Actors Jessica Magaña and Terry Hoge met on the set of a USC football commercial. When thinking back on their meet-cute, she remembers that he had sunglasses on and didn’t look very approacable, but after wrapping the shoot, they all took a group photo with his phone, and he got her number to send her the pic. That night, she asked him out, and after around four years of dating, he proposed while on a hike in Palos Verdes.
Since the two are based in Los Angeles, and Jessica has family in Mexico, they decided on Puerto Vallarta for their destination wedding. They wanted a venue that didn’t feel like a resort, and they were delighted when the luxury, boutique hotel Casa Velas was available for their January 2020 weekend. The hotel supplied them with a wedding planner and day-of coordinator, as it’s used to serving as the locale for many a destination event and knows how ensure everything runs smoothly.
Originally, they weren’t planning on having two ceremonies, but the priest wouldn’t do a beach service, so they had a church wedding on Friday and a beach wedding the next day. For both of her looks, Jessica went to Luv Bridal. She chose a lace, off-the-shoulder ballgown for the first “I do,” and her brother kindly bought her second dress—a strapless design with a flared train.
On Friday, everyone was transported from Casa Velas to the Parish of Our Lady Guadalupe in the downtown area, near the water. The Catholic mass service went by quickly for the bride; but the heat almost got to Terry. After the vows, the traditional lazo was placed in a figure eight around the couple, and once they were officially husband and wife, they exited the church and were greeted with applause by locals. For the reception dinner, guests were taken to Casa Velas’s larger sister property, Grand Velas.
The next day was the more relaxed beach ceremony. The bride and her bridal party got ready with makeup and hairstylist Graciela Saldivar in the presidential suite at Casa Velas and then were whisked away to the private beach club. Once all the guests were seated on the sand, with the ocean as the backdrop, the bride walked down the aisle and met Terry under the floral altar. The brief service concluded with a kiss, and then a mariachi band appeared and led everyone to the cocktail hour, with plenty of margaritas and custom tequila shots.
After a seated dinner, overlooking the pool and ocean, the party kicked off with Top 40 hits and Mexican favorites. And then of course, near the end of the night, everyone decided to jump in the pool to celebrate!
