Tell us a little about yourselves!
We met 7 years ago on a motorcycle trip to Death Valley that our mutual friends had planned and quickly set a first date when we got back. About 5 years later, we got engaged at our favorite antique show in Round Top, Texas amongst our family. Kelsey is an interior designer and Dustyn is a fabricator and builder. Together we’ve worked on some pretty wonderful projects and started our own business.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
We had our eyes set on Bruma from day one - and it was the one and only place we toured for our party. We had grand plans for what we wanted to do and knew to pull it off with the budget we had, we would have to leave Los Angeles. Bruma was not only perfect because it was 45 minutes across the border, and only 4 hours from our home, but it was so beautifully our style. We could spend our entire weekend there and treat this moment as a retreat. It was important to us to have family and close friends on site as well which was possible with Bruma’s eight casitas, so having the grounds to ourselves for almost three days was really special and felt like everything was for us.
How many guests did you have?
Around 70.
Tell us about your outfits.
We wanted our outfits to truly feel us, and be something we can actually wear again. Kelsey never vibed with a traditional wedding dress so she opted for a Prada skirt and black Cansuxi corset top. Dustyn wanted to do something more playful that harked to his Texan roots with a H bar C Calamity suit, custom Ranch Road boots and Two Roads Hat Co.hat. We both thought, why use a moment to spend thousands of dollars on beautiful pieces that might sit in a closet for the rest of our lives. Being very practical, that just didn’t make sense for us. We almost exclusively shopped online for our outfits and had them all completed a few weeks before our wedding day.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
Creating something that felt intimate, intentional, and questioned the norms of a wedding ceremony. We integrated only the things that felt close to our hearts and prioritized moments that have been central to our relationship. For example, creating a dinner party event where we all sit and eat an incredible meal together was crucial. Having only friends and family that have been close to our relationship felt like we didn’t spend time catching up with distant relatives and friends who we hadn’t seen in years. We read our vows privately in front of eight family members which was so special and we didn’t feel the stress of a large audience. We didn’t create seating charts or fuss with many private dances; we let the day flow organically instead of forcing anything to a timeline, which allowed us to be as present as possible. Overall, it was important for us to plan a party and ceremony that had us at the center of it and wouldn’t take us away from our guests or each other.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
We really wanted someone close to marry us, so we asked my sister to become ordained and marry us. It was so special.
We also still wanted to be mindful of family, so even though we didn’t do a lot of the traditional things, we still made sure to ask our family members what was important for them to experience with us and that was a really nice conversation to have.
Any tips for couples getting married?
Plan as far in advance as possible. We thought it was silly to get started a year earlier but weddings are not something you train for. Having a destination wedding really takes things up a notch. Appoint someone who can help you field all the questions and concerns, or put together an email, document, website with FAQ's well in advance. We received great advice from friends (as we weren’t embarking on a honeymoon right away) we were advised to take the week off following the wedding either way, to share memories, be close, and give ourselves the space to process. It was so needed and we’re so glad we took that advice and took a small local road trip after. And ultimately, remember to do what you and your partner wants, above anyone else’s wishes.
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Our wedding photographer, Dani from from Bring Me Somewhere Nice, was such a dream to work with and we feel so lucky he flew from Germany for us. His portfolio is so impressive and his editorial approach was exactly what we were looking for. Not to mention he’s the sweetest person with so much personable understanding for these events. His vision is truly inspiring, using the landscape as his playground and creating movement and moments in his subjects feel truly candid. As we are not models in our day jobs, he really made us feel comfortable, relaxed and playful in between shots. We were just so floored when we got our photos back and will cherish them forever. Orla Floral Studio is a LA-based floral company run by our friends, Renata and Felicia. We sent them one mood image to go from (luckily they didn’t hate us for that) and they went above and beyond to bring it to life and even took field trips down to Mexico a couple of times to gather local pottery. They brought so many ideas to the table, like making dried floral necklaces for the horses we rode in on, that made working with them so inspiring. We loved the idea of incorporating fruits, pods and dried flowers into our tablescapes and bouquets and I love that Renata and Felicia went shopping locally at the town market for all the goods. Also, our guests enjoyed taking some fruits and nuts home from our table for breakfast the next morning!
Photographer : Dani Rodriguez from Bring Me Somewhere Nice @bringmesomewherenice |
Ceremony + Reception Location : Casa Ocho, Bruma @brumacasa8 | Celebrant : Bride’s Sister |
Styling : Bride + Groom | Planner : Rustico Eventos @rusticoeventos | Hire : Rustico Eventos
@rusticoeventos | Flora : Orla Floral Studio @orlafloralstudio | HMUA : Angie Neff @angiebulmer | Catering, Beverages + Cake : Fauna @faunarestaurante | Stationery : Celina Coppetti | Kelsey's Outfit : Prada Skirt @prada, Cansuxi corset | Dustyn's Suit : H bar C Calamity suit @hbarcofficial | Engagement Ring : Kinn Studio @kinnstudio | Wedding Rings : Maria Black @mariablackjewellery (Kelsey) + Vintage Gucci from Worn Over Time (Dustyn) @gucci @wornovertime | Shoes : Alexander McQueen @alexandermcqueen (Kelsey) + Ranch Road Johnny Black with custom heel (Dustyn) @ranchroadboots | Kelsey's Earrings : Agmes NYC @agmesnyc | Necklace : Faris @farisjewelry | Kelsey's Hat : Bijoux | Dustyn's Jewellery : Vintage | Dustyn's Hat : Two Roads Hat Co.@tworoads_hatco