admin Her father walked her down the aisle to “Such Great Heights” by Postal Service. José, wearing a Giorgio Armani dinner jacket, waited for her under a flower arch of ethereal pastel blooms. San Miguel’s famous cathedral, La Parroquia, stood majestically in the background.
The couple’s close friend, Alejandro Suarez, officiated. “Alejandro fully understood how important it was for José and me to embody a celebration of unity: in our cultures, Puerto Rican and Iranian; our religions, Catholic, Bahai, and Muslim; and our parents’ traditions,” Razak explains. Their ceremony culminated in a Sofreh ritual, where the couple visited a table filled with symbolic items that paid homage to Razak’s Iranian heritage.
Despite standing in front of 200 people, the bride didn’t feel any nerves—just joy. “As I stood there at José’s side, I couldn’t help but smile,” she says. “A sense of calm washed over me I hadn’t ever anticipated feeling in that moment.”
Afterwards, they held a colorful cocktail hour. Bougainvillea overflowed from the bar counters as guests drank mezcal margaritas in a French bistro-style setting.
Dinner was held in a grand tent set up on the Rosewood grounds. Razak says they wanted to make their reception “jaw-dropping:” Tables burst with bright booms that were softly illuminated by the glow of votive candles. Chandeliers, meanwhile, created a statement ceiling. Guests dined on shrimp ceviche and sea bass while Razak and José’s parents made speeches. “My father somehow had us mesmerized for an entire 25 minutes,” Razak says. “The speeches were so filled with love and made us, and our guests, quite misty throughout. It was beautiful to witness how comfortably our families have already intertwined.”
The couple’s first dance was to Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight”. Then, their band, Elan Artists’ SoundHouse, got everyone on the floor. They didn’t leave for four hours: “Many guests told us later that it was the best band they had ever heard in their lives.” At 10:30 p.m., José, Razak, and Razak’s father upped the celebratory ante by spraying fog guns above the crowd. The night hit a pinnacle when the bride and groom cut an almond Frangelico cake while a firework show took place.
At 1 a.m., the party moved inside to the Rosewood’s tequila bar for mezcal shots and late-night finger food, including fries as well as quesadillas.
Looking back at it now, Razak and José are still overwhelmed by the love they felt from each other—as well as their guests—that day, all in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. “It felt like a Disney ending,” Razak says.
