Real Wedding: A Destination Mexican Indian Wedding Part I

Chic touches mixed with casual, beach style paired effortlessly for Cristina + Jig’s stunning destination wedding! The two-day party in Cancun, Mexico celebrated the bride’s Mexican heritage and the groom’s Indian background beautifully. The bride, Cristina, dishes how every detail for their special wedding day came together:

What inspired your wedding look?

We decided to have a destination wedding in Cancun, because we both dreamed of a beach wedding plus the location made it easier for most of my family to attend. Since we were having two ceremonies in one day, both a Catholic and a Hindu ceremony, I wanted to keep the color scheme similar for all events and find a theme that would be perfect for the beach. For the Catholic ceremony, we went with blush tones while we opted for bright fuchsia and orange for the Hindu ceremony and reception.

How did you plan out all the details long distance?

Planning a destination wedding was definitely a challenge! However, our wonderful wedding planner and the team at Moon Palace Resort helped us a lot with bringing our vision to life.

Chapel at Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico | A Mexican Indian Fusion Wedding | Adrienne Fletcher Photography | @kateaspen

Blush and White Floral Arrangements | A Mexican Indian Fusion Wedding | Adrienne Fletcher Photography | @kateaspen

With bridesmaids living in different countries, coordinating matching dresses was a challenge. I decided to ask them to pick their own favorite blush dress, and the mismatched combination worked perfectly! Instead of a Maid of Honor, my best friend was my “Man of Honor,” and he matched the groomsmen.

It was too hot for formal suits, so the groom and groomsmen kept it beach casual in navy slacks and matching white guayaberas my cousin ordered from Mexico. Guayaberas, also known as Mexican wedding shirts, are popular in the Yucatán Peninsula which made them the perfect choice.

The flower girl and ring bearer coordinated with the bridal party too! The flower girl sparkled in a blush dress adorned with sequins, and the ring bearer wore a small guayabera to match the guys.

Did you incorporate any DIYs into your décor or theme?

A lot of DIYs were completed prior to the wedding, including framing chalk signs for the ceremony and reception. I created a “Here Comes The Bride” sign as well as a wedding hashtag sign that was displayed at the reception. I also had a lot of help from my family in Mexico. Mexican favors are very traditional touches, and my cousins bought handmade ceramic bells to ring at the kiss. They even created and attached cute tags in English, Spanish, and Hindi to each bell!

We arrived a few days early to put together welcome bags for each guest’s room that included sunscreen, handmade lace favor bags from Aguascalientes, Mexico filled with Mexican candies, customized sunglasses, an emergency kit, and an elephant tea light holder.

I wanted to find a way to honor my mom and my aunt who were dearly missed at our ceremony. I added their photos in an old locket that belonged to my aunt and attached it to my bouquet. A friend helped me sew leftover linen fabric from my dress to create a wrap for my flowers.

What customs or traditions were included in the ceremony?

There were a few Mexican customs I wanted to be a part of our ceremony. One Mexican tradition includes a “lazo” or a wedding lasso rosary that my cousin and her husband placed around our shoulders to symbolize our everlasting union. Also, my aunt and uncle presented “las arras.” Las arras are coins that serve as a good luck token to ensure the couple will never be without money.

What was your favorite moment during your big day?

One of my favorite moments was surprising everyone as I rode in on a horse-drawn carriage! I could see everyone through the chapel windows cheering as I came around the corner.