During the ceremony, Mrs. Rivera, in a long white halter-top dress with a sweetheart neckline, walked down the garden steps alone, carrying a bright bouquet with a white rose behind her ear. A hundred vaccinated guests watched as Mrs. Rivera’s daughter, her bridesmaid, met her at an altar overlooking a lush thicket of rose bushes, then kissed the bride and Mr Alonzo, in a blue suit, for good luck.
For Frank Kennamer, a longtime friend and pastor of Universal Life Church, the couple read handwritten vows. “Thank you for seeing me, for loving me, for correcting me,” Mrs Rivera told Mr. Alonzo. “I love you.” Mr. Alonzo thanked Ms. Rivera for dancing with him at his cousin’s birthday party in 2014. “I feel happy every day to be your partner,” he said. “I feel happy to watch you.”
On this day
When Nov 20, 2021
True Berkeley Rose Garden, Berkeley, California.
Tacos and cake At the reception, guests dined on birria tacos provided by taco truck La Santa Torta and a layered carrot cake with cream cheese frosting made by Tamara Durley, a friend of the couple.
Dress Fiasco Mrs. Rivera’s wedding dress was hand-embroidered in Mexico; she ordered it in 2019 just after mr alonzo suggested it. Due to the pandemic, she was not able to fly to Mexico for personal adjustments until the summer of 2021. By that time, the dress did not fit. After even more adjustments in Mexico and a month of waiting, the dress arrived in California. It still didn’t fit. Weeks before the ceremony, Veda Ambeau, a seamstress and the owner of Shirley’s Designs & Alterations in Oakland, came to the rescue and completed the final adjustments.
When it rains Prior to her wedding, Mrs. Rivera celebrated her daughter’s engagement: Mrs. Calderon-Rivera’s fiancé proposed on July 24. They have not set a wedding date yet.
