A Festive Start to the Season with Rachel + Chris
Sayulita Wedding Season is officially in full effect and I'm excited to share our first event images of the season. Rachel & Chris, from Houston and Calgary by way of Oahu and D.F. (that's Mexico City for all you norteamericanos), contracted us to produce the supporting events for their wedding, which took place at Villa Amor, and was managed by V.A.'s in-house planner. Rachel was referred to us by Monique, so we were off to a good start with that. Rachel & Chris are a relaxed, laid-back, made-for-each-other couple who share a love of surfing, Hawaii, Mexico, and of course, one another. I worked mostly with Rachel's mom, Mary Ann, to plan their Hawaii-themed Rehearsal Fiesta at Don Pedro's Restaurant on the beach. They wanted to represent their love of the Islands and Hawaii's significance in their early years as a couple. Mary Ann brought down retro Hawaii posters that we hung up around the restaurant. My lovely and indispensable assistant Sheryl created a perfect welcome sign to greet guests (a marriage of "aloha" and the Groom's last name, Huk). We set up a photo station using a pair of sweet vintage surfboards on loan from Quiverito up the street, with pareos, rashguards, and leis as props. And to finish off the night, Rachel & Chris each got in a few good swings at the "Hula-Donkey" piñata - one of my favorite piñata creations yet.
Though I wasn't involved in planning the actual wedding, I just have to share photos of these sweet details. The cake topper, from Tamra Kohl of Claylindo, is too adorable, and I love the festive day-of-the-dead cake.
The day-after Beach Party for all of the guests, hosted by the Maid of Honor and Best Man and organized by us, was at Break Fast Cafe on the beach. Octavia and crew did a fabulous job, setting a festive and relaxed scene with beach chairs clustered around tables of chips and salsa, a beach-boat-bar serving up margaritas, sangria and cold cervezas, and a grill churning out delicious skewers of steak, chicken, fish, shrimp, and veggies (I especially loved the addition of sliced plantains to the veggie mix). It was a perfect way to wrap up the wedding festivities - the newlyweds and their friends even snuck in a surf in the middle of the party.
The wedding and events were photographed by the talented Adam Wiseman from Mexico City. An Editorial & Documentary Photographer with a client roster boasting the likes of Rolling Stone, Conde Naste, National Geographic, Wallpaper, Paris Match, and the Wall Street Journal - to name a few - Adam knew Chris from D.F. and flew over to the coast to shoot the Rachel & Chris's wedding events. Lucky them - the images are beautiful and Adam is a great guy. His website is definitely worth a look, and features some captivating images. I especially love the galleries: d.f. p.m, not close enough, and la mancha urbana. Some pretty heart-wrenching shots from Sept. 11 in NY as well. I'd love to work with Adam on another wedding shoot - hopefully we can get him back to Sayulita for just the right lucky couple.
Congrats to Rachel and Chris on a beautiful wedding weekend and a lifetime of love ahead!
xo, SDW
all photos © Adam Wiseman Photography, 2011