Paradero Hotel, Todos Santos, Mexico
Whitney and Stefen’s Wedding
From our very first meeting, Whitney was one of those dream clients where we connected instantly, and we couldn’t wait to work together through thick and through thin to design her and Stefan’s dream wedding at the Paradero luxury resort in Todos Santos, Mexico. In our initial conversations, Whitney told me "I want my wedding to feel like a dream" and we were determined to make that happen for her, plus some. We wanted to find somewhere unique, that also matched Whit and Stef's personal aesthetic and vibe. When I found Paradero Hotel in Todos Santos Mexico, I knew it would be the perfect place to plan their weekend wedding experience - and they felt the same.
Whit and Stef wanted to create the ultimate three-day destination wedding experience for their guests, and we were honored to create a climatic experience for this wedding weekend. We started Whit and Stef's celebration off with welcome mocktails and s'mores in the flower field adjacent to the hotel itself. Low key music and string lighting created soft ambience throughout the space, keeping the focus on the couple’s connection and the overwhelming sense of celebration as all of our guests arrived.
For every event throughout the weekend, we challenged ourselves to utilize different spaces on the stunning property so that no experience would feel, smell or taste the same. For our welcome dinner, we completely took over the communal area of Paradero and brought in custom-built tables and installed 6-foot ribbon chandeliers above them. This design completely transformed the space and added an authentic, Mexican-inspired vibe while keeping the modern, neutral architecture of the venue itself. Every detail for this night was within our overall color palette but we learned heavily into the more neutral and modern tones like ivory, white, black and tan. Our place settings complimented our chandeliers by incorporating different "fringe" elements and we worked with our paper good designer to create beautiful, landscape style menus wrapped in a handmade crochet paper. Lastly, we kept our floral design minimal so as to not distract from our statement pieces, and utilized stone vessels and dried elements throughout.
For our Paradero wedding day design, we chose locations on the property that we had never seen used before to make the big day feel completely unique and special to Whit and Stef. We wanted to highlight the architecture of the venue while also complimenting the desert surroundings. So we placed the ceremony in the middle of the "cactus garden" and set up our chairs in a very organic formation so it would feel as though we were almost hidden amongst the landscape. The ceremony design was a true labor of love that I’d do 1,000 times over again. Because when you build an aisle and ceremony so grand, people mistake it for part of the venue’s architecture - that’s a good feeling.
Our team designed a stunning aisle and ceremony backdrop that complimented the lush surroundings, building height and depth to accentuate the ceremony as the most important moment in the day. We worked with a local production company to build, paint and install 12, 10-foot half arches that were placed in precisely the right location to create a stunning shot from every angle. These arches were color matched with the hotel building themselves and them custom tinted to a lighter shade so they would really stand out. We then adorned them with lush, monochromatic clusters of florals for a lux but organic feel, bringing in more blush and mauve tones to give it that "pop" amongst the desert landscape.
This luxury wedding ceremony in Todos Santos hit the mark in every way. Whit shared: “My heart could’ve exploded from the amount of gratitude I felt on my wedding day. With every heartbreak I’ve met, with every loss I’ve felt… it all led me to Stefan. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world that Stefan was choosing me. There was magic in the air, I was the happiest I’ve ever been.”
The magic continued at the reception dinner hosted at the half-moon pool where we created a stunning reveal for the guests. We set up our tables to mock the half-moon shape of the pool, in an arched formation and then installed twinkle lights that stretch from over the tables all the way past the pool and then water-falled down into what looked like the ever expansive desert. We intentionally designed the lighting to pass over the pool because the reflection that was created in the pool made the entire space look dreamy, almost starry, everywhere you looked. We used organic linens and stoneware but paired them with large, lush, blush toned florals for an elegant but natural feel.
Two years in the making, Whitney Simmon’s destination wedding at Paradero in Todos Santos was made possible by her and Stefan’s unwavering trust in our team, and we’ll never get over this day we created with so much love and intention.
Photo: Jordan VothDesign, styling and planning: Mae&Co CreativeFlorals: Noble Floral Co. VENUE: ParaderoRentals: Warehouse RentalsMakeup: Melissa HurkmanHair: Nicolette PagiePaper goods and signage: Carta PlenaVideography: Joyce Filmscustom builds and lighting: VVR Productions