Disney's "Coco" Inspired This Mexican-Themed Wedding at the Barn at Lone Oak Acres in Parrish, Florida
Mandy and Diego celebrated their love while honoring their heritage with a Mexican-inspired barn wedding at the Barn at Lone Oak Acres in Parrish, Florida. The couple, who first met when they were just 11, brought fiesta flair to the day with a vibrant color scheme, bold fashion moments and lots of festive decor. Specifically, the couple looked to Disney's Coco to inspire many of their design choices for the Florida wedding.
"Our wedding was a Mexican-themed wedding. I picked this theme not only because both my husband and I are Mexican but because when we took a trip to Guanajuato, Mexico, it was there that we ended up getting back together and I wanted that to be part of our story. Our color palette was filled with very vibrant colors of orange, yellow, rose pink, hot pink and navy. The colors resembled the color of the 'stacked house' as seen in Guanajuato which if you have ever seen the Disney movie Coco, it's where the inspiration came from," explains Mandy.
Beyond decor, everything about the couple's wedding Mexico paid homage to their homeland. Mandy and Diego served green pozole, tacos and tres leches cake. And they even festively placed maracas on all the tables with a note that said, "shake for a kiss!" to prompt the newlyweds to share a smooch. Not only did the couple honor their Mexican heritage throughout the day, but it was also paramount to them that they work with many Mexican vendors. Notably, the bridesmaid dresses and Diego's suit were custom-made in Mexico. "With it being a Mexican-themed wedding, I wanted everything to be authentic down to the last detail. Starting with the groom's suit, it was a traditional mariachi suit that was made in Mexico, along with the red embroidered bridesmaid dresses that were custom made in Tamaulipas, Mexico," recalls Mandy.
One of the most impressive parts of the couple's wedding is that they did most of it themselves. "I would say that all our wedding decor was DIY," shares Mandy. "I had a vision for what I wanted my wedding to look like and with such a specific theme, I knew that it could only be DIY. For our ceremony, we had traditional 'papel picado' (cut-up paper banners) as decor. And since we had our reception outside, I also provided our guests with multicolored handheld fans made of palm leaves in Mexico. During our cocktail hour, I had three different 'aguas frescas' or fresh flavored waters which are traditional to Mexico in melon, lime, and jamaica (hibiscus) as our refreshments along with snacks and candies all from Mexico. As for our reception, our beverages included glass-bottle Jarritos which were placed on the tables in different flavors. The tables also had hand-painted tile coasters, along with maracas and key bottle openers that were all our favors. At last, the centerpieces were all hand-painted ceramic plant pots from Mexico with an assortment of succulents planted in each one."
Looking back on the wedding, Mandy shares that "a moment I thought was special that I hadn't seen at any other wedding before is after I walked down the aisle and was in front of my soon-to-be husband and pastor, he asked us to look out to our family and friends that were present and just take a moment to reflect all who was there, for it was for them that we were standing before him to get married. I thought that was really special, especially because our wedding was in April 2021 so still in the time of COVID, so a lot of our family and friends could not make it but we were just both so grateful for those who were able to make it and celebrate with us our union."