On a warm July evening in Barcelona, David and Jesús celebrated their love in a wedding that felt like a homage to the elegance and grandeur of New York City, the place where their love story first began. Inspired by the timeless sophistication of the New York Opera Ball, the couple crafted an affair that blended modern luxury with old-world charm, evoking the splendor of a classic NYC dinner and opera night. With soft blush and black embroidered suits, the grooms brought a touch of refined glamor, creating an atmosphere of both intimacy and opulence – a perfect fusion of the city that shaped them and the love that binds them.
Our Love Story
The Day We Met
Even though we met at a brunch in a diner in November 2014, when we had just moved to New York City, and became friends right after, we never got close until our first date. On July 2nd, 2015, at 7:30 p.m., we started our first official date under the iconic Flatiron building, and the Williamsburg Bridge was testimony to our first kiss (Jesús was the one who made the move, very smart of himself). This is why NYC has always had a very special place in our hearts.
The Proposal
Our proposal story is a bit unconventional: we both decided to get married over dinner after 8 years of being together. However, Jesús used his vows' moment at the wedding to get down on one knee and officially ask me to marry him. Can you imagine? After having organized a full wedding and after having 120 of our closest family and friends over, there was no way of me saying “no.” Again, very smart of him.
The Engagement Ring
We wanted our rings to reflect our own personalities, that’s why each ring was custom-made by Rabat, a well-known local artisan jeweler founded in 1997. Mine ring is rose gold with an engraved diamond, while Jesús’ ring is made of platinum and has 5 engraved diamonds. The only common detail is that they both have an additional engraved diamond inside, which symbolizes eternal love. The date that appears on our rings corresponds to our first official date: D+J 07.02.2015.
Our Wedding
The Vision
NYC is the city that saw the beginnings of our relationship, so for us, it was clear that our wedding had to convey the elegance, grandeur and freshness of the Big Apple. This is why, together with our wedding planners, we developed the concept of the New York Opera Ball. We wanted our friends and families to be immersed in the splendor and sophistication of an old-school dinner and opera in NYC, with a wedding that evoked modern luxury and timeless elegance.
Our Team of Vendors
We are lucky enough to have met incredibly talented people through our professional careers, so one thing was for sure: their team had to be formed by people from the industry who we respect, look up to and are fortunate enough to call friends. From the UK to Morocco to Barcelona, Barcelona…everyone came together beautifully to help us create the most special wedding surrounded by love at every moment, and that for sure was very helpful both when doing all the wedding preparations and also navigating through the intricate timing and emotions on the wedding day. Jesús took over with the more visual part, and I wanted to make sure the whole experience was seamless and, most importantly, fun!
The Location
Getting married in July in Barcelona almost ensures great weather, so having a venue with a spacious outdoor area was a must for us. Nevertheless, we also needed a big indoor area either for dinner or plan a B, so ‘Can Magí’ really wowed us when we saw the beautiful glass ceiling of the dining salon, it was just stunning to imagine the sunset and stars over us during the reception!! They were the perfect balance of being very friendly and efficient and, most importantly, willing to help us with our crazy ideas. They just checked all the boxes, and they made it easy for us to say “yes”.
The Ceremony
Since we already got legally married on March 2024, we wanted to use this opportunity not only to share our love with families and friends, but also to say “thank you” to those people from all over the world (Curaçao, Dominica, UK, USA, just to name a few), who have had a big impact in our lives. Our intention was to share our love with all the attendees, and also to show our respect to those who had left us (like my grandparents). But the big moment of the ceremony was when our 5-year-old Brittany Spaniel doggie Lucas brought the rings, nobody expected him!
The Reception
Because our friends and families were coming from very different parts of the world, we wanted the reception to be a moment for everyone to interact and get to know each other, and in Spain, that is always done with tasty local food! As an example, we served a reinvention of Gazpacho with a trompe l’oeil tomato and local wine and a rosé cava (not champagne!) toast for the desert. The ‘Sensacions Barcelona’ catering was just exquisite and really elevated the whole experience.
The Special Touches
We wanted to go the extra mile with our wedding, so every detail was curated to make sure we could wow the guests and be cohesive, starting from the mirror pedestals in the ceremony or the reception tables with Jacquard tablecloths paired with hanging crystal chandeliers, to the newspaper with the wedding itinerary. Also, the songs we chose to go down the aisle that paid homage to our moms (one of them is a huge Linda Ronstadt fan) – that’s where we spent most of our time so that everything felt special and unique, and this is one of the highlights that our families and friends loved and appreciated.
Our Favorite Moments
Our wedding was filled with so many unique and beautiful moments, so let us respond separately:
David: After the ceremony, Jesús and I took 10 minutes for ourselves while enjoying freshly-made homemade mojitos. Being able to spend some quality time and check in on each other after such an emotional moment was important. Just us, the same as it’s always been, the same as it always will be.
Jesús: My favorite moment was entering the reception before everyone else and seeing that the vision we had was actually there. I felt we succeeded in bringing a small piece of an old-school restaurant in NYC – the city where everything started – to our loved ones.
Our Style
The Grooms Looks
With an experience of over 10 years of experience in fashion, our wedding outfits were our most precious secret. On the one hand, David's attire was a vintage ensemble designed by the renowned Ines Di Santo. The bespoke suit, in a blush tone with embroidered flowers and delicate accents, was followed by a second fully Swarovski-embroidered jacket from the designer’s latest SS25 collection. This was a truly unique moment since it was Ines’ first men’s suit in over 25 years. On the other hand, Jesús’ total-black suit and shirt were custom-made in Lebanon by Georges Hobeika, who is very well-known for the intricate and delicate bead work and classic silhouettes. We both wanted a touch of color, so we wore Louboutin loafers.
Our Groomsmen’s Looks
Our 5-year-old Brittany Spaniel Lucas was in charge of bringing the rings to the ceremony. He was the perfect unexpected guest in his little tux collar and bow tie.
Our Advice
For The Planning Process
Get yourself a good wedding planner! The NUA team was a game changer for us because they didn’t only save us time contacting vendors and negotiating budgets, but they also exquisitely orchestrated every move and detail on the wedding day. And enjoy the process, there'll be plenty of meetings and discussions along the way, but never forget the reason why you’re doing this in the first place.
For On The Day
It was funny for us to see how all the preparation went by in just a few hours, so make sure you’re present and enjoy YOUR day. We saved enough time with our close families, 2–3 hours prior to the ceremony, and also just for the 2 of us during the day to check in on each other: a mojito break after the ceremony, a sweet bite before the party... and to understand that in bigger weddings you won’t have time to speak with everyone, so apologize to them in advance.
For Post-Wedding
The day after the wedding, we woke up with a feeling of happiness since everything turned out as we wanted. The small details played an important role: having a content creator in addition to the photographer, adding a mechanical bull, and a photocell for those guests who were not dancers. The only thing we would have added is a pre-wedding event since many of our guests were traveling from abroad and didn’t know each other, and it would have helped them to break the ice sooner, but other than that, we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day!
Vendors
Photography: Luka Chitty
Content Creator: Btswithmariam
Wedding Planner, Stylist & Coordinator: Nua
Florist: OhFlor
Stationery: Anori Studio
Cake & Catering: Sensacions
Celebrant: Oficianteparabodas
Music: Albasound
Hair & Makeup: Roberta
Style
Wedding Suits: Ines Di Santo , Georges Hobeika
Boutique: Bridal Avenue Barcelona
Shoes: Christian Louboutin
Wedding Jewelry: Rabat
