The Couple:  Cindy and Ray Harshbarger
Wedding Date:  May 27, 2011
Photography by The Studio
Tell us a little about you and your beloved:  We were on vacation in Cancun when we met at the pool. Being from Virginia myself, and Ray being from California, we initially chatted away talking about ourselves and our history, thinking we would never see each other again since we were both leaving the resort the following morning.
Hours later, after a nice dinner and an evening of fun downtown, talking for hours on the beach and watching the sun come up, we quickly realized we kind of liked each other! After 11 months of travelling back and forth across the country, I moved to California, and then we got married one month later.
What was the most amazing part of your day?  There are so many amazing moments! Of course with an outdoor wedding, you’re taking a chance as to whether it will actually still be held outside. I was checking the weather every day for weeks prior, with many forecasts of storms and rain. The weather turned out gorgeous and sunny!
The first bubbles of excitement really started when my sister-in-law came to our suite and pointed down the beach to our wedding ceremony set up. Seeing the white ribboned chairs made me emotional. Another moment that stood out was in the middle of our ceremony – I looked up and noticed that our small and intimate wedding of 20 guests had grown surprisingly when I looked up at the resort and saw that the patio, pool and balconies were full of guests who also decided to attend our little affair, from afar! What a feeling.
We initially wanted to have it just be the two of us, but since we planned to have it one year from when we met in Cancun, well, that is when our families go each year so they were kind of built into the plan due to our choice of location and date. Fortunately for us, we decided to keep that plan and include all of them, then it grew a little more from there with our friends, which worked out perfectly. Our families did so many things for us to make our day truly special.
What else would you like to share about your big day?  It could not have been more perfect. The simple beauty of the beach was the perfect environment for our special day.
















Ceremony Site:  Cancun Royal Sands Beach Resort
Reception Venue:  La Habichuela Sunset Restaurant
Photographer:  The Studio
Cake:  La Habichuela
Flowers:  I had ordered a bouquet from the resort planner, however, the maid put some beautiful flowers on my door that I just had to have for my bouquet instead – she showed up later with my newly created bouquet.
Favors:  DIY goodie bags with treats
Wedding Dress:  Dress by Mignon, and the veil was created by my mother. It was at least 10 feet long, part tulle and part chiffon (three layers).
Hair:  My lovely friend LaRease created my bun!
Invitations:  We had an ‘invite yourself’ wedding.
Honeymoon location:  Playa del Carmen
Any advice you’d give to our readers who are planning their weddings right now?  Stay out of any drama that others may bring into your day. Do it the way you want it. We really wanted to keep it simple, but also elegant.
Anything that you would have done differently if you were given the chance?  No

Photos courtesy of The Studio.

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