Amber West & Rogelio Gomez
Amber and Roger celebrated their love with a vibrant, Mexican American-inspired wedding at the picturesque Lazy S Hacienda. Amber’s father led a touching ceremony that included a prayer, and Amber’s two brothers walked her down the aisle. The reception was a lively affair with dancing, a photo booth and memorable moments like painting cantarito cups and a surprise choreographed first dance. Join us for an exclusive Q&A with the bride as we dive into the details of their special day.
the couple. Amber West & Rogelio Gomez
the venue. Lazy S Hacienda
the planner/designer. Lazy S Hacienda
the photos. Lana Del Mar Photo
The Love Story
AMBER’S VERSION
While I was in my second year of nursing school, I decided to get a job. I found a gymnastics gym in town and they were hiring. I started at Brazos Valley Gymnastics the next day. While sitting in the staff break room, this overly outgoing boy bounced in and said, “Hello!” This happened to be the first time we would meet. I’d be lying if I said it was love at first sight; I wasn’t going to get involved with a coworker… Roger is what I call aggressively friendly. After I was hired, he quickly befriended me and invited me to many hang outs with our coworkers.
Months of building our friendship passed and one day, he asked me to the usual after-work hangout with our other coworkers: Fuego [tacos]. I went home from work, showered and put on my sweats to go get a taco snack. Only this time … no one else showed up. It was Roger and I … alone … with my wet hair and sweatpants. He bought my taco. It was at this moment that I realized I had accidentally gone on a date with my coworker. Don’t tell him, but I was secretly excited. Over the next year, we became inseparable best friends, going on many adventures and sharing many laughs before finally officially dating Jan. 30, 2020. And as they say, the rest is history.
ROGER’S VERSION
When I saw her, it was love at first sight. Now she might tell you otherwise, but I know she felt the same. One day while walking into the staff break room — a glorified closet — at my job, she stood there, blonde straight hair, blue eyes and skin as white as snow. I was stricken with the bug of love.
I got to know Amber over the next few months and it was wonderful. All the kids at the gymnastics gym were drawn to her, and she left no kid without a smile. Her kindness radiated wherever she went and I wished to be part of that. Over the next few weeks, I planned get- togethers and invited her to make sure she got to know my friends and I. Then it was time to spring the trap. I invited her to get tacos because I’ve never heard of anyone turning down tacos, but this time, I invited only her. We had our first date. And from that day on hook, line and sinker.
The Proposal
Roger was at work all day, or so I thought, and sent his brother and his brother’s girlfriend to come hang out with me — they were a distraction. We had fun going out shopping and getting food. When Roger finally got done with work, he came over to my house to pick us all up for dinner. He was in a pretty big rush and said we needed to go to a birthday dinner. I changed and we were quickly out the door. I asked him about why he was rushing me later and he said that he didn’t know what to say and he was worried he was going to give it away so instead he just rushed me. Instead of pulling up to the restaurant we pulled up to a park nearby his house. One we would frequently walk around together. This is the first moment I was suspicious. I looked at him and looked around the park for clues but I didn’t see any. He did not say anything and took my hand as we started walking. We walked across a bridge in a wooded area and as we came to the other side I saw it. A little spot with twinkle lights strung up in a tree, candles, a little picnic blanket set up with champagne. As we approached, he got down on one knee and proposed. My bridesmaid Kenya stealthily hid out in some trees to capture the moment for us. We celebrated with some champagne and then went with a couple friends to celebrate at our favorite sushi restaurant.
The Wedding Venue
Lazy S Hacienda!
The Vibe
Mexican American. Casual. Authentic.
The Photography
We were looking for more candid/documentary style photos. We didn’t want super posed pictures. Our photographer captured our day perfectly.
The Dress
I went dress shopping the day after the proposal. We went to Anthropologie for the dress, I highly recommend their boutique. My mom, two bridesmaids and my cousin came to help me. I wanted something simple, but bridal. The first dress I tried on was my favorite. They had many beautiful options, but this one had a very simple design but the ball gown made me feel like a princess. Plus it had pockets … and I love the small detail of cutouts under the arms and the low back.
The Accessories
To match our theme and style of venue, my shoes were authentic huaraches, and I had a veil we took some pictures with that had some colorful embroidery.
The Bridesmaids
I wanted my bridesmaids to feel their absolute best. I had picked a color scheme and then let them pick the dress they felt the best in. They all picked their own style and fabric. I loved all the confidence they had in their dresses. I think it was special they got to choose their own. Honestly, the only thing I would change about this if given the chance is I would give them even more freedom to choose their own dresses.
The Groomsmen
The groomsmen had simple outfits that matched our terracotta like colors. Our colors were supposed to be representative of terracotta and soft greens like Mexican desert/cacti vibes.
The Wedding Rings
Rogelio knew I wanted a dainty, simple, organic ring and I think he did perfect finding it. It was rose gold, which was perfect because it matched my new sister-in-laws! We also thought it was fun to add some rose gold into his titanium ring to match.
The Hair and Makeup
I like clean and simple looks. More blushy than bronzy. I think my make up artist did an amazing job of taking my preferences and then adding a little bit of glam to really bring the look to life in the pictures. Plus, I have never had fake eyelashes so seamlessly applied!
The Stationery
I have to give all the credit to Mamie, Darion, and Lazy S Hacienda. With the Chiquita package, they made a vision board I loved and then they made it come to life. It was perfect for a girl like me. I’m not much of a planner and I definitely don’t like making a bunch of detailed decisions. I let the experts handle it and they exceeded expectations. Even adding special surprise touches like cantarito cups for guests to paint and late-night snacks.
The Florals
Mamie and Darion [Lazy S Hacienda & Willoweddings] picked out the most lovely floral arrangements for the tables and my personal bouquet. They stuck to the terracotta and greenery color scheme. I also have to thank my sister-in-law Kayli for throwing together some small beautiful bouquets for the bridesmaids to carry.
The Morning Of
The morning of the wedding might have been one of my favorite parts of the day. My bridesmaids and myself rented an Airbnb nearby the venue. I remember everyone waking and coming into my room. We all just sat on the floor for a bit chatting. I remember thinking how special it was to have all my favorite people in one place. They are all spread out across the world, so I likely will never get to spend time with all of them like that again. We had hair and makeup artists from Tease to please come to the house to help us get ready. We made ourselves some breakfast and got coffee. It was the perfect morning. A little later, my parents stopped by to make sure we were all getting ready and to help transport to the venue. One of my favorite pictures from this morning is my dad getting recruited to help iron all the bridesmaids dresses. He did great!
The Ceremony
We had my dad officiate the ceremony. We wanted the ceremony to be centered on our faith and made sure he emphasized our belief that marriage should exemplify the gospel. We made sure there was a special time of prayer with our friends and family, as we wanted that to be the true focus. I think another special element was that since my dad was officiating, I was trying to figure out who would walk me down the aisle? I decided to have my two older brothers, Grant and Lance, walk me down. They actually had both gotten married in 2022, so they had just been through it themselves. I remember lining up prior to walking down the aisle and hanging on to both of their arms. This is when the nerves set in. I remember asking them before walking if they were both this nervous at their wedding. They laughed and said it was in fact nerve-wracking, but probably people stared at the bride more than the groom so this might be a little worse. We laughed as we walked. Later my dad brought up how much it meant to him to be able to watch my brothers walk me down the aisle. He thought that was more special than being able to walk me himself.
The Reception
We just wanted people to have fun and celebrate with us. We had so much fun dancing, our DJ brought a photo booth that was a big hit and people enjoyed painting the cantarito cups. The night seemed like it went by in the blink of an eye. My dad and I did our father/daughter dance to “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift as a tribute to a funny memory from my childhood; it was quite chaotic. Roger and his mom brought tears to our guests’ eyes as they danced to Roger’s childhood lullaby song. And lastly, Roger and I had a choreographed first dance to “Suavemente” by Elvis Crespo complete with a lift and lots of spins. The other fun thing we did was have a day at the Fort Worth rodeo the day after our wedding. Since our wedding was on a Friday, we decided to skip the rehearsal dinner since not everyone could make it on Thursday, and, instead, we had everyone meet up in Cowtown. We spent the day shopping, eating, and going to the rodeo that night. Some brave souls even rode the mechanical bull and competed in the maze outside the Stockyards.
The Planning
We got engaged April 22 and married Oct. 13 of 2023. As soon as we got engaged, I knew I didn’t want a super-long engagement and neither did Roger. I found the Lazy S Hacienda and we loved the look of the architecture and decor. Once we went to tour it, we didn’t tour anywhere else. Wedding planning credit all has to go to Mamie and Darion again. I cannot recommend them enough. They made the whole process so easy and smooth. We had a meeting where we went over colors, flowers I liked, cakes I liked, and then they put it all together for me with extra special touches. I could have never put such a beautiful wedding together. They made any options or choices I needed to make so simple. They connected me with photographers, DJs, bartenders and catering. I cannot brag on them enough. They made it so I had no challenges or difficulties in all of the wedding planning.
The Cake
Supercute terracotta color with this beautiful design. I am not even sure how they made it. It was also delicious. One layer was chocolate and another was strawberry. There was some left over at the end of the night, and my dad snagged it to take home for us. We all sat in the hotel lobby the next day and ate every last crumb.
The Food
Who doesn’t love tacos? Everyone loved the tacos. Although the goat cheese mushrooms and empanadas were pretty hard to compete with as well. Everyone ate dinner and then danced the night away. And then as another fun personalized surprise, Mamie and Darion arranged for Chick-fil-A to deliver some later night nuggets to ensure everyone still had energy to keep on dancing.
The Favorite Moment
Our first dance. It wasn’t perfect. In fact it was rather chaotic as we tried to remember our choreography under the pressure of everyone watching. Also It was definitely more difficult to perform in our dress/suit than previously when we had practiced at the gym. But all our little mistakes just made me laugh. And I think it made our friends and family laugh a little too.
The Unexpected
I knew Mamie and Darion had done so much planning for us, but I wasn’t expecting it to go so smoothly without me even trying. Everything was organized for me. Everyone was directed to the right place at the right time. I didn’t even have to think twice about it.
The Honeymoon
The weekend after our wedding, we spent some time in a romantic cabin just the two of us as a small get away. We were planning a big trip to Japan for 2024; however, we now have a little bit of a surprise due October 2024. Our first baby boy should be making his appearance this fall, so our Japan trip has been slightly postponed, but still coming up.
The Advice
Find a venue like Lazy S Hacienda where they will make your wedding seamless and you will barely have to lift a finger. I am so glad to have had a stress-free wedding day I could just sit back and enjoy. You want to be a guest at your own wedding, not the host.
The Vendors
Featured Vendors
VENUE + DESIGN + PLANNING Lazy S Hacienda
Other Vendors
COORDINATOR Willoweddings
CATERING Magdalena’s
FLORAL Remembrance Flower Shop
PHOTOGRAPHY Lana Del Mar Photo
DJ DJ Cale
BARTENDING I Do Events
RENTALS Royal Event Rentals
BAKERY Back Home Bakery