Wedding | Stella & Bryan

Tell us a little about yourselves!

Bryan and I have been together for almost 15 years! Both SoCal natives, we met in college at UC Riverside, spent our early adulthood running around Los Angeles, and recently moved to Austin with our 2 dogs (a pitbull mix named Earl and a cane corso named Bacio).

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

We wanted a wedding that spoke to our love for travel, nature, food, music, and culture. 

Todos Santos had a mix of everything we loved: relaxed small-town feels, delicious gastronomy, friendly faces, and artsy vibes. Being at the southern tip of Baja, it reminded us of our weekends driving across the border from LA to Ensenada and Valle de Guadalupe. Its landscapes reminded us of our desert camp trips in Joshua Tree and Utah, while its palm groves and marine life reminded us of our tropical adventures in Tulum, Costa Rica, and the Philippines.

In short, it’s a magical place.

How many guests did you have?

50.

What was your budget? 

$50K for the 3-day wedding weekend.

Post-pandemic wedding pricing was no joke, so we wanted to be mindful and make the most of our budget.

We kept a few big priorities in mind like the destination, venue, and photography. We kept other things like floral and decor minimal. Our wedding planner Marissa from Saltwater Weddings got our vibe from the beginning and did a phenomenal job helping us put together creative solutions. She also lived in the area and gave us wonderful local recommendations.

Tell us about your outfits.

I wanted a dress that was modern and comfortable. Besa Brida’s Riley dress was just that. Besa is also a bridal brand created by a Korean designer, designed in New York, and manufactured in Seoul. It was a nice nod to my Korean-American heritage. I paired it with a bridal scarf and a cathedral-length veil for some drama, along with some sparkly sandal block heels that peeked out through the dress’ high slit. The Tiffany & Co necklace I wore was a gift from Bryan over 10 years ago. It’s a piece I’ve worn daily since then.

Bryan wanted an olive green/brown-ish suit that was lightweight and matched the Baja vibe. He paired it with a crisp Abercrombie dress shirt, a timeless pair of Allen Edmonds dress shoes, and a fun pair of socks I gifted him a few years ago. The Rolex he wore was an engagement gift from me. It was Bryan’s dream watch, and we found it at a vintage watch store during our travels in Tokyo!

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

Our first priority was to keep things chill - relaxed and not too formal. We just wanted to spend quality time with our closest friends and family, take them on a little adventure, and have a beautiful weekend together.

Not going to lie, we wished we had eloped many times during the planning process, but in the end, it was an incredible time that we’ll cherish forever! It made us so happy to see everyone exploring and enjoying Todos Santos. We’re so glad we did it and have no regrets!

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

We share a deep love and appreciation for Latin culture. Growing up in LA, we were naturally around the language, food, and music.

Mexico has also been one of our favorite places to travel to, and we wanted to share its beauty with everyone - taking them beyond the stereotypes and resorts. So we tried our best to honor and infuse the Latin experience into our wedding weekend - through local restaurants, the tequila and mezcal (too much tequila and mezcal lol), and of course, the music.

For our dinner playlist, we wanted salsa, cumbia, boleros, etc. And for dancing, our vision was a "Disco Reggaeton Rave". Shout out to DJ Chachin, who was a match made in heaven for us musically. He killed it!

We also needed to incorporate our pups, especially our first dog together, Mila. She was a sweet blue-nose pitbull who everyone in our lives knew and loved. Our drink menu was titled ‘Mila’s Bar’ and featured specialty cocktails named after our dogs who had to stay back in Austin: ‘Earl’s Tamarind Margarita’ and ‘Bacio’s Old Fashioned’.

Any tips for couples getting married?

Don’t take things too seriously! Not every detail is going to go perfectly, but everything that matters will be just right. Support each other as much as possible, block out other opinions, and keep in mind what’s important.

We also highly recommend having a smaller wedding and making a weekend out of it. We so appreciated being able to have more face time with our loved ones. It felt really special to make these core memories with everyone. 

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

We obviously need to talk about our amazing photographer, the magical wonder-woman who is Emily Klarer We met Emily through our planner Marissa; She had also gotten married in Todos Santos (on the same beach of our welcome party! and had Marissa as her planner!). We vibed right away through our shared love for Mexico, the outdoors, secret desert roads, and dogs! Meeting Emily Klarer and working with her was one of the best parts of this whole process. She shot both our engagement photos in Moab, Utah and our wedding in Todos Santos. Her photos are magical, she is one of the coolest people on this earth, and we cannot recommend her enough.

We also want to shout out our content creator, Indra from Ever After. She was the perfect alternative to a full-service video team and did a fabulous job! After almost deciding not to have any video, we were so happy that we hired Indra. It was so nice to look back at videos in the following days together, and she has a wonderfully elegant aesthetic.

Photographer: Emily Klarer Photography @emilyklarerphotography | Planning: Saltwater Weddings 

@saltwaterweddingsbaja | Flora: Diseño Floral Nantli @difloral_nantli | Content Creator: Ever After

 @everafter | Ceremony & Reception Location: Rancho Corazon @ranchocorazon.todos | Celebrant: Friend | Hire: Royal Dreams @royalbcs | Hair & Makeup Artist: Gladys Treviño Makeup and Hair Artists @gladys_trevino_makeup | Catering & Beverages: DUM / Rancho Corazon  @ranchocorazon.todos | Cake: Madre Santa @madresantacafets | Stationery: Us Creating @uscreating | Entertainment: DJ Chachin @chachin_bling | Shuttle Service: Todos Santos Private Transportation

@tsprivatetransportation | Dress: Besa Bridal @besa_bridal | Suit: Spier & McKay @spiermackay | Veil: 

Etsy - BridalsByTeri | Scarf: Etsy - Weddings OnlineStore | Engagement Ring: Concierge Diamonds 

@conciergediamonds | Wedding Rings: The Lim’s Jewelry Co @limsjewelry | Shoes:  (Stella) Asos 

Nina Shoes & (Bryan) Allen Edmonds @asos @ninashoes @allenedmonds | Watch:  Rolex @rolex | Necklace: Tiffany & Co @tiffanyandco | Wedding Party Attire: Sachin & Babi  @sachinandbabi