Grand Velas Beach Wedding – Elegant and FUN – Jordan and Rory

“We wanted our wedding to be another one of our adventures and to bring our nearest and dearest with us” #TravelForLove –

Elegant, super cool and FUN bride Jordan had us hello – followed by the biggest hug :) Jordan and Rory epitomized warmth and really genuine emotion all day. They engaged fully with each other and their loved ones and let their emotions shine through… then proceeded to tear up the dance floor! We asked Jordan to tell us about their day and why they decided on a Grand Velas Beach Wedding! 

Jordan: “Rory and I had been dating for 11+ years before getting married. During our decade of growing, love and life, we experienced many travels and exciting trips with our friends and family.”

“Rory introduced me to the world of traveling after I graduated high school and he took me on a European adventure. Ever since that trip I have been hooked by the travel bug. We have traveled the world together.”

“As a result of our early adventures we make it a point to travel to at least 1 new country a year. We’re not a traditional, formal couple and did not want a stuffy ballroom wedding in a region where we always are. We wanted our love of travel to be reflected in our wedding.”

Del Sol: Jordan, you were adorable on your wedding day! You a such a cool lady but you were also super emotional…

Jordan: “During this whole process I found that I was not a very “bridal” person. Whenever anyone asked if I was nervous or stressed I was pretty even-keeled about the whole thing. Rory even said that I was the opposite of a bridezilla. That I was like a bridal “guppy” for how lax I was up to the wedding.”

The beach at Grand Velas is one of our favorite places for a ceremony.

“I did not really expect to feel as emotional as I did. When the actual day came, there were so many emotions from so many people. I just felt overwhelmed but in a good way. I literally could feel all the love and happiness from so many people. It was as if I was in a ball of warmth that somewhat consumed me and I did not expect to feel that so intensely.”

“My husband is usually the court gesture of a room and has everyone laughing. He’s never too serious and does not get extremely emotional especially around our friends and family. To see him get so choked up and to hear how much love he poured into his vows really took me by surprise and really hit the heart strings in a way I was not expecting :)

“After our vows the best I can describe it is just feeling “raw.” It was as if I was hyper aware of all the emotions and love poured into the speeches. Every ounce of emotion was just much more intense then what I was expecting.”

Del Sol: Was there a part of each others’ vows or the speeches that touched you in particular?

Jordan: “My husband’s vows were extremely touching. To have our 11 year love story recounted by him in such a way was very moving.”

“We have been through moves across continents, years of long distance romance separated by oceans, more moves and many family ups and downs through our journey. It was really touching having him account everything in such a way that it felt like “we made it.”

“My father’s portion of his speech where he told us to always choose love was a very poignant moment as well. When he said that I remember locking eyes with a girlfriend and she started crying so that just set me off.”

Del Sol: In amongst all the wedding gorgeousness we love the little goofy faces you and Rory make at each other :)

Jordan: “As mentioned earlier, Rory is always the court gesture. He’s known by all of our friends and family as being the entertainment of any party. He’s never taken himself too seriously and has helped me to do the same. He is always the one to make me laugh no matter how upset I may be.

We love the Grand Velas has an amazing pool next to the ocean.

“A huge pillar of our relationship is to have fun and enjoy life. Whether it’s going out and having fun with friends, traveling, or just goofing around with each other which is what you were seeing with our goofy faces.”

“I also don’t love being the center of attention, so making funny faces helps me feel not so serious and awkward.”

Del Sol: You had the very formal, super high heel don’t touch the sand part of your day and then, quick change and it was all rocking out to water drums, fire dancers and proper fun dance floor action!

“The party aspect was an important part of the wedding for us. As we both do not live in our home towns where our families are and our inner circle of friends have become our family. We’re constantly having people over, going out together and doing group events/activities. We wanted to extend our friend dynamic in the wedding and make sure that it was not too stuffy. We asked friends and family from all over the world to come so we wanted to be sure that it was a fun event that everyone had a great time at.”

Del Sol: How was your experience with the del Sol team?

“Del Sol was amazing! The reason I was so drawn to Polly was because of her informal/edgy shots but she still has such a beautiful aesthetic. To be honest that sums my style and life in many ways: high end with an alternative edge ;)”

Del Sol: Why did you choose Grand Velas?

“We literally picked a spot on the map to get married. We initially were suppose to get married in the London region, but some family issues made that impossible so we just basically pointed on a map and there we went.”

Grand Velas Beach Wedding Team Testimonials

“I reached out to so many hotels and Grand Velas was so easy to work with but still high end and beautiful. I went down to the location in March 2017 with my maid of honor, Elise and it just felt right.”  This is why we chose to have our Grand Velas Beach Wedding.

“Aaron, Karina, and Monserrat were all a part of making the whole experience so fantastic. Their attention to detail and how helpful all 3 of them were just made everything so easy and calm. We were able to focus on having fun and enjoying the experience versus worrying about details falling through the cracks. ”

First dance at Grand Velas

Del Sol: What are your destination wedding top tips?

“Go to the venue before and get a true sense of the location. Then get there earlier so you can enjoy your time before the madness happens. Everything happens so fast the day of, we were so happy to have time before and after to relax, explore, and fully enjoy.”

Beach Wedding Reception at Grand Velas

Principal Photographer: Polly

Second Photographer: Valeria

Destination: Grand Velas Beach Wedding

Wedding Coordinator: Monserrat Palacios – Grand Velas Beach Wedding

Bridal Dresses + Veil: Grace Loves Lace

Bride Shoes: Stuart Weitzman

Groom Tux: Hugo Boss

Jewelry: Lauren Franks Fine Jewelry + Nova Design

Made of Honor dress + bride/bridal party robes: Stone Cold Fox

Grooms Men: Black Tux Shop

Del Sol Photography is an in house vendor for Grand Velas Beach Wedding and Video departments.