My Fair Wedding with David Tutera

Wanda Ortiz


Bert and I met at BAJA'S Nightclub in New York City in 1999. I was waiting for my girlfriend to leave the club when he came up to me and started dancing. We danced and danced, then exchanged numbers. We continued to just hang out as friends until January 2002. We FINALLY gave in and officially became a couple. Five-and-a-half years later, we got engaged and had a beautiful son. During the planning of my wedding, I think what started to go wrong was when I asked the manager of the venue if I could put the white fabric up on all four walls and was told I couldn’t because they did not have the equipment. That to me was devastating because it was the one thing I knew would make the room look like a Miami lounge, but I had to work with what I had, so I was trying to fill the room with lots of LED lights. Another problem was my centerpiece. I wasn’t sure how big or small my apple martini glass centerpiece was going to look on the table. The one thing that was all wrong from the very beginning was MY DRESS. I wasn’t your typical bride who as a little girl was dreaming about my wedding day. I really hadn’t started thinking about it until the day I was proposed to. I had given birth to my son three months before I tried my dress on. It was such a pretty dress, but at the same time I was trying to hide my baby weight. The gown I was looking for was more of a beachy look, but it wasn’t fitting right and since I was not getting married on a beach; I thought it would look silly, so I purchased the upskirt dress. I can’t tell you how many times I tried that dress on at home and took photos of myself. I always hear about brides having their WOW dress. I didn’t know what that feeling was like until David had me try on four gorgeous gowns. I think everyone in the room pretty much knew which one was my ‘WOW’ dress. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. Unbeknownst to me, my favorite was also his but I didn’t know this until the day of the wedding when it was presented to me. David Tutera helped in so many ways. His vision was so unlike mine. I think the only thing we had in common was that we both LOVE MIAMI. He is a very creative man and to put this all together in just three weeks for someone he doesn’t know is just crazy. I can’t imagine what he would do for someone he knows. Our ceremony, much to our surprise, was in a different room. We never imagined getting married outside of the chapel room. The way David converted one of the reception halls into a ceremony room was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. My thought about this room was, 'This must be what Heaven looks like.' I was afraid to touch anything, let alone walk on the aisle runner and mess up the petals. It looked too beautiful. Candles lit everywhere—even the chairs were so pretty! Bert and I are so fortunate to have had David transform what we thought was the Miami-look into reality. The lighting was amazing, the linens were beautiful and the centerpieces were to die for. There was no way we would have been able to pull this off the way he did. The only thing missing was SAND. The rooms were not the only things that were transformed. David had Bert and I take some salsa classes. I knew old-school salsa. I was afraid that when we walked into the studio, Bert would just walk right back out, but he was a good sport and we had fun. He didn't know too much at first but three classes later, he surprised us all. Tony and Melanie were awesome teachers and worked really hard for us to get our dance together. They made it happen and it was a success. We trusted David from Day 1. It’s what he does and I knew that he would not disappoint us. We now try to visualize what the venue would have looked like before David, but we can’t. It’s just too hard to picture it any other way. Everything David did was just on point and so put together. We appreciate everything he did for us and want to thank him for making our South Beach wedding in New Jersey a dream come true!