Real Wedding: Sara & Alex
Sara Mann and Alex Eusebio's romance has been nothing if not delicious. When they met, he was the executive chef of a new Los Angeles restaurant; she was the floor and office manager. They spent many late nights working together, and Alex would often try out new dishes on her before putting them on the menu—they joke that he cooked his way into her heart, while she organized her way into his.
But with the long hours they both worked, Sara was concerned about their dogs, each stuck alone in their separate apartments. Sara’s solution: sneaking away from work to bring Alex’s English bulldog over for play-dates at her place with her yellow Lab. When Alex closed the kitchen at night, he’d stop by to pick up the dog—and after three short months, decided he’d like to move in, claiming that he didn’t want to separate the dogs.
The marriage proposal came on a trip the couple took to visit Sara’s sister, Tannis, who was studying in Paris. Sara’s parents were also visiting at the time. But after the flight from California—during which Sara suggested that if Alex wasn’t ready for “the next step,” then perhaps he should move out—Sara had no reason to suspect the surprise that was in store for her, which is exactly what Alex wanted.
After a romantic week spent discovering the City of Lights together, Alex proposed a quiet, romantic dinner—away from her parents. Sara was reluctant—she had a cold, she was tired, and she was even tired of eating.
Alex insisted, though, and spent 20 minutes in the bathroom preparing, which only irritated Sara more.
Over a multi-course meal in a charming old Parisian restaurant, Sara found herself pondering the evening’s many peculiarities: Why had Alex spent so much time in the bathroom? Why was he still wearing the same jeans he’d had on all week? Why did her mom encourage her to go out tonight when she obviously needed sleep? And why, just as her cold medicine was starting to set in, did the server insist they have dessert?
Soon enough—as Alex gestured to a tiny silver cloche near her untouched chocolate mousse—she found out. “What’s under the silver thing?” Sara asked. Alex kneeled as she lifted it from the table to reveal the ring, which had been pinned in his pants pocket for the past five days. In an instant, Sara’s crankiness turned to overwhelming joy. “I don’t remember much of what he said,” she recalls. “I was crying the whole time and apologizing.”
Alex, who had been selected as a contestant on the reality show Top Chef, was away filming until the day before the wedding, so most of the planning fell to Sara. Having spent summers on the Vineyard with her family since 1990, she dreamed of a “backyard” harbor wedding. And with Alex’s family in New York and the Dominican Republic, marrying on the East Coast—rather than near the couple’s home in L.A.—would make a more relaxing weekend for them.
For a beachy, Latin feel, Sara and Alex chose coral and turquoise as wedding colors, weaving them through the celebration, right down to an all-turquoise candy bar featuring apothecary jars filled with turquoise M&M’s, lollipops, gummy sharks, and even Tootsie Rolls, plus blocks of local Murdick’s Fudge in Cape Cod cranberry and chocolate.
During the ceremony, Sara and Alex performed a Spanish wedding ritual called “Las Arras,” in which the groom gives the bride twelve coins that represent qualities such as money, love, faith, and strength. Among Sara’s other favorite memories of the day are the song she performed for her groom, the rose-ball bouquets floating near her father’s sailboat at sunset, dancing sideways on the sloping dance floor, the clambake rehearsal dinner by Truly Scrumptious, and wedding-morning lattes with her sister.
Sara’s advice to other couples: Say hello to everyone you can—people traveled a long way; leave a bag of goodies in guests’ hotel rooms; and be sure to savor every lovely moment!