“This is the American quilt that looks at Hispanics from a different lens,” said Suarez, who emigrated from Cuba in 1968 at the age of 11. “It offers a different view of who we are, and not all the horrible things about ‘bad hombres’ in the context of deportation and resentment. Most people, when they get to know the people, see us differently. We are a people struggling to keep our traditions while becoming good citizens of the United States.”
The bride and groom met in Wisconsin four years ago as a result of their service to their country. Castillo, a United States Army veteran and Air Force civilian contractor, was training Army reservists, including Huerta-Marquez, to install GPS systems into military vehicles.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
“I started flirting with her a lot,” Castillo said. “Every time I told a joke, she turned bright pink. But she was flirting back.”
Recalled Huerta-Marquez, “We started talking about work and our families, and I felt very comfortable speaking to him right away.”
Their long-distance relationship has been anything but easy, with Castillo traveling the globe with his work. He spends 11 months of the year outside of the country, flying in from his current post in Kenya only days before the wedding. Huerta-Marquez is raising their 2-year-old son, Elias, in their Dayton home while continuing to serve as an Army reservist and studying to become an ultrasound technician.
Staying together has required work, Castillo conceded, “but she definitely is worth it, 1,000 percent.”
In a separate interview, Huerta-Marquez echoed, “It has been very hard to manage a long-distance relationship, but he is more than worth it.”
She blushed with pleasure upon learning that her groom had expressed the identical sentiment just minutes before their wedding.
“I love every part of him,” she said. “He is so supportive, and he inspires me to become a better person and a better parent.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
The odds were slim that they would ever meet, she acknowledged: “It’s weird how all of our decisions in life have led to this beautiful thing.”
Castillo was born in the Virgin Islands and emigrated to the United States at the age of 12, becoming an American citizen and serving in the Army for eight years. Huerta-Marquez is a first-generation American, raised in Ohio, whose parents emigrated from Mexico before she was born.
“When I was in training for the Army Reserve, I realized how lucky I was that my parents had become citizens,” she said. “Many of my fellow trainees were not so lucky, and they joined in the hope of helping their parents.”
Suarez believes that the couple’s love story is a powerful example of the way that immigrants continue to contribute to the American culture.
“Their families and their friends are all very hard-working people,” she said.
A criminal defense attorney who primarily serves the Hispanic community, Suarez has officiated at hundreds of marriage ceremonies. This time she also offered to host the reception because the bride is the niece of a close friend.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Suarez conducted the ceremony in Spanish, urging the couple to respect one another and listen to one another. She encouraged the guests to continue to support the young couple.
“We are here to help you to be successful in your marriage,” she vowed.
Once the couple had been pronounced “Señor and Señora Castillo,” Suarez took a lighter tone: “Now that you are married and stuck with each other, please remember to help with the dishes and keep the toilet seat down.”
The elegant reception featured a Christmas theme, with Mr. and Mrs. Claus as the cake toppers. Wedding photos of Suarez’ late parents, Enrique and Marta, presided over the serving table — a symbolic gesture that is very meaningful to their daughter.
“It was very much an honor for me to host the ceremony because my parents always had people over,” she said. “My parents’ home was always a place where Cubans would congregate.”
In honor of her parents, Suarez added, she infuses a sense of cultural celebration into all of her wedding ceremonies. “A day like today,” she said, “illustrates the beauty of our multicultural society.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
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