") at our open house a couple of months before we all departed for Mexico. I would have loved to take them down with us...but we had TOO MUCH luggage as it was and hopefully this saved our guests from having to run around and pick up a lot of the items themselves. As a compromise, the day we arrived at the resort, we distributed snack packs, travel candles and wooden matches in cellophane bags tied with ribbon, wedding week information pamphlets and stretchy wrist bands with waterproof room key/money holders (it was a good thing we had extra because the kids all wanted one too). I noticed the key card holders were used A LOT by our guests!

 

 

 

The (business) card inserts were from Vistaprint:

 

[MJKH]

So, that's the story of our wedding in paradise. Did everything go as planned? Ummm...not exactly...but pretty darn close. And we had the time of our lives...I married my best friend and true love...(insert big happy sigh here!!!). 

 

Best of luck to you all and may your destination wedding dreams become a reality! : )

 

J & T

 

 

 

 

~The End~

[cruisebride13]

my favorite planning journal thus far what an amazing wedding you had, congratulations!