The inspiration behind this shoot was the Hacienda itself. Hacienda Real is an ancient Mexican Hacienda located in a small village between the wedding destination San Miguel de Allende and Querétaro. It holds sprawling grounds full of trees, delicate flowers, century-old buildings, and a sense of peace and grounding we all felt when visiting. Fusing the lush, organic outdoors with the architecture of the buildings was the main idea.
From this guiding principle, everything else was derived. Adding green shades to the white, light pink, and brown tones of the Hacienda, using a mix of modern and more rustic furniture, adding organic texture to the classic shapes of stationery, selecting traditional suits for Roy and Memo but playing with color and texture to make them more modern.
When Nanzza and Caro, friends and wedding industry colleagues, stumbled across Hacienda Real, they knew they wanted to create a styled shoot there. The ancient Mexican Hacienda is located in a small village between the wedding destination San Miguel de Allende and Querétaro and offers sprawling grounds full of trees and cacti, ancient wellness techniques, and spaces to celebrate love in all its aspects. So the two friends brought together an array of vendors to create a wedding inspiration that is organic, of subtle beauty, and celebrates the ancient Hacienda and its forms.
Every piece of this wedding inspiration embodies this sentiment. From the handcrafted stationery with gold application, the delicate florals that seem to grow out of the table, natural textures, and soft tones of the Hacienda’s stone walls. It shows that beautiful things happen organically if you’re mindful of what you bring into your life.
In Roy and Memo, the two friends found the perfect couple: real lovers who have been together for over a decade and who have been through the good and the bad together. More than just their models, they wanted to create a beautiful memory for Roy and Memo – a highlight in their journey as a couple.
The couple stayed the night in the beautiful Hacienda and got pampered by the barbers. And as part of the styled shoot, they were asked to write some heartfelt words to each other. To everyone’s surprise, their words were more than just some happy memories; they were proper vows that brought tears not only to their faces. Something only meant for photos suddenly turned meaningful, intimate, and special. Together, everyone cried, laughed, and celebrated this beautiful couple.
Why was creating this shoot important to the team?
As wedding industry professionals, we love creating special occasions for our clients that feel authentic to them. And we feel that LGBTQ+ love stories (and wedding inspirations) are absolutely underrepresented in Mexico. In this country, same-sex marriage has only been legally recognised and performed throughout the country since December 2022. By showing LGBTQ+ love stories prominently in our work and welcoming LGBTQ+ couples as our clients with open arms, we hope to provide a sense of representation, acceptance, and respect to everyone who identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community.
It would have been easy to turn this styled shoot into “just another dreamy Hacienda wedding inspiration” with a model couple, fairytale dresses, and gorgeous details. But that’s not what we want – neither in inspiration nor in real life. We want real couples, genuine emotions, and real significance.
What are the key styling elements of the styled inspiration, and who brought them to life?
Our main styling elements were color and organic textures that we intended to weave throughout each element of the shoot:
- The simple, elegant stationery included both drawn and actual foliage and gold-textured details.
- Textured patterns and gold threads integrated the classic silhouettes of the couple’s suits weaved into the fabric.
- Styling of Roy and Memo was done with great care and skill, accentuating their natural hair, style and contours as well as their personal jewellery and personal items.
- The organic florals seemed to both grow out of the ground as well as the table’s surface to create an organic and fluent design.
- In addition to the personal vows and the traditional ring exchange, our celebrant Laura incorporated a cleansing ritual with copal at the start of the ceremony, paying homage to nature and the tradition of ancient Mexican spiritual rituals.
- We chose rustic and modern furniture with organic textures, such as wood and linen, for the rentals. The table details were chosen with much care to resemble an organic softness with the hand-painted birds on the plates and tie into the color scheme with gold rims and details.
- Photography focused on the closeness of Roy and Memo, their natural bond, and on capturing the moments that unfolded throughout this styled-shoot-turned-vow-renewal.
Memo & Roys Story
What is your favorite memory together?
Every single moment we spend together turns into an unforgettable and special moment for us because every situation – good or bad – allows for personal growth and strengthens our relationship with each other. However, one of the most important memories in our lives was the moment we decided to formalise our relationship in a spiritual and legal way. Creating our own love story in which we can convert our dreams and life plans into reality together.
What is been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome together?
Communication is an elemental part of our relationship, and we are lucky that we haven’t had a situation we couldn’t overcome and resolve through dialogue. But if we had to describe one of the most challenging situations, it would definitely be when we lost one of the most important people in our lives (Roy’s mom). It was a complex time for both of us as we were navigating depression, but thanks to the empathy and our immense love that we could reinforce, we could eventually move forward.
What would you say if you could give your younger selves a pep talk for the future?
Memo – Be proud of who you are. Appreciate your family and friends who have made you into the special person you are and who have provided you with the foundations to make decisions that – even though not always the correct ones – will lead to the personal growth you need to become a fully formed person. You will go through many things, but in the end, you’ll find an incredible person who will make you feel that everything makes sense and that you will enjoy your life together.
Roy – Life will have a lot of complicated and tough lessons in store for you that will leave you with a feeling of emptiness and the desire to leave everything behind. Just remember that you will always have the power to search for your own happiness, that you can always go on building the future that you want so much, and on that way, you will meet a lot of people that will help you to push you forward and achieve your goals and one of them will be the love of your life. Keep on moving forward and make those proud who have been there for you. And be grateful for every single moment.
Tell us your favorite things about one another.
Memo for Roy – I love your way of being you and your commitment to everything you do, your humor, and that you love to party and celebrate.
Roy for Memo – I adore the empathy that you always show, your protectiveness, and that you love to cook.
What does the future hold for you?
Even though it sounds corny, our love will grow. With time passing, you’ll learn new things about the person who’s by your side; we will grow as persons but also as a couple and reach our goals, even though the future is uncertain. We will honor our promise to each other the moment we joined our lives to be there for each other under any circumstances and for the rest of our lives.
Photography by Carito Photography
Barbers & Hairstyling Rock’n’Rolla Barbers
Design & Logistics, Organisation Nanzza Planners
Florals Hoja Otoño
Outfits Sereno del Sordo
Officiant Iluminna
Rentals Caudillo Mobiliario Sofisticado
Stationery Buga Stationery
Venue Hacienda Real
