[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/rustic-beach-wedding-in-tulum-mexico\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/rustic-beach-wedding-in-tulum-mexico\/","headline":"Rustic Beach Wedding in Tulum, Mexico","name":"Rustic Beach Wedding in Tulum, Mexico","description":"Will and Ritchie's rustic beach wedding in Tulum, Mexico, with paper airplanes, family heirlooms and heartfelt customs.","datePublished":"2015-03-10","dateModified":"2016-07-07","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/kpalladino\/#Person","name":"Kirsten Palladino","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/kpalladino\/","identifier":2,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/76421eab241dc39d43a493849d7bc676e4b1c60c6b1167f727466599b6882eca?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/76421eab241dc39d43a493849d7bc676e4b1c60c6b1167f727466599b6882eca?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/will-ritchie-beach-wedding-palm-tree-kiss-LGBTQ-grooms-love.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/will-ritchie-beach-wedding-palm-tree-kiss-LGBTQ-grooms-love.jpg","height":665,"width":1000},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/rustic-beach-wedding-in-tulum-mexico\/","about":["Engagement","Planning","Real LGBTQ+ Weddings"],"wordCount":812,"keywords":["airplane","beach","beige","cake topper","DIY","green","heirloom","J.Crew","Mexico","penguins","Philippines","same-sex weddings","seafoam","Tulum","two grooms"],"articleBody":"Will and Ritchie’s rustic beach wedding in Tulum, Mexico, with paper airplanes, family heirlooms and heartfelt customs[dropcap letter=”R”]itchie was a social coordinator for a local LGBT group and was making a presentation to Will\u2019s university in San Luis Obispo, Calif. It was love at first sight for Will and he immediately emailed Ritchie to get to know him better. They started dating in 2005 and have been together ever since\u2014almost 10 years.A month after the marriage equality bill in New York passed, Ritchie selected a romantic restaurant where he had planned to ask Will to marry him the night before a beach day birthday celebration in Virginia Beach. On the way to dinner, Will insisted they stop at Ritchie\u2019s cousin\u2019s house in order to pick up his birthday present for him. Unbeknownst to Ritchie, Will had arranged a surprise birthday party with his immediate family where he had also planned on proposing to Ritchie. Completely shocked by the surprise party, Ritchie confided on his sister and a couple close cousins about his thwarted plans to propose to Will at the restaurant. Serendipitously, these were the same people that Will had planned the surprise party with and let know about his intention to propose during a midnight toast in Ritchie\u2019s honor. They encouraged Ritchie to propose during this \u201ctoast\u201d and at midnight, surrounded by family and friends, Will and Ritchie both pulled out rings and asked each other to marry him.William wore J.Crew Irish Linen suit pants and vest and a J.Crew dress shirt with Sperry Top Sider boat shoes.\u00a0Ritchie wore a traditional Philippine Barong Tagalog with J. Crew Irish Linen suit pants and Sperry Top Sider boat shoes.\u00a0The women\u00a0in Ritchie\u2019s wedding party wore cream-colored lace dresses including his nieces who were the ring \u201cbear\u201d-er and flower girl.\u00a0The women\u00a0in Will\u2019s wedding party wore seafoam green dresses.\u00a0Ritchie and Will\u2019s best women each wore a headpiece from Untamed Petals.\u00a0Instead of flower bouquets, the ladies held hand fans made in the Philippines.\u00a0The gentlemen wore seafoam green dress shirts from J.Crew and khaki pants.CEREMONY\u00a0Ritchie and Will were inspired by the circle of family and friends when they were engaged, and had wanted to incorporate the symbolism of being surrounded with all the love and support through a circular seating arrangement for the ceremony on the beach.\u00a0The ceremony was officiated by Will\u2019s best woman, Courtney Broderick.While they were dating, Will gave Ritchie a bear with which he had made a wish that Ritchie move with him to New York City. The ring \u201cbear\u201d-er carried that same bear down the aisle with the grooms\u2019 wedding rings tied around its neck.Ritchie\u2019s sister Krista Bermudez and the grooms\u2019 good friend Johnny Hager sang the song, \u201cThe Prayer.\u201dTRADITIONSRitchie and Will incorporated a Philippine traditional wedding custom that involves a veil, a cord and coins. Each aspect symbolizes an important tenet of marriage. The veil \u201cclothes\u201d two people and unifies them in marriage, as well as signifies their commitment to protect each other. The cord symbolizes the resolute bond of their love to help support one another throughout their lives.The coins placed in the grooms\u2019 hands symbolize an abundance of prosperity and wealth, not only in financial terms, but more importantly the richness of life, happiness and good health.\u00a0Will and Ritchie\u2019s moms also conducted the Blessing of the Hands.\u00a0DIY ITEMSTable runners were embroidered with the grooms\u2019 initials by Ginny Holc, Ritchie\u2019s sister and best woman.\u00a0Instead of flower centerpieces, the grooms provided each table with a bottle of Patron along with shot glasses with their initials on mini Adirondack chairs. They also made DIY photo lanterns that featured photos taken with their family and friends that attended the wedding.The ceremony programs were modeled after the save-the-dates, which were paper airplanes. The paper airplanes were thrown at the conclusion of the ceremony.\u00a0Ritchie and Will also provided welcome beach bags for the guests with sunscreen and must-have small items to get them through the weekend such as aspirin and sweets.SPECIAL DETAILSThe champagne flutes\u00a0for the toast were heirlooms handed down by Will\u2019s mom. They were used at Will\u2019s grandparents\u2019 wedding.\u00a0The invitations and menus were designed by Valerie Alaimo, a friend of Ritchie\u2019s, and featured a vintage map of Mexico bordered by the airmail pattern that was also used for the save-the-dates. The cake topper were penguins, Ritchie’s favorite animal.VENDORS\u00a0+\u00a0VENUE\u00a0DJ, AV, Cake, Catering, Dance Floor, Boutonnieres:\u00a0Dreams Tulum Resort & Spa\u00a0Cake Topper:\u00a0Aleksandra VargasPhotography:\u00a0Jacquie Lew, Love in Theory, an Equally Wed Platinum VendorFor more equality-minded wedding vendors and venues (including our favorites in Mexico), click here.\u00a0    "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Rustic Beach Wedding in Tulum, Mexico","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/rustic-beach-wedding-in-tulum-mexico\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]