In a Chicago-themed dive bar in San Francisco. Conner was nursing the wounds of yet another Cubs loss, decked out in team gear, when Gianna spotted him across the room and made her decision on the spot. “The tall one is mine,” she declared, before walking straight over. A spirited debate about “designer” dogs later, they exchanged numbers, and the rest, as they say, is history.

One month after that fateful night, Conner proposed a New Year’s trip to Mexico City. Neither of them knew it then, but that trip would become, as Gianna describes it, “a defining chapter in our story and later, the inspiration for our wedding destination.”

Why Mexico City

The couple initially planned to marry in Napa, a natural choice given Gianna’s Bay Area roots and their many early dates in wine country. But as planning progressed, they found that the structure and formality of many wine-country venues didn’t quite match the celebration they had in mind. “We wanted something a little less scripted and a lot more free-flowing,” Gianna explains. “Late-night dancing, big energy, and the feeling that anything could happen.”

Mexico City offered exactly that. “There is this incredible ‘anything is possible’ spirit in CDMX,” says Gianna. “If we dreamed it, someone found a way to make it happen.” One week into researching Napa venues, they made a full pivot and never looked back.

The Venue: Hacienda Santa Mónica

From the moment they stepped onto the grounds of Hacienda Santa Mónica, the decision was made. “It had everything we wanted on a much grander, more magical scale. Lush, sprawling gardens, powerful historic architecture, and a sense of gravitas that you can’t fake,” Gianna recalls. “The scale of it was just so dramatic, and the DRAMA was what I was after!”

The guest experience was paramount. Arrivals wandered through overgrown pathways dotted with statues and pockets of light before emerging at a grand fountain filled with floating lily pads. Waiters greeted them with trays of hibiscus water, wine, and tequila sunrises. “We wanted guests to feel like they were stepping into a hidden world,” Gianna says. “We wanted the day to unfold like a story, full of surprise-and-delight moments.”

And it delivered: Gianna and Conner made their entrance from a second-story balcony to Martin Solveig’s “Intoxicated,” dinner transformed into a live show courtesy of a surprise saxophonist, violinist, and trio of singers, and guests danced until 2 a.m. with a spontaneous sax-and-DJ set. Late-night churros and Mexican snacks were passed on silver trays. There was even a tequila line; guests on chairs, bottle in hand. “The best thing ever,” Gianna laughs.

The Details: Old-World Glamour Meets Maximalism

Gianna’s design vision was clear from the start: “old-world glamour meets maximalism,” inspired by Mexico’s Belle Époque, their version of the Gilded Age. “I wanted our tablescape to feel like a modern nod to that era,” she says. “An era full of elegance, ornamentation, and unapologetic opulence.”

The jewel-toned color palette, emerald, burgundy, magenta, sapphire, with pops of orange and wine, created what Gianna describes as the feeling of “stepping inside a jewel box.” Tables were layered with emerald velvet linens, patterned plates in coordinating tones, gold chargers, bird-patterned salad plates in blues, greens, and golds, and clear glass candelabras. Gold and silver were intentionally mixed to give the whole spread a “collected, heirloom quality.”

The personalization ran deep. Gianna’s best friend and former roommate, Gina, combed through digital archives of the Hacienda and pulled patterns, wrought iron, scrollwork, florals, architectural details, weaving them throughout the stationery and onto a custom hand-drawn dance floor, complete with a hidden “C + G.” Her now sister-in-law, Kathaleen, hand-stamped every single guest’s name, once on their escort card-program hybrid, and again on their place card, giving everything that vintage postcard feel Gianna had envisioned.

Escort cards, meanwhile, pulled double duty as personalized programs, inspired by Gilded Age calling cards. “I was really into the idea of something guests could read during the in-between moments before we entered,” Gianna explains. Inside: a thank-you note, the menu, and the venue’s history.

The Ceremony

Though the ceremony wasn’t held in a church, it was rich with meaning. Gianna walked down the aisle in her mother’s wedding veil, blusher included. “Having my dad lift the veil felt like the perfect way to honor that moment and create a clear emotional transition,” she says.

The couple’s close friend Nick, who happened to be present on their very first date, officiated. “He wove in stories, blessings, and wisdom from his own Jewish tradition in such a natural, heartfelt way that it made the ceremony feel even more layered and meaningful,” Gianna recalls. “It reflected us as a couple while also honoring who he is and the role he plays in our lives.”

Planning from Afar

Pulling off a destination wedding of this scale required a trusted team, and at the center of it all was wedding planner Karla Arroyo. “She has this calm, quiet confidence. If she was ever stressed, you’d never know,” says Gianna. “I could text or call her with anything (concerns, ideas, freakouts) starting a year in advance, and she held the vision so clearly that by the time the wedding came, I felt completely prepared and oddly peaceful.”

The couple visited Mexico City three times during the planning process, touring venues, meeting vendors, attending floral mock-ups, and completing hair and makeup trials. Each trip was timed, with characteristic intentionality, around reservations at the city’s finest restaurants: Pujol, Maximo, and ultimately Quintonil. “Those experiences ended up inspiring a very baller Guide to Mexico City with recommendations we had actually tried ourselves,” Gianna notes. The guide included two curated itineraries, G’s City Chic Retreat (cafés, art, design, city wandering) and Conner’s Day Out (historical and cultural excursions), so guests could explore with confidence.

Advice for Future Couples

For couples considering a destination wedding, or simply trying to survive the planning process, Gianna is full of hard-won wisdom. “Enjoy the planning process. And I don’t mean that in a cliche way,” she says. “If you’re on the fence about a full-time planner, get one.” She also recommends looping in your partner early. “Conner surprised me over and over with great ideas, and it was a really creative, fun thing to discuss after work. It became something we bonded over instead of a chore.”

And as for Mexico City itself? “It is truly one of the most beautiful, vibrant, humbling, welcoming cities I’ve ever been to,” Gianna says. “We’ve traveled to more than 10 countries together, and we both agree we’ve never experienced a more genuinely hospitable group of people so proud of their city and so committed to making sure you have the best time in it. There’s a magic to it, loud, poetic, alive. If you let yourself be present in all of it, you bring that magic home with you… and return to it when you visit for a future anniversary.”

Vendors: Photography: Efege; Planning: Karla Arroyo Event Architect; Florals: Polen Flores; Venue: Hacienda Santa Mónica; Cake: Chokolat Pimienta; Hair & Makeup: Lore Pinto; Bride’s Gown: Rita Vinieris; Groom’s Attire: Jacob Young Custom Clothiers