Some of you may be familiar with beauty influencer and content creator, Carobi Parada, who is well known for her “beauty tips and fashion fits” on instagram and TikTok. But what you might not be aware of is that Carobi had the destination wedding of her dreams this year, in beautiful Antigua, Guatemala, hosted at the luxury boutique hotel, Villa Bokeh. And she brought us, 515 Photo Co., along for the adventure to capture the perfect destination wedding photos.

Why did Carobi choose Guatemala for her destination wedding? Find out what this beauty influencer had to say.

515: To start, tell us a little bit about you and your husband Max. How did you two meet? Where did you get engaged?

C: We attended the same high school but never really met each other. After highschool, we connected at a mutual friends birthday dinner and began to follow each other on instagram where we then exchanged numbers. The rest is history. On the final day before we moved from California back to Orlando, we made a reservation at the restaurant Castaway in Burbank. We arrived at the restaurant and were met with the most stunning view. Max and his mom kept saying how pretty the view was and that we should take some pictures. Before the last photo his mom asked me to come look at one of the pictures she had taken of us, giving Max the window to get in position. I turned around and I saw him on one knee with the sunset behind him and he said to me “I know we’ve been through a lot together and this year has been crazy so I think that it's best we end it on a good note, so Carobi Parada will you marry me?”

515: Did you always know you wanted a destination wedding vs. a local wedding?

C: I always knew I wanted a destination wedding because most of my family and friends don’t live in the same city or even country. So we knew regardless of location, guests would be traveling for our wedding day. So why not do it somewhere none of us has ever been to. We also found the cost of a destination wedding to be a lot less, especially in a place where the dollar goes further, giving us more bang for our buck! :)

515: Why did you choose Guatemala as the destination for your wedding? What other destinations did you consider and why was Guatemala the winner?

C: Originally we were set on Spain because I have family there and a European Wedding sounded extraordinary and unique, but I couldn’t find a venue that checked all of my boxes that was within our budget. I also was nervous about not being able to see a venue in person prior to booking. My mom and sister then suggested Bolivia because it’s where I’m from, and a lot of family was already there. On top of that, I would have the opportunity to show our friends and Max’s family my culture but that ended up being a bit too close to home and logistically it did not work out. My wedding planner Niki, from The Eventeur, presented us with a venue deck and we landed on Villa Bokeh in Antigua, Guatemala. When we told my mother in-law that we picked this location, she told us that her parents used to visit Antigua Guatemala every year before her mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. So to us it felt like destiny, that everything happened so we could get married in the place Max’s grandparents loved so much.

515: That is such a serendipitous story! What was it about Villa Bokeh that made you fall in love with the venue?

C: I felt like Villa bokeh checked all my boxes - It had an amazing view of a volcano, the property itself was gorgeous and looked like a fairytale. The villa had that European vibe that I was originally going for, it was a Latin American chateau. I also loved that it was unique, new, and no one, in my circles, really knew about it. When we finally went to visit, we found that the service, food and the manner in how the staff treated their guests was over the top, so I knew it was the perfect place to bring our friends and family.

515: What are your favorite things about Antigua?

C: I love the people of Antigua. They are so nice and friendly to strangers and it made me feel safe and welcomed. In Guatemala, being friendly is part of their culture - which I love. I also loved that even though it is a colonial town, there are lots of modern conveniences such as many places offering Apple Pay which meant we didn't have to carry a lot of cash while traveling

515: What were the highlights of your destination wedding? Do you have a favorite memory from the day?

C: My highlight was definitely our ceremony. There were so many people watching us and although it felt like we were basically on a stage, it somehow still felt like only the two of us existed for those 20 minutes. It was the most magical feeling ever. My second favorite was when my husband Max and his brothers performed a dance for me during the reception. My dream was for Max to dance for me and he did. Teehee.

515: What's the biggest piece of advice you would give someone planning their destination wedding?

C: Take your time! It’s so tempting to have all the answers right away and get a Save-The-Date sent out, but rushing into decisions will only cost you more later. My advice would be to write down a list of things that are top priority that you aren’t willing to compromise on, another list of things you would like to have but if it doesn’t happen it’s not the end of the world. I wish I would’ve been more thorough with my decision making early on and took my time.

515: Why did you choose 515 to be your destination wedding photographer?

C: I chose 515 because I wanted someone with experience, who was a master in their industry. Aside from talent, I wanted a wedding photographer team who knew exactly what they were doing and I loved that 515 wasn’t a 1 or 2 person operation, but a team full of talented photographers and editors to help make the final product all come together. I knew the founder had been in the industry for at least 10+ years and that gave me peace of mind. Lastly, instagram to me is the modern portfolio platform and immediately I was able to see the types of pictures that 515 was posting and to be honest, they passed the vibe check! I loved the editorial and photojournalistic style of their photography and after all the research and our intro call, I knew they were the perfect match.