We had a fun (and travel wise, exhausting) time at Michelle and Ken's wedding.. I flew from Boston to San Fran, and the next evening my assistant (Jill) and I boarded a red-eye with 50 pounds of gear plus our luggage to Mexico City, where we had a 6 hour layover, and eventually getting to Ixtapa bleary eyed. It was a short cab ride to Zihuatanejo, and we stayed next door to the fabulous 5 star resort, The Tides, where the wedding was held. Mollie Jones from Paula LeDuc in San Francisco (who 
had referred me to the couple) was there to facilitate but also a friend and guest at the wedding. They had a welcome dinner on Thursday at Casa Sol, a private home that overlooked the bay, and then everyone played and partied for the next few days right up to the wedding day on Saturday. Michelle wore a lovely Monique Lhuillier lace sheath dress with a scoop back, the bridesmaids wore J. Crew dresses in fuchsia, and the groom and groomsmen wore oh-so-casual white linen shirts 
from Tommy Bahama. There was a shoe concierge provided by 
the Tides as walking on sand in heels is like drinking too much tequila: a good way to fall on your
face. Most of the guests were shoeless for the wedding, the best way to not get sand in your shoes.. In addition to the wedding invitations and dinner menu, Hello Lucky created the wedding program as fans, a very practical idea for guests to cool off in the heat during the ceremony. They had fuchsia napkins with their names and date from Union Street Papery in San Francisco, but my favorite napkins were the ones the provided at the bar at the end of the night and had a great Frank Sinatra quote about drinking.. it quite summed up the reception! Speaking of drinking, guests were encouraged to wear a homemade looking shot glass around their neck to do tequila shots anytime with their fellow compadres..
It rained on and off during the week, luckily not during the ceremony, and then it poured a mean streak during dinner, which made me think this crowd wouldn't be stopped by some water in order to grind it up on the dance floor. Angelica Celestino, The Tides wedding coordinator fed Jill and myself well with the same amazing courses as the guests- crepes with pumpkin blossoms, corn, huitlacoche with poblano sauce. Instead of wedding cake, the couple had churros (traditional Mexican fried 'cookies' 
with dipping sauces) as well as absinthe lollipops to go with the party-hardy theme 
(I was told they taste like Vicks menthol cough syrup, but maybe you
could see the the green fairies?) The rain eventually stopped and the couple did their first dance to 'Just the Way You Are' by Billy Joel (note, I gave them a cool twist on their song by playing the Diana Krall version of their song in their Love Story), and immediately following their dance, surprising their guests with a fireworks show.
Everyone danced, drank, partied and drank under the stars until 2am or maybe later. Jill and I got to play in the surf and sip fresh pina coladas from coconut shells on the beach a few days beforehand which was great.. When I got home, I took a week off for siesta time. Ole! zzzz...To see their tequila and lime soaked celebration, view their Historia de Amor (Love Story)
(the last pic- dos amigos Melissa and Jill enjoy a pina colada on their day off.)
