Tam and Nick's Luxury Boho Moroccan Banquet Wedding in Mexico by Memory Box Photo

Today we are heading to Mexico for the totally stunning wedding of Tam and Nick. An intimate wedding of 12 guests, which was dramatically reduced due to Covid and 3 different wedding postponements. But the day was worth waiting for as the results of all their hard work is absolutely breath-taking. An elegant, luxurious wedding reception area, with the most stunning table arrangement. Deep reds, golds and blacks giving us Moroccan banquet vibes. The ceremony includes a hanging macramé backdrop, more superb flowers and more gorgeous decoration with a Boho twist. The Mexico beach backdrop is a pure delight and something of real wedding beauty! Big thanks to Memory Box Photo for the gorgeous images and My Planner Journal for the wonderful submission.

It was the most magical day in the most amazing venue where we celebrated our love for each other in front of our nearest and dearest. Every little detail came to life and we wish we could have the day all over again!

Tam and Nick were married on 25th May 2021 at Mahayana Beach Homes, Tulum, Mexico. ‘We wanted a small and intimate beach wedding with the backdrop of the jungle in a place with culture and sunshine. Because we love nature and the outdoors, we also wanted somewhere eco-friendly and natural and away from the big resorts. We originally had 25 guests but due to Covid we had 12. We started planning with 10 months to get it all done but this got extended to 18 months due to three postponements.’

How they met
We met on the dating app Bumble and we have been together since January 2019. Nick proposed in January 2020. When it’s the right person time doesn’t really matter.

The proposal
Nick found an abandoned bird watching hut by a lake near to where we live. He decorated it with all Tam’s random favourite things – coffee bags, fairy lights, music, a ukulele, peonies, wine, country music…he made a miniature beach inside with sand and laid out Marry Me? in candles. He dressed up in beach clothes in the middle of winter and brought Tam in blindfolded before revealing where she was and proposing!

How did you allocate your budget?
We started out with a sensible budget having no clue about weddings. Having to postpone 3 times made the budget go out the window!! We had already decided on the things we felt were important: photography and video, a wedding planner, venue, food and the wedding dress.

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
We splurged on amazing photographers, venue and Tam’s dress. We saved on smaller things like bringing our own wine and champagne and overall catering because of our smaller guest count.

How did you choose your photographer?
We found MemoryBox through Instagram and fell in love with their natural candid style. Fred, Mel and Coco were so great on the day and we felt really comfortable with them. Our photos and video are one of our biggest treasures from the day.

The dress
Tam’s dress was custom made by two different Israeli designers – the top style from one and the bottom and fabric from another. Shoes were from a small French boutique but were kicked off after the ceremony! Pearl bracelet – grandmothers. Earrings – black onyx hexagons by Atelier VM at Liberty London. Gold bracelet – custom from Lanes Jewellery. Hair pieces – Amore Headwear on Etsy. Tam’s engagement ring and our wedding bands were all designed and custom made by Josh at Lanes Jewellery.

The suit and bridesmaids
Nick’s suit was from a French store called Father & Sons. He had it altered to fit and the back of the waistcoat was changed. His silk bow tie was hand made by Sophie Darling (Brighton, UK), shoes by Justin Deakin (London, UK). Bridesmaid dress was from Asos with hair accessories from Anthropologie.

Theme or colour scheme
Raspberry, reds, black and gold with all the natural greenery of our surroundings. Our theme was luxury Boho Moroccan banquet – in Mexico!

Flowers
We asked our fabulous florist, Pure Love Floral Design, to use in season flowers as much as possible. They created an unstructured Boho look with gold spray painted fillers and used ostrich and guinea fowl feathers as accents to pay homage to Tam’s birthplace of South Africa. As he is French, Nick’s boutonniere had rooster feathers – the national bird of France.

Decoration
We let the surroundings speak for themselves but flowers, loads of fairy lights, the hexagon alter that mirrors Tam’s engagement ring, and the Moroccan rugs and coffee bags down the aisle brought it all together.

Food
We wanted a banquet and had a delicious 5 course menu! Our chef, Tomas, brought everything together perfectly. We started with Mexican canapes and a special mezcal cocktail. Dinner was octopus salad followed by lobster bisque. Our main was either lamb shanks or sea bass with mango. To honour Nick’s French side we had a cheese plate with Mexican and French cheeses, and finished it with tropical cheesecake. It was a delicious feast with French wine brought in from Nick’s family’s region in the southwest of France.

Wedding cake
On a previous trip to Tulum we got chatting to the owner of a bakery called Italdo so we asked him to create a very English wedding cake for us! A carrot cake topped with a coffee cake. We had a wooden arrow cake topper made by an Etsy seller and used a few flowers to decorate, keeping it natural.

Entertainment
As there were only 12 guests, we enjoyed each other’s company and all the fine food and wine – with country music playing in the background!

Who supplied the stationery?
We worked with a wedding stationery designer based in Canada, Alicia’s Infinity. We sent Alicia a mood board of colours and ideas and she created the perfect wedding invites for us followed by the menu and welcome sign. She was very easy to work with and the invitations are one of Tam’s favourite small things from the wedding.

Where did you go on your honeymoon?
As well as spending a few days in Tulum after the wedding, we had booked 2 weeks in the Seychelles. This got cancelled due to Covid so we decided to go to Jamaica. We will save the Seychelles for one of our anniversaries!

Personal touches
So many personal touches! From the playlist of all our favourite country music songs, the coffee bags as part of the aisle which were from when Nick proposed, the coffee favours with the poem on the back, the feathers to represent our countries right down to the Mr and Mrs chair signs that Tam made herself. Every little detail had some kind of meaning or significance to us.

Special moments or highlights
Our first look which was so special and our personal vows which we wrote in little notebooks as keepsakes. Having our families and friends who could make it be there and just spend the day with us.

Advice for other couples
Make the day about you two – all the little things that are unique to you as a couple, no matter how ‘out of place’ they may seem. It really is a day just about the two of you. Do your research for everything and definitely hire a planner – especially Natalia at Weddings On The Beach if you’re getting married in Mexico – our day wouldn’t have come together without her!!

Biggest surprise
Nick: How sensational Tam looked in her dress and the first look. Tam: How beautifully everything came together, the first look and seeing Nick’s reaction and my mother’s speech.