A San Miguel Wedding Weekend With New York Style
San Miguel de Allende set the stage for Babs (she/her) and Marce’s wedding celebration, where friends and family gathered for a destination weekend filled with color, connection, and plenty of time around the table. After making things official with a City Hall ceremony in New York in 2022, the couple spent the next couple of years planning a celebration that blended their New York roots with the vibrant energy of Mexico.
With help from Daniela Acosta Wedding Planner and a team of local creatives, their San Miguel gathering unfolded with sunset dinners, thoughtful details, and a dance floor that kept the celebration going late into the night.
Whale Hello There
We met on Bumble in 2018 after Babs opened with the message “whale hello there” and a GIF of a whale jumping out of the water. Our first date eventually happened at Kings County. Marce brought Nutella because Babs had never tried it, and Babs brought a chocolate medal to celebrate the Brooklyn Half Marathon which Marce was training for. Years later, that same brewery became the place where we got engaged.
In 2019 we moved into a tiny 600 square foot apartment thinking we would barely be there, and then the pandemic hit. That little space quickly became our first real home as we tried every lockdown trend from banana bread to sourdough to balcony gardening. Our relationship reminds us a bit of flying a plane. There was the big burst of energy at takeoff, some turbulence along the way, and now it finally feels like we are cruising in that beautiful space above the clouds.
A Long Runway
We actually started planning our wedding before we were officially engaged. In the end, we had two weddings. The first was a simple City Hall ceremony in New York in 2022 to make things official, and the second was the larger celebration with all our friends and family in 2024. In a way, those two years felt like one long engagement leading up to the big moment.
Looking back, that timeline was a gift. It gave us space to be intentional about what we wanted and helped us keep perspective when planning felt overwhelming. Instead of getting caught up in tiny details, we focused on creating something personal and meaningful. Two years was a long runway, but it was completely worth the wait.
Co-Pilots in Planning
Wedding planning came in waves. At first it was all Pinterest boards and dreaming up the details, and then suddenly we were spending three full days trying to solve the seating chart like it was an endless puzzle. Planning a wedding in Mexico added another layer too, since most of our communication with vendors was in Spanish, including our planner, DJ and florist.
It also made it clear how differently we approach problem solving. One of us gravitates toward big ideas and visual inspiration, while the other loves the numbers and logistics. So we leaned into that. Marce managed the budget and vendor communication, while I focused on the overall design, visual direction, mood boards, and invitations. We made the big decisions together, but dividing things this way kept the process grounded and much more manageable.
Assembling the Crew
From the start, we knew we wanted to get married in Mexico, which meant finding a planner with strong local connections. We used Boda MX, which is kind of like the Mexican version of The Knot, and after Marce interviewed three planners, we immediately felt that Daniela Acosta Wedding Planner was the right fit. Her communication was clear, her budget advice was realistic, and she gave us great visibility into local vendors.
We booked things based on lead time, starting with our planner, then the venue, followed by photography and cinematography. Our venue, Live Aqua San Miguel, also handled the catering, which gave us more room to focus on design. For florals and cake, we trusted Daniela’s recommendations, including MAROLA Diseño Floral and Sophie Fine Bakery. Photography and video were especially important to us since those are the memories that last. As soon as we saw the work from Carito Photography and No Ordinary Love, we knew they were the team we wanted capturing the day.
All Aboard, Passengers!
Our original guest list had around 100 people, but once we started looking at the budget, it became clear how quickly everything multiplies. More guests means more chairs, more flowers, more food, and suddenly it all adds up. So we took a step back and asked ourselves who we truly wanted to share the day with.
Our guiding question became simple. Is this someone who is important to us today, and will still be important to us tomorrow? Since it was a destination wedding, keeping the guest list smaller helped us create the intimate, intentional atmosphere we were hoping for.
Two Cities, One Path
Our vision was to blend the vibrant spirit of San Miguel de Allende with our own New York style. Our invitations reflected that mix, combining subtle design with Mexican elements like papel picado and a modern font called Taxi. We designed the stationery ourselves and had it printed through Jukebox Print.
One piece of advice from our planner was to wait until about six months before the wedding to finalize design decisions, since trends can change. Looking back at old Pinterest boards, a lot evolved, but two things stayed constant. Long tables that felt like a dinner party, and a black and white dance floor. We wanted the whole celebration to feel connected and personal, from asking our best friends to officiate the ceremony to sharing a city guide with guests so they could explore San Miguel while they were there.
Broadcast in Two Languages
Since we had already had a legal wedding, our ceremony in San Miguel was a vow renewal. We are not very ritualistic, so instead of focusing on traditions, we wanted it to feel personal and meaningful. One thing that was really important to us was that the ceremony flow naturally between English and Spanish. Rather than repeating everything twice, our friends who officiated wove both languages together so everyone could feel the sentiment.
We also asked those same friends to write our vows for us, which added a really special element of surprise. A poem, “Soneto 22” by Pablo Neruda, was read during the ceremony, and we walked down the aisle to the acoustic version of “Simply the Best” from Schitt’s Creek, a song that felt like the perfect queer love reference.
Final Call Before Boarding
We started the day surrounded by friends and family, all getting ready together in the same space. Hair and makeup was done by Ali Ramirez Makeup Artist, with people popping in and out while breakfast and champagne circulated. At one point there were so many curling irons and blow dryers going that we blew a fuse, which ended up being the perfect little pause to laugh and take it all in.
The day moved quickly after that with photos, hugs and so many emotions, beautifully documented by Carito Photography and No Ordinary Love. Dinner brought everything back into focus. Sitting at long tables while the sun set over San Miguel and hearing everyone laughing and catching up was one of our favorite moments. The night ended with dancing thanks to SKS System DJs, and sending guests home with flowers and centerpieces from the tables.
The First Stop on the Itinerary
One of our favorite moments actually happened the day before the wedding. We hosted an “icebreaker” cocktail hour at the venue so everyone could gather in a relaxed setting before the big day. It took place in a lush, secluded space filled with greenery, and it was the first time we got to watch friends from different parts of our lives meet and start connecting.
Instead of traditional speeches during the wedding, we opened up a casual mic during the icebreaker and invited anyone to share a story, memory, or piece of advice. It turned out to be one of the most meaningful parts of the weekend. Hearing spontaneous, funny, and heartfelt stories from our loved ones brought so much warmth to the celebration and helped everyone feel connected from the very start.
The Team That Lifted It All Off the Ground
Honestly, every single vendor went above and beyond. From our planner Daniela Acosta, to our photographer Carito Photography, videographer No Ordinary Love, florals by MAROLA Diseño Floral, cake by Sophie Fine Bakery, and the team at Live Aqua San Miguel, everyone played a huge role in bringing the celebration to life.
A Quiet Moment Above the Clouds
While our ceremony was not particularly religious, we did include a few family traditions that felt meaningful to us. One of our favorites was doing a first look with each of our moms separately, which gave us a really special moment to connect with them before everything began.
We also did a first look with each other. I knew Marce would be wearing a tux from Bonobos, but Marce had not seen my dress yet from Nazarela, which made it extra sweet. I also carried a small charm on my bouquet with my dad’s handwriting to honor him. It was a quiet reminder that he was there with us.
Photography by Carito Photography
Cake Sophie Fine Bakery
DJ SKS System DJs
Dress Nazarela
Florist MAROLA Diseño Floral
Hair & Makeup Ali Ramirez Makeup Artist
Rings H&A Jewelers
Stationery Jukebox Print
Suit Bonobos
Venue & Catering Live Aqua San Miguel
Videography No Ordinary Love
Wedding Planner Daniela Acosta Wedding Planner
