High school Texan sweethearts, Katy & Ben, just got married at Hacienda Corta Caro in Santa Fe, New Mexico. After 9 years of being together, Ben popped the question after a road trip they took together down the Pacific Coast Highway along the coast of California.
This adventurous, madly-in-love couple (who literally reside on 'Lovers Lane') enjoy travelling the world together. So, it was only fitting that they decided to have a destination wedding!
Katy & Ben wanted to keep the evening simple, so they planned an intimate destination wedding in Santa Fe & are heading back to Texas for their reception later in the summer once they get back from their road trip honeymoon exploring Croatia & Portugal.
Because they fell in love with the Spanish vibes in Santa Fe, they chose to have a Spanish inspired destination wedding. Katy & Ben came to me to design their wanderlust invitation suite for their wedding because they love vibrant color- my love language!
All of the artwork I created for them truly reflected that Spanish travel feel. This laidback, sweet couple loved the Mediterranean vacation vibes the colorful brush lettered calligraphy had.
I LOVED that this couple really encouraged me to go for it with the theme... that kind of trust is how magic happens!
This color filled calligraphy invitation suite has all the watercolor tile motif designs, bougainvillea, and palms that the couple loves so much!
The hand painted illustrations can also be found sprinkled all over their wedding website. This helped set the mood for their guests from the very beginning (see more of their wedding website here).
To add a personal touch to the suite, I added a lace motif on the accommodations card that was painted from the lace design on her wedding dress!
I also created a wedding crest designed to look like a Spanish balcony surrounded by palm fronds & bougainvillea! This may be my favorite monogram heraldry to date!!
These dog parents had their Australian Shepherd, Finley, be the best man. He ended up being the entire bridal party- talk about adorable!
Here’s a shot of them taking their first look with their best man, Finley, right by their side!
SO CUTE.
It’s any dog-lover's dream!
I made sure to add watercolor bougainvillea on the welcome sign to set the Mediterranean mood for arriving guests.
The band also set the mood for guests as they arrived. Live music filled the air as their loved ones took their seats for the intimate ceremony.
Glorious flower centerpieces by the bloom expert, Renegade Floral graced each table in saturated hues!
The watercolor brush lettered seating chart gave off travel vibes and made guests feel like they were exploring a new place as they found their seating!
Just when I thought this wedding couldn’t get any better, I found out what they were serving for dinner when I made their beautiful menus!
Four courses of authentic Spanish cuisine... hello PAELLA!
The table settings were a little rustic, a little vintage, a little modern, & a lot of jaws dropping.
The wedding planner, Jessie Baca, designed a beautiful wedding with rentals from Rust Vintage.
The table numbers gave each table a pop of color & the bride told me everyone loved going to each table to look at them all. I hand painted each one so they are all different!
Talk about a charcuterie board.
I'm salivating over here.
The tile stairs at this venue are perfect for a free spirited couple like Katy & Ben.
You can tell how much they love each other by the laughter and pure joy radiating from their wedding photos.
I have to admit, painting watercolor chickens is my new favorite thing to do.
These signature cocktails they served sound pretty refreshing too! I'm always down for a French 75, but chile in my margarita means it's time to party.
The newlyweds enjoyed their dinner sitting in chairs painted with 'Señor' & 'Señora' chair back signs. They had textured braided ribbons and pom poms with all that Spanish flair!
Then they danced to “Besame Mucho” played live by the band for their wedding song. That song is so romantic, it gets me misty eyed every time.
They also hired professional Spanish flamenco dancers to start the party & get everyone on the dance floor!
To finish off their fantastic meal, guests got to indulge at The S'more Pit with not one, not two but three different luxurious flavors of small batch organic marshmallows!
Chai and lavender lemon flavored s'mores? Sign me up.
Such a great idea for those non-traditional couples who want something interactive for their guests other than wedding cake for dessert.
Katy & Ben had such a wonderful evening planned, so of course their send off was just as grand and beautiful!
These sweethearts had guests write well wishes and fold paper airplanes to toss at them for their send off!
I'm so happy for them and have loved becoming stationery besties with Katy. She's already got me pre-booked for their eventual baby's nursery mural back home in Texas so it won't be the last they see of me!!
P.S. A HUGE thanks to Alicia Lucia Photography for capturing & sharing the magic of Katy & Ben's wedding!