Interior designer Tinsley Emerson Escobedo and Evan O’Neill Escobedo owe their love story—at least in part—to an impatient cab driver. Evan was wrapping up his workday, and Tinsley was heading out for the evening. As the weather was miserable, Ubers were nearly impossible to find. “I decided to take to the street and hail a cab,” she says. “Please note my apartment building was on a street corner with a light, so when a cab happened to pull up right in front of me, I thought I was successful and hailed a cab. However, when I went to open the back door, the taxi driver started yelling at me and a startled Evan looked at me very confused. I asked If I could get in. He said, ‘No’—but after I asked how far he was going, which luckily for me he lived one block from my building, he agreed to let me in.”
After asking Evan a few questions, Tinsley’s friend without hesitation said, “Take her number.” A few weeks of texts led to a first date, and the connection was instant. To this day, Evan remains saved in Tinsley’s phone as “Cab Evan.”
“The day was very normal,” Tinsley says of the day Evan proposed. He told her they were going to ZooLights at the Lincoln Park Zoo that evening. But on the way there, he insisted they get out and walk. “That’s when my suspicion peeked. He started reminiscing about when we first met and our relationship through the year. As we are on this bridge I remember thinking, ‘It’s happening oh my goodness’ I think I blacked out. I couldn’t even remember saying ‘Yes!’ I just heard the flash of a camera and was overwhelmed with tears and joy.” Afterward, as the photographer led them further into the park for more photos, Tinsley’s mom, best friend, and sister jumped out to celebrate.
“I had this crazy idea of San Miguel de Allende—even though we had both never been there,” Tinsley recalls of choosing their wedding venue. “I love color, architecture, and design. My favorite kind of designs involve lots of layering of old and new, bright colors, and multiple patterns.” Casa Hyder embodied the bride’s vision. Once they viewed the home with the team at Penzi Weddings, they booked it on the spot and enlisted Ana Hinojasa to photograph. “The design of all the rooms at Casa Hyder were my inspiration. . . There is so much color and layering in terms of textiles, art, and furniture—just like the city. That is what I wanted the wedding to be.”
The weekend began with the rehearsal dinner to which the bride chose a one-shoulder jumpsuit by Viktor Rolf from Mark Ingram Atelier in New York City. She paired her Amina Muaddi clear pumps with matching earrings.
On the morning of her wedding, Tinsley readied alongside her bridesmaids in a Sleeper pajama set monogrammed with the date. Then she slipped into Mira Zwillingers’s “Elli,” a silk tulle look detailed with floral accents. “I loved how comfortable it was and that it was almost see-through underneath as well,” she notes. “The embroidery and appliques leaned into San Miguel and its greenery and florals.” As a final and sentimental touch, she wore her grandmother’s hand-sewn veil, as did both her mother and sister before her.
Tinsley searched the longest for her after-party look. “I knew I wanted to wear something colorful and fun that really represented me. I finally found a dress by Oscar de La Renta,” she says. “I wore a sequin embroidered floral mini dress with puff sleeves and matched it with hot pink Dior heeled sandals.”
On May 28, 2023, as guests took their seats, a string quartet set the tone with a rendition of “La Vie en Rose.” When it was time for the ceremony to begin, the bride walked down the aisle alongside her father as “Canon in D” played. “To date, the ceremony was the most joyous I have ever felt,” the bride shares. “Evan and I were feeling so special with all eyes on us. We were not expecting to cry as much as we did. As soon as the gates opened and I walked down the aisle, I couldn’t hold in my tears.” The couple exchanged handwritten vows, and after being pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Escobedo, they walked back down the aisle beneath the fall of flower petals with Natalie Cole’s “This Will Be” marking the moment.
Afterward, guests found themselves on the rooftop patio overlooking San Miguel for cocktail hour. For dinner, Los Creamsons performed two sets, while everyone enjoyed a menu featuring Peruvian ceviche and stuffed poblano peppers. Following dinner, cake was served, and Tinsley and Evan took to the dance floor for their first dance to “Beyond” by Leon Bridges.
The couple then shared dances with their parents before the bride made her outfit change. “I timed it perfectly with the band,” she recalls. “I knew I needed to be changed before Tina Turner came on. All my friends and family know I am going to break out in quite the impressive dance to ‘Proud Mary,’ so I needed to be mobile in a short dress.” As she reentered the reception in her second look, confetti cannons shot off. “Evan was so surprised to see my outfit and to see that I had made quite the entrance. It was hilarious! I was so happy guests caught this bit on camera. The next day I could not stop laughing while rewatching it!”
The celebration continued in another part of the venue, where guests were greeted with trays of tequila and DJ Bob took over the music. As the night unfolded, the bride eventually kicked off her Dior heels—only to realize the next morning that she had misplaced them. “Evan and I view it as a sacrifice for such a great wedding,” she laughs. As the DJ wrapped up, guests gathered in the living room, reliving the evening’s highlights. “I had to kick them out—teasing—because we had things to do but I don’t kiss and tell.”
