JESSICA & DAVID

The best thing about working with Brides is seeing the amazing photos that come back after the wedding day!
We had the absolute honour of chatting to Jessica Van from France Photographer about her recent wedding in Puerto Vallarta, Las Caletas.

Where did you meet your man?

David and I met when we were neighbours in Carlsbad California. When I say neighbours, I literally mean that we shared the same wall of our apartments. When we first started dating we would have a knock that we would use to signal that we wanted the other person to come over and cuddle :)

What is one of the things you love most about him?

That's a tough one, but the first thing that came to mind is that he can make me laugh so incredibly hard. He is just as goofy as me and I feel like I can be my absolute self around him.

Where did you get married?

We got married in Puerto Vallarta at Las Caletas. It's a magical beach that is tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the city and all of our guests took a boat across the Marina to get there. It was simply magical and it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves!

What was the most challenging part of organising a wedding?

As a wedding photographer myself, the actual planning of the wedding itself was fairly easy as I have seen what goes on with planning a wedding. But I think the hardest part for us was because it was a destination wedding and planning all the logistics was the hardest part, where people would stay, how people would get to the boat, getting them to the hotel from the airport...etc. But I finally broke down and hired a professional which was the best thing I could have done for my sanity.

Any funny moments?

On the beach that we got married at there were these man made floating islands in the ocean that had a hammock on them and a little palm tree. In the middle of the party part of the reception when everyone was dancing and having a great time, my two younger brothers decided it would be a good idea to strip down and swim out to them. This was against the rules as there were stingrays in the water so everyone started yelling at them to come back, but they thought that everyone was cheering them on to swim faster! Lol. They finally got to the island and realized that that wasn't' the case. I have a great photo of them soaking wet with their shirts off with the biggest grin on their goofy faces.

What was your aisle song?

The music for our wedding was really special as I wanted it to be something that when it came on the radio it would bring us right back to that moment. When we were choosing the song for the aisle. I had three that I thought were good and I sat down with David and told him to close his eyes and imagine me walking down the aisle to him. When I started playing "Marry Me" by Train, he started crying and we knew that one was it!

What is one scene in the wedding that will forever be in your memory?

In the middle of dinner when everyone was eating and talking with one and other, David grabbed my hand, and told me to grab my glass of champagne, we stood up from our table and turned around so you could see the beach that we just got married on. He told me that he never wanted to forget these moments and I just laid my head on his shoulder and we just stood there for a second soaking in all that was happening that day.

How was your experience as a Forever Soles bride?

Being a Forever Soles Bride was the only thing I had ever wanted about my wedding...and that was before I even knew that Forever Soles existed! I was never the girl who had her whole wedding planned out, or didn't have these grand ideas. All I ever knew was that I wanted to marry the man of my dreams with the sand in my toes and the wind in our hair and I got exactly that! Finding Forever Soles I think was one of the best things about my planning because it allowed me to still make my dream come true of having my toes in the sand but still have a little bling on my feet that made me feel pretty and bridal. No other company was even close to the design and quality of Forever Soles, so much so that I not only bought a pair for myself, but I also bought 12 other pairs for my bridesmaids, sisters, mother and mother in law! Everyone loved them! Thank you for making us all feel so special!