The first time Isabella Delgado Reyes realized that Andrew Charles Sublett really liked her was when the two were having lunch together on February 17, 2010 at the University of California, Berkeley. He brought her a tube of mini M&Ms, her favorite candy.
She immediately gave it back to him, but not because she didn’t appreciate the gesture.
It was Lent and Mrs. Reyes had given up sweets. “I thought he was just making fun of me,” she said, “throwing the M&Ms back at him, much to his confusion.”
The two, now both 32, had met on August 26, 2009, in Mrs. Reyes’ dorm room. “It was a bit of a twist of fate,” said Mr. Sublett. “A few other people from my high school went to UC Berkeley and one was Isabella’s roommate.”
Mrs. Reyes and Mr. Sublett hit it off immediately and they soon began spending time together, having lunch together in the college cafeteria and going out for frozen yogurt.
“I think they were unofficial dates,” Mr Sublett said. “We were arm in arm at times. She would meet me after choir practice and we would walk to Yogurt Park.
Finally, during the fall semester of their senior year of college, they went on a real date. “I sort of asked Isabella, ‘Would you like to go out to dinner and see a show with me?’ We both dressed up a bit, it felt like a real date.” After dinner, they saw “The Normal Heart” at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.
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That real date led to a real romance. “After our first official date, we were already a couple in my mind,” said Ms Reyes. “But Andrew didn’t officially ask me to be his girlfriend until a few months later, on March 18, 2013.”
Ms. Reyes, of Benicia, California, is an associate at the law firm of Seyfarth Shaw in its San Francisco office. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and media studies from UC Berkeley and a law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
Mr. Sublett is a vice president at Eastdil Secured, a real estate investment bank, in its San Francisco office. He holds a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from UC Berkeley and an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. Mr. Sublett grew up in Pacific Grove, California.
On their eighth anniversary of being boyfriend and girlfriend, Mr Sublett told Ms Reyes that they would be engaged by their ninth anniversary. But the day before that date, Ms. Reyes said, “My friends were concerned because he hadn’t said anything and they were sure they would be involved.”
Mr. Sublett said he didn’t trust his secret to be kept. “I told my best friends,” he said, “but none of her friends.”
On March 18, 2022, as they walked to their anniversary dinner from their Pacific Heights neighborhood in San Francisco, they passed Mr. Sublett’s favorite spot in San Francisco, with sweeping views of the city and bay. “I said, ‘Hey, this is your favorite place,’ and when I turned around, he was on one knee,” Ms Reyes said.
The couple married on June 10 at the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park with 130 guests in attendance. Matthew Capbarat, ordained by American Marriage Ministries, performed, with Brandon Cepress participating in the ceremony; both men are college friends.
The recommended attire for the wedding was “Met Gala inspired,” or as Mr. Sublett put it, “something you’ve always wanted to wear but felt it was a bit too much.”
The father of Mrs. Reyes, Peter Reyes, and brother, also Peter Reyes, wore barongs, an embroidered shirt popular in the Philippines.
Pork belly baos and popular Philippine ice cream flavors ube and mango were served in honor of Ms. Reyes’ Filipino heritage.
For their vows, Mrs. Reyes sang “For Good” from the musical “Wicked”.
“I originally wanted to sing our vows,” she said. “He didn’t want to do that.”
The compromise was to voice the lyrics of “This I Promise You” by ‘N Sync in the group’s “repeat after me” style. “But then I just started singing it,” Ms. Reyes said. “He joined me and we moved on. Such a thing will never happen again.”