• Real Weddings

From festive and bright colors to some very unique table numbers, this Latin American wedding was one heck of a stylish fiesta. From tasty homemade food to fun family traditions - all held in a inviting relaxed atmosphere. We are more than happy to say that the bride shares every last detail about their vibrant day. Read on to hear the whole wedding story and enjoy all the beautiful photos captured by Volatile Photography in the full gallery here.
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From The Bride Diana-As soon as Paul and I got engaged, I knew I wanted to be married at the home I grew up in. Upon hearing this, my father was distressed — there was so much physical work involved in getting the property ready for the wedding. So my parents, Paul, and I spent countless hours hoeing, raking, pruning, leveling, weeding, and planting flowers to get the place in tip top condition. It was a great pre-wedding workout

Atmosphere:
Before we started working on the details, we thought about the feeling and atmosphere we wanted to create for our guests — we wanted everyone to feel taken care of, relaxed, festive, and ready to enjoy the evening. To create this environment even before the ceremony began, we offered our guests Mexican horchata and aguas frescas, which many of our non-Californian guests had never even heard of before. For the ceremony, we hired a Spanish guitarist who help set the mood as guests took their seats, and during the ceremony, one of Paul’s friends led everyone in a familiar hymn and sang a solo of Morning Has Broken, which reduced our parents and grandparents to tears.

Paul and I were inspired by the food, colors, traditions, and vibrancy of our shared Mexican heritage. The wedding was held at my parents’ hacienda style home among the redwoods, so it provided a major component of the overall Latin-American theme we were going for.

Bridesmaids Dress DetailsI gave each bridesmaid a different bold color and let each of them choose their own dress so that they would have the opportunity to look for something that worked with their different body types. I love color and wanted the wedding to feel vibrant and happy, so the bridesmaid attire really factored into the overall vibe we were going for.

We kept the ceremony decor simple since we had such a gorgeous natural outdoor space to work with. My parents had a few rustic doors that weren't being used for anything, so my father put three doors side by side to use as a backdrop and my mother attached an antique iron basin that she painted white and filled with shrubbery. Fionna Floral created a garland using the flowers in my bouquet to drape over the doors. Fionna Floral also created the arrangements at the end of each row of seats. All five colors in the bridal bouquet (the same five colors of the bridesmaids dresses) were represented by the aisle arrangements.

We loved being able to incorporate Latin-American details in small and unexpected ways. The papel picado (Mexican tissue paper) banners, the table images and seating cards which were styled after Lotería (Mexican bingo) cards, the menu which included lots of Mexican food flavors, and the signature cocktails (margaritas and sangria) were a few ways we tied in our heritage. And instead of the traditional bouquet and garter toss, we incorporated the Mexican wedding tradition of La Vibora, which is essentially a crazy party version of the London Bridge game you play as a kid.

Table Name Details & Wedding StylingOne of my family's favorite games to play on holidays or any time we have large gatherings of extended family is Lotería, which is a Mexican version of bingo that uses images instead of numbers. The table names and images all came from cards in the game.

Before the wedding, the invitations incorporated all of these colors. At the ceremony, the colors showed up in the bridal bouquet, the bridesmaids’ dresses, the groomsmen’s socks and boutonnière ribbon, aisle arrangements, and programs. And at the reception, each table was assigned one of the five colors — and though the tablecloth at each table was off-white, the napkins, candles, and centerpiece were of the assigned color. And, my mother baked our wedding cupcakes

The centerpieces were a DIY project that my mom, bridesmaids and I all worked on the day before the wedding. They were really easy to make. We filled water glasses with floral foam, and inserted stems that we got that morning from a local wholesale vendor (we used red dahlias, orange gerber daisies, blue hydrangeas, green spider mums, and purple lisianthus). We placed the glass of stems inside a fishbowl, and proceeded to fill the area surrounding the water glasses with fresh fruit —,strawberries, tangerines, limes, apples, blueberries, and grapes, which we colored coordinated with the flowers.

The most challenging part of styling the wedding was finding a way to incorporate bold, energetic colors in a balanced, cohesive way. Too much color everywhere and we risked looking like a circus. Too little color, and we wouldn’t quite reach the festive feel we were after. We worked with jewel tones — red, blue, green, orange, and purple.

Wedding Favor Details:
The groom’s biggest hobby is going to concerts and collecting music. Music also played a prominent role in the bride and groom’s relationship. So we wanted to create a “soundtrack” of songs that were very significant to us as a couple. Stephanie Griffin of Demilo Designer designed the envelope and cd art. The groom created the cds with his extensive library of music. "

In the end, Paul and I walked away wishing that some couple could have an identical wedding and invite us as guests so that we could spend more time chowing down, cutting loose on the dance floor, and hanging out by the bar. But as it was, we were so happy by the way everything came together and by how much fun our guests had.

Photographer: Volatile Photography

Makeup & Hair: Megan Smith of Tranquille Spa in Aptos, CA Cake: Heather’s Patisserie Caterer: Five Star Catering DJ: DJ Ridenpop Dress Designer: Maggie Sottero Flowers: Fionna Floral Groom's Attire: Indochino Officiant: Rev. Fred Harrell, senior pastor at City Church of San Francisco. Shoe Designer: Miz Mooz Stationery: Demilo Designer Veil or Hair Accessories: SIBO Designs Prop or Furniture Rentals: Five Star Catering & M&M Party Rental "Papel Picado" by Ay Mujer Venue: Private Estate