Every wedding vendor team is created a little differently. In this series we explore how and why each couple selected the right wedding vendor team for their wedding day.
Alexa and Sergio had planned a spontaneous weekend trip with their siblings to Cat Cay, Bahamas, where Alexa’s family has a vacation home. At least she thought it was spontaneous. While on their way to meet their siblings at a local restaurant, Sergio took a detour to their favorite spot on the island. He opened a bottle of her favorite rosé and before she knew it, he was down on one knee. Over the moon and completely surprised, the engaged couple (who first met in middle school) went back to the house to share the news and were greeted by their entire families, who had flown in earlier and hid from the pair until the big moment.
The special and unforgettable weekend led to a month of newly engaged bliss before talks of wedding planning really began. They were too excited to wait any longer and were ready to plan another weekend full of love and memories.
As a girl, Alexa grew up visiting her grandparents’ vacation home in Casa de Campo and through the years it became another home to her. As soon as she and Sergio began dating, he joined her there. And once they were engaged, it was the only location discussed for their destination wedding.
While the setting of the wedding weekend was more or less decided, before making any moves, the couple secured a wedding planner and designer. Alexa’s father was the one who found Claire Durán of Claire Durán Weddings and Events, after spotting her destination work and pitching her to his daughter.
“Once we started working with Alexa and Sergio, the first step was to find a date. This was not an easy task, as we were trying to balance four factors. They wanted to get married within the year at a very popular destination for weddings, we were all trying to predict how the pandemic would behave and choose wisely, we needed to consider the risks of choosing a date within hurricane season, and we needed to account for all the unavailable dates for the bride and groom caused by lots of family and friends also tying the knot around the same time. After much back and forth, we ended up choosing the weekend of September 4, and all the stars aligned for a perfect weekend!” —Claire Durán, planner/designer
With the foundation in place, Claire would design a relaxed yet elegant celebration with hints of the tropical environment. The color palette came from the surroundings, with greens and whites as the predominant hues. And while the festivities were entirely outdoors, the dress code was still chic—white dinner jackets for the men and black tie attire for the women.
With help from Claire, the couple signed their contract with their dream venue, Casa de Campo Resort & Villas. In choosing this venue, they not only got their ideal destination wedding location, but also their in-house catering (which handled all of the food, drinks, wedding cake, and service), transportation, guest accommodations, and specialty entertainment.
The size of the resort meant they could have the various events of the weekend in different locations. A religious, family-only ceremony on Thursday took place inside the Altos de Chavón church, and then on Saturday, the full ceremony transpired just outside of it. Cocktail hour was at the top of the amphitheater, and then guests walked to the reception in the main plaza, which overlooks the jungle and the river on one side, and the beautiful Mediterranean-style church on the other.
During the reception, a variety of different dishes were served—from pasta to sushi to steak. But the couple’s favorite bites came when chicharrones de pollo (typical Dominican chicken nuggets) and French fries were served during the late-night part of the party, which also included some festive entertainment thanks to the venue, who provided a Carnival-themed set of performers for la hora loca. In Spanish, the term translates to the “crazy hour” and is commonplace in many Latin American weddings, and with Sergio’s family hailing from Venezuela, and Alexa’s from Cuba, the group knew how to let loose during this portion of the party.
Alexa and Sergio had looked into wedding photographers and shared their running list with Claire, who noticed that the styles of photography were quite eclectic. With her guidance and additional suggestions, they spent more time considering their options and decided on David Abel of David Abel Photography.
“I always consider photography as one of the most important decisions any couple makes during their planning. They found David as their best fit and it turned out to be a wonderful decision. I know that Alexa, Sergio, and their families loved the result and we couldn’t have all been happier with bringing David on to capture this gorgeous weekend.” —Claire Durán, planner/designer
With more than 300 guests joining the couple for the destination wedding, and considering there aren’t many rental companies on the island, Claire made preliminary rental orders early into the wedding planning as she knew not doing so could mean issues with inventory or not getting the preferred pieces. Revisions on the rental order with Divano were made as the design process advanced, but the key selection of items like tables and chairs remained the same from the start.
“As a couple, we love to have a good time. At every wedding we attend, you don’t have to try too hard to find us, just make your way to the middle of the dance floor and we are the dorks twirling around and performing (questionable?) dance moves. Sure enough, our wedding was no exception. The only difference being that, this time around, we were not the ones carrying the bride and groom on our shoulders.” —Sergio, groom
So the couple tapped their favorite DJ from back in Miami, DJ Rascal. Prior to the wedding, the trio devoted a significant amount of time coordinating, to ensure the set list included some of the couple’s favorite jams, including “Jessie’s Girl” and “Shout” as well as hit after hit that would keep the party going.
“This guy threw one of the most energetic wedding receptions I’ve seen in my career. When I say that the dance floor was packed all night long, I’m not exaggerating. And this was a wedding where he carried the whole reception on his shoulders. We had no live entertainment—which was not missed at all.” —Claire Durán, planner/designer
Next, Anna Nuet of Anna Nuet Hair and Makeup (a favorite of Claire’s brides) came on board to do hair and makeup. A trial took place soon after to confirm Alexa’s classy, simple, and soft look.
Meanwhile, Alexa’s friend Lori Calleja of Just Write! designed the classic invitation suite, which was printed by Arzberger Stationers and styled by Lustre Theory. They fused all-caps text, spot calligraphy, and motifs that hinted at the setting—a simple palm tree on the invite card, and a sprig of greenery on the response card and welcome party invite.
Initially, Alexa and Sergio didn’t think they wanted their wedding weekend captured on video, but midway through planning they decided they wanted coverage of their wedding day. Having worked with The Studio by AP countless times before, Claire knew the couple would be in good hands with their crew and made the recommendation.
Already impressed by the work of Carmona Decor, whom Claire had suggested, seeing some of it in person during a site visit sealed the deal. Like the other elements of the day, from the invitation suite to the bridesmaids’ dresses (which were designed by the bride and her cousin, who run clothing line Krewe du Q), the flowers used fell into the color palette of natural whites and shades of green.
“The easiest part of planning was making decisions based on decor. I really wanted everything to be simple, natural, and effortless. For the decor and florals for both the ceremony and reception to blend with all the beautiful surroundings.” —Alexa, bride
With the reception music covered, the focus shifted to sourcing a soundtrack for the ceremony and cocktail hour. String quartet Batuta by Pablo Polanco was booked for the ceremony, and Miguel Angel Soul was chosen for cocktail hour, where he gave a one-man show with multiple instruments and his voice.
As finishing touches were put on the event, opportunities to enhance the look as well as the guest experience were explored. Fratello Cigars was secured to roll cigars during the party, which was also outfitted with custom bars and structures thanks to Vialx.
