Described by Tina as a ‘tweet cute’, she met Cesar online after replying to an underground speakeasy on the Lower East Side of NYC. The venue announced its closure during COVID with a tweet and Tina wrote back with a clever remark, catching Cesar’s attention.

“He was was surprised to find that my entire Twitter was dedicated to birdwatching across NYC’s parks, and followed me to learn more about birds”, she told us. “I was pleasantly surprised when I saw my new follower was coincidentally the founder of my favourite app, 1 Second Everyday. 1 Second Everyday is a video journaling app that empowers users to record 1 second every day of their life, and I had been using it since 2017 to sentimentally document my new life in New York when I moved here after college. In a way, Cesar had been making my life better and making memories with me even before we’d even met.”

Four years later they were married, in a wedding which they aptly titled Adventures in Spacetime (Tina’s online handle has been Space Girl Tina since she was 15, and Cesar has a lifelong love of time and time travel, which is what inspired him to build 1 Second Everyday). “If I’m Space, he’s Time, and our wedding was set to be the first of many adventures in spacetime”, Tina told us.

They quickly landed on a bold colour palette of red, blue, and metallics, drawing inspiration from the lunar lander and the DeLorean from Back to the Future. Tina’s goal as a bride was to look like a shooting star which she achieved by wearing a tiara of stars and a custom gold-and-silver gown by Olivia Bottega. Cesar complemented her in a red velvet tuxedo with matching shoes. Bridesmaids wore glittering prom dresses, and guests were encouraged to wear ‘space or time travel apparel’. Many arrived in celestial-inspired looks, while others donned Star Trek uniforms or astronaut suits!

Mountain Creek Resort in Vernon, New Jersey provided the perfect setting, with the ceremony held atop the mountain and the reception and after-party in the lodge. Guests ascended via gondolas in what the couple described as their ‘launch into space’. A clever seating chart featured vintage sci-fi classics from Forbidden Planet to Barbarella, with name tags designed to resemble custom movie tickets. The décor included collectibles, figurines, and a vintage Panasonic VHS TV, which played during the reception.

Their ceremony also incorporated space travel, time travel, and paradoxes. “My favourite part of our ceremony was our Time Since Launch Clock”, Tina explained. “Cesar and I knew from our first date that we’d be together forever. For our first anniversary, I gave him a Time Since Launch clock from CW&T Design Practice with the intention of using it on our eventual wedding day. Time Since Launch is a single-use, long-scale launch clock. When the pin is pulled on this clock, it will forever count the seconds, minutes, hours, months, and years that have passed from that moment.”

In the evening, Tina changed into a red taffeta Filipiniana terno dress. Cesar’s mother gave a toast in Spanish, translated by their niece, and then led the room in a traditional family drinking chant: Arriba! Abajo! Al Centro! Pa’Dentro! Instead of cutting a cake, they created a cocktail bar with three signature drinks. The Cespresso Martina. The Astronaut Spritz. The Meteor Sour. They named the bar The Big Bang.

“My husband and I were very grateful to turn such a special day and thoughtfully inject it with as much PLAY as possible with the people we love the most”, Tina concluded. “We looked for ways to delight our guests: moon pies and cosmic brownies welcomed them at the hotel, each person was armed with a giant confetti cannon, and we handed out 3D glasses and glowing lunar globes. We offered free portraits on a giant crescent moon and transformed the dance floor with metallic fringe and disco balls. It meant more than words could express that so many people we love travelled from far-flung places to spend such a special day with us. I was able to dance, laugh, and linger with my father from England, my friends from Japan and the Midwest, Cesar’s relatives who flew in from Peru, and our friends from New York City and beyond.”