A Destination Wedding on Mexico's Pacific Coast

Matt Misisco first spotted Chloe Mitchell on campus at UC Santa Barbara, but was too nervous to introduce himself. Thankfully, a mutual friend made the intro in November of 2009. “I, on the other hand, hadn’t noticed Matt, but I fell hard and fast the moment we met,” Chloe says. So fast, in fact, that when Matt told Chloe he wasn’t looking for anything serious, she lied and agreed with him so he wouldn’t call it off. Matt soon decided he was okay with serious, and they dated for the next seven years. Then, he took Chloe back to the place where he’d accidentally fallen in love with her to propose—with a ring Chloe had picked out five years earlier. “We were window shopping one day, and I pointed out my dream ring and playfully joked that I didn’t want to get engaged for at least five years, but that he should take note of the ring I wanted,” she says. “We never talked about it again, but five years later, he was down on one knee with that exact ring!”

When it was time to plan their December 9, 2017 wedding, Chloe and Matt’s inspiration came from a feeling they’ve often had while traveling. “Every time we go on a trip somewhere new, as much fun as we might have together, we always wish we could go back with our friends," she explains. "So when we first visited Sayulita, Mexico, we fell in love and knew we had to bring our friends and family back with us.” They turned to Villa del Oso to host their celebration, planning a relaxed oceanfront wedding reminiscent of their coastal upbringings. “We wanted our wedding to feel unpretentiously special so our guests would be comfortable and ready to party,” says Chloe. Planners Miguel and Yendi of A La Carte grasped the vision immediately, meaning long-distance planning was (almost) a breeze for the happy couple. They invited Zibetti Photo and Film to capture every fun moment, from beach parties and group meals to late-night tacos after saying “I do,” as Chloe and Matt kicked off their marriage with “an amazing party for our favorite people.” Keep reading for more!

Chloe was on the hunt for a gown that was unconventional and unique, and Dan Jones’s “Unbridaled” line fit the bill. The bride chose a silk crepe gown with a French illusion tulle bodice that had a keyhole center and a high halter neckline. “I planned to change into something more flirty at the reception, but I loved my gown so much that I never took it off,” she says. As a nod to her mom’s bridal bouquet, Chloe paired palm leaves with white lilies. The flower girl, Chloe’s goddaughter Kendall, wore a watercolor Jenny Yoo dress and gold sandals. “She was adamant about wearing a crown, so we compromised with one made of white roses,” the bride says, with a laugh.

To match the beachy location, Matt wore a navy blue suit, brown shoes, and a white shirt with no tie. Before walking down the aisle, Chloe let out her twisted chignon to reveal cascading waves in her hair.

“Above all else, I wanted my bridesmaids to feel beautiful, so I asked them to choose their own dresses in a blush and champagne palette,” Chloe says. The range of colors and silhouettes came together perfectly!

The ceremony took place on a lawn overlooking the ocean, with a garland of palm leaves dotted with amaryllis, lisianthus, and white lilies covering the ceremony structure.

“Matt and I wrote our own vows, and after sharing them, he leaned in to whisper a few additional vows just to me,” Chloe says. “Saying our vows in front of our closest family and friends was so meaningful, but I love that we had a little moment that was just ours.”

The newlyweds exited to "Send Me On My Way" by Rusted Root.

“We definitely cared about how our wedding would look, but it all started with figuring out how we wanted it to feel,” says Chloe. “We focused on our favorite memories and moments with our loved ones, from Matt smoking cigars in the yard with his buddies or me sipping rosé on girls’ trips with my friends to long dinners spent around the table. We are ‘come as you are, stay as long as you can’ kinds of people, and we wanted that to come through in our wedding.”

As guests made their way from the ceremony to the reception, they passed the local burro toting shots of tequila to get the party started. Escort cards were strung from a sign encouraging guests to find their place—on the dance floor!

“I love how greenery looks on dark wood, so we skipped the linens and used tropical greenery to create runners,” says Chloe. Amaryllis and lisianthus added touches of white, while votive candles created a glow. Large palm leaves decorated the bride and groom’s chairs, and were also set atop white dinner plates.

“We wanted our cake to be as delicious as it was beautiful,” says Chloe. The bride loves strawberry shortcake, so their wedding cake featured vanilla cake, fresh berries, and whipped cream. “It was so good that, the day after the wedding, we had everyone over to our villa to finish the cake and drink champagne!”

The couple took weeks of dance classes for their first dance, but got nervous practicing as the wedding approached. “In the moment, we decided to scratch the rehearsed number,” says Chloe. “We wanted to enjoy the moment together instead of focusing on the steps.”

As the evening continued, guests were treated to late-night al pastor tacos and released wish lanterns into the sky. “Yes, our wedding was a celebration of our love, but we also wanted it to be about our guests," says the bride. "For us, the most important thing was to thank them for their love and support and to make sure they had an amazing time!”