Inside a Magical Wedding in Mexico With Ocean and Rainforest Views
When it came to their wedding, Paige Mycoskie and Jessica Martin “agreed that it wasn’t really just for us—we wanted to give our friends the best weekend of their lives,” Mycoskie says. “One of the first things that I told our wedding planner was that I wanted every single guest to feel like they were the most important person in the universe.”
The Austin-based pair were friends for five years before they became a couple and spent their one-year anniversary in Mexico at the One&Only Mandarina. “We both were like, ‘Oh my God, this is the coolest place ever, and we absolutely should have our wedding here,” Mycoskie, who is the president and founder of Aviation Nation and a former Amazing Race contestant, recalls.
Read on for details about jet skis, James Bond-style looks, and the “big and crashing” waves at the beach ceremony.
The Setting
“I love the idea that the jungle was meeting the ocean, because I love jungle and so does Jessica, and we love just nature,” Paige says. “Having the water all around us and getting married on a jetty just seemed like the coolest thing ever.”
The Welcome Party
On the first night, the couple hosted a jungle-themed welcome party. “We wanted people to dress up. There were lots of animal prints and velvet textures,” explains Paige. “I also really wanted all the entertainment to be super over the top. We had dancers every night; we had live bongo drum players. I wanted people to feel like they’re walking into a full experience.”
Paige designed her and Jessica’s shimmery beaded looks for the night. In terms of accessories, Jessica opted for Louis Vuitton heels while Paige wore René Caovilla shoes and a vintage Dior purse. The brides made their entrance to “Welcome to the Jungle.” (Guns N’ Roses is one of Paige’s favorite bands.) “We came out of nowhere. We did a whole kind of lip sync performance of the song in our beaded metal dresses with guitars. It was fun to surprise the guests that way with an entrance that they definitely were not expecting.” The couple worked with Mae&Co Creative on the weekend’s events.
The Beach Day and Rehearsal Dinner
Prior to the rehearsal dinner, the brides held a beach party at the resort. They both have an affinity for jet skis, and even shared their first kiss on one, so they planned a surprise entrance. “We peeled around the corner of the jetty and entered the beach party by driving a jet ski onto the beach,” Paige says. Guests played volleyball and other beach games and personalized Aviator Nation hoodies.
That evening, there was a rehearsal dinner with an all-white dress code. Jessica wore a dress from Netta BenShabu with Prada sandals and Paige worked with designer Lior Charchy to design her dress, which she teamed with a pair of Jimmy Choos.
The Wedding Logo
Paige grew up loving sports cars, and for years, dreamed of having a red Ferrari. “When Jessica and I started dating, my dream and goals shifted quite a bit and my priorities changed. For me, the new dream was to having a forever love with Jessica and of course our wedding signified that happening,” she says. The wedding logo was an altered version of the Ferrari logo using their favorite colors. “I added a second horse because the horses represent us dancing. I changed ‘Ferrari’ to say ‘Forever,’ and changed the signature letters to P and J.” The paper goods were designed by Nūbō Studio.
The Wedding
The ceremony was held on the couple’s dream jetty, which was decorated with chandeliers and flowers from Studio Mondine. Zella Day, one of their favorite vocalists, sang “Can’t Help Falling in Love” as Paige walked down the aisle with her father. “The live music aspect, I think, really took it to the next level,” Paige explains.
“When we were reading the vows, that particular moment, the waves were really big and crashing. I just remember seeing the water splashing onto our guests a little bit, and it was just this energy, it felt so powerful with the way the waves were hitting the jetty. Even our guests were getting a little wet and everyone was kind of laughing, and it was just such a joyous moment,” she says.
Paige helped design her custom dress with Galia Lahav, which included lightening bolts on both sides. “Some of the angles were inspired from some of my surfboard designs. I had a low V in the front because I wanted it to feel kind of hot and playful, but still elevated and classy,” she says. Jess’s dress was from the Australian brand J.Andreatta. They were barefoot for the ceremony and then wore matching customized Golden Goose sneakers for the party.
The Reception
After the ceremony, Paige and Jessica hosted cocktails on the beach before dinner. All the women wore gold, and the men wore black tuxes, which gave things a James Bond feel that Paige loved. “I really wanted it to be super elevated, even though it was on the beach. I didn’t want it to feel like a typical kind of boho style. I wanted to take Hollywood glam and mix it with the natural elements,” she says. VVR Productions handled the production of the party.
Music was a key consideration, too. Day’s band Chaparelle played, as well as Bien, which is one of the couple’s favorite group. Musicians Lyrah, Ayokay, Elderbrook, Emmit Fenn, Vandelux also all performed at the party and after-party.
Filet mignon and lobster tails were served for dinner, followed by a tiger cake designed by the British bakery The Cake Architect. “I wanted it to kind of be the centerpiece of the night,” Paige says.
The After-Party
After the dinner, guests made their way through a tunnel of light fixtures to get to the after-party, which was called the PJ (Paige and Jess) Love Festival. It was set up like a concert and had a full slate of performers, as well as video games, basketball, foosball, and a light-up dance floor. “The goal was to stay up until sunrise. But I have to say, we ended up going to bed about an hour before sunrise,” Paige admits. “We were just too tired. But we still had a pretty full dance floor when we left at about 6 A.M.”
The One&Only Mandarina.
Paige and Jessica wore glittery dresses to their jungle-themed welcome party.
“It was a proper kick off for the big day,” Paige says.
The couple wanted the décor of the beach party to evoke their home, which has many patterned rugs.
The brides.
The rehearsal dinner had an all-white dress code.
A view of the rehearsal dinner.
Dinner tables also stuck to the all-white theme.
Jessica before the wedding.
Paige as she gets ready to meet Jessica.
Paige walks down the aisle with her father.
The aisle was created on top of a jetty jutting out into the water.
The brides love checkered floors.
Paige’s brother and Amazing Race teammate Blake.
The tiger cake took a week to make.
After changing into sparkly dresses for the after-party.
The end.
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