Breana and Joey had been together for 12 years when they finally walked down the aisle. The day was never about proving anything or ticking boxes. It was simply a celebration of their life together, shared with the people they love, at a time that finally felt right.

They described their aesthetic as a moody, dramatic goth romance. “We wanted it to feel like a gothic vampire ball; classy and elegant without being boring or too camp,” Breana said. “Since our engagement story is pretty unconventional, we wanted our wedding to be too. Joey didn’t propose to me in some grand intentional way. We just had a conversation about it and decided to get married one day. Marriage isn’t something that was super important and necessary to either of us. We were more concerned with our personal commitment to each other and strengthening our relationship than having a piece of paper from the government.”

Breana wore red, a choice that surprised even their most seasoned vendors. “Red is such a passionate, romantic colour, so it just made sense to me to have a red wedding dress,” she continued. The dress was custom made, and Joey was part of the process from the start. Keeping the dress a secret was never the plan. Breana wanted him there for the fittings, watching it take shape. The same designer also made his cape.

Seeing each other before the ceremony felt normal for them, so they read their vows privately before the main event. Their wedding parties were also mixed gender. Joey’s best woman was his best friend Jessica, who has known him since high school. Breana’s party included two close girlfriends and two younger boy cousins.

The ceremony opened with live music from a string trio, though not exactly as planned. Breana was meant to walk down the aisle to a string version of Stolen by Dashboard Confessional. Instead, the musicians played Across the Stars from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. The mistake worked out perfectly. Breana was escorted by Joey’s dad, a lifelong Star Wars fan. “It was a happy accident and I wouldn’t have changed it,” she said.

Both Breana and Joey are Hispanic from New Mexico, and that showed up in details throughout the day. Mariachis played during cocktail hour, and a beer burro named Blackjack served Dos Equis from his saddlebags. The donkey became a talking point long after the wedding. “At Thanksgiving dinner this year my aunt jokingly said, ‘you guys looked great, but the donkey was the best part of the wedding.’”

They also included La Marcha, a traditional New Mexican wedding dance that pulls every guest onto the floor. The group formed a moving tunnel around the dancefloor, and the party started from there.

Their personal history showed up in the details too. Their first date was seeing Evil Dead at the cinema, so their favours were bags of red popcorn, either flamin’ hot or strawberry, packed into black movie-style boxes. Each one was tied with a printed ticket telling their first date story. Breana designed and cut everything herself.

The night ended with one last surprise. Joey loves classic cars, so Breana booked a 1964 Impala lowrider for their send off. Keeping the secret took a lot of effort, but the payoff came at the end of the night when he finally saw it.

“It’s YOUR special day,” Breana concluded. “It’s all about you and your partner. Other people will always have opinions, but it’s your choice whether or not you decide to care what they say or think. We really felt the love all night. It was amazing to have all our family and friends together in one room celebrating us. Even though we’ve been together for so long, a lot of our family and friends hadn’t met each other yet, so we loved bringing everyone together for a night. Everybody got along great and had so much fun. The energy was electric.”