Tucked in the heart of Davie, the Living Sculpture Sanctuary is more than just a wedding venue; it’s a sacred escape into nature’s embrace. Since 2016, the natural oasis has hosted weddings, celebrations, and soulful gatherings in an atmosphere alive with beauty and intention.
Surrounded by lush greenery, century-old oak trees, cascading waterfalls, koi ponds, a bonsai wall, and a tranquil rock Zen garden, the Sanctuary offers a setting that awakens the senses and nourishes the soul. Nature isn’t just the backdrop; it’s the heartbeat of your experience.
Living Sculpture Sanctuary is an unusually personal creation: part botanical sanctuary, part event space, part spiritual/wellness environment, and in many ways an expression of founders Mary Luz Rodriguez Alvarez and Robert McKee’s own relationship and philosophy.
The couple created the sanctuary for their own wedding. The two environmental attorneys did much of the inital construction work themselves. Guests were so inspired by Mary and Bob’s wedding that requests came in almost immediately. What started as a passion project for their wedding became a unique event venue that connects visitors with nature in an awe-inspiring way.
We sat down with Mary to learn more about their vision.
What inspired you to create this unique venue.
I first saw the property: row after row of raised benches with tens of thousands of desert roeses. Bob and I reached a spot beneath the canopy of magnificent oaks, overlooking the lake. That was the whole property. And yet the energy was so pure, so peaceful, birds singing from branch to branch, wind moving through the falling leaves. It felt like Mother Nature’s embrace. I had never felt that level of purity, that depth of peace, anywhere else.
We chose to build it for our own wedding. I noticed that the same peace and happiness began to reach others too. People were drawn to it, to a place built with pure intention. I could see it in their eyes: hope and the desire to build a beautiful family of their own, the Sanctuary Family.
You describe the Sanctuary as a place for “wellness, peace and abundance.” What do you want people to feel when they walk through the gates?
As a Bonsai Center and a nursery specializing in desert roses, Adenium Obesum is our specialty cultivar. It’s a place where the bonsai will teach you what it is we are here to do. We call them living sculptures; that’s where our name comes from.
And I love uncovering, through the eyes of others, their own journeys and experiences. It’s like looking at magnificent light through different lenses, like a kaleidoscope, so to speak. It’s a beautiful journey to experience, through the eyes and hearts of others, what it is for them — what they’re feeling: that level of peace, of well-being, and of course, of abundance — just feeling unbound.
Did you have a master plan when you started, or did the Sanctuary reveal itself to you piece by piece as you worked on the property?
We never had a master plan. We just began, day by day, step by step, plant by plant, drawing inspiration the way an artist does when creating something special. The sanctuary is located on a vortex of energy that speaks to you, that speaks to your higher self, and it inspires you to create whatever you’re here to create. So no, we didn’t have a master plan. We simply trusted the process, working, evolving, and growing with each phase.
It’s been built with love, sweat, and tears for almost fourteen years now, a beautiful journey of unveiling, development, evolution, growth, forgiveness, and transformation. Truly alchemizing the past into a higher version of yourself, learning from those experiences without letting them define you.
Tell us about the “Unconquered Spirit” oak tree.
I still remember the day I first saw him, that summer in 2012. He’s so striking, with this magnificent, powerful root system developing on top of the earth, connecting and intertwining with it. At the same time, the trunk isn’t a straight, formal upright style. It’s what’s called “windswept” in bonsai, meaning it’s been swept and sculpted by the wind.
And of course, here in Florida, with such strong winds and an active hurricane season, this magnificent oak has faced hurricane-force winds for decades. Instead of getting uprooted, he dug in; he kept growing, grounding himself more deeply in Mother Earth, trusting the process and continuing to create, all while staying flexible. That flexibility is such a paramount attribute when you’re too rigid, you break and snap. It’s so important to remember not to get stuck in rigidity, but to stay flexible and grow with the flow.
The Unconquered Spirit reminds us of that flexibility. And he became an even more magnificent oak, cascading with his branches. Now there’s plenty of wildlife there too, Florida anhingas, green herons, and other fishing birds that love to nest over the lake, and they’ve made Unconquered Spirit their home. It’s so magnificent.
You and Robert were married here yourselves. What is it like now to watch hundreds of other couples begin their marriages in the same place?
Robert and I built the sanctuary with our own hands to celebrate our union in communion with Mother Nature. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would also become the foundation and the birthing ground for so many families. Over more than ten years of hosting events, we’ve seen over a thousand, mainly weddings, and it has been such an honor and a humbling, intimate experience.
For us, each event is so important, and it requires the utmost level of love, dedication, and attention. For this reason, we have a policy that no other wedding will take place at the same time, unlike other venues. Since we prioritize intention, attention, devotion, exclusivity, and quality, we’re not focused on numbers for the sake of numbers; we’re not a wedding factory, not a commercial wedding experience. For us, a wedding isn’t something disposable. To the contrary, it’s a commitment, not just spoken words in front of a crowd who wants to eat, have a drink, and go home. It’s a commitment to each other, and especially to yourselves.
Congratulations on the grand opening of Ibuku Avalon. Tell us how this newest addition adds to what Living Sculpture Sanctuary offers.
Ibuku Avalon is our brand-new 7,000-square-foot indoor space. It only enhances what Living Sculpture Sanctuary already offers. Picture soft light spilling across sculpted wood, lush greenery cradling every vow, and a space that speaks the language of love in every detail.
Let our enchanted gardens, flowing waters, and hand-carved beauty carry your vows on a breeze of timeless wonder. Here, every detail is curated with care, every moment bathed in intention.
The Living Sculpture Sanctuary is available for Weddings, Bridal Showers, Engagement Parties, Birthday Parties, Renewal of the Vows, Retirement Parties, Corporate Events, Celebrations of Life and more. To schedule a tour today, call 954-952-2500, email SayYes@LivingSculptureSanctuary.com
or visit: https://livingsculpturesanctuary.tripleseat.com/dynamic_party_request/5225