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.
When you’re a wedding planner and you get engaged, it’s understandable that you’d quickly jump into planning your big day. After all, you’re highly aware of all the ins and outs involved. That was the case for Audrey when Trevor proposed in May 2021.
Living in Phoenix but dreaming of a destination wedding, the couple scheduled a trip to Cabo, Mexico, to look at potential wedding venues. Years prior, Audrey had visited the city on the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, and ever since, she knew it was the place where she’d one day get married. Come June 2022, that’s exactly what happened.
As a professional event planner, Audrey took charge of planning her wedding, with support from her company BTS Event Management. The goal from the start was an out-of-the-box wedding weekend packed with fun.
“I have a newfound appreciation for what our clients go through, because wedding planning is stressful, and I can completely relate to those stressors now. Overall it was way easier for me to plan it because I was prepared for any curveball. I got to learn what I loved and didn’t love from working over 50 weddings in the year that I got engaged and then applied everything I loved to mine!” —Audrey, planner & bride
Far from traditional, the couple truly set the tone for their celebration with the invitations. Pops of color, a fun crest and custom map designed by a former coworker, and a QR code instead of a typical reply card were incorporated into the design. Printed on handmade cotton paper with torn edges, it also felt cool. And everything was tied together with a gold palm leaf charm for a final touch.
The fun continued on the wedding day thanks to the in-house graphic designers at BTS, who handled everything from ceremony programs to cocktail napkins and drink stirrers. A focal point of the celebration was the “Til Death Do Us Party” seating chart which guided guests to tables, where calligraphed maracas noted their specific seats.
Audrey and Trevor toured about six resorts on their initial trip to Cabo. They narrowed it down to two before ultimately choosing Esperanza, part of the Auberge Resorts Collection, inspired by its dreamy lush, green atmosphere.
“Mexico is a place we both love and vacation to frequently so it made all the sense for us and our families to have the wedding there.” —Audrey, planner & bride
Food was an important aspect of the wedding for the bride and groom, with lots of big eaters on their 75-person guest list. They opted for a buffet, prepared by the in-house catering team at Esperanza, to make the most of their dinner reception. But food wasn’t the only thing there was plenty of—the drinks flowed too. Not only did the bride take a shot with the maid of honor and best man during the ceremony, but everyone enjoyed some tequila during Audrey’s father’s welcome toast, thanks to an “uno dos tres” setup at each place setting. Everyone had access to salt, a shot, and a slice of lime to enjoy together at the glam beach wedding.
“We got tons of compliments that the food was amazing. We had so many options for everyone! We opted to do a full dessert bar instead of a wedding cake. I personally opted out of a lot of the traditional wedding things. I wanted more time to dance and party than anything so we got through scheduled programming as quickly as we could.” —Audrey, planner & bride
Audrey then moved swiftly to secure one of her must-have vendors: wedding photographer Jaimee Morse. Jaimee was there to capture everything from the special details to the raw moments not only at the wedding, but at Audrey’s bridal shower and the welcome party too.
“Jaimee started her business on the East Coast and has recently broken into the Phoenix market. We do everything and anything we can to get her on all of our weddings at BTS because she is incredibly talented and just captures things differently than anyone else does. She is an incredible vendor-turned-friend and I couldn’t imagine my wedding without her!” —Audrey, planner & bride
Audrey was working on a couple of Cabo weddings during her engagement, and she let their vendor teams be a guide to her own search. One instance was CaboStrings.
“I didn’t know where I wanted them but I knew I needed to have them somewhere. I had my eye on the electric violin and cello duo for months. We ended up having them do a dinner performance.” —Audrey, planner & bride
The DJ was another no brainer for Audrey, who reached out to Nestor Morales. Audrey’s number-one wedding rule is that if no one is dancing, you have failed. Fortunately, Nestor wouldn’t let that happen. He brought such energy to the party that many guests told Audrey they’d never been to a wedding where every single person danced the entire time.
Soon after, the trifecta of musicians was completed, when Audrey booked saxophonist Benji Cascoli, who played before and during the ceremony on the sand.
BTS Event Management works with Bloom + BluePrint Event Co. for all of their Phoenix weddings, which proved to be helpful to Audrey’s own wedding planning. She took inspiration from an elopement she’d seen Bloom + BluePrint work on and asked them to create a ceremony installation that packed a punch while sticking to a “tropical glam” aesthetic. In total, 1,000 white roses were “planted” in the sand. Even though the ceremony’s color palette was understated and neutral (aside from the bride’s statement bouquet), it was still high impact. Add in the couple’s “beer boys” who handed out cold cerveza on their walk down the aisle, and it was undoubtedly a memorable time on the beach for all.
The reception let the color shine, as Audrey wanted it to be more loud and fun. Pink floral centerpieces popped against wood tables set with black and white rental pieces, and surrounded the patterned dance floor, which had its own decoration. Disco balls, bougainvillea-covered rattan light fixtures, and massive palms intersected overhead, creating a festive setting for everyone to let loose under.
“I am obsessed with bougainvillea. Actually, I should say I am obsessed with pink, so it made perfect sense for me to either have a pink wedding dress or some sort of pink accent! With the all-white attire I thought it would be fun to have the pop of pink bouquet.” —Audrey, planner & bride
Yuli Gérman Beauty Studio was a new vendor to Audrey at the time, but is now someone she books frequently when producing events in Cabo. With the hot weather and winds typical of Mexico in June, the bride was worried how she’d look, but was wowed by her hair and makeup and how it lasted all night.
Audrey went straight to Del Cabo Weddings to source rental pieces, as she felt they had the best in town. Their vast selection included black wishbone chairs the bride swooned over, as well as black-fringed charger plates and equipale lounge sets.
VVR Production House lit up the night, reflecting colored beams on the dozen assorted disco balls hanging over the dance floor, which they custom printed to feel like Mexican tiles. As the entire fiesta was outdoors, it was their job to keep the mood right as the sun set and the crowd let loose.
Audrey interviewed several wedding videographers before deciding on Jorge Ibarra Productions. She appreciated his work, as well as the fact that he understood that she and Trevor didn’t want a traditional wedding video. They wanted something really fun and unique to their vision, which Jorge created.
About a week before the wedding, Audrey added one more vendor to the team: a body painter with Cabo Fine Entertainment. She had recently worked a wedding in Tulum and saw people at the beach clubs sporting white body paint. She thought that with the all-white dress code and the upbeat vibe of her glam beach wedding, it would be something special to add. And she was right: Guests loved it.
