Bright & Tropical Destination Wedding at Grand Coral Beach Club

Every time a real destination wedding album lands in my inbox– and I notice that it’s been photographed by Fun in the Sun Weddings, planned by Fresa Weddings, and designed by Vanessa Jaimes— I brace myself to be blown away. This dream team of vendors produces nothing but magic every time they get together. And as you’re about to see, this tropical destination wedding at the Grand Coral Beach Club in Playa del Carmen is no exception.

Andrea & Kris wanted their wedding colors to represent their outgoing personalities, so they chose a vibrant color palette. A colorful blend of roses, orchids, pincushion, anthurium, and succulents adorned everything from the bride’s bouquet to the ceremony arch and the reception centerpieces. The exuberant colors carried over to the drink stand where guests were greeted with a gorgeous bouquet draped on various glass jars of refreshing fruit drinks. Flowers even cascaded down the otherwise immaculate white tiered cake, which looks almost too pretty to eat!

Andrea & Kris also incorporated some traditional Mexican styles into their special day with rustic details and cleverly crafted 1800 Añejo tequila bottles that doubled as escort cards. They even hired a Mariachi Band! I am absolutely swooning over every detail of this wedding and I know you will too! Enjoy!

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Q&A with the Bride

Why did you choose a destination wedding in the Mayan Riviera?

After lots of consideration, we decided to get married in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. We both had never been to Mexico before and kept hearing so many great things from our friends and family who had traveled there in the past. Beautiful scenery, great weather, delicious food – so why not, right?!

Tell us about your flowers, your gown, your favors, your cake, etc? Any special stories, unique or DIY elements will be great.

Since we both had never traveled to Mexico before we decided to hire a wedding planner to coordinate our big event. By pure luck, we stumbled upon a GEM and found Fresa Weddings online. Kristee and her team were fabulous and completely wowed us from day one. Their attention to detail and professionalism were one of a kind. Our day was magical all thanks to Kristee, her Fresa team, and all the wonderful vendors she recommended. Our flowers were done by the very talented Vanessa Jaimes. We decided to go with bright colorful flowers – lots of greens, corals, pinks, yellows, oranges. They turned out gorgeous!

I wore a Kitty Chen mermaid style gown, which I bought from a local boutique in my hometown of Alexandria, Virginia called Bridals by Natalie. I must say wedding dress shopping was such a fun experience and each time I went in for a fitting I felt like such a princess. Our cake was a three-tiered cake with beautiful flowers running down the middle. Our favors were tiny tequila bottles, which also served as a table seating tag.

How did you envision your wedding day before you started planning? Did it meet your expectations?

When we began planning our wedding we had some ideas of what we wanted it to look like, but Kristee and her Fresa team by far exceeded all of our expectations. Our wedding day was magical, the weather was perfect, the food and decorations were so beautiful, and our photography team made us laugh and feel so special. It could not have been any more fabulous!

What was your favorite moment?

I have two favorite moments from our wedding that will always bring a smile to my face. The first one is when Kris and I were able to sit down for a moment and take in all the sounds, sights, and smells of that magical evening on the beach. At that very moment, it felt as though we had paused the evening and were able to take a breath and let everything sink in. I’ll never forget that beautiful memory. My second favorite moment was when my husband and daughter performed a choreographed dance together. They had practiced their dance for several months leading up to the wedding and kept it all a secret. Watching them dance in front of all of our friends and family filled my heart with so much love. They stole the show that night and I felt like the luckiest person in the world at that moment.

What was your favorite part of having a destination wedding?

We have family from all over North & South America, so it is difficult to see each other very often. Our wedding was the first one attended by most of our family. We felt very fortunate to have so many people from around the world be a part of our special day.

What one piece of advice do you have for the bride-to-be’s?

My advice would be to not sweat the small stuff. In the end all that matters is that you feel love and happiness. So enjoy the ENTIRE process, because it ends in a blink of an eye.