In lieu of a European vacation this summer—and in an effort to save some cold, hard cash—I decided to hop in my Prius and take a retro road trip to the Grand Canyon. While we tend to focus on all things international here at OWW, there’s a whole lot of USA out there with a whole lot of character, and since I was traveling with a Swedish friend, it was interesting to see it all from her perspective.

Our Southwest Road Trip took us from Denver to Telluride (an old mining town as famous for Tom Cruise and its film festival as it is for its amazing landscape), to Four Corners Monument (where millions of people have gotten on all fours in the middle of the desert) to the Grand Canyon (or the Big Ditch as the jaded like to call it) and had a grand finale of three fabulous nights in Santa Fe. The Southwest is a part of the country like no other. Green chilies reign supreme, turquoise is the color of choice and flowering Choya cactus decorate the front yards of adobe houses.

A Southwestern-inspired One World Wedding doesn’t have to look like it came from the 80’s. (Meaning coyotes howling at the moon and shades of pale pink and green.) Modern but traditional ideas could include menu items like Chile Con Queso, Empanadas, Chiles Rellenos, Posole with Green Chiles and Sopapillas with honey for dessert. Set up piñatas for the kids and a margarita bar with plenty of variations of flavors for the adults. Light your tables and dance floor with luminarios and use lots of silver and miniature cacti in terra cotta pots for centerpieces to create a wedding inspired by sunshine and the beauty of the desert.

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