What's Different About a Oaxaca Wedding: Calendas, Mezcal & Color

I’ve photographed weddings in Oaxaca since 2008, and I got married here myself. A lot of a wedding here is the same as anywhere else. These are the parts that are different.

The calenda

A calenda is a street procession with a brass band, dancers, and giant puppets called monos de calenda. Many couples walk in one from the church to the reception, with all their guests behind them. A calenda through the Centro usually needs a city permit, and your planner or venue normally arranges it.

Mezcal

Mezcal is made in the valleys around the city, and it shows up at most weddings here, whether it’s a mezcal bar at the reception or a tasting at a family palenque before the wedding. At Anneka and Alejandro’s wedding at El Cardenal, the bar became a mezcal mixology station, and the guests kept going back to it.

Old buildings and gardens

Many venues in the Centro are colonial buildings with stone walls and courtyards, like the Hotel Quinta Real, which used to be a convent. The Jardín Etnobotánico, next to Santo Domingo church, has the cactus wall and reflection pool. Outside the city there are hilltops and agave fields, like Loma Noble. My list of the 10 best Oaxaca wedding venues has more.

Color and crafts

The walls in the Centro are painted ochre, pink, and blue, and there’s handmade work everywhere: rugs from Teotitlán, black clay pottery from San Bartolo Coyotepec, and painted wood alebrijes. Some couples use them in the decorations, and some take their guests out to the villages to see them made. Here are the day trips I recommend.

The food

Mole, tlayudas, memelas, chocolate. Many couples serve Oaxacan dishes at the reception, and the caterers here are used to cooking them for a big group.

Two languages

If you don’t speak Spanish, work with a planner (and a photographer) who speaks English and Spanish. Here are the Oaxaca wedding planners I recommend.

If you’re planning a wedding here, my planning checklist goes month by month. When you’re ready, check my 2027–2028 availability.