Devin and Carter got married at TeiTiare Estate in Sayulita, one of the most private wedding estates in Mexico. A jungle-wrapped property on the Nayarit coast with its own secluded beach, a 200-degree Pacific view, and the kind of atmosphere that does half the design work for you. The whole thing was shot by Sasha Samsonova, and it shows in every frame.
Location: Sayulita, Mexico
Style: Classic, Natural, Mexican
Time of planning: 1 year
Number of guests: 130
Setting: Private Estate
Season: Spring
Devin and Carter met through mutual friends on a sailboat in the San Francisco Bay. They got engaged at Crissy Fields beach overlooking the Bay, and from there, they spent a full year planning a wedding. The lovebirds chose Sayulita not as a random beach pin on a map, but as a town with actual character. Surf breaks, barefoot cobblestone walks, color everywhere, and the kind of energy that makes you want to stay longer than you planned. The whole weekend was built around that energy.
Roma Romanov captured the full thing on film. The overcast light, the ceremony on the sand, the reception glowing under the palms at night. It plays like a short film about people who are very good at throwing a party.
Welcome Day
The welcome party happened at Frente al Punto, a beachfront venue right in town, which is a smart move. You give guests the Sayulita experience first before you take them out to the private estate the next day. It sets the tone without giving everything away.
The welcome sign was styled with terracotta pots and bougainvillea in hot pink, all clay and soil and living plants. The guests were dressed like people on vacation who also happen to have taste, in printed dresses, chartreuse, and gold jewelry. Everyone brought their own look, and it worked.
The real showstopper of the evening was the sunset. The sky went full purple and pink, and turned the whole welcome party into a movie set that just kept going. Devin matched the energy in a fun mermaid-inspired dress by Manning Cartell paired with Righteous Cardigan earrings from Rockaboo, proving she understands the power of having two completely distinct fashion moments across a multi-day celebration.
Hair and makeup for the welcome party were handled by Jenn Chivers, who also covered the bridal party, keeping the same glam artist across both events for visual continuity.
Bride's Morning & Fashion
Devin got ready at Casa Rosada, a hacienda with powdery pink walls, arched doorways, and handcrafted geometric tiles that blend Mediterranean architecture with a distinctly Mexican warmth. The corridor shots from Sasha, feel like they were pulled straight from a Pedro Almodóvar film.
Now the dress. This is where things get interesting. The gown by Francesca Miranda is fully textured, with 3D floral applique and dimensional lace covering a fitted silhouette that carries real visual weight. Most brides going to a beach wedding in Mexico reach for something light and flowy, but Devin went sculptural.
The bouquet was compact, mostly white and cream with loose greenery, kept intentionally understated so the dress could be the statement.
The stationery deserves its own mention: custom-illustrated invitations with hand-painted scenes in watercolor, featuring what looks like the venue and Sayulita landmarks: greens, corals, blues. This is a bespoke illustration, not a template. Printed locally by Print On in Sayulita.
Groom’s Fashion
Carter went with a full off-white suit that was completely pared back, with an unstructured jacket and open collar, and the only warm accent was a cognac leather belt.
The fit sat right in that sweet spot between slim and oversized, with straight-leg pants that read slightly cropped. Combined with the mustache, the whole thing references ’70s European style.
Ceremony
The ceremony was on the beach at TeiTiare Estate, with just the couple standing on a vintage kilim rug laid on the sand, the ocean behind them, and their guests gathered in a loose semi-circle.
Courtney Bialy of Sunset Soiree and Carmen McKnight of Flora Amor, who’ve worked together on enough Sayulita weddings to finish each other’s sentences, styled the ceremony space with organic florals arranged in mismatched white ceramics, a collection of pitchers, vases, and vessels that look like they came from three different markets in three different countries and together create the kind of Dutch still life energy you wouldn’t expect to find on a Mexican beach.
The vow books sat on a surface surrounded by loose white wildflowers, looking like someone gathered them from the garden twenty minutes before the ceremony. That organic, unconstructed quality ran through everything.
The day unfolded under an overcast sky, with the rain holding off just long enough, which actually gave the light a soft, diffused quality that made the photos look like they were shot through a silk filter. Sometimes the weather is the best lighting assistant you’ve got.
And the ceremony closer was the moment Carter dipped Devin into a full cinematic kiss while guests visibly lost it in the background. It was pure instinct, and it became the hero shot of the entire gallery.
Cocktail Hour & Moments Together
The couple had thought of everything to make the celebration feel personal and immersive: phone pouch bags so guests could actually be present instead of filming everything, a custom-designed dance floor, party favors, and handmade cocktail napkins that Devin had individually embroidered for each of the guests.
The cocktail hour took place by the pool, and this is where the rain finally arrived, but instead of shutting things down, it only made the party better. And then came the moment that every single guest kept talking about long after the wedding was over: the crabs. It was the first rain of the year, and in Sayulita, that means the crabs come out from underground and head toward the ocean, something that only happens once a year!
After that burst of celebration, Devin and Carter slipped away into the palm grove for their first moments alone as a married couple. The light was cutting through the fronds while the overcast sky gave way just enough for a warm golden wash against the green. Sasha Samsonova‘s shooting style, which blends editorial precision with documentary candor, really shows in these frames.
One detail that deserves attention is the family photo display set up on a wooden table draped with a vintage macrame runner. The photos were arranged in mismatched ornate frames, some gold, some dark wood, all different sizes, and together they created this beautiful retro, heirloom quality that grounded the whole celebration in something deeper than the day itself.
Reception
The reception happened right there at TeiTiare, with dinner set under the palm trees, string lights strung between the trunks, and long communal tables lined with wooden cross-back chairs. The design was refined coastal in the truest sense, where the palm trees themselves served as the structure, the string lights acted as the ceiling, and the venue’s natural setting carried the entire atmosphere.
Table settings ran in shades of blue that referenced the ocean without hitting you over the head with it, paired with white florals by Flora Amor, natural textures, and the warm glow of bulb string lights that created that amber envelope, making every nighttime outdoor dinner look like a movie.
Carmen McKnight’s floral language remained consistent throughout, keeping everything organic, loose, and imperfect in the best way, with centerpieces that looked as if they’d been gathered from the surrounding landscape rather than arranged by a designer.
The standout detail on the tables was the vintage Mexican Lotería cards at every setting. Lotería is Mexico’s traditional illustrated game, sort of bingo but with hand-drawn characters like El Sol, La Luna, and La Sirena, and using them as part of the table design is a cultural reference that goes deeper than surface-level.
The dance floor featured a blue-and-white patterned surface pulled from the talavera tile tradition, which tied the whole visual language back to the region without a single piece of generic “fiesta” decor in sight and showed the kind of cultural specificity that comes from actually engaging with a place rather than just visiting it.
After dark, with the string lights on and the palms swaying overhead, the reception carried the kind of atmosphere you can’t manufacture. The night was hot, so the groomsmen’s matching mara shirts started coming off early, and by the end of the night every single one was gone, which tells you exactly how good the party was.
Advice from the couple:
• Embrace it all, even the rain and crabs! Stay present and don’t sweat the small things. But most importantly we just wanted to have the best time ever and that we did!
PHOTOGRAPHER Sasha Samsonova | PLANNING Courtney Bialy, Sunset Soiree | VENUE TeiTiare Estate | WELCOME PARTY VENUE Frente al Punto | VIDEOGRAPHER Roma Romanov | FLORALS Flora Amor | MUAH Jenn Chivers Freelance | PRINTING Print On Sayulita | BRIDE’S DRESS Francesca Miranda | WELCOME PARTY DRESS Manning Cartell | GROOM’S SUIT + SHOES Suitsupply | RENTALS Unique Rentals, Emotions Deco, Del Cabo, Eventos Elegantes, Al a Carte | CATERING Don Pedro’s | DJ Jess Edmonson, Sayulita Musica
