JANIE + ALEJANDRO WEDDING DAY

The first time Alejandro laid eyes on Janie was when they worked together for the first time at Revel Kitchen in St.Louis.  “Oh my gosh, she is the most beautiful girl in the whole entire world.” he thought. His heart was racing because he knew this was the princesita who had the other piece of his corazón. Janie always caught Alejandro staring at her whenever they would work together. Most people (the starers) will turn away whenever they catch the other person looking back at them, but not Alejandro! He would KEEP staring even though Janie would catch him every time. He thought she was absolutely beautiful.  Alejandro was afraid to talk to Janie because he thought she was too young for him, but after asking the owner how old Janie was, and finding out she was 22 he said “OOLALA, I need to talk to her! She is going to be mine and nobody else’s!”  He went so far as to tell the owner of the restaurant that he was going to marry her! Even though there was another guy after Janie as well,  Alejandro won by a LOOOOONG shot! The two started talking a little bit (even though their conversations were very simple because of a language barrier).  Janie could tell right from the start how genuine he was.  Alejandro would always surprise her by making her pancakes while on the job, and Janie would always surprise him with smoothies. Their love was just beginning in that restaurant.

On their first date, Janie and Alejandro went to a Mexican restaurant called El Mexiquense where they ate approximately 100 tacos…each. It was Janie’s first time there, and she fell in love with carne asada that day as well. They didn’t know each other’s languages very well at the time, so their conversations were very simple, but also sweet as they talked about family, their homes in America and Mexico, and FOOD! Janie spilled out her heart to Alejandro on their date and shared how her heart was hurting from past relationships. Alejandro listened closely.  “Janie, one day I’m going to fix your heart.” he said.

3 months later, the two were in Chicago at a Mexican mall one day and decided to look at engagement rings to see what Janie liked. There were a couple of jewelry stores in the mall, and at one of them Janie saw a ring that she loved, but she decided to keep looking around at other stores. The next one they went to Alejandro told her he had to go to the bathroom and left her there to look at more rings.  Alejandro had actually gone BACK to the first store and bought that first ring she fell in love with!! He was able to keep it a secret and Janie never knew. Time passed, and the night before Janie’s birthday Alejandro told her he wouldn’t be able to see her on her birthday because he had to work all day. But, he had a conversation with Janie’s mom and asked her to text him when Janie went to school because he had a surprise for her. Alejandro got busy decorating her house and filled her room with 600 roses, about 500+ balloons, and pictures of Janie dangling from the ceiling. He wanted to make her feel so special. When she arrived home from school she followed the path of roses up to her bedroom. Alejandro gave her an Apple Watch in that moment knowing that the real surprise was coming in a few short hours.
He was so nervous all day, but especially the hours leading up to the proposal. He was shaking and couldn’t even talk he was so nervous. He told Janie he had to leave for work and couldn’t go to her birthday dinner with her parents, but when Janie, her parents, and Alejandro’s brother and sister-in-law were at the restaurant having drinks at their table, Alejandro walked up behind Janie’s chair, tapped her on the shoulder, and said “I know this day is so special for you, but I forgot to give you something. The more important birthday present” dropping onto one knee and asked “Will you marry me Janie?” She was shocked but said YESSS!!! They were in shock the rest of the night together, but SO happy and excited for the future! (Alejandro also adds that on his way to the restaurant he was blasting “Marry you” by Bruno Mars to hype himself up.  Men, take notice of this tip for pre-proposal strength.)

The two were planning to have a traditional wedding with the ceremony being held at Janie’s church, and then a reception venue downtown with lots of their friends and family. Covid changed everything. They ended up having an intimate private ceremony at Janie’s family’s house in St. Louis and had to do a Livestream of the ceremony via Zoom and Facebook live so Alejandro’s family who couldn’t make it from Mexico, as well as other friends and family, could tune into this special bi-lingual ceremony. “Making concrete plans while all the restrictions were practically changing by the hour was the hardest. It was tough to even create invites because we didn’t even know what was going to happen. Our invites were vague and basically told everyone to check the wedding website for updates.” In the end, they both confirm they couldn’t have asked for anything better.

Janie and Alejandro are the most endearing couple. This day was filled with deep, strong, joyful love.  We were SO fortunate to be able to witness their love and their beginning as husband and wife, and know that you are going to enjoy every second of their day as much as we did!  Enjoy a peek at Janie and Alejandro’s wedding day!

We love a Father/Daughter first look!The hair game is strong with this one.Alejandro’s FaceTime with his family in Mexico before the ceremony was an extremely emotional moment to watch.  You didn’t have to speak the language to know what they were feeling. Being at Janie’s home, it’s only fitting that the neighbors attended  – socially distanced of course.

It was the moment they most looked forward to, as well as their favorite moment of the day.  Alejandro was so nervous and trying so hard to contain his tears, but he couldn’t as he saw Janie walk down with her dad. Janie seeing Alejandro at the end of the walkway trying to hold himself together, but looking so handsome still even with tears in his eyes. She had butterflies in her stomach ALL day thinking about seeing Alejandro and starting her life forever with him. It was the most beautiful moment.Also, a favorite moment of Janie’s was listening to her brother and best friend (MOH) sing The Blessing song together during our ceremony. “That was my breaking point because they sang in both English and Spanish, and it was just incredible and tear-jerking! I couldn’t hold myself together.”MARRIED!!!!Janie and Alejandro had a Drive-Through reception which was SUCH a cool way to celebrate with guests in a socially distanced way! Can you imagine the adorable children these two could create?  Seriously the most gorgeous couple!

Not gonna lie – Peace Love & Tacos is the best wedding theme there ever was. Watching Janie and Alejandro when they don’t know anyone is watching is honestly magic.  The two are just so incredibly sweet together.

Janie’s mom surprised the bride and groom with a Mariachi band!  I’m not sure if weddings will ever feel complete now without one!

MORE FROM THE BRIDE & GROOM:

“It ended up being a blessing to have a comfortable at-home wedding. It was supposed to rain all day on our wedding day, but the skies held up for the entire afternoon and evening and we got to do our whole ceremony, pictures, and mini-reception rain-free. We got to have tacos catered for dinner (duh!) from Taco Buddha (Great decision), and Janie’s parents surprised us and everyone else with a Mariachi band who came and played live music for a little bit! It was really cool to have the tastes of both American and Mexican cultures on our wedding day. We couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

“Everyone keeps saying it was the most beautiful, memorable, comfortable, and special wedding they’ve ever been too. We think the most unique thing was that our ceremony was in two languages – Spanish and English. Janie said her vows in Spanish, and Alejandro said them in English, which was again…so special to paint of picture of two cultures intertwining.”

If you could do it all over, would you change anything?
Nothing!!! it turned out better than we could have hoped. All our plans (COVID style at home) went accordingly, and it was just a fun, comfortable day all around.

In hindsight, what were the blessings/unforeseen gifts that COVID restrictions provided?
Having a comfortable at-home wedding was perfect. Fits both of our laid-back personalities, and no one had to put on a show of having to be someone they’re not as you have to talk with strangers at most weddings. Everyone knew each other here! Even our neighbors (our Saturday night happy hour crew!) came to watch the ceremony and it melted our hearts to see their faces as we committed ourselves together.

Advice for future bride/grooms?
This was MEANT TO BE! Whatever changes your plans go through, that’s what it was meant to be like, so don’t freak out, enjoy the process and new plans, and don’t think about all the what-if’s because your wedding will be EXACTLY how it was meant to be however it goes — rain or shine, church or house ceremony, COVID or no COVID. Plus you don’t want to look back and feel like you wished your day away thinking about what it could have been. Find JOY in the midst of it all.

Songs Chosen:
All for Jesus
Jesus Paid it All
Lift High the Cross
Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken (walking down the aisle)
The Blessing (a duet by Janie’s brother and MOH)

Wedding Professionals who made the day great:
Sabrina Torti – coordinator
Cakery (AMAZING CAKE…BEST WEDDING CAKE WE’VE EVER TRIED!!!) 

Honeymoon Location:
Frankfort, Michigan. We were planning on going here COVID or not. Janie’s grandpa has a house overlooking Lake Michigan, and it was a fabulous honeymoon destination to relax, have lots of one-on-one time, go on walks, fall out of kayaks together, and eat ice cream EVERY SINGLE NIGHT! We even bought 11 pints to-go to bring back to St.Louis with us because we loved it so much and couldn’t bear to think about not having it for another year.

The two call St.Louis MO home in a cute little apartment with very little storage space so everything is piled on top of each other as neatly as possible of course. A good first home together.

We can’t get enough of these two and we bet you can’t either, so please enjoy more of this beautiful day in the slideshow below!!