It all started with karaoke.

In January 2023, mutual friends who knew we were both single decided we should meet and invited Lara to Alexs birthday celebration at a karaoke bar in New York City. Neither of us knew it then, but many of the friends in that room would go on to become an important part of our life together.

A few weeks later came our first date at Mezcali, over margaritas. At one point, Lara invited Alex to sit beside her in the booth, providing what she thought was a fairly obvious opportunity for a first kiss. Alex, ever the gentleman, did absolutely nothing.

His plan, unbeknownst to Lara, was to take her dancing afterward and kiss her once theyd danced off a few margaritas. When Lara decided dancing on a Thursday night wasnt happening, they said goodbye instead. Lara went home convinced shed been friend-zoned.

Thankfully, Alex had a very different interpretation of the evening.

He soon planned their first proper dinner date at an omakase restaurant in Tribeca. After dinner, they climbed into a yellow cab, and Alex turned to Lara and said, “Theres something I should have done last time.”

And finally, he kissed her.

From there, things moved quickly, not because we were rushing, but because it felt remarkably clear. By summer, we were meeting each others families and becoming part of each others circles of friends. And that September, less than a year after a karaoke bar brought us together, we moved into our first apartment in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens.

Three years later, its still home.

Long Island City has become much more than the place where we live. Its where weve built our little New York family, surrounded by some of our closest friends, many only a few blocks away. Our life together is filled with spontaneous dinners, birthdays, barbecues, board games, cocktails, travel, and pretty much any excuse to bring the people we love around the same table.

Its also where LarAlex was born, a nickname given to us by our close-knit group of friends that, somewhere along the way, simply became us.

Our life together has stretched far beyond New York, too. Mexico is Alexs home, where his family and roots are, and it has naturally become an important part of the life were building together, embraced by Lara through family, food, travel, culture and quite a few Spanish lessons.

Then, in August 2025, came Wisconsin.

During a summer weekend Lara had planned with some of our closest friends, Alex somehow managed to out-plan the planner.

Back at the house one evening, surrounded by friends, Alex shared some of the things hed come to know and love about Lara before telling her, in Spanish, that he couldnt imagine his life without her.

Then he got down on one knee.

After the shock, tears, cheering and a very surprised yes, Alex revealed one more secret: Laras family and closest friends had been hiding downstairs, waiting to celebrate with us.

What began as a weekend Lara planned to bring together people she loved...became an engagement celebration surrounded by them.

And maybe thats the thread through all of it.

From the karaoke bar where we met, to our home in Long Island City, to family in Wisconsin and Mexico City, our happiest memories seem to happen when the people we love are together.

So when it came time to imagine our wedding, we knew we wanted to do exactly that, only on a slightly bigger scale.

Our families and friends are spread across New York, Wisconsin, Mexico and beyond, so almost anywhere we chose would be a destination for someone. We decided to choose a place that felt meaningful to us.

And we found it in a magical part of Tulum called Casa Malca. With its incredible art, unexpected design, beautiful spaces and the ocean just steps away, we could immediately picture our families and friends there: eating, drinking, dancing, relaxing by the water and making memories together.

Now we get to bring all of those worlds into one place.

New York to Wisconsin to Mexico, margaritas to martinis to carajillos, and one missed first kiss that thankfully wasnt missed for long.

We cant wait for the next chapter, and were so happy youll be part of it.

Love,
LarAlex