Serena and Johnny first met as juniors attending the same university. One night in February, Johnny and his roommates hosted a Super Bowl party at their off-campus house. Serena happened to be attending the party that night and immediately hit it off with Johnny. While the pair did not make it official during their college years, they kept a strong friendship. It wasn’t until 2014 that they both found themselves single and in San Francisco. The stars finally aligned, and the two of them decided to take a leap of faith and give the relationship a try.

A few short years later, the couple took their first trip to Los Cabos, Mexico together. While enjoying a romantic dinner under the Mexican sky at Flora Farms, Johnny hinted that the farm would be the most spectacular place for them to get married.

“It was the first time he’d mentioned marriage, and about a year later, he popped the question at El Farallon in Los Cabos. So, when it came time to actually pick a venue, the choice was simple,” Serena says.

While choosing the destination wedding location was simple, the Pandemic had other plans. The couple was forced to postpone their wedding date not one, but two times; once to June 2021, and then again to April 2022. Instead of rushing the planning process, the couple shifted their energy toward enjoying the engagement. The couple credits their sense of peace to, “patience, flexibility and a wonderful wedding planner.”

“While we likely would’ve had more flexibility with our dates and approach if we were getting married locally, we now agree that our day ended up being fully worth the wait,” the pair says.

Planning and re-planning the wedding during the pandemic was far from easy. The couple leaned on each other and their wedding planner, Claudia with Amy Abbott Events, quite a bit.

“Our planner was such a delight to work with — she never made us feel like a hassle for all the twists and turns, and we don’t know how we would’ve managed all those shifts and back-and-forth communication with vendors without her,” the couple says.

When the month of April approached, the couple was finally able to say tie the knot in such a meaningful destination. Wedding guests flew in from California and Washington with ease and were shuttled directly to the reception site.

“The only real snafu was Serena’s dad missing his flight from San Francisco because he misread the departure time. Oops! Thankfully, he didn’t end up missing out on anything,” says Serena.

Tucked away in the foothills of the Sierra de la Laguna Mountains, Flora Farms made the perfect location for the couple to tie the knot. Its nature-based setting made the perfect, relaxing getaway to celebrate the pair.

“While I think we would’ve had an incredible time celebrating our love anywhere, it truly felt uniquely magical doing so under the Mexican sun and twinkling lights at Flora Farms, where so much of our love story could be traced back to,” Johnny says.

Even though the pandemic tried its best to switch up their wedding plans, the couple agrees, having a destination wedding was well worth the wait. Plus, Serena and Johnny saved more money on their spectacular venue than they might have if they’d gone for a local wedding– money they were able to put toward importing flowers.

Serena leaves future brides looking to plan a destination wedding with a few words of advice:

“Part of hosting a destination wedding means coming to terms with the fact that some guests won’t be able to make the trek, so make sure you’re able to do just that before committing. In the days leading up to the big day and on your wedding day itself, take time to really soak in your surroundings and the love your people are pouring into you.”