Why we are gathering
Our story
How we met
We met through work. Jesse was on site with his dad’s IT company, providing on-site support for a client—including helping deploy network equipment. Alejandra worked for that client; they were not in the same building day to day, but their paths crossed when she walked into the room where he was working. Everything else faded. Jesse knew he had to find out who she was and whether he might have a chance.
He was grateful to know Patty Perez—a colleague who worked with Alejandra. With a little courage and a lot of hope, he asked Patty about her. Patty was delighted to help and shared Alejandra’s number. That night Jesse stared at his phone for hours, working up the nerve—until his best friend Warren Lumbreras looked at him and said: JUST DO IT. So he did. Because he knew she spoke Spanish beautifully, he wrote it in the language that felt right in the moment:
¿Quieres salir conmigo?
She wrote back in Spanish—and in that moment Jesse realized two things at once: his Spanish was not quite as stage-ready as he’d thought, and she didn’t have his number saved yet, so she was still figuring out who had just texted her.
Her first reply was: “Who is this?”—which made Jesse laugh. Looking back, he probably should have opened with something like “Hey, it’s the IT guy from today.” They still tell that story. Maybe if he’d played it perfectly safe, the spark wouldn’t have landed quite the same way.
After a little back-and-forth flirting—and once she was sure Jesse wasn’t completely out of his mind—she said yes. What began that night as a nervous joke between two strangers has grown into years of ordinary Tuesday nights and big milestones alike, stitched together by love, by joy, and by laughter that still catches us off guard.
Our family
On October 28, 2020, we were blessed with our daughter, Emma Belle Ramirez. She is the light of our home—curious, funny, and growing faster than we can believe—and every ordinary day with her feels like a gift: bedtime stories, messy crafts, dance parties in the kitchen, and the million small moments that remind us why we said yes to this life together.
We try to raise her in a home that feels safe, warm, and full of grace: where faith and laughter both have a seat at the table, where she knows she is loved without condition, and where she sees her parents trying—imperfectly but honestly—to love each other well. Parenting has deepened us in ways we could not have imagined, and we are grateful beyond words for the family God has given us.
Our Yorkie, Kiwi, rounds out the household with personality to spare—equal parts chaos, cuddles, and comic timing. Between Emma’s energy and Kiwi’s antics, our house is rarely quiet, and we would not have it any other way. We feel profoundly grateful for the life we are building together, and we cannot wait to celebrate this next chapter with the people who have cheered us on along the way.
Why we are celebrating with you
Marriage convalidation is the way the Catholic Church blesses a civil marriage that was not originally celebrated in the Church. It is a sacramental moment—full of grace—and for us it is the day we enter fully into the Church’s vision of marriage with one another.
Like many couples during the pandemic, we exchanged vows before our families in a small home celebration. We have always held that day as sacred; now we invite you to witness and rejoice with us as the Church receives our marriage into the sacramental life of the Body of Christ.
This is our wedding day as we celebrate it together—with you—on April 20, 2026.