“Rod and I got together in our early twenties,” says lovely bride Madia. “As cheesy as it sounds, I kind of always knew he’d be the one. We grew up with each other, and managed to stay in love when we were both at our lows and our highs.”
“After we arrived to the location at the Hacienda Uayamon, we were welcomed with drinks and escorted to our villa, one of the twelve on the property,” the bride recalls. “Then, Rod stayed behind in the villa to get dressed while I went to the spa, which was my bridal suite for the day.” After finding her dream dress in a store with a hefty price tag, Madia has this gorgeous replica custom made.
Madia carried a bouquet of 12 white roses. “They were the most beautiful roses I’ve ever seen,” says Madia. “When we left Mexico, I practically had a mini-emotional breakdown when the airport officials made me throw it away.”
Madia did her own makeup for her big day! “After years of dancing professional dancing, I’ve learned how to glam it up,” she brags. Well done, sis!
Madia chose a classic and timeless updo.
“I know he is the perfect one to do this ‘life game’ with because he is my better half,” says Madia. “Roderick is just an incredible person. People just love him and I’m honored that he would want to share his life with me.”
Lovely rings for a lovely couple.
Madia was stunning in her wedding gown. Oh, the detail!
“We grew with each other and I wanted to grow in each other, the kind of growth that could only come from our unconditional commitment to seeing the best for and of each other,” says Rod.
“We’re great friends,” Madia tells us. “We have a great time together. We respect each other. I love him to the utmost.”
“He taught me how to love unconditionally,” she adds. “He makes me a better person and serves as my inspiration. I am lucky woman.”
“One day I took inventory of my life and blessings and realized that through every trial and tribulation, she was right there beaming,” says Rod. “I can’t imagine taking on the rest of this life without that kind of support and inspiration there.”
“Gemini season!” says Madia when we asked her to describe the man she married. “He is truly the epitome of his sign. He’s spontaneous, free-spirited, a lover of the world, an old-soul, infectious, incredibly intelligent, savvy, rationale, full of ideas and thoughts, a jack of all trades. But also sensitive to the world and energy and thereby can lives in his moods. He’s also forgetful- drives me crazy.”
“She’s fire in human form,” says Rod. “She is the flame that dances amongst the shadows. To know her is to bask in her warmth one moment and to marvel in her inferno the next.”
“His moral compass is to be admired,” says the proud bride of her groom. “His ideas on love and family have taught me how to love unconditionally. His work ethic and how responsible he is. He’s been working since he was 14-year-old kid in Sacramento and truly paved his way through the music industry.”
“She’s one of the most supportive and loving humans I know,” says Rod. “There’s a noble sensitivity to other’s needs that I aspire to be.”
“It was never in the forefront of my mind that I’d find true love when and how I did,” says Madia. “I’ve always been very career-oriented and focused. But true love fell into my lap when I needed it the most, and it’s the biggest blessing I could have had. I think we’ve both just been riding the wave and here we are eight years later, married and happy.”
“We are the sum of our experiences, and we bring so much of that in our relationships, so it was important for me to know her at her best and worst (or at least have a good idea),” says Rod.
“I googled magical wedding venue and found Hacienda Uayamon in Campeche Mexico,” says Madia. “The pictures that I found looked amazing and I instantly fell in love. Two things I only ever cared for my wedding were the pictures and my dress, so I knew I needed a magical backdrop.”
“At first, I wanted all the family and friends to come to Campeche to share in our special moment,” says Madia. “But one too many unwarranted opinions later, I got fed up and decided to take a photographer and videographer with only he and I to Campeche. Because we needed to legalize our marriage in the U.S. first, we did a courthouse wedding – which I never in a million years thought I would do. It was PERFECT with all of closest friends there to make us laugh and cry.”
“The spiritual ceremony in Campeche was something I could only have dreamed of,” says Madia. “It went without a hitch and was truly stress-free and very romantic.”
“I walked down a long walkway, made of stones and ruins, to a large horn blown by the Shaman,” says Madia.
“Our officiate was a Swedish Shaman who spoke Spanish and resided in this small part in the jungle of Campeche, Mexico,” says Madia. “The Hacienda Uayamon selected him, as he does all of their ceremonies. We skyped once or twice before we saw him. He calmed my fears of having a Mayan ceremony (as I’m Christian).”
“We stood on an altar of palm tree leaves, constructed by the Shaman for the most of the day,” says Madia. “Incense, sage, mint, and rose water were incorporated into the ceremony by the Shaman.”
“Our parents and families were at the forefront of our minds,” says the bride. “But we were really excited to share in this moment, just me and him, and then share it with our loved ones in a later reception.”
“During the ceremony The Shaman did some traditional rituals to clear the environment of any negative space and our bodies of negative energy,” the bride recalls. “He read a poem called ‘Our Love’ by Kahlil Gibran. Then we said our vows and gathered together to pray, underneath the stars.”
“I was never the little girl who dreamed of her wedding,” says Madia. “The whole process was completely new to me- I was the first of my close friends to get married. But I loved being a bride – mostly because I (for the most part) was able to keep the stress at bay and enjoy the whole process.”
“I was most excited about seeing her for the first time,” says Rod. “She was perfection!”
After tying the knot in Mexico, the couple hosted a formal reception for 275 guests back home in Los Angeles.
“After spending four days in Campeche Mexico to get married, we flew to Cancun and spent five days at Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun for a little R&R,” the bride shares.
Join us as we congratulate the bride and groom. Want to see your wedding featured in Bridal Bliss? Email us now!
