Authentic, intimate, and classic – all of the wedding weekend feels we were going for while planning the big day. Throughout the planning process, we kept those top of mind during each decision and didn’t let the small details take up too much mental real estate. Here’s how it turned out and what we loved about the weekend:

Our Venue: Acre Resort in San José del Cabo

When we first got started, we were all over the place with ideas. Should we keep things local in Colorado? Check out a coastal town in California or Florida? Take it back to our roots in Wisconsin or Michigan? We ended up throwing in a wildcard and landed on one of our favorite places and one that seemed to perfectly fit all the feels in Los Cabos, Mexico.

• General Vibe: Since we spend so much of our time individually and together outdoors, it felt most authentic to us to have an open air venue. One thing we love about about Acre is that you are immediately transported into a jungle oasis. The moment you walk in, you are enveloped in a lush green canopy of palms and tropical foliage, and that continues throughout the three outdoor wedding spaces.
• Wedding spaces: The first space for the ceremony is surrounded by towering palms that provided the perfect shading leading up to sunset. The second space for cocktail hour surrounds a chic pool that glows under strung lights. And finally, the third space for the reception is a romantic mango orchard complete with another set of strung lights and tiled floor.
• Natural Beauty: Because Acre is such a naturally beautiful setting we saved on decor, keeping things simple and classic with greenery, in-season white florals, and lots of candles. We did spurge on a strung light tent that complemented the existing picnic lights throughout the space and elevated the dance floor. All the spaces were perfect, and the whole venue felt luxurious and sophisticated but also down-to-earth at the same time.

The Ceremony

This was one favorite that we were not expecting. We wanted to keep things short and sweet, and to be honest this wasn’t a part of the weekend that we prioritized. Here are details that made this so special:

• Officiating: We were intentional about selecting our officiant, wanting someone who had known us since early on in our relationship and who we still spend a lot of time with. After we selected Anna’s brother-in-law for the job, we sent over our thoughts on general structure, provided some examples, and didn’t think too much about it until the week of the wedding. We had no idea what to expect not having read what he had been put together but WOW the ceremony exceeded our expectations. He pulled in details from how we first met, interviews we had done with both of us, and a few of his own favorite quotes / thoughts on marriage. It was so personalized, and made for one of our favorite parts of the night.
• Vows: When we first got engaged, writing our own vows was something we both immediately wanted to do. Initially, it felt like a daunting task to capture everything we love about each other in a few short minutes but two things we did that helped us throughout the process were: 1. we individually took notes in our phone throughout the year, which made the actual writing part feel less intimidating 2. we had Brian’s sister read both of our vows to make sure they were similar in overall mood and length.
• Short and Sweet: 20 minutes was our max for the ceremony since we wanted kick-off the party early. We broke the ceremony down into: Intro (2 min), Reading (5 min), Officiant Address & Vows (8-ish min), Exchange of rings and declaration of marriage (5 min) and wouldn’t change a thing.

Live Music

Live music was one of our top priorities for the weekend, so this was an area we were willing to splurge. Because we weren’t able to hear the local bands in person, we ended up going with a US-based band that we had seen before. There were a few requests that they weren’t able to take on, so we supplemented with local talent. Here’s how things shook out:

• Sabina for Ceremony & Cocktail: Since our reception band was more of a party band, we found a local band to play for our ceremony, cocktail hour, and first dance. Sabina was a huge hit; we’re so happy we had this group to kick off the night.
• Radio Incorporated for Reception: We had seen this band from Nashville perform at a few weddings, and we loved that they didn’t feel like a traditional wedding band. They had a huge set list of different genres, including the oldies that we love. We knew they would be able to get the party started and keep everyone on the dance floor all night – and they did not disappoint.
• DJ Alex for after party: Since the Acre has villas onsite, there was a noise curfew of 11 pm. We played with a few options for the after-party, but ultimately got approval to have a silent disco with a local DJ until midnight. STOP EVERYTHING AND DO THIS. This was hands down one of our favorites parts of the whole weekend, and something we’ll never forget.

Extended Weekend

We had such an amazing crew attending the wedding that we wanted to make sure we prioritized quality time with everyone. We encouraged everyone to stay at the same hotel, and planned multiple events for us to mingle with our guests, and for our guests to make connections with each other. Some of our favorites:

• Day 1 (Friday): We picked our favorite spot in Cabo, Cocina del Mar at Esperanza, for an intimate family dinner to kick-off the weekend. They arranged a pre-fixed menu and it was hands down the best view of the weekend.
• Day 2 (Saturday): Beach Games! This was one of Brian’s top priority so we included a full day of beach games on our itinerary and coordinated equipment for volleyball, spike-ball, and soccer before our arrival. Everyone naturally congregated in the same area to get in on the action or cheer on from the sidelines.
• Day 2 (Saturday Night): We invited everyone to our ‘rehearsal dinner,’ keeping things easy with tacos and margaritas at the hotel everyone was staying. We loved including everyone in this event, and even sprinkled in some speeches from some of our guests.

Last Pro Tip: Pick a date before the wedding, it could be 1 year, 1 month, or 1 week before the wedding. From then on don’t stress the small things, embrace whatever unfolds, and enjoy the weekend!

After all our favorites and a few splurges, here is where we saved: DIY welcome bags from Etsy, low key invites from Minted, Thank you’s from Amazon (pro tip: write them as you go), simple & in season florals, champagne tower instead of cake, opted out of party favorites.