Thirteen Nationalities, a Shaman, and Seven Shades of Blue: Pauline & Marsilio's Wedding at Bacalaria in Bacalar
- Author: Natali Grace Levine
- Wedding date: 04/18/2026
- City: Tulum
Love Story
It started at a rooftop wedding in Mexico City, a Franco-Mexican celebration where Pauline’s French best friend married his Mexican best friend. Marsilio spotted Pauline across the rooftop and, just before approaching her, quietly asked someone how to say “nice to meet you” in French. “The first time we met, Marsilio came to me and asked two seconds before how to say ‘nice to meet you’ in French - we kissed that night and have never separated since.”
That first night was followed by a second meeting in Cuernavaca the next day. From there, things moved at a pace neither wanted to slow: Pauline was about to leave for Saudi Arabia to work in Formula 1 in Jeddah; Marsilio joined her a few months later. Two people who met at someone else’s wedding were now building a life together across countries and time zones - the kind of story that requires a very specific person to make it work.
The proposal came in November 2024 in Baja California, on a catamaran Marsilio had rented just for the two of them. The pretext was their three-year anniversary. The reality, as the sun went down and the rosé was in hand, was a proposal that Pauline describes as a perfect shot. “He really surprised me,” she says. Given that Marsilio is, by her own assessment, considerably more of a romantic than she is, perhaps it shouldn’t have been.
About Your Wedding
One hundred and forty guests. Thirteen nationalities. Four days. A shaman. A lagoon resembling the Maldives. And a couple who spent years working in Formula 1 and fast event production, so they knew better than most what it takes to make a weekend feel seamless.
The style was Mexican in soul and French in touch - local suppliers, colors, and music - with orange, yellow, and a touch of red in the ceramic vases and floral arrangements. Neither Pauline nor Marsilio is religious, so they chose a shaman to officiate, a decision that became one of the most significant of the weekend. The guest experience was central: they spread the celebration across four days so an international guest list could connect rather than just attend. “My dream wedding always was that we share our love and love story with the people we love the most.”
Morning Details
The penthouse suite, the bridesmaids, and Bacalar were waiting just outside.
They rented the entire hotel for the wedding weekend, so the top floor penthouse suite with a jacuzzi on the balcony was theirs. Pauline spent the morning there with her bridesmaids while Marsilio got ready in his father’s room below. Pauline designed the invitations herself - digital only, given the international guest list, with Canva Pro doing the heavy lifting. The day-of stationery - menus, signage, all of it - was handled by their wedding planner Nancy.
Just before the ceremony, Pauline’s mother and best friends surprised her with meaningful pieces: a new ankle chain and a ring that had belonged to her grandmother, who had passed away. She also commissioned a local jewelry designer to make her earrings - two large golden and white flowers that matched the dress perfectly. Small details, held close.
Bride Getting Ready
“My best friend surprised me with one last fitting - she had found the dress. It was indeed the one. I tried it on and we both cried.”
The dress is called Frances - which means French in Spanish, and Pauline is French. It was designed by Truvelle, a young Canadian designer Pauline first found online. The search took her across countries: she tried dresses in France the summer before the wedding without finding the one, then visited a best friend in London who arranged one final appointment. That was where Frances appeared. She later bought it in Vancouver at The Love Note boutique, where the designer is based - completing a journey across three continents before landing on the right dress.
She added a veil, a small scarf she loved, and a pair of shoes that belonged to a friend - who had brought them for herself but ended up giving them to her. The cascading bouquet was arranged by a local Bacalar florist in the wedding’s orange, yellow, and red palette. Pauline hadn’t seen it before the wedding day. “I just saw it in pictures and discovered it on the day,” she says. It was exactly right.
Groom Getting Ready
Marsilio’s tuxedo was made in Macau during a business trip - a detail that captures something essential about a couple who spent years assembling a life from pieces across multiple countries. He got ready in his father’s room, surrounded by his dad, uncle, and friends, with beers in hand. The calm of a groom’s morning, unhurried and familiar, before the lagoon and seven shades of blue came into view.
First Look
The first look took place at Bacalaria - Marsilio waiting downstairs, Pauline descending to reach him. “My first thought was que guapo! but also what day are we going to live!” The moment carried all the weight of a couple who followed each other across continents, through Formula 1 circuits, Saudi deserts, and Mexican coastlines, arriving at a lagoon in Bacalar on a specific April afternoon with thirteen nationalities of people they loved waiting nearby.
Photoshoot Before The Ceremony
“We picked a specific location where we knew everyone could be visible in the picture - and it was our favorite background - in the ‘colonial’ area.” The colonial section of Bacalaria provided the backdrop they had imagined: architectural, warm, and generous enough to hold the full wedding party without anyone disappearing into the edges of the frame. Before the shaman, before the lagoon, before the ceremony itself - this was the last collective moment of the pre-wedding hours, everyone gathered in the same place before the day shifted into something else entirely.
Ceremony
The ceremony took place on the grass in front of the Bacalar lagoon - seven shades of blue stretched behind them, a view that makes guests forget to take photographs because they’re too busy looking. Pauline walked down the aisle to Naturaleza, a seven-minute song, long enough for the entire wedding party to enter one by one before she arrived.
“The shaman ceremony really helped us relax. I enjoyed that we included our bridesmaids in rituals, saying our vows out loud. A heavy emotional moment.” The shaman, according to Pauline and Marsilio, made everyone cry - either a warning or a recommendation depending on the couple. In this case, it was clearly the latter. Her goddaughter, ten years old and flying for the first time, carried the rings.
Photoshoot After The Ceremony
“We decided to trust the photographer on this. We told him we wanted different environments within the large venue: some near the lagoon, others next to the dinner area.” Bacalaria is large enough to hold multiple distinct worlds within one property, and the post-ceremony portraits moved through several - the lagoon’s edge, the dinner area, and the spaces between. A photographer they trusted completely, a venue with endless possibilities, and the light of a Bacalar afternoon did the rest.
Wedding Venue & Decor
“It is so big you could create a festival!” Bacalaria operates at a scale few properties in the region can match - expansive enough that Pauline and Marsilio imagined multiple scenarios and designs during planning, each possible and different. They visited several venues during a Bacalar trip before deciding, and the choice was clear. Only one was like the one they picked.
The color palette was orange, yellow, and a touch of red, combined with ceramic vases throughout. The overall feel was Mexican in character and French in sensibility - local suppliers, florals, and music, with a touch of European refinement in the details. Personalized items carried the couple’s spirit through every corner of the weekend: thermos, card games, cleaning spray bottles for the shot tradition, hand fans, tote bags, and maracas. Nothing was generic. Everything was chosen.
Couple's Advice
“A little bit cliché, but pick the venue that reflects who you are - where you feel good. It helps a lot to feel comfortable on the wedding day!”
Reception
The first dance was to Déjame Que Te Bese by Alejandro Sanz, featuring Marc Anthony, and Pauline, also a singer, who included a live performance in their show. The Mexican Captain tradition appeared: one person per table led shots for the whole table. “We used cleaning sprays and personalized them with our faces!” For dessert, a champagne tower and a pastry table with ten options from a local Bacalar bakery replaced a conventional wedding cake.
The drinks leaned local and decisive - they gave up champagne and went with margaritas and mezcalitas instead, a choice that suited the setting and guest list equally. The bridesmaids organized a French-style guest game during cocktail hour to get everyone involved and moving. The wedding planner Nancy was, by both accounts, the person who brought everything to life. The shaman made everyone cry. The band played. The lagoon stayed blue. “My dream wedding always was that we share our love and love story with the people we love the most.” By every measure, that is exactly what happened.
Wedding Team
- Photo/Video Ruben Chan
- Planner @nan.inlove
- MUAH @lum.weddingbeauty
- Band @oro_maimai
- DJ @versathe
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