Univision’s Carolina Vela married her husband, Ignacio, in a bilingual Catholic ceremony held in Querétaro, Mexico, late last month. From her honeymoon in Bali, she gave MySA a peek at a ceremony she says was rooted in tradition with modern touches at a “magical” venue.
The couple first met through mutual friends but began dating after meeting again on a trip to Tulum. Carolina and Ignacio got engaged in Spain last year and have now been together for four years. But she told MySA via email that after getting engaged, they didn’t really know where to have their wedding. She had no Pinterest board, no vision for a dress and no idea about flowers — however, they saw Hacienda Viborillas and immediately “fell in love with it.”
“There was something about the place that felt magical and completely different from anything we had seen,” Vela, who has been with Univision since 2015, wrote. “The chapel, the historic architecture, the train cars, the underground cellars, every space felt like it had its own personality.”
The wedding brought together 160 of the couple’s family members and friends, and while it was “rooted in Mexican traditions,” Vela said they did add modern touches through music, florals and the atmosphere. Her father walked her down the aisle, and guests heard a mariachi band play during cocktail hour.
“The entire weekend felt incredibly special. We stayed at Hotel Hércules, another historic property in Querétaro with its own fascinating story, and many of our guests spent the weekend exploring the city together,” Vela said. “The day after the wedding, we gathered again for a traditional tornaboda with authentic Mexican food and a much more relaxed atmosphere.”
Vela said she never dreamed about a wedding, but what she did dream about was “finding the right person. Once I did, everything else fell into place.” On that note, she said planning the wedding alongside Ignacio was among the biggest gifts and her favorite part of being engaged. As someone who had no vision going in, “that’s what made the experience so special. It felt like a blank canvas. Ignacio and I got to discover everything together like the colors, the music, the venue, the food, the design. Somehow, I became deeply invested in draping, flowers, stationery, and candle placement.”
In a few words, Vela said the wedding was “full of love, full of intention, and somehow even better than we imagined.”