Paradisus La Esmeralda Wedding with Extra Love and Tears! – Ashley and Stephen
“Hold on to me as we go. As we roll down this unfamiliar road. And although this wave is stringing us along. Just know you’re not alone. ‘Cause I’m going to make this place your home.” – Phillip Phillips, Home
Ashley and Stephen had a beautiful wedding. Gorgeous weather, surrounded by love. What really blew us away was the sheer quantity of laughs and happy tears in this wedding! From an emotional first look with dad Ashley went straight to a first look with her husband to be. Seeing each other before the ceremony did not take anything away from seeing each other at either ends of the aisle! Thanks so much to Ashley for taking the time to share her thoughts about her wedding day. All words below from Ashley :)
“Doing a first look was a topic we debated for a while. I wanted to save that moment for the aisle and Stephen wanted it to be private and personal. In the end, we decided the first look was the best option for us. I was emotional because it all the sudden felt very real. My father by my side and the man I am about to marry in front of me.”
“For us, the vows meant the most. We took time to put together our own vows and write our own wedding ceremony. When we said our vows, it was personal. One of my favorite lines is “For our love may have started because of fate, but will continue based off commitment.” My other favorite line is, ” Through our union, we can accomplish more together than we could alone.”
“Stephen’s Auntie Bebe gave me my “something blue” a blue pin that has been in the family for over 100 years. She was unfortunately unable to fly to Mexico for the wedding but having a piece of her there meant the world. She gave me the brooch at my bridal shower, explaining that it could be my something old and something blue. She told me that it had been in the family for forever and she wanted me to have it. That was the first time I had the opportunity to meet her and at that moment I felt like she was welcoming me into the family.
“Valeria and the del sol team were AMAZING! We loved working with her and Vanessa and enjoyed their creativity. Valeria utilized all angles and our pictures are fantastic. She made us feel comfortable and special. We cannot wait to come back and do trash the dress :)”
“Our advice would be for starters, read all the fine print. Do some research before you commit, and plan a visit. If you truly plan on having a good experience, relax. It will all work out perfectly, trust the vendors.”
“We had a friend of a friend get married there at Paradisus. I emailed her asking if she would have done it any other way and she said no! She was right. Getting married at Paradisus was the best decision we could have made. At times it was stressful due to the lag in communication but it worked out beautifully. We loved our wedding.”
“For us, the idea of traveling to get married was simple. I was finishing up graduate school, neither of us had family in close proximity… We were just extremely busy! It made sense to let someone else take control. We had full support from our families which made it even better :)” #travelforlove
Principal Photographer: Valeria
Second Photographer: Vanessa
Destination Wedding Location: Paradisus La Esmeralda – Gabi Bridge
Wedding Reception Location: Hadar restaurant
Destination Wedding Coordinator: Lucero Villegas Rodríguez
Wedding Dress: Allure Bridals
Florist: Planner 1 Events
