and well maybe they are. On this beautifully hot July afternoon of 2014, at St. Pete’s favorite wedding venue NOVA 535 Unique Event Space here in downtown St. Pete, Leonor and Margarito, friends forever, tie the knot in what they and several of their friends described to me as a “Mexican Wedding.” Hmmm, exactly am I in store for? 
Having traveled throughout Mexico myself, including the “dangerous, stay away from Mexico City” I was intrigued by these unsolicited comments from the soon to be Bride and Groom, plus several of their friends. Mexico City was fabulous, the people warm and friendly and the food modern and truly world class. San Miguel de Allende was labeled as the Paris of Mexico, The #1 choice of Conde Nast’s Top 25 Cities in the World, was even more wonderful than I expected. Of course I had hit the typical cruise line destinations and other “party” spots during my 20’s, but the deeper Mexico I explored (alone) also included Guadalajara, and Guanajuato. And growing up here in St. Pete, Florida, with Latino’s and Mexicans everywhere, friends, business associates, school mates and so on, I was puzzled by the unrequested “warnings”. Well the night of Leonor and Margarito’s wedding came and I was ready. =D The only clue I had was that there was to be about 100 adults and 100 minors. Now that is A LOT of kids running around NOVA and, well we love kids, but add cake and cookies and a large venue to explore and who knows what can happen?! 
What I did find out was that the Mexican Wedding was full of mostly Mexican people. Nice, polite and friendly, with lots of Spanish floating about, mucho of which was to fast for my no comprendo. I should have done less monkeying around at Boca Ciega High School and studied harder. No bueno as my Espanol es Muy Mol! 
Dinner though, surprisingly, was Italian Buffet. Being an Italian descendant myself, 1/4 of my DNA rejoiced and the other 3/4 were excited but not overwhelmed. The food I had enjoyed throughout Mexico was truly excellente, and I did make due with the delicious Chicken Parmigiana and cheese fabulous Lasagna. Lenor said she enjoyed Mexican cooking ALL THE TIME so wanted to treat her guests to something different. 
The DJ was Jose Ordonez aka DJ Joker, and wow he really got people out dancing! I hear a LOT of DJs, and Joes was muy bueno! He had me dancing up here in our floating DJ booth, which looks out over the main gallery.
You could tell the that true love was in the air from momento uno with Lenor and Margarito, as they shine as a single love bubble. Their friends and family were joyous and lots of smiles and laughter and joking around was going on throughout the evening. I’m still waiting for this mysterious difference in a Mexican Wedding. Let’s carry on and see what happens…
The bride and groom had a beautiful table delivered to use for the sign-in book and as a memory table to all the family and loved ones who have passed. Another lovely tradition of love and respect held by people all over the world. 
The colors of the night really showcased NOVA 535, with pinks, purples and creams and wow I see a lot of weddings but Lenor really got the colors working in harmony tonight. Nice work! 
Lenor looked gorgeous the entire evening, and she enjoyed her bridal bouquet toss and garter removal…though handsome Margarito certainly looks like (below) that he too was enjoying himself! What a great looking couple you two are!
Rocking those socks! The dollar dance provided the most dinero for a couple that I personally have seen here at NOVA, the total I’m unsure of but it looked to be muy grande. Newlyweds can ALWAYS use some extra cash, pesos, dollars, yen, euro…
After the formal festivities were concluded it was time to dance. And dance they did. DJ Joker really got the crowd worked up into a frenzy, with many dancers making some playa moves that were worthy of the respect of pro break-dancers. We hosted the USA Southeast finals, hosted by Red Bull for two years, so I’ve seen some talent in my days. Check out the guy below, most impressive!
The guys did get a bit buzzed and little wild, but nothing any crazier than we’ve seen here before. Though the (unapproved) human toss (below) did get the most air of any that I’ve seen in our almost 7 years of operation. Wow I had just turned around and was able to capture that with my Cannon 6D. Those guys were all about 6 foot tall and the fan blade is about 12 feet off the ground…another foot or so and the Big Ass Fan, well anyhoo…the April Fool part of me loved it!! But the business owner, high insurance paying son of an Attorney certainly frowns upon any such behavior. =D Still though, what is the difference in a Mexican wedding? Certainly not tossing our friends and family into the air. Many a Mitzvah has been held here. Mazel Tov!
It turns out that the difference is the niños, the kids. Remember way back that I said they were expecting 100 ADULTS and 100 KIDS? Have you ever been at a wedding or event where there are ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN on the loose? All hopped up on cake and sugar and raring to go? Well I tell you this, this wedding was filled with warm, friendly, loving people. People who showed kindness, love and respect to me and each other. But the glaring difference in this “Mexican” wedding was the kids. We’ve had many many many functions with just a few kids, to hundreds and hundreds, and I will tell you this, these kids were some of the best behaved kids I met. Yes they were kids and acted like kids, but the Mexican people must still be using that old school discipline that I got from my parents and from the sister’s at Catholic school. They listened and respected their parents and our venue. So in the end the lesson is that we humans are all about the same, except that those of us who are raised to be respectful of everyone, to be polite, to clean up after ourselves, to be courteous and help others and to enjoy ourselves in ways that do not hurt others, well those are the kind of people that I enjoyed my time with at Lenor and Margarito’s “Mexican Wedding.” Hasta Luego Amigos!
Just another wonderful afternoon here at NOVA 535 Unique Event Space. People always ask “Is NOVA open to the public?” and I explain that 98% of the time NOVA is closed for private events, Weddings, Receptions, Mitzvahs, Film Shoots, Corporate Parties, Fundraisers, Birthdays and such. If you or a friend is looking to rent NOVA 535 for an event, please click here. Thank you and good luck to us all!
What about that 2% you may ask? Well we do open up occasionally for PUBLIC Events…some truly unique and amazing ones, like NOVAWEEN, NOVA NOEL, Sunscreen Film Festival and more.