In Rafa's words
All the way from Colombia, JP is always ready for our next adventure—and has never needed much convincing to follow me to any corner of the world. An engineer with degrees in business, math and cooking, he’s equally good with numbers and in the kitchen—which works out beautifully, since I hate to cook. He also loves orchestrating elaborate surprises, from hiding my friends in the pantry for my pandemic birthday to sneaking into his mom’s house in Bogotá at midnight—an entrance she briefly mistook for a break-in.
He’s the most thoughtful and caring person I know: always ready to help a friend, willing to do anything for his family, and the very best dad to Carmen (she would agree, especially on shower days when I’m the one in charge).
We first met through work, spending years as colleagues on opposite coasts—JP in San Francisco, Rafa in New York. That all changed when Rafa spent some time in the Bay Area, and we quickly realized we liked each other far too much to stay "just coworkers."
Then came 2020. Two years of nomadic pandemic road trips proved we actually loved being together 24/7. A grad school pitstop later, Rafa convinced JP to make the move back to NYC, where we’ve spent the last four years co-parenting the true boss of our household: our doggie princess, Carmen (who 100% will be playing a central role in the wedding).
In late 2025, surrounded by our family in Petrópolis, Brazil, JP popped the question. To keep it a complete surprise, his sister convinced Rafa that the stranger trailing us with a massive camera lens was simply an "old family friend." It worked—Rafa was totally blindsided, said yes, and we have the high-res proof!
Having lived all over the world, we feel so lucky to have built lifelong friendships across different cities and countries. That’s why bringing our favorite people from every corner of our lives together in Colombia means everything to us. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!
