Someone once said, “The best things in life are the people you love, the places you’ve seen, and the memories you’ve made along the way.” Samantha and Howard never imagined having a traditional wedding because their entire relationship was built around traveling, adventure and exploring new places together. They also didn’t want the best day of their lives to fly by in a few hours, they wanted to celebrate every single moment with their families and friends in paradise for an entire week. And that’s just how their next adventure began.

Surrounded by 52 of their closest friends and family members, Samantha and Howard exchanged their vows at the Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta. They selected the Driftwood Romance collection as décor for their ceremony. This included beautiful white draping, wild flowers, greenery, driftwood accents to compliment the beautiful and serene ocean backdrop.

Before the ceremony, Samantha did a first look at the wedding gazebo with her father and husband which she recalls was the one of the most magical moments. The gazebo overlooks the ocean but is also surrounded by mountains. After a hug and fatherly pep talk, a few of Samantha’s friends walked her husband into the gazebo where they first saw each other that day. They popped a bottle of bubbly and shared their personal vows with one another.

Throughout the week, Samantha and Howard rented private cabanas for their guests to enjoy, which was one of the highlights of the week! The cabana’s allowed for the group to relax, snack, drink, play games and make the most memories together. This served as a home base for their guests to all be with the couple. Most nights the group had sunset dinners on the beach, their days were filled with adventures such as an ATV trip. Of course, some even indulged in self-care at the Rock Spa®.

Samantha and Howard loved their Rockstar personal assistant. They made everything go as smoothly as possible such as reserving the pool chairs, making dinner reservations, delivering bottles of champagne and snacks, picking up wedding dresses. The couple also loves working with their WOW specialist, Sara, who made their wedding dreams come true. Sara took all of the stress out of wedding planning and helped Samantha and Howard to really focus on building a wedding experience that they will remember forever. The staff, guests and community at the resort made Samantha and Howard feel like celebrities.
To learn more about weddings at the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotels, call 1-855-762-5255 or request more info by filling out our Contact Form.
Click here to find a WOW Specialist in your area.
Couples names: Samantha Bowen & Howard Hawkes
Wedding Date: March 4, 2019
Wedding planner: Andrea Perez
Onsite wedding planner: Lorena Ponce
Travel Agent: Sara Locke – Vacationisms Worldwide Travel