A Mexico City Wedding With Floor-to-Ceiling Florals

Summer Galitz and John Schamy started dating dating while freshmen and sophomores in high school back in 2008. At little over 10 years later, John surprised Summer with a proposal on a boat overlooking the sunset on Miami Beach. Summer shares, "I was (weirdly) completely shocked and surprised!"

The couple initially planned to hold their wedding on April 25, 2020, but the pandemic forced them to push back their wedding not once, not twice, but three separate times. Luckily, they had faith in their wedding planner, Jamie Gonzlez with Gonzalez + Helfon. “Jaime was wonderful at navigating the situation and re-booking everything without a hiccup,” Summer says.

The couple invited 100 guests to their December 18, 2021 wedding at General Prim, an old mansion in Mexico City, Mexico. “We picked our wedding venue because it was totally different than anything we’ve seen in Miami and was so full of warmth, charm, and romance,” Summer says. “It felt full of history and like you were stepping into a time machine when you walked inside.”

Summer and John wanted their wedding to feel colorful, cozy, and inviting. They went with a vibrant color scheme of orange, persimmon, yellow, pink, and green for the reception, while the ceremony was light, white, and romantic. See all the stunning details ahead, planned by Gonzalez + Helfon and photographed by PS Photography + Films.

Summer and John’s invitation suite included a gold foiled floral pattern and custom wax seal with their initials. The vibrant green color served as a nod to the greenery seen throughout the wedding day floral arrangements.

All dressed in colorful robes, Summer popped champagne with her bridesmaids before she changed into a white lace teddy to prepare for the big day. “I wanted to look like myself and not overly ‘glammed." So, I wore my hair down with loose waves, which is a hairdo I typically wear,” Summer says. She used Bellami clip-in hair extensions for volume on the day. She also prepared for the wedding with a facial and dermaplaning treatment, along with a few sheet masks the week-of to keep her skin hydrated. She kept her makeup look simple with natural colors, rosy cheeks, and bold lashes. 

Summer only went wedding dress shopping once because she fell in love with a Berta dress featuring a plunging neckline, low open back, and beaded appliqués. “I’m only five feet two inches, so I knew I didn’t want a Cinderella dress and wanted a more fitted, slinky shape,” she says. “It just felt very me and I don’t like to drag things out or take forever to get things done, so I said yes to the dress!” She paired her gown with Sophia Webster heeled sandals, dangling pearl and diamond earrings from Mia Jewels, and a veil from Chic Parisien. 

John wore a classic black Ralph Lauren tuxedo paired with a rose gold Rolex watch he borrowed from his friend. “It is a tradition amongst their friend group to lend one another a special watch for their wedding day,” Summer says. Prior to the wedding, John got a clean haircut and shave. He wore Tom Ford’s Ombre Leather fragrance as the finishing touch.

Summer and John planned to have a private ketubah signing right before the ceremony, so they decided to share a special first look at their hotel. “We hadn’t seen each other since the night before, so seeing each other was super exciting,” Summer says, “If I remember correctly, he said my dress was ‘sick,’ which was not the word I expected!” 

Summer asked her bridesmaids to choose a dress that fit the black-tie dress code and the couple’s red, orange, and yellow color scheme. She says, “I wanted it to feel very Mexico! I wanted some girls to have prints and patterns, while others were in solid color.”

All of John’s groomsmen wore black tuxedos with black bow ties. The bride remembers, “They looked so handsome!” 

With so much color in the decor plans for the cocktail hour and reception, the couple’s planner Jaime suggested making the ceremony soft and romantic. They cloaked the room in gray drapery and put white roses everywhere. Summer walked down the first half of the aisle by herself and met her parents in the middle. She held a bouquet of blue grape hyacinth. As Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” played, Summer’s parents accompanied her to the chuppah.

The couple exchanged personal vows they wrote for each other over the microphone, which ended up being one of the bride’s favorite parts of the whole wedding day. “It was so special and the love was truly palpable,” she says, “John’s vows were so special and cool because he incorporated sentences from our old high school love letters to each other, which made everyone laugh and cry!” As soon as the rabbi asked the couple to kiss, Coldplay’s “Sky Full of Stars” played over the speakers.

Summer and John didn’t want to miss much of their cocktail hour, so they stepped away for a brief moment with their photographer to snap some photos around the venue. They offered stations of street-style Mexican food like quesadillas, tacos, street corn, and a fresh juice station. Instead of serving signature cocktails, the couple offered mini margaritas with each guest’s name and table number on the glass.

Dozens of vintage Persian rugs were layered along the hallway to the entrance of the couple’s reception. Tendrils of greenery and orange and yellow flowers hung from the walls and gathered around candles on the floor. “It was super romantic and inviting,” Summer says. A custom dance floor with the couple’s initials was surrounded by long tables. Colorful flowers and greenery hung from the ceilings, along with rattan lamps and disco balls. Pillows were also placed on the rugs around the reception space, incorporating more of the couple’s vibrant color scheme.

Each table had a floral table runner with pink, orange, and yellow flowers. Ivory pillar candles were scattered throughout. The couple chose ivory dishware with gold accents paired with gold flatware and an ivory napkin with a gold napkin ring.

Summer and John made their grand entrance into the reception and shared their first dance as husband and wife to “Beyond” by Leon Bridges. The couple chose Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight” to share a simultaneous father-daughter and mother-son dance.

For dinner, guests enjoyed a salad with hummus, roasted artichokes, parmesan, hazelnuts, and yuzu dressing to start, presented with a glass dome on top. The second course was tuna tartare with miso and caviar, while the main dish was an option of filet mignon with truffle butter and mashed potatoes, a miso sea bass dish with rice and roasted mushrooms, or a pasta arrabbiata dish. For dessert, they skipped the wedding cake and served a hot cookie in a skillet and sticky toffee cake with vanilla ice cream instead.

During the party, we had a cart filled with traditional Mexican spicy candies being pushed around the dance floor,” Summer says, “And for late night food, we had pita bread with melted cheese, chilaquiles, and churros.”

The couple kicked off the dancing portion of the evening with the hora, a Jewish wedding tradition where the newlyweds are lifted into the air in chairs while guests dance in circles around them. John asked the DJ ahead of time to make the hora last 20 minutes as a fun way to get everyone dancing. “We only lasted 13 minutes before we thought we were going to die of a heart attack,” Summer says, “The hora got so rowdy that my dad got a bloody lip from all the arms swinging all over the place!”

Later in the evening, Summer changed into a white sparkling Nadine Merabi jumpsuit. “Our DJ moved from the main party room to a dark, private disco room where we lounged on blue velvet couches under a disco ball and danced for hours!” the bride says. Summer and John are planning a honeymoon in Japan, but enjoyed a minimoon right after the wedding in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

To couples planning their wedding, Summer and John recommend focusing on the elements that are authentically you. “It is your special day and you don’t need to do anything you don’t want to do,” Summer says. “If something doesn’t feel like it’s worth the money, then don’t spend it because you feel like you have to. Remember it is your wedding and you can do whatever makes you happy!”