At a birthday party in San Diego, a man and a woman spent hours talking. “We were so interested in each other that we asked each other questions all night,” Gisele Quevedo says of her first meeting with Robert Hasman. However, because he was currently living in Las Vegas, and she was in Orange County, Gisele didn’t know if she would ever see Robert again. Yet only a few weeks later she received a text message from him. Robert was in Laguna Beach and asked if Gisele would be so kind as to show him around the Art Festival, where her father has been an artist since she was a young child. Even though she had been attending for years, “showing Robert around turned out to be the most amazing time I’ve ever had at the Art Festival!” reveals Gisele. They both fell in love with the abstract artwork of Hugo Rivera, and the next day Robert called the painter to commission a large five-by-seven-foot piece for Gisele. “He definitely knew how to sweep a girl off her feet!” she gushes. “And it’s the most beautiful memory of our first date.”

For their first Valentine’s Day together, the couple decided to have a more low-key night of romance. “I suggested not going out to dinner, but instead cooking for each other at home to avoid the crowds and prix-fixe menus,” explains Gisele. She noticed something was up when Robert made the entire dinner himself and was unusually quiet during the meal. “I even saw him perspiring right before he got down on one knee and proposed!” the bride remembers. She was so shocked that everything outside of saying “yes” is a blur. Robert picked out a four-carat diamond for his beloved, but had it set in a plain band so she could pick out the setting of her dreams. “It’s my perfect ring,” Gisele muses.

The newly engaged pair looked at four venues when considering which would host their nuptials, but nothing compared to the first one they viewed, which also influenced their color palette: all white. “We felt it would give us an elegant, clean look that works well with the romantic feel of Hotel Bel-Air,” notes the bride. She and Robert brought on Tessa Brand of Tessa Lyn Events to help create the classic-meets-modern event. “Hire a planner,” Gisele advises future brides. The ceremony and reception both featured roses, hydrangeas, calla lilies, ranunculus blossoms, and lisianthus flowers – all in a snowy hue. Vases, stands, and candleholders were either mirrored, glass, or alabaster in order to complete the monochromatic design.  

Gisele and Robert filled their wedding with personal touches: Their two small dogs, Bella and Savannah, were walked down the aisle with their flower girl, and the maid of honor serenaded attendees at the reception. The couple also selected signature cocktails to represent themselves: Robert chose his favorite drink, vodka soda with a lime wedge, and the bride honored her Cuban background by selecting the nation’s staple cocktail, rum and Coke with a lime wedge. A taco station satisfied guest cravings for a late-night snack. “It was important for Robert and me to have a wedding that was elegant, but first and foremost, fun!” Gisele exclaims.