Vince & Rachel

Valentin Imperial Rivera Maya Wedding // Quintana Roo, Mexico

Be sure to read their story after the images.

How did you meet?

Vincent and I met and were introduced by my college roommate. We were both attending college at The University of Scranton and met during our freshman year. We were both living on different floors in the same dorm building- Casey Hall. We very quickly became inseparable.

Why did you choose your ceremony venue?

We chose to do our wedding in Riviera Maya, Mexico at Valentin Imperial Maya resort because we are both passionate about traveling and wanted to do a destination wedding. When Vincent and I were both attending graduate school, we went on a short vacation to Valentin Imperial Maya resort with our family, and we had the best time. When we decided to get married, we knew it was the perfect place for us. We chose the gazebo for our ceremony location because we thought it was so beautiful.

Where did you purchase your dress?

I purchased my dress at Formalities by Tracina Fisher in Bellefonte, PA. They have so many beautiful dresses there and are so kind & helpful. I had such a fun day finding my dress there with my mom and bridesmaids. The designer of my dress is Maggie Sottero.

What did the Groomsmen do before getting ready?

Before the wedding, the groomsmen were relaxing at the pool together and then met up in one of the rooms to get ready and have a celebratory drink.

I chose to have my bridesmaids wear palm leaf robes to get ready in because I thought they were so cute & perfect for a tropical wedding location! I bought all my bridesmaids, my mother, and mother-in-law matching slippers to get ready in as well.

What do you remember from the moments right before you walked down the aisle or waited for her to arrive?

I remember feeling a little nervous before walking down the aisle. Once I started walking down the aisle I looked up and made eye contact with Vincent. I kept my eyes on him as I walked down the aisle and felt immediately more calm/relaxed. I absolutely loved the words our minister spoke at our ceremony. I loved the vows and what the minister said about continuing to “inspire” one another.

Why did you choose your reception venue? What was your favorite part about it?

We chose to do our reception at Las Fuentes (The fountains) location because we loved the idea of it being outside and we thought it was a beautiful location. I had always imagined having an outdoor wedding reception.

Did families and friends travel to be with you for your wedding day?

We had so many people travel to be with us for our wedding! It meant so much to us that so many people traveled all the way to Mexico for our wedding. We had guests attend our wedding from Pennsylvania, Arizona, California, Ohio, and more.

Who gave toasts? What was a favorite memory from their toast?

My twin sister (and matron of honor), Alexandra, gave the first toast. Her toast was so sweet and made me tear up. She talked about growing up together as twins and how we have always shared so much of our lives together. My dad gave the second toast which made me laugh, he talked about my obsession with Indiana Jones when I was younger, and how he knew that I would marry a professor (Indiana Jones is a professor in the movies. My dad is also a professor, and my husband Vincent is a professor), stating that Vincent wasn’t the first professor I ever loved. He told the story about taking me as a child to the blockbuster movie store and me running up and hugging a poster of Indiana Jones, yelling “Indiana!”. The third toast was by my now brother-in-law, and the best man at our wedding, Anthony. His toast also made me laugh, as he told us the story of how Vinnie first told him about meeting me. He also told stories of how he and Vinnie’s younger brother used to play pranks/jokes on me when I would come over there house.

Vincent’s favorite part of the wedding day?

I really enjoyed our first dance together. My favorite part was at the end of the dance, fireworks suddenly shot up from the sides of the dance floor, totally taking me (and everyone else) by surprise! It was totally unexpected and made for a really neat memory.

How did you feel at the end of the night?

At the end of the night, I remember feeling so happy! I remember dancing with Vincent to the song “Closing time” and looking around me and seeing almost every single person still on the dance floor! Everyone looked like they are having such a fun time (even though we were all covered in sweat from the Mexico heat)! The reception looked so beautiful at night with the bulb lights overhead and the lit-up dance floor.

Rachel’s favorite party of the day?

My favorite part of the day was probably saying our vows, because they were just so sweet and special. I also loved our entrance into the reception. We walked out to the song “Marry You” by Bruno Mars, and as we were walking down the long path into our reception the fountains went off on either side of us (I didn’t know that would happen)! It was the first time seeing our reception and it look so beautiful and everyone was cheering.

Now that the wedding planning is over what advice would you share with a couple currently planning?

The only advice I would share is to enjoy the wedding planning process, it goes by so quickly! I had so much fun planning our wedding. Other advice I would give is to try to just relax and enjoy your wedding day. During our wedding, a few things didn’t go quite as planned (the flowers were running late, my mom’s hair/makeup ran late etc.), but even though things didn’t go exactly as planned, we worked around it and still had so much fun! I wouldn’t change a single thing about our day and everyone had so much fun! The things that did go wrong are a good memory to look back on now.

Congratulations and good luck to all the other brides planning their special day! It will be wonderful.

Venue: Valentin Imperial Rivera Maya

Travel Agent: L&S Travel

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