Rain on your wedding day? Fantastic fun! Alanis sang about it being ironic, cultures around the world believe it is a blessing and Ali and Rafael danced joyfully in the rain on their wedding day at Villa la Joya, Playa del Carmen. Rainy day weddings prove that the couple can weather the storm together and these sweet newlyweds embraced the downpours of the day with huge smiles and a whole lot of love.
A destination wedding just makes sense: Celebrate love with your most cherished family and friends
Love at first sight and a family celebration, we asked Ali and Rafael to tell us a little about their love story that led to their rainy destination wedding day in Mexico.
Raff and I met on a dating app and from the moment we met in person we just knew. We stayed out on our first date talking in the car until 4 am because neither of us wanted to say goodbye. When Covid hit we were already living together and working full time. As we watched other people’s weddings get canceled or postponed, we decided we didn’t want to put our life on hold to plan a wedding so we decided to have a baby instead.
In May of 2021, we welcomed our sweet daughter Piper Bee Pats. She lights up our world. So when it came time to plan our wedding we wanted to pick a place where we could really just celebrate with our closest family and friends, since we did things a little backwards anyways. A destination wedding made the most sense to us!
Piper Bee Pats was the cutest little flower girl and she was centerstage for the romantic ceremony in the Villa la Joya garden. Ali, Rafael, and Piper joined together in a family wedding full of joy and youthful exuberance. Kids at destination weddings? Absolutely ADORABLE.
Ali’s Wedding Featuring Raff: A sense of humor and style
This was really such a joyous occasion, Ali and Rafael brought their sense of humor and style to each and every detail. We loved the wedding signs, the menus, the black place settings and the stunning wedding florals by EW Cancun.
I had such a tough time picking my floral and decor but EW was patient and set up a mock table over facetime to help me decide. I was so nervous about the floral because you just don’t know what you’re going to get until the day of. I had built up the floral so much that when they delivered the bouquets to the bridal suite I had my back to the door getting hair and makeup done, and my mom and sister actually started crying. When they held the bouquet in front of me I too started tearing up, it was so beautiful!
A wet knot is harder to untie: Blessings of a rainy day destination wedding
Rain on your wedding day is not the end of the world, it is the beginning of a fabulous life together that has been blessed by mother nature. Some believe rain on your wedding day is a sign of cleansing and abundance and fertility and that it strengthens the knot that has just been tied by the couple in love.
The biggest surprise was the amount of rain that fell from the sky immediately following the ceremony. It delayed a few things like photos and cocktail hour. I couldn’t believe how professional everyone was and how calm they kept me.
The drinks were flowing by BeYou and the photo team were looking for back up plans. The Villa la Joya team were a bunch of professionals keeping the water off the tent and keeping all the patrons happy!
The rain although unfortunate and stressful was also one of my favorite things about my wedding. Raff and I threw caution to the wind and danced right away in the pouring rain, risking hair and make up we embraced the situation as best as possible.
My favorite time of the night wasn’t captured by our photo team or videographers but instead by iPhones. After some guests left our closest friends decided to embrace the rain and we all danced the last hour in the rain. Soaking wet and happy we popped bottles of champagne and enjoyed the end of our night.
I wouldn’t have changed a thing. And I wish we could do it all over again.
Ali and Rafael went with the flow and didn’t let the weather take away from their celebrations. Check out all the amazing wedding photos by LuxArt Weddings and you can see the glow of true love and the sun shining from the newlywed’s eyes in spite of the rain.
Thanks so much to Ali and Rafael for inviting Villa la Joya to be a part of your wonderful rainy wedding day
All of us at Villa la Joya send our gratitude and best wishes to Ali and Rafael. This was an unforgettable rainy wedding day and we know that every raindrop was a blessing upon your family. Sunny days are ahead, and we wish you both (the three of you, hola Piper!) a lifetime of joy and laughter.
Weather challenges for your destination wedding can be stressful but it doesn’t have to be a disaster. Villa la Joya is so grateful to all our staff and the incredible wedding vendors who made this day a success. Calm, cool, and collected, everyone worked together under the Sky Tent as though rain was the plan all along. Big, huge gracias to all the Playa del Carmen wedding vendors, we are grateful for your professionalism, hard work, and creativity.
Our vendors:
Planners: Pride Maya Weddings | Photographer: Luxart | Videographer: Frame Film | Dress: Flares Bridal | Floral and Decor: EW Cancun | Hair & Makeup: Angye Abarca | Drinks: BeYou | Caterer: Gourmet Soberanis | Churro Cart: Los Pockets | DJ: Uno Audiovisuals
Ready to book your destination wedding venue in Mexico? Contact us today at Villa la Joya Playa del Carmen and let’s start bringing your wedding dreams to life! We cannot wait to hear your ideas and remember, there are never any vendor fees at Villa la Joya, put those pesos to better use for something pretty! Rainy wedding day or sunshine and blue skies, a Playa del Carmen wedding is always a good idea, it just makes sense.