What's meant to be will always find its way.

Serendipity, that’s how I’d best describe Matthew and Jackie’s story. As a true believer of “what is meant to be, will be”, this story just solidifies it.

Matthew and Jackie met while they both attended Saint Mary’s College in California where they shared an Intercultural Communications class about marriages in different cultures. Consequently, Matthew is Italian and Jackie is Mexican. Years later after they graduated, Matthew reached out to Jackie. After they both admitted to being curious about one another, they decided to go on a casual date to Jackie’s favorite wine bar called Va Di Vi. A bold move for Jackie, since she swore she’d never take dates there. In fear of ruining her favorite place if it didn't work out, thankfully that wasn't the case.

“I knew within 5 minutes of our first date that she was the one. It wasn’t one specific “Ah-ha” moment, but more of an accumulation of great conversations and similarities. It made it seem like we had known each other for years and I’d never experienced that with anyone before. I opened a bank account within the first month to start saving for a ring. I realized that my happiness and success would be fully maximized with her by my side, and she felt the same way.”

-Matthew Cardoza

On April 2, 2017, Matthew proposed to Jackie during a beautiful candlelit dinner on the beach of Tulum, Mexico. That day was exactly a year from Jackie’s cousin’s wedding where Matthew and Jackie caught the garter and bouquet. Her stunning ring had 11 diamonds on each side of the main diamond, 11/11 is their anniversary date.

Tulum meant a great deal to both Matthew and Jackie. It was only right to have a 3-day event wedding to share this special place with their friends and family. The first day began with a welcome party aboard a yacht. The second day they held a rehearsal dinner at a lively restaurant called Rosa Negra. The third and final day was their wedding ceremony on the beach facing the ocean. The whole wedding was brought together by a tropical yet chic and romantic theme. The ceremony and reception was all candlelit. They incorporated tropical elements like monstera leaves instead of traditional dinner plate chargers, candles floating in water vases with palm leaves, and their cake was coconut flavor with a custom cake topper that read “Mr. and Mrs. Cardoza” in gold. One very important element in their special day was the menu. Matthew and Jackie both share a love for great food experiences and wanted to share this with their loved ones. They hired a San Francisco/ Napa Valley chef to help with a custom menu.

“For the type of love we share, love to us means to feel as if there are not enough minutes in a day to spend with each other. Every day, we are always extremely excited to come home to each other as if we were still in our first week of dating. It means always looking for ways to make each other’s day. For her, that might mean to pack me daily lunches with a handwritten sticky note. For me, that might mean surprising her with candlelit, late-night In N Out dinner when she works late. We always look for more ways to win each other over, and we don’t foresee that ever-changing. It will always take work, but the person you choose will make it all worth it if you truly listen to your heart and all of the signs.”

-Matthew Cardoza

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