La Vida Hermosa

Wheat and Honey Events found creative ways to incorporate high school sweethearts, Rhyan Cardoso and AJ Lopez’s Hispanic heritage into their wedding day. Picking the perfect venue was key, says Annette Kirkhuff of Wheat and Honey. Hummingbird Nest Ranch—with its Spanish-influenced architecture, towering palms and desert landscape—became the primary source of inspiration. Unique Floral Designs took its cue from Hummingbird’s verdant landscaping to create a richly textured floral design, which featured a lush free-form archway crafted with bursts of hot pink bougainvillea and fuchsia, peach dahlias, champagne roses, bleached ruscus, sea holly, dried palms and ample greenery. Details played a key role in bringing the Spanish theme alive, including individual Spanish tiles that doubled as place cards, handmade Spanish wooden fans and the hashtag #LaVidaLopez. Monogrammed white and gold maracas flanked every place setting, and as the couple entered the reception, the air was alive with the sounds of guests cheering and shaking their maracas. A live Spanish guitar performance provided the music throughout the cocktail hour, and guests danced the night away under a blanket of twinkling lights, maracas in hand.