Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/162471
Top left: Wedding planning was a cinch for Devon after she established contacts in Bucerias, including hair and makeup services. Top right & middle: The bride didn't let the heat of Mexico affect her choice of dress, an ivory gown by Mori Lee. Below: The wedding's colour scheme of yellow and navy with white accents perfectly suited the bright sunny location. 60 In the months before the wedding, she discovered the restaurant Karen's Place in Bucerias and booked it for the food portion of her reception. As she chatted with owner Karen, she discovered the restaurateur could connect her with a local florist, hairdresser and DJ. "Once I found the right contacts in Mexico," says Devon, "the rest was easy." One thing Devon knew she didn't want was a tropical beach-themed wedding with all the characteristics she often sees in destination weddings. "I wanted a non-destination destination wedding," she says with a laugh. "So I sent the florist a picture of a bouquet I liked — no lilies, thank you! — and she copied it." For her wedding palette, she chose sunny yellow and navy, with white polka-dot accents. "I love the colour pink, but I didn't want it in my wedding colours," she explains. As a concession, she dyed her shoes hot pink, surprising her guests when she lifted her long poufy gown to reveal the bright heels. The couple wisely opted for a 4 p.m. ceremony, when the hot afternoon sun would be less intense. That day, 75 family and friends who had flown in for the wedding gathered on the grassy front lawn of the rented house, overlooking the ocean. Devon dazzled in her ivory Mori Lee gown with its organza skirt, a dress she had fallen in love with long before she became engaged. "I'd seen it in the window at Bryan's Bride in Burnaby when I took my cousin shopping for her graduation dress," she recalls. "So when we got engaged, I knew what I wanted to wear and I refused to let the heat of Bucerias affect my choice of dress. I went straight back to the store, tried it on and loved it right away." On the front of her bouquet, Devon clipped an antique heirloom horseshoe pin loaned to her for the occasion by Kris's family. "It's been worn by each woman that's married into the family," she explains. Watching his bride walk down the aisle on her father's arm was an incredible moment, admits Kris. "Just being down there with family and friends together at the house, and standing up there with all my groomsmen watching my beautiful wife was amazing," he says. Kris and Devon had written their own vows and recited them before a marriage commissioner in the bright sunshine. Then, as guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, the couple left the Casa for photographs in and around the streets of Bucerias. Later, the wedding party joined guests at Karen's Place, walking along the beach as both locals and tourists clapped and cheered them on. A mariachi band greeted them at the restaurant, where a tasty dinner of filet mignon with coconut shrimp awaited. "We have a very large family and we were so happy and impressed that so many came" R EA L WEDDINGS pg58-67_WalkingSunshine_MadYou.indd 60 12-09-24 1:05 PM