Laura + Paco by Valeria Pitarresi - Together Journal

We decided to celebrate our civil marriage coinciding with our twenty-fifth anniversary together. Turning 25 years of a relationship is not easy, but things have been happening naturally since we moved in together. We can say that we have always had each other through thick and thin.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

We are a very simple and happy couple. Our professions are developed in completely different sectors. Paco is responsible for a department in one of the best-known shopping centres in our country, and I work at the University of Granada in the area of technological promotion.

We enjoy travelling, imagining what our life will be like in the destinations we visit, discovering new restaurants in our city, and riding our bikes. We try to enjoy our free time at most as we can.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

We met many years ago at the birthday of a mutual friend. Coincidentally we had to sit in front of each other, and without a doubt, that’s where the spark arose. We said goodbye that night without further ado, but deep down I think we both knew that this would be the beginning of our beautiful story.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…

We had talked about it on occasion, but without planning anything at all. After the difficult years of the pandemic, on New Year’s Eve 2021, I told the family that we were getting married in 2022. Yes, it was the first person who broke the news. It was kind of impulsive. He didn’t know anything. I wanted an exciting new year entry, we deserved it. Later, Paco told me, with the complicity that characterizes us: “You were so quiet, you could have told me”. And we burst out laughing.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?

We were looking for a special, charming, different place without leaving our province. It wasn’t easy, but in the end, we found him by typing in Google “Grand house Granada”. No one had told us about the “Casa Grande de Zujaira” before, and when we visited it for the first time, it was clear to us that it was the perfect location for everything that would come later.

The Casa Grande de Zujaira has a lot of history. The origin of Zujaira, in Granada (Spain), dates back to the times of the Arab presence in these lands, and it is known that it was the house where Aixa, Boabdil’s mother, lived before moving to the Alhambra with her son. In less than five months we were drawing an intimate wedding taking care of all the details.

We were our own masters of the ceremony in which we took a brief tour of our history, of our great journey together. Our relatives waited for us in the romantic garden of the House with a huge bougainvillea as a backdrop. The beautiful voice of the singer and friend Sylaia sounded live, emotions were on the surface. We will all cherish the weekend together.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?

It was clear to me that I would wear a two-piece outfit, elegant with an original touch, so I ruled out the dress from the beginning. It was not easy for me to find something that I liked in my city, and with luck, I found it in a Sevillian firm. The different tests that they did to me until the suit was perfect, became weekend getaways to Seville in very good company. They were very special moments for me.

The shoes were custom-made by a Madrid firm and the bouquet, as well as the floral decorations on the presidential table, were pure inspiration from two Instagram accounts that I follow. For the hairstyle, I looked at the style of a Parisian designer, whose work I love.

Paco opted for a cold wool suit from a Spanish brand and a white shirt. He did not want to wear a tie since due to his work he must wear this accessory on a daily basis. Honestly, we were beaming.