annesreid

Summary We chose to elope to Mexico, just the two of us, to have a spiritual ceremony on the beach. This allowed us to have a beautiful and absolutely stress free ceremony where we had nothing to consider but each other. We returned home with wedding photos and a slide show and then had a legal ceremony in our backyard with family. After exchanging vows we had a champagne toast and watched the Mexico slide show then moved right into a cocktail wedding reception for the rest of the evening. It was perfect in that we celebrated more than just once and the way we did it really met everyone’s needs If I had only one word to describe our destination wedding in Playa del Carmen it would be “Magicalâ€. Wedding Coordinator Daniela Ottaviano (www.iWeddingMexico.com) was my wedding coordinator and I highly recommend her. We communicated mainly through email (my first choice of communication) but did utilize Skype a couple of times. Daniela and her team were always professional and friendly. I enjoyed everyone so much. Photographer Blue Lens Caribe (http://www.bluelenscaribe.com/) is who we used and our photographer was Niccolo Sgorbini. I highly recommend him as well. His quality of work was everything I could hope for and the professionalism and customer service was the best. Accommodations We have been to Playa multiple times and chose to rent a condo at Mamita’s Village using (www.VRBO.com) This is our favorite location as we are in walking distance of both 5th Avenue and the beach. Mamita’s Village is next to a natural bird habitat so the room we had was perfect as we could sit on the patio and watch and listen to the birds. It is my understanding in the right season you can see parrots. Beach Ceremony We requested Daniela find us a beach location close to where we were staying so we could walk home that evening when we were ready to call it a night. Walking under the stars at night along the ocean was a beautiful way to wrap up the day. Daniela made arrangements for us to marry near El Taj and that was followed by a private and romantic 5-course meal catered by Indigo (delicious!). This same area is where we had the majority of our wedding photos taken and there is a beautiful pier at this location which is where some of our favorite shots were captured. Additional Information Daniela arranged for massages in our room prior to the ceremony which resulted in being one of the best decisions ever. I was really overwhelmed with emotion the day of our ceremony so the massage was perfect for helping me to calm down and relax. She also decorated our condo with rose petals, scented oils, candles so when we returned home from the ceremony it still felt special. I requested a specific Birds of Paradise bouquet with a seahorse charm and provided a photo of what I wanted. I received exactly what I had hoped for and was thrilled as this was something that was very important to me. Daniela arranged transportation to the venue (clean and reliable), the gazebo was beautiful and decorated exactly as we had discussed via email. We were pleasantly surprised by the wedding cake. We had anticipated something simple as it was just the two of us but we actually received a beautiful two tiered decorated wedding cake. And like the meal it was delicious. Trust me, the producers of The Bachelor couldn’t have pulled it off any better. We were missing a rose but only because I requested birds of paradise!