Karina Smirnoff is Planning Her Dream Wedding, A Destination Wedding in Mexico!

Professional ballroom dancer Karina Smirnoff is pretty busy these days. Not only is she gearing up for the new season of Dancing With The Stars, but she is also planning her dream wedding to her baseball playing fiancé Brad Penny.

Karina reported that she is busy in the planning stages of her destination wedding to Mexico! “It’s in Mexico, in Cozumel. We wanted to do a destination wedding. It takes some of the pressure off of planning but also enables everyone to enjoy and have some fun, get a little vacation out of it, too,” the dancer reported.

The wedding will take place on January 21 -- the perfect time to escape the cold for sunny Mexico -- and will involve about 100 guests. Sounds like an amazing south-of-the-border wedding!

Top 13 Destination Wedding Tips: Day 4

Vendor Checkups
This step is very important for destination brides because you have frequently had to make decisions on vendors sight unseen. Ask for a portfolio of pictures and at least three references. Be sure the references are people for whom the vendor did an event similar to yours. Also ask for the names of other vendors who worked those events and use them as further references regarding the company in question. Make sure you've done your research!

Source: The Knot

Agua De Pepino Con Ginebre - A Good Non-Alcoholic Choice For a A Beach Wedding

I've talked on this blog before about how much I enjoy the idea of a signature cocktail for a beach wedding, but today I wanted to include an alternative signature cocktail for non-drinkers. I came across the recipe for this refreshing summer drink from Life's A Beach blog, written by Michele and Rob Kinnon from none other than Playa del Carmen. This refreshing summer drink is perfect for that non-alcoholic alternative, with its refreshing blend of cucumber and lime, and a kick of ginger!

1 lg. cucumber - peeled and cut in chunks
2" ginger root - cut into chunks
Juice of 2 limes
2 liters of water
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. saltAgua de Pepino-Ginebre

Put the cucumber chunks into a blender.
Cover with water to 1 inch below the rim and blend until completely smooth.
Pour through strainer into large pitcher, pressing softly on the solids.
Put ginger chunks and lime juice into blender.
Cover with water to 1 inch below rim, blend.
Pour through strainer into the pitcher with cucumber water.
Add in the sugar and salt, stir until dissolved.
Refrigerate. When chilled, stir and serve over ice!

The Mantilla Veil

I posted earlier today on a few of the top Hispanic wedding traditions, as discussed on Para ti Novia, and saved one of these traditions for its very own post. Even as a little girl I knew that I wanted to incorporate this look into my wedding -- although I didn't know its name -- and I never changed my mind! This is the classic hispanic tradition of The Mantilla veil.

Mantillas are lace or silk veils worn over the head and shoulders, often over a high comb, and are often associated with catholic weddings. A true mantilla is a veil that is NOT gathered, although it might be secured to either the hair, a hair comb, or a headpiece. The wedding mantilla, with its delicate grace, adds a touch of elegance to any wedding. After all, if it's good enough for Grace Kelly (who wore a mantilla at her own wedding), then its good enough for me!

Top Hispanic Traditions for Your Wedding

I've included a post before on top Mexican wedding traditions, which are great to incorporate for your destination wedding in Mexico as well as your Mexican themed wedding stateside. I got some really great feedback to this post, so when I saw a piece covering top hispanic traditions from Para ti Novia (one of my favorite sites), I wanted to include it! It can be an overwhelming task to include all of the traditions, but incorporating small touches and variants of old traditions are a great way to pay homage to the beautiful country of Mexico!

Here's the Latina girl's guide to the top few Mexican wedding traditions you don't want to go without!

1.    The Lasso
Lassos are a fun way to incorporate Mexican tradition into your modern wedding. They can be beautiful and chic and look like very large rosaries that wrap around both the bride and groom.  This may be one of  the sweetest traditions because it is supposed to sign the unbreakable bond between the bride and groom.

2.    The Arras
The Arras are another favorite according to Para ti Novia because it is so steeped in tradition. These 13 gold coins represent the fathers dowry to the groom.  It is a gift from one family to another to begin the bonding process between the two family clans.

Now the third tradition given by Para ti Novia gets its own post because I love it so much -- and this one can easily be incorporated into a wedding regardless of whether it has a Mexican theme or not. Stay tuned later today!

Glass Escort Cards

Here's an idea that I came across on "Soundtrack To I Do," a blog which predominantly offers music advice for those soon to be married. The article discussed a wedding dilemma which I would imagine is relatively common for those tying the knot in larger two-story venues. The bride was telling Soundtrack I do that after the ceremony the guests would go upstairs, enjoy a signature cocktail, then return downstairs for the reception. There was one major problem: the guests would have to venture down the venue's small staircase holding drink, cocktail napkin, and escort card. But what if they read their table numbers upstairs and then forgot it before heading back downstairs? As usual, the wedding blogosphere came up with a great solution to this issue...what a fun and easy to implement idea, perfect for a beach wedding!

What fun to customize your wedding glasses with chalkboard paint glasses that double as escort cards, which provide a great component for a casual wedding on the beach. I love the idea above of using classic mason jars, from Emmaline Bride. If you're going for a more vintage feel at your wedding, consider the idea below-- using old coke bottles and adding stickers with the names! 

Is a Destination Wedding Right For You? A Few Pros and Cons

A destination wedding provides several components; an element of travel, a vacation for guests as well as the bride and groom, and generally a unique experience. There are many factors that make a destination wedding so special that should be considered when deciding if it is right for you specifically. Here are a few main motivators for many couples to choose a destination wedding:

R&R for the couple: Destination weddings are great for a couple that wants a more laid back experience. If you live in a busy urban city, you might enjoy getting married at the beach more than in the church down the street.

One-stop shop: Most destination wedding venues are one-stop shops and have everything that you need in one place. These types of resorts also often have planners who will take on all of the work with vendors. Furthermore, most have on-site caterers!

Creates a great home base: Here is one that really hits home. Coming from a family that moved around a lot, I never felt like I had a real home base for which to have my wedding. If you come from a similar situation, or perhaps you and your fiance are not from close to each other, a destination wedding can be a great way to create common ground.