Mike and Jordana’s Tropical Playa del Carmen Wedding by Paulina Bichara

A party where the water flows into the sky. There are so many things I still haven’t spoken about this wedding and think about all the time. I think about the sudden side-hugs Jordana would sometimes surprise me with. Quick gesture that made me feel deeply welcome. I think about her fathers kindness. I think about the way Mike’s friends spoke about his parents. About the personalized nuptial speech the twins wrote for their sister and brother in law. I think about how manifestation is such a real thing. How I went from weekly laughs listening to @u.up.podcast to shooting the host’s wedding. I think about the way Mike’s face scrunched up at the sight of Jordana as a bride and about his easy energy. I think about Liza scrambling to find prettier hangers for the dresses and of Jared swaying to the music and of the shape of the moon that night. I think about the rain. But mostly I think about what came after. I think about how Naomi made Jordana cry, but I’m a good way. I think of bodies being thrown high into the night and hands holding each other and kisses on cheeks and remember not asking for a picture because I was trying really hard not to fangirl. I remember the gratitude because it’s still here. In the words of our queen, Taylor Swift, “It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well”.