Ronnie and James: In True Latin Style
As avid travellers, Ronnie and James knew that they had to do a destination wedding. They wanted a place where they could mix both of their cultures (Latino and Australian), but also a destination that spoke both Spanish and English, and that’s why Puerto Rico, and in particular San Juan, became their obvious choice.
Photographer Vanessa Velez | Location San Juan, Puerto Rico
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“…When he dropped me off, my heart sank, and I was very down like I had lost something big. As soon as I felt that I grabbed my phone to call him and say I had changed my mind, but, he actually called me first and said exactly what I was thinking. I knew then that this was special.”
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Tell us the story about how you met?
Ronnie: We met at University. We had classes in common and started hanging out with the same group of friends. The first time we actually met was in a Design Studio class at University and while I instantly wanted to become friends with James, he did not like me. Given the situation that we had common friends and had classes in common, it was inevitable that we started hanging out more. At this point in time though, we were both “straight” and in the closet so we formed a bromance for a whole year before we started to get romantically involved. That happened when we planned a trip together to Vegas and Venezuela. During this trip, we kissed in Venezuela and everything changed so, I guess our first date was on Margarita Island in Venezuela after having a night of a lot of drinking in a club and hanging out with two girls, “our dates”. I guess we left together instead of with them!
What was the first thing you noticed about each other?
Ronnie: First impressions were very different for each of us. I instantly liked him and really wanted to be his friend. I knew he was special, so let’s say I forced this friendship. We had friends in common which made it hard for James to avoid me and we bonded when he started going to the University gym which I made sure we would go there around the same time as much as possible.
James on the other hand, a more guarded person, did not like me at first and thought I was a ‘know it all’, but I knew that he was going to like me eventually and the more time we spent together, the more he started to feel comfortable with me and we started forming an incredible bromance and very good relationship.
James: Ronnie has summarized our first impressions well. I was not hugely impressed with him if I’m honest. We were assigned into a group together to complete a project for University. I found him initially handsome but a little bit of a ‘know it all’. As time passed Ronnie continued to ‘pop-up’ in my life; at the gym, at social gatherings. I quickly realised my first impressions were very wrong. An amazing friendship quickly developed that grew into Love.
What has been some of the key moments in your relationship?
James: I knew we were destined to be together when I made a career change and had to move to the other side of the country (5hr plane ride) to further my studies. I was initially expected to live in Perth for up to 4 years; despite living between Sydney and Perth neither of us were willing to give up on our relationship because we knew we had something special. During the first year (The hardest period) Ronnie visited me every month. Despite the difficulties around being in a long-distance relationship and having a hectic study/work timetable Ronnie and I never gave up on each other, and we came out of it stronger. I knew that this was real love and commitment.
Ronnie: Well as we are writing this, I have realised that James’s time was much later than mine! Lol. Well, I knew from the first day I met him that he was going to be someone special in my life, whether that was as a friend or more. That said, the moment I knew it romantically, and we were destined to be together, was right when we came back to Sydney after our adventurous trip to Venezuela and Vegas in 2009. When we got back, his parents picked us up and took us to his family’s home and then James drove me to my place. We had a chat about what all of this meant, as we were still in the closet. We left each other saying that it was just a trip thing and we should just leave it at that. When he dropped me off, my heart sank, and I was very down like I had lost something big. As soon as I felt that I grabbed my phone to call him and say I had changed my mind, but, he actually called me first and said exactly what I was thinking. I knew then that this was special.
What does marriage mean to you?
Ronnie and James: Us, together. I think our family and friends view us the same now as before. We are very close to each other, we go together everywhere as we have been together for a long time. We definitely get separation anxiety so I would probably say it's all about being very close.
Who proposed and how?
Ronnie: So, we got engaged in Napa Valley in California. As a birthday present, I gave James a trip to San Francisco as a way to hide the upcoming proposal. I also had lied to him saying that we were going to Hong Kong to later surprise him on the day. However, that did not work, James kept making plans for Hong Kong so I had to tell him! Our trip to San Francisco was incredible. The proposal was on May 23rd when I planned this hotel in Napa Valley which is a place that James really wanted to go, and even considered as a place where we could get married.
The whole trip was magic, however, the proposal was much harder than I thought. I was very nervous so I could not actually say the words and even as I am writing this, I don’t think I asked the question, I showed James the bracelet and said you know. I think. James might be able to say more! But obviously, he said yes and we went to wineries after and stayed at the most amazing hotel, Milliken Creek Inn.
Whilst I proposed, it was expected. Once marriage in Australia became legal, it was only a matter of time.
James: Ronnie proposed to me in the Napa Valley, California. It was an amazing experience and a beautiful memory. Ronnie and I had discussed getting married over the years and had talked about who would propose, where we could do it and what we thought would be romantic. Although discussed, it remained a fantasy.
In 2018, Ronnie had planned this huge trip in my last year of studies which was meant to be a “birthday present”. On the long plane trip, I awoke from my sleep and I realised what this trip might entail. I was nervous and excited. With a flood of thoughts and emotions I remembered that only a couple of months earlier, however, I had made a flippant comment being “getting married in your final year of Med School seems to be so predictable and cliché”. I was worried that potentially I had ruined what could have been something amazing. As the trip progressed there was no proposal and no ring and I thought maybe I was wrong; that is until Ronnie surprised me halfway through the trip and said pack your bags we are now going to Napa Valley… At this stage, I believed my suspicions may be true. The day of the engagement was perfect. After a morning of wine tasting, we returned to the hotel. On the balcony, Ronnie nervously showed me a rose gold bracelet. So nervous he could not talk, Nothing was needed to be said and I replied “YES”.
Ok, let’s talk about the wedding…
Ronnie and James: Well the wedding was just much more than we could ever imagine! And Ale and everyone involved in the planning just made it even more special, it was incredible. Both James and I are avid travellers, we knew that we had to do a destination wedding. Given the difference in cultures (Latino and Australian), we wanted a place that would have a mix of both cultures, that you could also speak both Spanish and English, and that’s where Puerto Rico, and particularly San Juan, became the obvious choice.
We had spoken about this even before the engagement and had found ‘El Convento Hotel’ in San Juan which had this incredible Art Deco and Colonial architectural mix which as an Architectural building was going to be something so special and unique for that day. We got married on November 11th in 2019, just before COVID hit and for that, we are so grateful.
The atmosphere was just so special, we had about 60 people and not a single person had been to Puerto Rico before. All guests stayed for about a week and had travelled long distances, so we had a very good group of people who were just enjoying a place that is so special whilst spending time together with us celebrating our wedding. Still to this day, all of our close ones still talk about our wedding, take us back!
Ronnie and James’ story continues below ↓
Give us some of the finer details…
James: Ronnie and I wanted to create a wedding that would be something special and unique for everyone as a thank you to our closest friends and family who were able to attend. Our wedding was all us and what makes us special.
Firstly, our wedding was in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was the perfect location symbolising a true mixture of Latin and Anglo-Saxon cultures. It also symbolised our love for travel and culture. The ceremony and reception revolved around design and architecture where our love for each other started. Our ceremony was located at El Morro a fort that overlooked the ocean, and the reception was in the amazing El Convento. The wedding day started with Vanessa Velez, the most amazing photographer. We were informed of her work by our wedding planner Alexandra Rodriguez. Vanessa was obviously a pro from the get-go. She knew how to make us feel comfortable and natural in front of the camera. Further, her eye for the final details, light and colour is just extraordinary. I am so grateful for her art, work and photos. These are memories that she has been able to capture and I can cherish for the rest of my life.
Alexandra our wedding planner was just incredible. I find it hard to express my gratitude and respect for this person in only words. She took the time to get to know us and what we were about. On the day of our wedding, she was so professional. I knew that I had nothing to worry about with her in the background. She somehow was able to make the impossible possible. Without her, we would not have had our dream wedding.
Ale linked us in with a celebrant called Omar Nine. Finding the right celebrant was very important to us. Not being religious we wanted someone who was empathetic to how special this moment was for us. Omar was just incredible and got us and what we were about. He was empathetic to who we were as core individuals and as a couple. He spoke from the heart in English and Spanish fluidly encapturing everything and more of what we hoped for from a celebrant. We were able to meet him and his partner that was a truly humbling experience.
Our reception was in the most amazing hall located in Hotel El Convento, which had previously been a chapel. The space was so incredible we knew we didn’t want to take away from the true essence of the space. Decorations were organized by Lorraine Flowers. The outcome was just superb. We requested no flowers and just wanted leaves and greenery. Only photos can capture how amazing the final outcome looked. Who knew there were so many different types of leaves.
Finally, Ronnie and I love to party and in true Latin style the wedding finished at 4 am. We were able to celebrate our love for music with a local Band in addition to a DJ.
Were there any surprises on your wedding day?
James: My vowels were private and for Ronnie. I did however surprise him by saying them in Spanish. I will never forget his face, expressing such surprise; he started to cry. It was a beautiful moment.
An added bonus and the final performance was an amazing act from a local drag queen. We were privileged to have April Carrion perform at our wedding, a symbol of our love for Queer culture and art. I have no words but Fabulous!!!!!
What was the most difficult thing about planning your wedding?
Ronnie: I am not sure whether we were surprised by things, we knew by seeing friends recently how difficult it can be. For that reason, we did not hesitate in getting a wedding planner, which we recommend! I must also recognise that we were very lucky by selecting El Convento as our venue, and Ely Rivera who helped us organise it and got us in contact with Ale was a big driver in ensuring that our planning was smooth and easier than most that we had seen our friends go through. What I would say is that even if you are relaxed about it, there are still many things that will take time and can be hard to make compromises on. Actually, maybe the most difficult part was handling guest lists, especially when it is a destination wedding. Most people leave it until the last minute.
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
Ronnie and James: Our honeymoon was amazing! Given that we had gone to Puerto Rico for our wedding, we did a bit of the opposite for our Honeymoon, we went to New York for a week on the way back to Australia. The great thing is that we also got to see friends that were either living there or stopping by as well. We got an Airbnb in Chelsea and just enjoyed one of the most amazing cities in the world, it felt almost like we were locals, getting great coffee, bagels, going to shows and having fun in all of those amazing places around the city. We really just stayed in the city and explored the nightlife and the life in NYC which is a very special place for both of us.
Any advice for other couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the journey?
Ronnie and James: First of all, get a wedding planner! And not any, Ale if she is available!! Once that is sorted, the best advice we can give is to make it your wedding; not anyone else’s including your close ones.
Don’t be afraid to go with things that are not traditional that you really want. For example, velvet and metallic blue suits! Or having a drag queen in the wedding dressed as a bride. And don’t get caught up on what other people think is important, it's not their wedding. Just give them food and drinks, they will all be happy to go for the ride and guests will have more fun when you have fun and show them who you are as a couple.
Also, the best advice seriously is that if you can, have an event the night before where everyone can meet. That on the day of the wedding you don’t have to worry about introducing everyone and ensuring you say hi and bye to everyone and you can focus on just having fun with all your guests.
The Team
Photographer Vanessa Velez
Venue Ceremony El Morro Fort in Old San Juan | Reception Hotel el Convento
Planner Alexandra Rodriguez
Flowers Lorraines Flowers
DJ HighSetup
Celebrant Omar Nine
Plena Dancers & Music Yuviplena, Allied Music Solutions
Drag Queen April Carrion
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