Juan and Viri’s Beach Wedding

My frequent readers will know that Jorge and my best friends are Juan and Viri. They already had their civil ceremony back in December, but this past weekend was their big Catholic wedding. It was SO MUCH FUN!

The wedding was held at Ocean Events, a beautiful outdoor venue set on the beach near Puerto Juarez, right in front of El Meco ruins. (Jorge and I almost chose this venue for our wedding last year, before deciding to get married in Merida.)

I got to be a bridesmaid (there were TWELVE of us!), and of course I took pictures… you know me.

The ceremony venue

Jorge and me (a vision in purple, if I do say so myself)

I told you there were 12 of us

It's a Mexican tradition for family and close friends to pay for certain parts of the wedding. Juan and Viri sponsored our wedding cake, so we sponsored their dessert table... money well spent.

Here's a Mexican wedding tradition for ya... the men carry the groom off to the restroom. They undress him (completely), and bring his clothes back to the bride, who then has to go to the restroom to dress him again.

Here they are bringing the clothes back.

The wedding was filled with great food (especially the cupcakes… ooooh, the cupcakes…), tons of dancing (the dance floor was NEVER empty, and the salsa music was the most popular), and tons of friends. We ended the night around 2 am.

Congratulations, Juan and Viri!

My Big Sister’s Vegas Wedding

First off, the bad news. Level 1 Hurricane Paula is headed straight for Cancun. We’ve been pretty lucky so far this year, but it looks like there’s no escaping this one.

*sigh* Looks like a good day for a Walmart run. 🙂

Anyway, back to the fun stuff. My oldest sister Noelle got married on Friday! In VEGAS! We’re so excited to have Michael as part of our family. He’s pretty awesome.

The ceremony was at the Juno Garden in Caesar’s Palace, followed by a reception at Joe’s nearby. Here goes:

Mommy getting her makeup done

My middle sister Sarah getting her hair done

My hair (I'm gonna hire this girl to move to Cancun and style my hair every day because... wow!)

The beautiful bride (Noelle) getting ready!!

SISTERS! Sarah, Noelle and me

Noelle and my mom on her wedding day 🙂

I loved this dress

Beautiful shoes

Putting on her garter

Noelle and her entourage walking through the Garden of the Gods Pool Oasis on the way to the ceremony

Juno Garden - the ceremony site

Juno Garden

Juno Garden (looking up)

Michael and Noelle walking to the reception site

On our way to the reception, a lady who had obviously been drinking saw the whole bridal party and shouted, “CONGRATULATIONS!” She then looked directly at Sarah and me (bridesmaids) and said, “Oh, don’t worry… you’ll get married someday.”

Yeah, thanks.

View from reception garden

A special guest made an appearance...

They're pretty good dancers!

Back of Noelle's dress... so pretty! (Sorry Amy, I stole your photo)

Gorgeous! (Another stolen picture from Amy)

Most of my mom's side of the family 🙂 (Sorry again, Amy)

Sarah, Elvis, me

Elvis with all the girls!

Sparkle Cake!! best. cake. ever.

After the reception, a bunch of us went back into Caesar’s for drinks and fun. Noelle got cheers wherever she went, and there was a surprising number of guys hitting on her… I think they were a bit too late.

Drinks at the Seahorse Lounge after the wedding

Aaaand my favorite... the bridal party eating dinner at 2 am

 

My Mexican Wedding Reception Part 2

Ceremony photos are here, and Reception part 1 photos are here. Enjoy!

Noelle teaching Daddy to take a tequila shot. He drank half of it, then said, "WHAT? You're supposed to drink the whole thing?"

My friend Fumiko 🙂 Loooove the kimono!

Jorge with his hands on my legs

Salsa dancing with Grandpa 🙂

My best friend Zareth flew in from Toluca for the wedding!! We usually don't like to stand next to eachother because she feels really short and I feel like a giant... in this picture, she's wearing heels and I'm wearing flats, to give you an idea haha

Cousin Naivi teaching flower girl Mirle to dance 🙂

Mexican tradition... Bride and Groom stand on chairs with a veil between them. All the single girls form a line and dance around the room, always going under the veil when they pass by. This is followed by throwing the bouquet.

Sister Sarah caught the bouquet!

Another Mexican tradition... the single men form a line while the groom pours tequila down their throats. Gotta love Mexico!

And my fave picture…

Me ringing the hacienda's bells with my sister Noelle 🙂