Roc Nation Brunch Inspired This Glam Beach Wedding at Casa Malca in Tulum, Mexico

Although LaShonda and Joshua officially tied the knot at the courthouse in 2020, they wanted to celebrate their union with their closest friends and family members as well. To do just that they invited more than 200 wedding guests down to Casa Malca in Tulum, Mexico, for a glam brunch-inspired beach wedding at sunset with a chic black, white, beige and blush color palette. Epic views, eye-catching fashion (like LaShonda's blush wedding dress!) and dreamy details (like black monsterra leaf-inspired menus) worked harmoniously to bring the couple's destination wedding in Mexico to life perfectly. 

"We had a 200+ guest destination wedding in Tulum, Mexico, in November 2021! The inspiration behind our wedding was the Roc Nation Brunch," explains LaShonda. "Since our wedding was at Casa Malca (Pablo Escobar’s Old Mansion), we wanted glam but chic. Our colors were black and white with greenery. We asked all of our guests to wear black and white as well. "We both love brunch so 'Brunch at Sunset' just made sense—the food was great. The chefs at Casa Malca had never made dishes like shrimp & grits, those types are meals aren’t very popular in Mexico, but they truly did an awesome job with all of the food. We’ve both been to several weddings where we left hungry, we didn’t want that for our guests." LaShonda goes on to share that "Flowers were everywhere and played a major part in the overall style of the wedding. I remember overhearing one of the guests say ‘I wonder how much they paid for these flowers!’ That made me laugh."

In addition to planning a visually stunning day inspired by Roc Nation Brunch, it was also important to the couple that the wedding be filled with meaning. "It was important for us to carry out the tradition of ‘jumping the broom.’ The broom has different meanings in several cultures," says LaShonda. "In Christian ceremonies, the broom handle represents God, the straw bristles signify the couple’s families, and a ribbon around the broom symbolizes the ties that bind the couple." Another meaningful element of the day for LaShonda was the chair they set at the ceremony in memory of her father. "There was a sign that sat next to my mother in memory of my father that read ‘Reserved for the Father of the Bride—We know that you would be here today if Heaven wasn’t too far away.’ That was truly special."

Looking back on their epic beach wedding in Tulum, Mexico, LaShonda and Joshua advice current to-be-weds in the throes of wedding planning to "Always remember that the wedding is never about the marriage and to do things YOUR way. Things don’t have to be traditional or in order. We had friends that held off getting married because of the pandemic, with uncertain times like the past two years have been it didn’t make sense to us to wait. For what? Because that is the societal norm? Our best advice is to focus on your marriage while loving and communicating with your spouse. Everything else will fall in place even if it’s out of order!"