Rehearsal Dinner

St. Ann Catholic Parish

Wedding Day

Wedding

Pensacola Yacht Club

Reception

Our Wedding

I&nbsp;met&nbsp; Christian back in 2016 in the FIU&nbsp;Catholic Panthers group. I remember one day we were in the same small group discussing whatever that day's topic was and at one point I&nbsp;was introducing myself saying how I&nbsp;am from Pensacola Florida and that I converted to the Catholic faith when i was a senior in high school (something that we have in common). After I&nbsp;had introduced myself, Christian then starts asking me all these questions about Pensacola.&nbsp; I thought to myself, "wow ive never met anyone from Miami that is so interested in Pensacola, let alone knows where Pensacola is." I also remember thinking to myself, hey he's kinda cute, but then I&nbsp;felt guilty because at the time I&nbsp;was dating someone else. Fast forward to 2017,&nbsp; I&nbsp;had just broken up with my previous boyfriend and reunited with Catholic Panthers because for the past year or so I wasn't as active as I&nbsp;wanted to be. During June 2017 some friends of ours invited us to Dave & Busters. Originally I&nbsp;had some other plans with some other friends but they didnt follow through so I&nbsp;thought, well I&nbsp;should go with Zuly and Julian (Catholic Panther friends). I met them at Dave and Buster's and they had also happen to invite&nbsp;Christian as well. Christian and I had spent the whole night together and finally at the end of the night asked me out on our first date.&nbsp;

How we met (Alicia's perspective)

The week leading up to our first date, I&nbsp;was a nervous wreck. I thought it was too soon to go on a date after only being broken up with my previous boyfriend for 4 months and I&nbsp;also just had the normal first date jitters. To this day I&nbsp;still think our first date is the most awkward first date I&nbsp;have ever been on since we both can be pretty awkward at times. He picked me up from my apartment and we went to his sister's dance recital. From there we ate at an Italian restaurant and then everything just took off from there.&nbsp;

Our First Date (Alicia's perspective)

*Sometime in July 2019* Christian and I were headed to Miami Intl Airport to go visit my family in Pensacola. That day Christian was weirdly nervous about his bag getting caught by the TSA at the security check point. He told his mom about his worries and she reassured him that everything will be fine (she knew why he was nervous) on the other hand I&nbsp;thought he was weirdly paranoid. Lucky for him that I am oblivious and didnt think much of it. On July 24 2019 Christian and I decided to go have dinner at Sidelines on Pensacola Beach. Before we left Christian suggested that I wear something nice, like a dress. I thought I&nbsp;don't get what the fancy occasion is, its just a sports bar. Being the oblivious person I am, i didn't think anything of it and just did what he said. After dinner we walked out on the main beach. The sun had happened to be setting at the time. He got down on one knee, asked me to marry him and I&nbsp;was speechless for a good 5 minutes. The first person I told was Andres, my brother, but apparently he already knew because he sneakily took a picture of the moment&nbsp;

The Proposal (Alicia's Perspective)

I'm pretty sure I met Alicia&nbsp;around January 2016, early in the Spring Semester. We were at a weekly Catholic&nbsp;Panthers meeting and we were assigned to the same group to discuss tonight's topic. I was fascinated&nbsp;that she was from Pensacola and that she was a convert to Catholicism from the Episcopal Church. She&nbsp;found my fascination with these facts&nbsp;odd yet interesting. Throughout the next year, Alicia and I&nbsp;often ran into each other&nbsp;at Catholic Panthers events and masses. We enjoyed each other's company, but at the time she was involved with someone else. So throughout that year and into the next, we were little more than acquaintances.&nbsp;

How We Met  (Christian's Perspective)

Alicia and I both agree that this was the most awkward date either of us had ever been on.&nbsp; At first we were just going to&nbsp;have dinner at DiPapa's but then I&nbsp;decided to also invite Alicia to my sister Carolina's dance recital, which was that same Saturday. We were both so nervous&nbsp;and during the recital, I tried hesitatingly to hold her hand, but we eventually ended up doing so. Afterwards, during the dinner,&nbsp; we tried our best to make conversation but it still felt quite awkward. Nevertheless, Alicia agreed to meet up for another date the following weekend.

Our First Date (Christian's perspective)

I planned on asking Alicia to marry me&nbsp;early on in 2019. When I&nbsp;was informed that we would be traveling to Pensacola that summer, I decided that proposing to her on Pensacola Beach at sunset&nbsp;would be my golden&nbsp;opportunity. So I went ahead and got a ring from a jeweler that my family knew about. Then I&nbsp;called two of her closest friends for advice. Finally, and most importantly, I asked her parents for their approval and they both consented. We flew&nbsp;to Pensacola in July of that year. When Alicia and I got to the TSA security checkpoint,&nbsp;I was so afraid that the alarm would go off because of the ring in my bag. Thank God it didn't. I was hoping to propose to her as soon as possible to get it over with. Finally, the opportunity came. That Tuesday we were planning on going to the beach and hanging out in the family camper. After dinner, Alicia and I decided to take a walk on the beach during Sunset, that was when I asked her to marry me. She was so shocked, she stood still for a good 10 seconds, then finally said yes. Her brother Andres agreed to take photos of the moment beforehand.

The Proposal (Christian's Perspective)

Our Story

Just a Heads up

Travel

So we realize that we are asking a lot of you to travel all the way to Pensacola, Florida for our special day. Since the majority of our guests are from Miami we want everyone to be aware that Pensacola and Miami are not next door to each other. From Miami to Pensacola driving takes about 12 hours. You are basically driving the whole state of Florida. Second option is flying which is about an hour plane ride but sometimes the tickets can be expensive. So its good to think over which option will work for you once you make the decision that you will be attending.&nbsp;

Lodging

Our wedding is set during Pensacola's high season so that means that the hotels get booked fast and the rates arent exactly the cheapest. Needless to say it is important to book a room as soon as you know you will be attending this wedding. THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR ALL MEMBERS OF FAMILY AND WEDDING PARTY. We seriously cannot stress this enough!!!!! If the hotel room rate is to high there are other options such as AirBnb and you could also check out some vacation rentals near Pensacola or Gulf Breeze.&nbsp;

Details

Krystal and I go way back to before we were even born! I cant exactly remember the time we met because most likely I was not even a year old yet when she was born. Our fathers met each other in high school and Paul (Krystal's father) was the best man in my father's wedding. I felt that it&nbsp;was appropriate to have her as maid of honor since I&nbsp;feel like it should be someone who has known you most of your life and is like a sister. Since i have no blood related sisters, she's the closest I&nbsp;have in my life.&nbsp;

Krystal Garcia

I met Fabien in college during the Fall semester of 2015. We were both new members of the Catholic student ministry&nbsp;at FIU&nbsp;and we quickly bonded together as young men in Christ. As we got to know each other, we found that our Catholic faith was not the only thing we had in common. Fabien has gone above and beyond in&nbsp;being&nbsp;a real&nbsp;friend to me and has assisted me in my journey to manhood.

Fabien Charles 

Sam is another friend I met through the FIU&nbsp;Catholic student ministry. He has also become like a brother to me. He has been there for me for many events in and outside of Catholic Panthers and has inspired me to grow in holiness.

Sam Castillo

Henry is my oldest friend. We go all the way back to preschool!&nbsp;Although we did not see each other in person for 15 years, we never forgot all the good times we had together as kids. We bonded over so many things in elementary school and still do to this day.&nbsp;In my heart, he is and always will be my brother.

Henry Meneses

Andres has been a fantastic brother-in-law. He knows how to have fun and is very intelligent.&nbsp;

Andres Candela

So from this marriage&nbsp; I&nbsp;will be gaining a sister. Im excited to get to know her more throughout the years.&nbsp;

Carolina Sosa

Wedding Party

Photos

Registry

Q + A

Should you plan to stay at Home 2 Suites the deadline to reserve a room is June 6 2022. Please keep in mind that July is a busy time for Pensacola. So it is HIGHLY recommended to book as soon as you know you will be attending the wedding. Should you book at the last minute you run the risk of paying a higher room rate or possibly not getting a room.

Home2 Suites by Hilton Gulf Breeze Pensacola Area

Should you plan to stay at Hampton Inn the deadline to reserve a room is June 6 2022. Please keep in mind that July is a busy time for Pensacola. So it is HIGHLY recommended to book as soon as you know you will be attending the wedding. Should you book at the last minute you run the risk of paying a higher room rate or possibly not getting a room.

Alicia & Christian

Alicia & Christian

A&C

Wedding Day

2:00 PM

Wedding

Reception