Browsing Tag

destination weddings

Krista and Pat’s Intimate and Easy-Going Punta Cana Wedding

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):
Krista, Support Analyst, owns two feisty lionhead rabbits and
Pat, Nurse, enjoys movies about genetically altered sharks

Celebration Date & Location:

5/28/13
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Dreams Palm Beach & Jellyfish Restaurant

Tell us how you got engaged:

We got engaged while on a trip to the West Coast of Canada. We both love to travel, so it only made since that we incorporate that love of traveling in our wedding. What better way to start our married lives than on a beautiful beach with an intimate group of our family and friends.

What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you’re aiming for with your celebration:

We really wanted our wedding to be an easygoing and fun celebration of our love. Having a destination really helped in that respect. We could not have asked for a more beautiful setting. We tried to keep things as simple as possible. Since we had a strict budget, we focused on the particular aspects of the wedding that were more important to us, such as photography, food and setting. Other things such as flowers or decorations weren’t as important, mainly because with such a beautiful setting you need to let it speak for itself. Another important aspect was trusting our vendors and their abilities to make our wedding day amazing.

Are you adding any fun twists on tradition:

We had a ring warming ceremony, where we asked our guests to silently make a wish for our marriage. Once the rings were passed through the crowd and returned to us, they were not only filled with our vows for each other, but our family and friend’s support of our marriage.

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.

We wanted something that reflected our colours with the feel of our wedding. One of our friends designed the background for our Glosite and our Glovite save the dates and invitations. The designs encompassed a rustic, beach feel using our colours – peacock blue and natural beach tones.

Let’s show off your Glövites and Glösite

We worked with one of our friends, who is fantastic with graphic design, to create some designs that suited what we had envisioned.

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?

We honestly loved having a Glosite and sending out the Glovites to our guests. The Glosite was an easy way to keep in touch with our guests regarding booking flights, room prices, or anything important that came up in regards to the trip. It was also handy to have all of our contacts in one space.

Having a travel agent to take care of the trip bookings was so helpful and saved us, and our guests, a lot of work.
Pinterest is great for gathering inspiration for your wedding, but it can get overwhelming so it’s best to focus on the details that are important to your wedding.

If you’re still planning: What are you looking forward to the most about your celebration? If you’ve already celebrated: What is your favorite moment or memory?

The whole day was full of so many amazing memories, such as seeing each other for the first time, dancing all night on the sand, and even spending the whole week with our family and friends. It’s hard to choose just one memory!

Who are the magical partners who helped bring your celebration to life?

Ceremony Venue – Dreams Palm Beach, Punta Cana
Reception: Jellyfish Restaurant
Photographer: Katya Nova Photography
Travel Agent – Kris Rathbone at Cruiseshipcenters

23 Jun 2015

Beverly and Brandon’s Mexican boho celebation nourished with boundless adoration & salty air

photos by Joshua Kogan, Studio JLK

The Glö-Couple (tell us a fun fact about each of you):
Beverly, a Life/Movement Coach and baklava addict &
Brandon, a Visual Effects Artist, expert precision rifle shooter, and blueberry pancake baker

Celebration Date & Location:
February 2012
Jashita Hotel
Tulum, Mexico

Tell us how you got engaged:
One Day, Brandon sketched Beverly a book called “Tale of the Princess”. The first 10 pages had the beginning of their love story with blank pages to follow which represent their future. A year later, on a rainy day in Los Angeles, they checked themselves into the Ritz Carlton for a little R&R. It was there, he got down on one knee and proposed. Stunned, it took Beverly a few moments to realize that the word yes hadn’t made it’s way from her heart and out her mouth…and after a few repeated “pleases” from Brandon, she accepted. Beverly is sketching in the book where Brandon left off and is giving it to him on their 1 year anniversary…sssshhhhhh

What’s the overall ‘feeling’ you were aiming for with your celebration:
Everything had purpose.

We’re both born and raised Californian’s. We’ve been living and working in New Zealand for the past couple years and when it came to planning our wedding, we decided to have a small destination wedding in Tulum, Mexico. This way, we got to spend quality time with our closest friends and family (30 in total). A vacation for all, if you will. We rented out an incredible beach front resort for the week, so everywhere we looked, it was people we knew. Even our photographer was a friend (fortunately for us he’s a professional to the stars…)

My husband’s niece was the flower girl and had a matching mini (age appropriate) version of my dress

International influences: The resort in Tulum Mexico is owned and run by an incredible Italian family, my day of wedding coordinator was French, my dress was custom made by Wai-Ching (Cantonese for wisdom and virtue) who’s based out of Washington, the chef was flown in from Prague and I planned the entire thing from New Zealand.

We wanted to spoil everybody. This wasn’t just about us. It was about love and union and friendship. The Weekend included: Fire-dancing, zip lining at night, massages, all the meals were freshly caught that day, on-site chauffeurs & boats/captain anytime/where we wanted, live music and waitstaff.

Our married guests said that it felt like they renewed their vows. Our engaged guests said it helped them break the expectations of tradition and inspired them to plan according to what THEY wanted and our single friends got to flirt with each other and bask in the comfort that they weren’t the only ones holding out for the BEST.

Did you add any fun twists on tradition:

Our moms married us in a circle-esque ceremony. (We did the legal paperwork at the Beverly Hills Courthouse). We just didn’t feel right about a stranger marrying us and who better to say the words.. “Do you Brandon, take my daughter Beverly” than Mom herself. There wasn’t a dry eye on the beach.
My friends and I made my bouquet of Something old, new, borrowed and blue. Although it broke in the airport when I helped a man who almost dropped his child and luggage. It ended up as our main dinner centerpiece instead :)
Our registry was a “Celebration Registry” we did right on a Glosite Page using paypal. All the money went straight into our paypal account which helped us fund the weekend. So our guests didn’t have to pay for anything specific, or get us a tangible gift, but rather they contributed to the whole experience. (snorkeling, massages, gratuities, etc…)
We delegated certain people to pack our favorite wines in their suitcase. One person was allowed 3 bottles into Mexico, so we bought our favorites in California, wrapped them all cute and delivered them to our friends to pack with them.
Our best friends two boys walked me down the isle. One was responsible for making me laugh and the other one for reminding me to breathe. You can tell by the pics who had what job :)

What was the inspiration for your Glövite and Glösite design? If you made them yourself, tell us how you did it.
Celebration + Vacation= Celecation

Our guests’ experience with Glovite/Site was like booking a vacation. Right down to the music and villa bookings….

Now show us your Glövites and Glösite

Any good planning tips and tricks for the couples who are just starting to plan?
For the communication, keep it consistent. When you’re communicating online with your guests, it’s easy to break off and have side convos in your personal email accounts. Chances are, if one person had a question, there are 3 other people that had the same one.. so don’t be afraid to update your site with the new info, and answer that way. On the same note though, anticipate any questions your guests might have so you don’t have to keep sending out “updates”…most likely your guests will tune out from you in their inbox. I suggest you have 2 of your closest friends receive the first ones to proof it (1 male and 1 female because we just think differently).
We sent 4 ‘Glovites’ in total
1. Save the Date
2. Invite (with an RSVP date)
3. Reminder to RSVP (1 week before the date listed on invite)
4. Thank You’s (this way when they clicked on the link, they got to experience the “After Math” of the wedding.. where we added a photo section, which was really just a link to pictage our photographer created, a lost and found page and our new address… You could even send a thank you to people who didn’t attend, but did send you a gift, that way they can see the site & pics too!

For the decor, don’t be afraid to mix DIY with professional help. i.e., we paid big bucks to rent out the resort, but when it came to table decor, we ordered clear votives and candles online (75 for $30), brought them in our suitcase and filled them with sand. WAY cheaper than renting candlelight from the decorators.

What is your favorite memory from your celebration?
My favorite memory was sitting at breakfast, watching my friends and family play in the environment we created for them. My husband looked at me and said.. “I didn’t know this is what I wanted.” Meaning, even he was surprised by the incredible outcome of following the vision only you guys could have made.

What’s the biggest “say what?” moment or funny story that’s happened since you started planning?
There are 2!
1. A baton of bubbles.
Sooooo, our friends in New Zealand called the resort and said they wanted to treat us to a “Bottle of Bubbles”. They interpreted this as a “Baton of Bubbles” and proudly gave it to us with a note from our friends. We looked at the incredibly sweet concierge and said, “Are you sure they didn’t mean champagne?” And he said, “No..they said bubbles”. We didn’t have the heart to push it any further because he searched high and low for bubbles that came in a baton! So we just giggled said “Muchas Gracias”! To our surprise one of our guests actually blew them as I walked down the isle. Which turned out to be a MUCH better contribution to our wedding.

2. Part of the ceremony decor was beans sprinkled out in a circle that our guest’s stood around. Jashita left the decorations there for the week and they ended up sprouting! To this day, they’ve left the greenery there (where it was once just sand) because they believe it is a sign of life/fertility… pretty sweet.

Who helped bring your celebration to life?

Photographer: Joshua Kogan, Studio JLK
Music: DJ Fermix and Camilu Nu
Wedding Coordinator: Destination Weddings
Dress: Wai-Ching
Jewelry was family heirlooms and also Lunachia

30 Oct 2012

Q & Advice

A Far Away Wedding: Installment 2

Wedding Stamp by Laura Hooper

Both of you have stars in your eyes as you discuss how it will feel to board that airplane and be whisked off to your remote location for the special day. As each week nears its close the star-y eyes start to lose a bit of their luster because you both have some realizations: there is only so much room in these bags, you are being charged a storage fee for the chuppah your uncle made for you and your mother had shipped to the venue, and will the wine you special ordered from that vineyard in Sonoma make it in time and unscathed? First, breath! Then remember, you have added so many interesting and surprising twists that represent the two of you as a couple and everyone will enjoy them.

How can you give your far, far away wedding a unique twist that is signature to you and your partner? Incorporating cultural and family traditions is one way to infuse the wedding day with personal touches. When you combine important rituals you convey your values as a couple.

One place to start sharing your personal touch is with your correspondence. Upload your own online invitation or wedding website design on Glö to incorporate a family crest or some kind of iconography that is special to you. Your wedding correspondence is the first contact your guests will have with you both as a couple. This is a golden opportunity for you to start creating the ambiance of your day.

Creating a website or wedding blog is a great way to keep your guests informed and share your excitement. If you are not interested in the standard form wedding sites (many are put out by wedding publications) you do not have to use them, even if you are not tech savvy. Blogger or Tumblr are just two easy to use and free sites for building your wedding blog. Both of these options offer a number of beautiful templates. Your blog and invites can be two sides of the ambiance setting coin. You can even use the same art on both.

So you have set the stage with your beautiful correspondence but you and your partner do not subscribe to any particular tradition. How else can you personalize your far away affair? You will find a way to incorporate the things you both love. Try to think outside the box on this one. Think about how you may translate your love of animals or French cinema. What about a film screening or a volunteer activity pre-wedding? Could you donate in place of a favor or send each guest a DVD of your favorite film as your favor? These are special ways of creating a very personal experience for your guests while being in a place that is location specific.

Can you borrow from another cultures wedding traditions? Why not?

Wedding Henna from hennacaravan.com

If you love the tradition of Henna buy a kit and practice with your friends. Have your creative pal work on you and your guests at the wedding. This is a pretty bold option but why not, it’s your day. Do your research if you are unsure about how you would like to proceed. Something like folding 1000 white cranes is elegant, low cost, and memorable. Egyptians like to make a splash by decorating each set of parents’ car (the one that will be chauffeuring the partner to be married) with satin bows, flowers, and ribbons. The drive to the ceremony is where the games begin. Very slowly, each family vehicle cruises to the wedding hall, honking horns the entire way. Once both members of the couple arrive they are greeted by a zaffa. A zaffa is a parade of belly dancers that dance with the couple all the way up the aisle. The point is to go as slowly as possible, some zaffas have been known to take as long as an hour. If you both enjoy a great party with dancing this may be a great way to get the energy level up and how memorable would that be for your guests?

by stoneycreekcymru on tripadvisor.com

Whether you choose to hire a mariachi band and serve only margaritas and Mexican wedding cakes or where Korean garb in lieu of gowns or tuxedos, always incorporate your personal/couple flair. In your correspondence be real in your tone and your aesthetic. When you are trying to make a wedding your own in a remote or destination location be sure that you and your partner are still represented. You may choose to go all out with a culturally specific custom that is true to your roots or just your values. That is awesome but do not be afraid to just choose an interest and give a spin to that too. When you are creating the wedding in the neutral location know that everyone loves you both and that they want to see your personalities shine through.

27 May 2011

Inspiration

The Far Away Wedding: Installment 1

So you are planning to get married far from home. Not just your home, everyone-you-know’s home. You have folks flying in from all over the world and you want everyone to be comfortable. Do you know all of your options? What are you considering? This is the first installment of a series about destination wedding logistics and ideas. Let’s start with lodging and meals.

The conventional wisdom on destination wedding etiquette is varied. Some say that it is the responsibility of the attendants to pay for their own travel expenses and accommodations. Other advice columns suggest that the couple pay guests’ expenses, including: flights, transportation expenses, lodging, and celebratory events. Please carefully consider the type of expenses you are willing and able to cover. Balance your happiness with thoughtfulness towards guests.

Perhaps getting married far away is a strategy. Often when couples feel pressured to invite many people they opt for a far away place to exchange their vows. A destination wedding can be a way to insure your wedding is a manageable size. Be sure that this is the best option.

If a destination wedding is your dream wedding know that you can keep costs under control and still create a memorable and special experience for your family and guests. Here are a few options for creating a special experience:

Lodging. Hotels and motels can be an easy option for guests and wedding planners. Rooms can be reserved in advance at a discounted rate. Attendants need only to call ahead and show up. This is a great option. Another fantastic option is home rental. Renting a loft, townhouse, bungalow, or apartment will suit some destination weddings better than others. In NYC and Hawaii it served our families very well. If you are marrying in a city, reserve hotel rooms for guests that are not comfortable navigating urban landscapes or public transportation. For other guests include sites like Air BnB, VRBO, timeandplace.com, and vacationrentals.com in your invites or on your website. These services offer outstanding deals around the globe. This can be very economical in a city and often will feel more like home than a hotel.

Meals. Meals are an area overlooked by many. If you are in a remote destination, meals may be limited to what is immediately available. Hotels often house cafés and restaurants. If some opt for apartment rental they may also opt to cook for themselves. I once attended a welcome dinner that consisted of pizza, salad, beer, wine, and trivia. It was an excellent introduction to family and friends of the couple. Beach picnics including local fruits and cuisine can be a welcomed exposure to local custom. If someone in the family decides to rent a house or apartment hosting “family style dinners” is a nice way to socialize. Also, creating a list for guests with options (low, med, high recommendations) is another way to help them navigate your location. Walking tours with small samples is a super way to feed people and get them talking. Offering a cooking class or wine/cheese pairing can be excellent too. Just let your choices reflect your style, budget, and guests.

These are some ideas to help guide you in your planning. Check out the options for yourself. See what suits the people you are inviting. Be conscience of physical limitations or other factors unique to your guests. But also remember that people will be happy to accommodate your wishes. Next time, the will be on the entrée de jour will consist of transportation options and communications.

30 Mar 2011