Mérida has a rich cultural heritage with strong influences from Cuba and Spain, incredible food and some of the best magazine-worthy boutique hotels and Airbnbs. It’s also a short flight from Miami and Houston. When scheming locations for a destination wedding, we kept going back to Mérida…besides, it was the first city we traveled to as a couple! Mexico also holds a special place for us separately: my husband’s family lived in Mexico for 10+ years after they left Cuba, and I visited often while growing up in Texas. We went back in 2019 to look at wedding venues (read more here!). As some of you may remember, Hacienda Tekik de Regil was our last stop. The second we walked in, we knew it was the one and we fell under its magical spell… Aesthetically, we wanted our wedding in Mexico to feel classic, casual and elegant. We allowed our surroundings to dictate our design choices and used lots of natural greenery to make each location feel lush and tropical (without being too over-the-top). As with most weddings, we encountered a few mishaps, but as with all weddings – mistakes are bound to happen! (More on that later…) It was also important to us that we work with as many local vendors as possible, from our planners (Baku Eventos) to our florists to our catering team (Margarita Zoreda) and musicians…Mérida may be small, but there’s a lot of talent and I’m grateful we kept it 99% local. WEDDING WEEKEND Our wedding weekend encompassed a few days of events, with Casa Lecanda Boutique Hotel as our home base. Casa Lecanda is a 100-year old restored house turned hotel. The moment you step in Casa Lecanda, you’re immediately greeted with fresh perfume from local Coqui Coqui Perfumeria, and the most hospitable staff that welcomes you with a warm smile, a cool washcloth, a hibiscus cocktail…and knows you by name. Our guests loved napping on their hammocks, swimming, and gathering in the courtyard every morning for breakfast. WELCOME COCKTAIL We invited our guests to an intimate “Welcome Cocktail” the day before our wedding at Casa T’hō Concept House instead of hosting a traditional rehearsal dinner. Casa T’hō is a renovated mansion with 10 boutique shops featuring emerging Latin designers. There’s also a cafe serving light bites and cocktails, which our guests took full advantage of! Being an influencer, I take great pride in sharing my platform with new and upcoming Latin designers so this venue felt like a natural choice for us. We kept our Welcome Cocktail pretty relaxed and informal, serving mojitos and hor d’oeuvre’s. As for decor, we used fruit and tropical plants and leaned on the natural ambiance at Casa T’hō, mint green wicker furniture, live mariachi music and the beautiful architecture along Paseo Montejo Avenue… I felt the Welcome Party was a great opportunity for me to go bold and wear a fiery red dress by Oscar de la Renta. Red symbolizes good fortune, luck, vitality, celebration and prosperity so I knew I wanted to incorporate a dash of red. – We passed out welcome gift bags with local treats and drinks, as well as things you may need post-wedding (like aspirin, lol) along with a map of Mérida beautifully illustrated by Ashley D Studio. While tempting to stay out, my best friend and I gracefully exited the party to enjoy dinner by ourselves back at the hotel. A good night’s rest is so important (along with drinking plenty of water) so you can wake up bright and early the next day feeling rested. Looking back, I think our guests were grateful for this because it allowed everyone to do their own thing, walk around Mérida, dine at their convenience and unwind after a day of traveling. FAREWELL BRUNCH Our wedding weekend concluded with an informal “Farewell Brunch” at Casa Lecanda. As soon as guests left, we drove two hours to Tulum where we stayed at Hotel Esencia (thankfully with bad wifi) for the following week…a last minute decision as we originally planned to visit Africa…but COVID! WEDDING WEEKEND LOOKS I wore Khaite the day I arrived; an Oscar de la Renta dress to the “Welcome Cocktail;” an upcycled, vintage dress from A Current Affair to the Farewell Brunch. My “getting ready” look was a vintage nightgown from Dina C’s Consignment Boutique with a custom robe designed in collaboration with my dear seamstress, Maria Kaplan from Aphrodite Design’s in West Palm Beach, FL. Next up, all things wedding! Click here for Part 2! Xo, Stephanie