Christine, born and raised in Los Angeles, and Lisandro, an Argentinian native who found his way to LA via a career in advertising, met at the start of the pandemic in May 2020, their first date a walk along Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica at sunset, after matching on Hinge. Five years later, Lisandro proposed at that same park bench overlooking the ocean, with their two best friends and a photographer hiding in the distance, and a surprise dinner party waiting for family and friends.
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Style: Timeless & Modern, Elegant, Personal
Time of planning: 8 months
Number of guests: 75
Setting: Taqueria & Mansion
Season: Winter
Their wedding came in two parts: an intimate, family-only, interfaith and bilingual ceremony for 30 in the Malibu Hills, and then Mexico City for the real celebration, a lively weekend built around the most epic Latin-style dance party in the most beautiful, historic setting they could find. The energy never let up — welcome party Friday, going into the morning hours Saturday, and every hour in between accounted for. Non-stop dancing, jumping, singing, and hugging.
The bride and groom wanted a warm, lively Latin-style celebration, and that’s exactly what they got, down to the last song. All of it brought together by Adriana Orizaga, who made sure every detail of the weekend landed exactly right.
Welcome Party
The weekend kicked off at a colorful taqueria in Polanco, the kind of welcome party that sets the tone immediately. A mariachi band greeted guests as they arrived, margaritas were flowing, and tacos came wrapped in custom-branded papers — one of those details that sounds small but lands perfectly.
For many of Christine and Lisandro’s guests, it was their first time in Mexico City, and the couple wanted to make that introduction count: a celebration that felt genuinely Mexican while carrying their own personal stamp throughout. Bright florals, hand-painted maracas, colorful Mexican candles, and custom matchbooks covered the tables, and a candy bar kept things festive well into the night. A close friend who flew in from LA took over the DJ booth and made sure nobody stayed in their seat for long. By the end of the first night, the tone for the whole weekend had been set.
Fashion
The bride opted for a shorter ivory silk party dress that transformed across three looks throughout the night. For the welcome greeting and cocktail hour, the dress was styled with a long-sleeve sheer overlay top, hand-embroidered with a floral and striped pattern, and finished with the couple’s initials on the cuff. A white belt, low bun, and her mother’s pearl drop earrings completed the look, along with ivory heels featuring a single pearl detail and a modern floral clutch made from a ring of Calla lilies.
For the first dance and dinner, the embroidered top was swapped for a delicate sheer silk tulle topper that created gentle horizontal layers, a cloud-like neckline, and a cap sleeve silhouette. The belt was restyled with an antique art deco jeweled buckle to match her 1930s engagement ring, the shoes were switched to an ivory beaded slingback, and her hair was styled in a wavy half-updo.
The final look stripped everything back to the core of the dress: a strapless corseted bodice with covered buttons and a sculptural bubble skirt with a hem that gave the whole thing a modern, couture feel. The dress was a perfect reflection of her personal style, delicate and feminine, with a vintage sensibility balanced against something clean and structured. Guests had never seen anything quite like it, and the transformations became one of the most talked-about moments of the night.
The groom had always had a clear vision: a double-breasted suit. He wore a beige double-breasted suit with tortoiseshell buttons from the British brand Reiss, paired with an ivory silk tie to complement the bride’s dress, a classic white dress shirt, and brown leather loafers. Buttoned up and polished for the first half of the night, he let the look loosen naturally as the evening progressed, tie off, jacket open, which felt entirely right for a celebration that moved the same way.
Cocktail Hour
The wedding day in Mexico City was always meant to be the party. The ceremony had been kept to immediate family only a few months prior in Malibu, and this was the celebration everyone had been waiting for. The venue they chose made that very clear. Liverpool 76, a historic mansion that once served as the headquarters of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, brought a weight and character to the day that no purpose-built event space could replicate. What drew Christine and Lisandro to it was exactly that: the history, the original neoclassical architecture, the expansive ivy-covered garden, the stone fountain, and the way the indoor and outdoor spaces each created their own distinct atmosphere for guests to move between throughout the night.
During cocktail hour, a live saxophonist and violinist performed as guests explored the garden, and a large floral installation anchored the original stone fountain, making it the natural centerpiece of the space. Every corner of Liverpool 76 offered something worth stopping for, and Breathless made sure every moment of it was captured.
Reception Design
The reception design took its cues directly from the venue itself. White, cream, and tonal greens worked with the natural beauty of the venue, letting the neoclassical architecture and lush garden do what they do best. The floral choices and decor by Flor & Flora felt like a natural extension of the space, elegant and considered without ever tipping into overdone.
A seating chart lined the wall with photos of every guest alongside the couple, each one a keepsake to take home. Signature mezcal cocktails, Ruinart champagne flown in from Paris, dirty martinis, espresso martinis, carajillos, and the best mezcal in the room kept the energy exactly where it needed to be, and a dessert bar loaded with mini cakes, chocolate bark, and gourmet s’mores made sure nobody left hungry. Gift bags rounded out the weekend with locally embroidered coasters, mini glass goblets, custom-branded matchbooks, Chocolatería La Rifa chocolate bars, and a bottle of tequila or mezcal to remember it all by.
Reception
The reception opened the way it meant to go on. The couple made their entrance to dinner with napkin twirling from every guest in the room, one of those moments that sounds simple and lands completely. Toasts followed, then the first dance, and halfway through, the night got its first real surprise: fireworks. From that point on, the energy never dropped.
Into The Night
The ballroom told a different story entirely. Transformed into a custom private club, it was a nod to the bride and groom’s younger years in New York and Buenos Aires, the kind of nights that end at 4 am and somehow still feel too short.
As the evening moved indoors, the elegant garden gave way to something wilder and moodier, with a full DJ stage, two DJs, a light jockey, and a custom-designed LED sign that made it clear the night was just getting started. Custom-built platforms gave guests somewhere to dance properly, and the surprises kept coming throughout: a confetti gun, a disco ball shot guy working the room, a linen cloth dance, and a churro and hot chocolate cart that showed up exactly when it needed to. The kind of afterparty that nobody saw coming and nobody wanted to end.
Advice from the couple:
• Do what feels right and make it your own, even if it means breaking the rules! Don’t be afraid to create your own version or skip the traditional parts that don’t resonate with you. Making your wedding more personal will ultimately create the most unique experience for guests. Investing the extra time and thought into making it your own is so worth it! The little details will be noticed and appreciated by your guests, leaving a lasting impression.
WEDDING PLANNER Adriana Orizaga Signature Wedding Planning | BRIDE’S DRESS Mestansa | CATERING Atipico | DJ Sense DJ | FLORAL & DECOR Flor & Flora | FURNITURE Rent & Company | PHOTOGRAPHER Breathless | LIVE BAND Clazzic Musik | LIGHTING Music & Lighting | MAKEUP ARTIST Tania Palomino | OPEN BAR Batari | TABLE STYLING Casa Meraki | VENUE Liverpool 76
