A Celebration of Love and Family
Mains de Vapeur has been woven into our love story from the very beginning. David and I met at a brand event I was hosting in Monterrey, Mexico—long before we could imagine where life might take us. Just one year into our relationship, I moved to New York City to launch the brand, a decision that would quietly shape our life together.
New York became the place where our story truly settled—where we grew into ourselves as a couple. It felt natural that this city would also become the backdrop for our wedding. We wanted the day to feel like a celebration of this journey — grounded in love, intimate in scale, and unmistakably New York.
I must admit, I was never someone who dreamed of her wedding day. I was deeply excited about the idea of a life with David, but not necessarily about the celebration itself. It took time to imagine an event that felt comfortable and true to us. I wanted to let go of any preconceptions of what a wedding is meant to be and instead create something honest where we could feel fully present and share a genuine moment with everyone who traveled to celebrate with us.
Being far from our families often means they experience our lives from a distance. For this reason, we wanted to create a gathering that offered them a glimpse into the life we continue to build together. We called it A Celebration of Love and Family: an intimate moment to celebrate our love and loved ones.
custom hats
I couldn’t resist bringing my millinery mind into the celebration. I designed a custom hat for each of my women guests, starting with a simple request: a photograph of the dress they planned to wear. From there, each hat took shape in conversation, carefully considering each guest’s personal style and features.
The Friday before the wedding, everyone arrived at the studio to try on their hats for the first time. What was meant to be a simple fitting quickly became a cherished moment—sharing my passion with the women I love most and watching each hat come alive, perfectly reflecting their personalities.
our Creative family came together
Many of the creatives who helped bring our day to life were friends we had already worked with over the years. Danielle Juliao, one of my first friends in New York, served as our wedding planner and has also been the creative director on Mains de Vapeur´s campaigns since I arrived in the city, working on every campaign I’ve created here. Laura Pantoja, who led my glam team on the day, had also collaborated with me on my two most recent campaigns, including our bridal collection.
The wedding visuals were designed by my dear friend Vanessa Santos, who created the original branding for Mains de Vapeur years ago through her creative agency, Parametro Studio. Illustrator and friend Megan St. Clair designed our wedding logo—the two pegasus—and created hand-drawn typography that complemented the visuals.
It felt truly meaningful to bring together our creative family and have each of them contribute their talent to such a special day.
The Creative Process
From the beginning, the creative process felt inseparable from Mains de Vapeur—but also from the way David and I move through the world together. The creative came together like a puzzle, shaped by the New York experiences we’ve collected over the years.
When I revisited my visual references, they always traced back to the past, reinterpreted through a modern lens. That tension—between nostalgia and relevance—became our guiding instinct. I remember celebrating my 30th birthday at Casino two years ago and thinking, this place feels so on brand. Casino embodied these references perfectly.
Once the location was set, the rest unfolded organically. For the florals, we developed a theme we called Creatures on the Loose, choosing expressive, sculptural arrangements that felt alive and untamed. Red anthuriums paired with garlic flowers created a whimsical, almost surreal atmosphere.
Lighting, inspired by James Turrell, added another layer of storytelling, with subtle shifts in color that evolved throughout the night.
David and I share a deep love for jazz, so the cocktail reception opened with a jazz band we had discovered on one of our date nights in the city. As the evening progressed, DJ Rachel Opert—whom we discovered dancing at Le Dive—carried the night forward with three playlists we created together, each marking a shift in mood as the energy rose. One song stayed with us throughout the entire planning process—La Vie en Rose by Grace Jones—which we danced to countless times in our living room, daydreaming our way toward the day itself.
While designing our wedding logo, we realized that, while we were at it, we could create an emblem for the family we were about to become. Something that could one day be embroidered onto napkins, towels, and stationery—because we are all about the little things.We wanted it to represent values that matter to us. I have always felt drawn to the pegasus, without ever fully understanding why. When I finally explored its spiritual meaning—freedom, inspiration, transcendence, and love—it felt aligned with both our story and our shared vision of life.
We chose two pegasus, facing one another, their silhouettes shaping a heart—a reminder to always act from a place of love, not fear. Choosing love is not always the easiest path, but it is the most gratifying and authentic one. Each day, we ask ourselves where our decisions are coming from, choosing not to let fear hold us back from creating a life that feels daring, exciting, and true.
The Feels
In the end, for someone who never romanticized the idea of a wedding, I can say it was undeniably worth it. It became one of the most meaningful weekends we’ve ever shared—gathered with the people we love most, in a city that holds so much of who we are today. I remember waking up that morning and thinking, this hasn’t even started yet, and it’s already worth everything. The amount of love you feel on a day like that is impossible to explain—and absolutely worth celebrating.
the New York Times
Mariado Martinez wrote a beautiful piece about our love story and celebration for The New York Times Vows section. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, she spent time with us through several interviews—together and separately—and quietly shadowed the weekend as it unfolded, from the Friday fittings to the day itself. She even spoke with members of my family.
At one point, my cousins turned to me and asked, “Mariela… what is The New York Times doing here?”—a moment that felt both surreal and very New York.
I didn’t read a word of the piece until the day it was published. Reading it afterward was such a treat. Every detail was meticulously fact-checked, every moment thoughtfully rendered. It was like experiencing the weekend all over again.
Special thanks to my dear friend and publicist, Roberta Zertuche.
