Diana and Wes met while attending law school and became fast friends. They were on track to lead completely different lives, but fate had other ideas. While studying for the Florida bar, they both realized that their chemistry was more than a friendship, and they were meant to be together forever. They fell into an easy and natural relationship, and the rest is history.
Wes and Diana’s wedding day was the extravagant and memorable experience they had always hoped for. Despite having dreamed of a destination wedding in Columbia, they made the best of their foiled plans and worked with Events by Carmen to craft a gorgeous and memorable experience for their guests. They personalized their wedding day by creating M&M’s with their puppy’s face for the favors. Diana wore an elegant, classy gown, which she had customized to feature a detachable skirt for dancing late into the night. The evening was filled with entertainment, from salsa dancers to a mariachi band, and a Hora Loca. Scroll for all the beautiful moments captured by Donna Irene Photography!
In their own words
How did you meet?
We met while we were in law school at Nova Southeastern University. We were great friends; but were both on track to have completely different lives away from each other. It was not until after graduating, while studying for the Florida Bar, that we realized our chemistry was more than that for a friendship and we were meant to be together forever.
Tell us a little a bit about your wedding (your vision, color, style, and location choices).
Our inspiration was mainly the desire to have something different and memorable for us and our guests. We had already planned an entire wedding in Colombia for March of 2020. A week before our destination wedding was to happen, the borders closed, and the entire world went into lockdown. We truly wanted our wedding to be an experience so after many hurdles and letdowns we focused on how to make one night the most magical night for us and our guests.
Tell us about your attire choices.
My husband wore a navy tuxedo with black lapels from Ermenegildo Zegna. He purchased it at the Zegna store at Sawgrass Mills Mall. His shoes were Armani loafers in navy color and velvet material, these too were purchased from Sawgrass Mills Mall. His tuxedo shirt and bowtie were both from Suit Supply located in Brickell City Center, Miami, Fl. My dress was a Gemy Maalouf bridal gown. I purchased it from Chernaya Bridal House in Miami, Florida. At Chernaya they helped me customize the dress to make it my dream wedding dress. The dress had two parts so when I walked down the aisle to get married it was one full, princess gown. Then, at the reception once dinner was over I removed the inner skirt of the dress and it became a high low dress with my legs exposed. The dress was so light and comfortable, I loved it so much I just want to wear it on a random Tuesday. My shoes were so comfortable, they were Sophia Webster.
What were your favorite parts of the day? (memories and stories)
Honestly, everything! The best memory is seeing so many people having fun and being so happy to celebrate our love with us. As the bride, walking into the reception venue during cocktail hour and greeting our guests was so fun. The feeling of just letting go and trusting everything was going to go great because we had the best team on our side was also an amazing feeling and a great wedding day memory. The first dance!!! During our first dance we had a saxophonist playing to our song and it was just a dream come true, exactly how we envisioned it. Also, the hora dance, it was not planned but was so much fun.
Please describe any DIY, handmade, or personal details.
We made our seating charge using an old mirror from a thrift store, linen paper, and our wax seal. We spray painted the mirror gold and my husband wrote each table with its corresponding guest name on linen papers (in cursive) and glued it to the mirror with our wax seal that had our initials on it. We also made our own party favors for each guests’ seat. We ordered custom M&M’s with our puppy’s face on one side and our initials on the other. We put the M&M’s in acrylic boxes, decorated the boxes with a ribbon, and wrote each guests’ name on linen paper and glued it to the box with our wax seal. We also used photoshop to make our own signs to guide the guests on where to go once they arrived to the reception venue.
Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now?
Our biggest advice is to do things because you want them. Put yourselves first and not so much the guests. Your guests are there to have fun, see the two of you get married, and love you. Not a single guest will notice the details, they will just think it was beautiful either way because they are there for you, not the linens or the decor or the food. But you will always remember your wedding day. So, pick what you want to remember. I think of our wedding day and love everything so much. I remember the details and they bring me joy. I chose it all for us and our memories, not for our guest which is why to me the linens and florals were worth every penny.
More importantly, pick vendors you trust and who will treat your wedding as if it were their own. Our biggest blessing was our vendors. Each and every one of the people we worked with made us feel like we were family, and it was their own wedding. That feeling allows you to really enjoy the wedding and not worry because you trust your vendors will follow through with everything and make sure your day is all you dreamed of and more. It is a priceless feeling to bet able to let go on the day of the wedding and not worry.