How We Pulled It Off: A Big, Fat Gay Wedding in Bogotá, Colombia
The love shared between Priscila Garcia-Jacquier and Lio Sigerson, two screenwriters who are now based in Los Angeles, was undeniably fated—though they tried to ignore it as long as they possibly could. They were introduced by a mutual friend at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, when Lio was a student and Priscila a high-school senior visiting the campus. Jetting off for a Colombia destination wedding was just as meant to be.
'He was just like, 'Oh God, you're both these mean, pretty girls who are bossy [theater] directors from big cities. You guys need to meet,' says Priscila, who was born in Bogotá, Colombia. 'We pretty much fell in love instantly,' says Lio, who is from New York City. Over the course of many years—and a lot of flirting, kissing, tears, estrangements, and semi-serious marriage proposals written on class notes—the pair finally got together for good in 2021, and were engaged in April 2022.
'[Colombia] is where I feel the most at home, of anywhere in the world,' says Priscila. 'I wanted to be able to, for the first time, bring all of my American people there to understand me a little better.'
Jillian Mitchell
After visiting Bogotá herself and seeing how her fiancée lit up there, Lio was completely on board. 'Of course everybody who loves you deserves to have this experience that I'm having—getting to see you be your fullest self, in your home,' she says. Even with Priscila's connection to the place and her grasp of the culture and language, planning a wedding there from their home in Los Angeles was not without its hurdles. Ahead, the couple explain how they plotted an immersive, rowdy, utterly romantic celebration for 90 guests in Bogotá last August.
Find an LGBTQ+ advocate
The couple's first stop was finding a planner, which sadly proved more difficult than anticipated. 'While gay marriage is completely legal in Colombia, and even has more protections than in the States, I will say it's still not totally accepted culturally. I actually got shut down a lot,' Priscila says. 'People would say, 'Oh, we're so happy for you. Unfortunately, we do not perform or plan any 'egalitarian' weddings.''
Only more determined, Lio dug further into internet research and found Juanita Suzunaga, who founded the LGBT-focused wedding-planning firm Proudly Weds. 'I think I manifested her. There was not a corny rainbow to be found [in her portfolio], so chic,' says Lio. 'She jumped right in right away and was horrified that anybody had rejected us. She made us feel so taken care of, instantly.'
Jillian Mitchell
Jillian Mitchell
Locate a venue with just the right look
Juanita was quickly tasked with venue options, though the couple's vision once again brushed up against the realities of Bogotá. 'I wanted to get married some place that felt like a hacienda, that old Spanish vibe, but it's a very modern city, with very modern architecture,' says Lio. Their new planner gently pointed out that the only way to nail down that look was by seeking bigger houses in more rural areas, but the pair were dead-set on staying within the city limits.
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