As a Hollywood film producer, Julia Lebedev knows what makes a great script. And her own romance with Jon Moss could hook an audience with its When Jon Met Julia twists and turns. In 2009, the two Angelenos were introduced in Brazil at the wedding of mutual friends. They hit it off, but Julia had a boyfriend. Once back home, the pair kept bumping into each other at parties. "It was like we were dancing around one another," says Julia. Indeed, two years later, she was back on the market, only to discover that Jon, an attorney, now had a significant other. And so it went until 2012, when Julia threw her annual February 14th "prom" for all her unattached friends. "Ironically, Jon came and asked me out," Julia says. "That was my last single Valentine's Day."
The next summer, the lovebirds were "glamping" in Big Sur, California, when Jon got down on one knee. Julia said yes, then went into filmmaker mode, casting the players who would help pull off their nuptials in Punta Mita, Mexico, a locale not too far from those on their largely West Coast–based guest list but exotic enough to feel special. "We loved the idea of having everyone come away for a few days," says Julia. "It was more a vacation than a party."
A south-of-the-border welcome dinner (complete with tequila, tacos, a fajita station, and a mariachi band) kick-started the wedding weekend, which culminated with a send-off brunch on Sunday. In between, they had a sunset ceremony on the cliffside grounds of the Imanta Resort. Though nondenominational and officiated by a friend, the service adopted two Jewish customs: marrying beneath a huppa (theirs was adorned with colorful bougainvillea) and the post-vows breaking of a glass. After a cocktail hour under thatched-roof palapas and a dinner of tuna tartare, beef steak, and mahi mahi, the revelers headed for the dance floor, where everyone got in on the action. "Even our photographers were out there dancing with us, taking pictures," recalls Julia. "You know, the hair's flying, and we're all a little sweaty, but those photos are the ones that show just how fun and amazing the day was."
