So many of my couples have told me that they cemented their relationship over an incredible trip, and Massimo and Arianne are no exception. They met at a mutual friend’s wedding, but it wasn’t until they reconnected in California that they saw the potential for a fabulous relationship. In the course of a day, Massimo asked Arianne to go to Fiji with him. A dream offer, right? Well, their relationship was brand new and Massimo was leaving for Fiji in just a few days (he is the team manager for Billabong Italy, and he was heading out for a surfing trip). Arianne initially said no, but on the day that Massimo was leaving she had a change of heart and dropped everything to go on the trip with him. Massimo and Arianne are both passionate surfers and snowboarders, and Arianne told me that they fell in love while surfing in Fiji. Even though Massimo lived in Italy and Arianne lived in California, they were able to make the relationship work and they are truly perfect for one another! Massimo proposed to Arianne while she was in Europe visiting his family, and even though it wasn’t a surprise (Arianne’s dad told her that Massimo had asked him for his blessing) it was made special by the fact that they were in Italy with Massimo’s family.
One of the things that I really liked about Massimo and Arianne’s wedding is the fact that they made an effort to say everything in both Italian (for Massimo’s family) and English (for Arianne’s family). So many of their details (including all of their signs) were in both languages, which was wonderful. They really put in the extra effort to try to lessen the language barrier as their friends and families came together to celebrate their marriage.
I asked both Massimo and Arianne about their favorite parts of the day. Arianne said:
My favorite part of the day was walking down the aisle on the arm of my very emotional father – it was the most beautiful day of the year and I loved seeing my hot husband admiring me, waiting for me and smiling like it was the best day of his life while I walked up the aisle to join him while being surrounded by so many of our amazing family and friends who all made a huge effort to be there to support us. I also really enjoyed seeing six months of hard work all come together and seeing how great it all looked. And lastly I loved our first dance as husband and wife reminiscing on the path that led us to our wedding and looking to all the adventure and fun times the future will hold.
Massimo said:
My best part of the wedding has been when Arianne put the ring on my finger!!! And it was really hard to put it in!!! And than when i had to repeat the phrases and I couldn’t remember the words!!! So classic……I loved all of the wedding..it was an incredible and unforgettable moment for me, I wish my dad could be with us..but I’m sure he was there in my heart and he was overlooking us from the sky!!!!
Massimo also very sweetly wanted to thank some people. He said:
I would like to say thank you to my mom, who traveled for 26 hours to be close to me walking down the aisle and thank you to my brother and his family. I would like to say thank you to my sponsor Billabong that gave me the clothes for the rehearsal dinner, my friend Lorenzo from Sundek for spending time to make me the most beautiful solar shirt, to all my Italian friends that traveled 26 hours to enjoy this beautiful moment of my life……and I would like to say thank you to the Condrick family that accepted me with open arms inside the family….and off course thank you Arianne to have decided to marry a Cnghiale like me.
Arianne and Massimo had a lot of great details that made their multi-day celebration so special. Here are a few of them:
Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuiller
Reception Dress, Necklace and Veil: Roxie Poynor (alterations done by Roxie Poynor)
Groom & Groomsmens’s Clothes: generously provided by Lorenzo Pacini and his company, Sundek USA. Lorenzo hand-embroidered, “Arianne & Massimo’s Wedding, March 24, 2012″ in the inside of each shirt and printed the name of each groomsmen on every one of their shirt buttons
Wedding Bands: handmade by Arianne’s cousin, Timothy Shoup – they were made out of Arianne’s parents’ old rings
Cowboy Boots: Old Gringo
The mustaches: generously provided by Jeff Kelley and his company, Sanuk.
Arianne and Massimo made a lot of the details for the wedding, and they wanted to give a shout out to the friends and family that helped them with everything from the signs to the wedding flowers and everything in between: Davide Fogola, Michela Marchi, Alessandro Ponzanelli, Pauline Condrick, Nicole West, Renee McLeod, Catie Wertz, Mary Campbell, Trish McCabe, Michela Marchi, Raini Cunningham, Erin Cornelius, Beckie Dalrymple, Megan Duvall, Nicole West, Megan Viering, Jessica Luchesi, Margaret Calvani, Dan Condrick, Rachel VanBetten, Lauren Whitfield, Bing & Jules Bush, Kellie Cuttrell, Nicole Fitzgerald, Katie Geiger and CJ London
Post by Puerto Vallarta Wedding Photographer Michelle Turner.
Courtney and Storm were married a few weeks ago in one of my favorite little towns in the world: Sayulita, Mexico. For the past few years, Courtney and Storm have made Sayulita their home– they run one of the cutest boutique hotels just steps from the beach in Sayulita called La Casona (if you are going to Sayulita, I highly recommend it- be sure to check it out)!
Their wedding had a Mexican flavor with a laid-back vibe, and I just loved their style! But before I get to their wedding, I’m going to back up and have them tell you the story of how they met and decided to get married. I think it’s fabulously romantic, and their relationship has been one big adventure from day one. I asked Courtney to talk about how she and Storm started dating, and this is what she said:
Storm and I met in Costa Rica in 2007 from a mutual friend. We were both living there at the time; Storm in San Jose and me in Nosara. We had both gone to ASU in Tempe but apparently had to move thousands of miles away to find each other. Our buddy Chad brought Storm to the hotel/bar I was working at and we stayed in touch…..as friends. Storm will say our first date was sometime that year at an Italian restaurant in San Jose. I went to the city to stay at his hostel and he took me out for dinner and drinks. I thought he was being a nice friend of a friend. He thought it was a date.
At the beginning of 2008, Storm invited me to go on the bus trip with him and 5 other people. I knew I had to go. When would I ever get another opportunity to live on a school bus for two months? We left Los Angeles in March 2008 and got to Panama sometime in May. In between that time, we realized that being friends was easy and there was more to our relationship that we had thought. Our first kiss was in San Cristobal de las Casas in Mexico April 13th 2008. In January 2009 we moved to Sayulita and have been here ever since.
Storm bought the ring with the help of Maile, my matron of honor at the beginning of last year. They both threw me off track so I had no idea he was going to pop the question. But he managed to ask for my parents’ blessing while we were up visiting in Arizona. One random Monday night (March 21st hehe, 2011) Storm decided to make us dinner at home here in Sayulita. He came out with a bottle of not so fancy sparkling wine and I kind of said, “you really want to drink that right now? Why?…we already have red wine. What’s the special occasion?” As soon as I said that, I knew. He immediately got down on his knee and told me that he couldn’t wait any longer to ask me. The ring was basically burning a hole in his pocket. He kept coming to me with all these grand vacations and I kept asking why, is that where you’re going to ask me to marry you? …So he did it where he knew I wouldn’t expect it. It was perfect and totally caught me by surprise.
Here are a few of my favorites from their day:
I loved the style of their wedding- it had a distinctly Mexican feeling to it, and you can tell that Courtney (and Storm, perhaps?) spent countless hours putting together all of the details of this gorgeous wedding. A combination of blue and red, their wedding colors provided a gorgeous contrast to the endless sky and ocean that was visible from their ceremony site.
I asked Courtney how she put the whole thing together, and this is what she said:
Melissa and Colin are two of the most easy-going people I have ever met. While planning their wedding in Mexico from Canada, they hit a few speed bumps along they way, but they always faced each obstacle with such a cheery demeanor! Their happy attitudes and smiling personalities are infectious, and it made working with them a dream!
Melissa and Colin met through a mutual friend who thought they would be great for each other- they were in a long distance relationship from the start, and Colin even flew from Churchill (Manitoba) to Kelowna (British Columbia) to meet Melissa for the very first time. They hit it off, and eventually Melissa moved to Churchill so that they could be together. In December, 2010, Colin proposed to Melissa while they were celebrating an early Christmas in Churchill before they flew back home to celebrate the holidays with their families. Needless to say, she accepted!!
I asked each of them what their favorite part of the wedding day was. Colin said, “My favorite part of the day was seeing Melissa walk up the aisle.”
Melissa said, “My favorite part of the day was holding hands with Colin while saying our vows and our very first dance together (ever).”
Here are a few of my favorite images from their wedding at Dreams Villamagna in Nuevo Vallarta:
I asked Melissa and Colin why they chose to have a destination wedding in Mexico, and they told me, “Since our families lived everywhere from British Columbia to Quebec and everywhere in between, we thought instead of spending money to travel across Canada we’d try and have everyone meet for a destination wedding. A great opportunity to have both of our families together for an entire week instead of just one day!”
Melissa made a lot of the details herself, including the invitations, wedding programs, fans, and favors. She purchased her wedding and bridesmaid dresses while she was shopping in Kelowna, BC with her mother and her bridesmaids.
Congratulations, Melissa and Colin!!
Thanks for reading– have a wonderful weekend!!
Post by Puerto Vallarta Wedding Photographer Michelle Turner.