So from the beginning, we knew one value was to have a high energy and joyful celebration.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Lorna was born in Sonora, MX, and Isaac in Eugene, OR, so the fact that our lives ended up intertwining feels like it was only from God! Isaac is a behavioural therapist, and I am a video editor. Despite our very different upbringings and careers, we both have held the title of “life of the party” in our families, and that’s where we really see our similarities.
It’s funny: every time we walk into my mom’s house, we sing at the top of our lungs and dance to announce our arrival, and my mom always says, “ I can’t believe you found the male equivalent of yourself”. So, to sum it up, we both truly love to bring energy and joy into a room and make others laugh and feel seen; whether through an intentional conversation or a silly dance, we balance the depth and fun very well. That’s the best space to create and make others feel known.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
My husband Isaac and I met in his hometown of Eugene, OR, where I went to college and lived for 9 years. In the summer of 2020, my roommates and I hosted a game night that Isaac was invited to by a mutual friend. Instantly, we could feel the chemistry from the moment we saw each other as he sat directly across from me. My first impression of Isaac was: “He is so attractive and clearly knows about fashion. This guy can handle my roasts and isn’t afraid to dish the jokes right back.” That’s the way to my heart.
Isaac’s first impression of me was: “I remember sitting down across the table from a cute girl with her hair up in a messy bun falling halfway off her head. As the game started, she and I made eye contact at one point and, from there, formed an unspoken alliance to win the game. We were cracking jokes and flirting across the table all night. We even had a secret team meeting at one point when we both got up at the same time to get more snacks. Being able to laugh together is the most important thing to me in a connection with someone. I realized very quickly that this girl was so fun to be around. By the end of the night, everyone had figured out that we were working together in the game and called us out, which I think goes to show how obvious the chemistry was between us.”
The rest of the night, as we played a group game, we could not stop flirting and laughing through sharing looks and jokes from across the table. 4 years later, it seems fitting that hosting game nights and gathering our favourite people in our homes is still what brings us the most joy. We are both so extroverted and goofy, we love to bring the energy into any room we step into. You may catch us doing a ridiculous choreographed dance number or saying off the wall jokes.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
Isaac and I were close friends for a year before we entered into a romantic relationship. It was special. We got to know each other in the context of our friend group, which was so tight-knit. We naturally got to know each other so deeply without any pressure to impress and were just able to enjoy a friendship first. So I feel like from the very beginning, there was already a deep love for each other as friends that by the time we became a couple, we had seen a lot of sides of each other that it felt like for me personally, I knew this was a love I wanted to fight for, for the rest of my life. Isaac’s moment of realization was a few months later at a JP Sax concert in Portland, an artist whose songs were a huge part of our love story. His song “Few Things” is so special to us and summarises the complicated feelings that came up during our years of dating through the pandemic. When everything in life felt unsure, the one thing that was sure was our desire to build a life together.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
It was July 2023 in Oregon, and Isaac had suggested that we go on one last date in Eugene before we made our big move down to southern California. I had a feeling his plan was to propose on this “last Eugene date”, but he threw me for a loop when come date night, our friend Mark invited us to go paddleboarding. I felt torn because i didnt want to have FOMO but I also knew this would be one of our last nights we could go on a date in Eugene. So, I called Isaac and asked if we could do our date night the next night instead. To my surprise, he was instantly on board with the new plan, which made me think if his plan were to propose, he would not be so willing to postpone this proposal just for paddleboarding. Little did I know, this was part of his master plan. While Isaac had originally planned for the proposal to be that night, he got a very stressful email from the jeweller saying that after inspection, the ring would not be arriving that day as planned. So Isaac, knowing I’m a sucker for a paddle board sesh, had asked Mark to invite us so that it could buy him more time to coordinate with our friends and family, to help him move our proposal for the following night. Come Thursday, the proposal couldn’t have been more perfect. He led me inside our favourite coffee shop, Meraki, where he worked and where I spent much of my time as a freelancer. It was our home away from home, and I couldn’t think of a better place to get engaged. The shop was filled with candles in the shape of a heart. Peaches by Justin Bieber was accidentally playing, but it made for a funny moment that reset any nerves, and after he got down on one knee, all of our friends, family and co-workers from Meraki came running in to celebrate. Our after-party was full of Gin Gimlets, pastries, espresso, and so many celebratory hugs and Polaroids.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
At the beginning of wedding planning, we each made a list of our 5 values for our wedding and then rated elements of the wedding from 1-10 based on those values. So from the beginning, we knew one value was to have a high energy and joyful celebration. We both love dancing and music, so it was a no-brainer. We wanted to splurge on the entertainment/musical aspect of the night, including our DJ and a live element, which was the Mariachi. We went all out with a Mariachi to kick off the reception, which felt like a movie. The Mariachi band were lined up in front of the pool on the deck below and signalled to us with their trumpets to “Son De La Negra” as we all made our way down the stairs from cocktail hour to dance. It was breathtaking, with the most gorgeous dark orange sunset as our backdrop.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
We got married in Mismaloya, just about 20 minutes outside of Puerto Vallarta, and the weather in June is hot and humid. Luckily, the whole weekend, we got some great weather with cloud coverage, but come 445pm on the wedding day (15 minutes before the ceremony), all the power went out in the villa, including the AC, where the groom and the entire bridal party were waiting to walk out. It was particularly a stressful moment for Isaac because he knew he would be sweating a lot, so this was one detail he had been thinking about throughout our planning: how to beat the heat before the ceremony and in between photos. Isaac and his groomsmen had just finished taking pictures before going up to the ceremony space to cool down when he realized that would not be happening anymore. So, while it made for an extremely hot moment and ceremony, it did not stop Isaac from having his moment shine and dancing down the aisle to those killer dance moves he won my heart with.
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?The history of the ceremony dress…
I wore a Katherin Tash gown from LOHO Bride in Hollywood for my bridal gown. It was one of the first gowns i tried on but did not decide on it right away. Only after trying on about 20 more in the months to follow I decided I needed to go back; I couldn’t get the Jane gown out of my mind. It was everything I had been looking for. On my way to pick it up from LA, I was stuck in extreme LA traffic for 3 hours. I was panicking and hoping that my 3 hour drive would not be wasted as I was already 1 hour late for my pick-up appointment. The ladies at LOHO said they would wait for me, so 15 min before I was set to arrive, I got into a car accident where I was t-boned, and my car was totalled. At this point, it felt like getting my dress was out of the question, which felt sad and stressful because we were only a month away from our wedding day, so I needed to start alterations ASAP. The towing guy had just finished hearing my story and immediately said, “Girl, I just got you an Uber; let’s get you that dress!” So I made it to LOHO 5 minutes before closing and was out of there with my beautiful new gown! Despite the most stressful events, nothing was going to stop me from getting that dress!
It’s a tradition that the groom doesn’t see the bride’s dress, but like many other things about us, we like doing things differently. So Isaac decided to surprise me with his tux. I knew nothing about what he would decide on except that he was usually the one giving me fashion advice, so I was not worried at all. Isaac ended up wearing a custom Tux from Indo Chino. His outfit was made up of black tuxedo pants, a black bow tie, black loafers and a white dinner jacket because what groom doesn’t want also to have his moment to shine on his wedding day?
LOCATION Casa Valerie, @casa_valerie PHOTOGRAPHER Alex Elise Photo, @alexelisephoto VIDEOGRAPHER Mayte Romero Wedding, @mayteromeroweddings PLANNER & COORDINATOR The Wedding Day, @the_wedding_day__ OFFICIANT Family friend ENTERTAINMENT Mariachi Band: Mariachi Internacional de Mex, @mariachintl; DJ: VMX Audiovisual, @vmx_audiovisual CATERING Casa Valerie, @casa_valerie RINGS Bride: Kinn Studio, @kinnstudio; Groom: Blue Nile, @bluenilediamond BRIDAL DRESS Loho Bride, @loho_bride; Katherine Tash, @katherinetash BRIDE’S SHOE Dolce Vita, @dolcevita ACCESSORIES Earrings – Jenny Yoo, @jennyyoonyc HAIR & MAKEUP Styling Trio, @stylingtrio CUSTOM SUIT Indochino, @indochino, @indochinoweddings BRIDESMAID DRESSES Little JC, @littlejcboutique; Mura Boutique, @muraboutique
