Serendipitous Introduction
For years, Rebecca Villamizar endeavored to introduce her two closest friends, but geographical distance consistently prevented their meeting.
That changed in December 2020 when Salvador Jesús Salazar, her cherished friend from Venezuelan high school, journeyed to Miami to visit his brother.
While in the United States, Mr. Salazar contemplated his future in Venezuela, considering the nation’s political instability, a significant injury sustained during paramedic volunteer work in 2019, and the ongoing pandemic.
Finally, in April 2021, Mr. Salazar and Maria Daniella Aguado, Ms. Villamizar’s intimate friend from university, encountered each other at Ms. Villamizar’s Miami residence.
A Budding Romance
Early Connections
Ms. Aguado recounted that her conversation with Mr. Salazar unfolded naturally, as if they shared a long-standing acquaintance. Subsequently, they exchanged Instagram contacts. “I underestimated the significance of that evening,” Ms. Aguado stated.
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The pair continued to socialize at gatherings with mutual acquaintances. “We gradually began to flirt,” she noted.
First Date Nerves
The following May, shortly after Ms. Aguado mentioned her preferred Thai eatery, Mr. Salazar proposed dinner at Lung Yai Thai Tapas in Miami. “Salvador’s nervousness led to him breaking a plate, which oddly enhanced the evening,” Ms. Aguado recalled.
Post-dinner, they proceeded to Sake Room for drinks, where the atmosphere intensified. “During beers, he abruptly stopped and confessed that his feelings were unprecedented,” Ms. Aguado shared.
Both individuals departed that night with a sense of impending significance.
“Following our initial date, our relationship progressed rapidly,” she described. “Effortless yet thrilling.”
Relationship Milestones
Moving In Together
That August, both contracted Covid-19. “We quarantined together, effectively initiating unofficial cohabitation” in her Coral Gables, Florida apartment. “It served as an ideal pretext,” she explained.
They formally co-located to a new apartment in June 2022. Around that period, Ms. Aguado’s younger sibling, Carmelo, received a cancer diagnosis at age 17. “It was profoundly distressing and overwhelming, but Salvador remained steadfastly by my side,” she expressed.
The Proposal and Wedding Plans
The Proposal
In September 2022, Mr. Salazar initiated discussions about marriage. However, Ms. Aguado admitted, “I was still apprehensive and emotionally recuperating from my brother’s health ordeal, so he patiently granted me time.”
By June 2023, Ms. Aguado’s brother received confirmation of full recovery. “It felt like an immense burden lifted,” she said.
Consequently, in the early hours of Christmas Day, Mr. Salazar presented Ms. Aguado with a small box and proposed marriage with a diamond ring. “He asked me to close my eyes, and upon opening them, there it was — a promise of lifelong commitment,” she recounted.
Delayed Wedding Plans
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In early 2024, the couple started planning a wedding in Venezuela. However, escalating political turmoil following July’s presidential elections compelled them to postpone. Concerns that Mr. Salazar’s Temporary Protected Status might be revoked amidst renewed efforts to dismantle the program led them to expedite their marriage.
Courthouse Ceremony in Miami
305 Day Wedding
Ms. Aguado, 27, was raised in both Maracaibo, Venezuela, and Miami. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Florida International University and is currently pursuing an M.B.A. at N.Y.U. through a hybrid program. She is employed as a marketing specialist at LaCroix Sparkling Water in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Mr. Salazar, 29, was raised in Caracas, Venezuela. He holds two associate’s degrees in dental hygiene from the University of Santa Maria and Florida Health Institute. He works part-time as a dental hygienist in Fort Myers, Florida, and owns Blumind, a business consulting firm.
The couple married at the Miami-Dade County Courthouse on March 5 — “305 Day,” a local unofficial holiday — officiated by Claire Petit Louis, a Miami-Dade County deputy clerk. Rosaura Salazar and Victoria Sánchez, friends, served as witnesses. A celebratory lunch with friends followed at Mandolin Aegean Bistro in Miami’s Design District.
Venezuelan Wedding Celebration
The couple will host a wedding celebration for 100 guests this December at Posada Paraiso Queen, an inn in Tucacas, Venezuela — “perfectly situated between Caracas and Maracaibo,” Ms. Aguado explained, “the cities of our birth.”
About the Couple
Maria Daniella Aguado
- Age: 27
- Grew up in: Maracaibo, Venezuela, and Miami
- Education: Bachelor’s in Business Administration, Florida International University; pursuing M.B.A., N.Y.U.
- Occupation: Marketing Specialist, LaCroix Sparkling Water
Salvador Jesús Salazar
- Age: 29
- Grew up in: Caracas, Venezuela
- Education: Associate’s Degrees in Dental Hygiene, University of Santa Maria and Florida Health Institute
- Occupation: Part-time Dental Hygienist; Owner, Blumind Business Consulting