Hi dear friends! It’s not a secret that we are big fans of love stories, so today we are sharing with you one for the books.
Alex and Mateo met while visiting Paris in 2011 through a mutual friend from Cornell University, where they had both just finished their freshman year. Remained just friends throughout college, introducing each other to partners and becoming each other's confidantes.
After college graduation, Alex moved to Barcelona for a year and kept in touch with Mateo daily, sending voice notes and videos of their adventures to manage the time difference. When either of them had big news to share or needed support, they called each other first. After about a year of best friendship, Alex realized she loved Mateo as more than a friend.
On her birthday, spent with Mateo exploring Brooklyn, she worked up the courage to tell him about her feelings for him. He realized in a moment how clear it was that he felt the same way, and dove into a whirlwind relationship despite living on opposite coasts (Alex lived in San Francisco and Mateo in New York).
Said “I love you's” to each other quickly, and began meeting each other halfway across the country every month, taking the opportunity to explore the U.S. (Charleston, Zion National Park, Maine...). After 2.5 years of bi-coastal long distance relationship, they moved together to Seattle, where they still live 4 years later.
After 11 years of friendship and 6 years together, they got married on March 19th, 2022 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Mateo is Mexican and his family lives in Mexico City, so they knew the wedding would be near his grandparents. They had visited San Miguel together 5 years earlier and fell in love with the cobblestone streets and sunset-colored plazas of the UNESCO World Heritage city, so it was an easy choice to decide the place for their destination wedding.
The wedding was a 3-day weekend of events: Thursday they enjoyed a rooftop cocktail hour during sunset, with margaritas and views of the jacaranda blossoms that cover San Miguel in purple blooms for one month per year; Friday they planned a typical Mexican luncheon (aka an 8 hour affair) in the garden of a private property, complete with mariachis and jumping in the pool; and finally on Saturday, they gathered at Luna Escondida, a resplendent horse ranch just outside San Miguel for the wedding day.
The ceremony was held in the vine-covered Colibri ("hummingbird") gardens on the property during late afternoon. They chose to not have wedding parties in favor of their family walking them down the aisle, and their brothers officiated the wedding.
Mateo's grandmother gave them a blessing during the ceremony as well, and they also included Mexican traditional ceremonies uniting the couple, called the lazo and arras ceremonies. The cocktail hour was held in the garden next to the pond and gazebo, with the reception in the glass atrium, Salon Colibri.
The florals were springtime seasonals inspired by the sunset colors of San Miguel, and the design concept combined Mexican terracotta vases and equipales (classic Mexican furniture) with their personal minimal, Scandinavian style (courtesy of Alex's Swedish roots).
Their wedding combined Mexican and American cultures, eschewing tradition in favor of their personal style. Alex's best friend (a jewelry designer in New York) made her engagement and wedding rings; they gifted alebrijes (Mexican handicrafts) as wedding favors; and named a custom cocktail after their Bernese Mountain Dog, Mila.
Alex shares with us a tip for our brides to be:
”My best destination wedding planning advice is to be inspired by the culture and landscape of the destination you choose! It was so fun to include alebrijes as our wedding favors, feature local textiles and furniture as our decor, use flowers from the region that was in season, and of course sample the tequila and mezcal Mexico is famous for!”, Alex said.
Alex wore a timeless, minimal, bias-cut silk slip dress with a cathedral-length cape, and added an overlay top for her second look. In typical Latin American style, they danced all night and lots of tequila was served (mostly poured directly from bartenders sitting on each others' shoulders).
Alex & Mateo’s favorite moment of their wedding:
“We ended the night with a last dance to James Blake's Godspeed, wich was Alex’s favorite moment, being surrounded by family and friends as the dance floor was closing”.
“It was the best day of our lives”.
Details and Vendors
Bride: @alexhysasi / Groom: @mateohy / Photography: MC Weddings / Video: Andres and Ricardo of Vermel Wedding / Venue: Luna Escondida / Flowers: María Marín Atelier / HMU: Dani Pal / Rentals: Warehouse Guanajuato / Cocktails: Barra 57 / Jazz Quartet: Sax Event / Stationery: Minted / Dress: Juliette by A La Robe The Dress Theory / Shoes: Loeffler Randall / Overlay: Valentina by Sarah Seven / Cape: Custom from Etsy / Jumpsuit: Rime Arodaky / Earrings and Clutch: Cult Gaia / Nails: Varnish Seattle / Brides Rings: Erin Mccarty / Grooms Ring: Holden Rings / Suit: Suitsupply / Tie: Vintage Hermès
