The Tamesis
The wedding was held in the bride’s hometown of Miami, and the couple knew they wanted to incorporate the best of both worlds—her Cuban roots and their shared New York life—into the weekend-long ceremony. The wedding kicked off on Thursday with an intimate rehearsal dinner for their immediate family at Klaw Restaurant. The bride wore a Rodarte dress recommended on TheRealReal, paired with a Simone Rocha handbag and Valentino heels. On Friday, they took over the garden of the Biltmore Hotel, where they welcomed other guests, including Marco’s family from Seattle and Portland and friends from New York. To prepare for the humid Miami weather, Marco wore Carolina’s wedding gift to him: a crocheted camp shirt from Bode with their wedding date embroidered on it.
The next day, Marco and Carolina celebrated a traditional Catholic Mass at St. Patrick’s Church in Miami Beach, the same church where Carolina’s parents, Enrique and Ana, had been married 30 years earlier. The bride walked down the aisle in a Vivienne Westwood gown, while a sentimental veil made from her mother’s own beaded lace wedding dress (sewn by her grandmother) served as her “something borrowed.” Since both Carolina and Marco are the eldest sons of their respective families, their two younger siblings served as bridesmaids and best men at the wedding.
Just in time for prime time, guests made their way to the reception at Fairchild Gardens. Upon arrival, golf carts escorted them to the Amazonica Pool, where they were greeted by the raw bar and served a range of cocktails, including guava rum punch. Meanwhile, Carolina and Marco sneak out for some time alone under the pretense of taking wedding photos. “The little time we spend one-on-one together is one of my favorite parts of a wedding,” Marco explains.
After sunset, guests headed to the House of Arts for a reception, where rooms were transformed into a big-band jazz club. Food options include sea bass or braised short ribs, with each entree served on a side of Florida focaccia bread. The speeches continued throughout the dinner, which ended with Carolina’s father bidding his daughter off with an emotional farewell and cracking jokes that brought tears to the newlyweds’ eyes.
The dance floor kicked off with father-daughter and mother-son dances, then friends and family joined in, a live band played in the background, and the bride went behind the bar to prepare shots of tequila for the room to keep the energy going. As the night ended, confetti fell from the ceiling. “It’s one of my favorite memories and I danced with all my friends and family as the confetti fell,” Carolina said. “Marco and I started to enjoy the whole celebration without any worries.”
At 10pm, as the band began to wind down and guests cheered for the encore, the bride and groom decided to extend the party by an hour. It also gave the bride a chance to finally change into her after-party look that she had forgotten about in the excitement of the moment earlier: a Versace archive starfish dress she bought for the wedding. Fashion antique market earlier that year.
A month later, the bride and groom said their only regret was missing out on that night. back-Carolina’s sister Sophia after a party at a dive bar in Coconut Grove. Otherwise, they are in a state of post-honeymoon bliss. “We are so excited to celebrate our love with you all and are excited to continue our life together as husband and wife.”
