Lana Condor and Anthony De La Torre Married in an Intimate Ceremony on Top of the Malibu Mountains—And Then Got Matching Tattoos the Next Day
In 2015, actress Lana Condor and actor and musician Anthony De La Torre met at an Emmys party. “We were both there alone and saw each other from across the room,” remembers Lana, best known for her starring role in Netflix’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, based on the 2014 novel by Jenny Han. “And that was that—we both knew that day would forever change the course of our lives. We just didn’t know exactly how…but boy, did our lives change for the better!”
They went on their first date a day after they met, and then a second date the following day, and since then, they’ve been inseparable.
The two got engaged in December of 2021, when they were in Mexico for the Christmas holiday. “Anthony had planned this elaborate engagement on a cliffside with musicians and food and everything, but we had gotten sick so we were in the room,” Lana remembers. “He was in a bad mood, and I didn’t know why at the time, but it was because his plans had been foiled. I was laying in bed watching TV, and he was spending a lot of time on the balcony. He came in and asked me to come out onto the balcony, and when I stepped outside, [I saw that] he had lit a hundred little candles and had set out all of my favorite foods on the table. I was so shocked and surprised, and he bent down and said, ‘This isn’t how I was planning to do this. But it feels so fitting to our relationship that we always can adjust and be flexible when things don’t go perfectly to plan.’ He said so many other beautiful things, and finally asked me to be his wife. It was truly the best moment of my life. I am a hard person to surprise, and he pulled it off perfectly. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
The wedding took place at the end of October, at the Serra Franciscan Retreat Center in Malibu. When Lana was still in high school, she and her mother had gone to a women’s spiritual retreat there. “My mother had wanted to spend some special one-on-one time together, and had heard about Serra Retreat and the amazing work they do there,” Lana remembers. The two had the best time together at the center—walking the grounds, attending various lectures and classes, and connecting both with nature and each other.
“My mother Mary recently passed away, leaving my entire family devastated,” Lana says. “But she would not have wanted us to not celebrate our love. We really wanted to get married at the Serra Retreat because being there was such a core memory that I had with my mom, and I felt like we would be able to feel her presence on our wedding night.”
In fact, Anthony had had a profound experience of his own there on a visit years ago. “He was going through a very difficult time, and he went to the chapel at Serra Retreat to find solace and answers,” Lana says. “He had a very personal revelation while being in the chapel, and it truly changed the course of his life. Needless to say, the Serra Retreat means a great deal to our family, and we were thrilled we got to marry at the center.”
The planning process in the lead-up to the wedding was smooth and easy thanks to Alex Moreau of XO Moreau. “She was the most organized, most relaxed, most wonderfully proactive planner, and had the best energy and personality,” Lana says. “She always made us feel so heard and prioritized our love and playfulness. Her vast portfolio of vendors was so impressive and helpful. We got to work with the incredible Remi + Gold for our floral arrangements, and they were perfectly our vision.”
Because Lana and Anthony knew they wanted to embrace the fall-wedding vibe, all while keeping things soft and delicate, they looked to East Rose Studio for their invitation suite. “I have loved stationery for years and collect various stationeries throughout all my travels,” Lana says. “East Rose Studio designed the perfect stationery to match the tone of the wedding: elegant and timeless, and somewhat Spanish in style, while still feeling fresh and youthful.”
Lana took a similar approach when it came to her wedding wardrobe aesthetic. “[Early on,] I was obsessed with the idea of wearing Vera Wang for my wedding,” the bride admits. “A little over two years ago, I took my mom and bridesmaids to Vera Wang to go dress-shopping. My mom and I absolutely fell in love with my wedding gown the moment I tried it on, and I am so grateful I got to share that experience with her. That was the only time she was able to see me in my dress, and I will hold that memory in my heart forever. We both instantly knew it was the one. It was timeless and classic, while still youthful and playful. My biggest hope—which I feel like I achieved—was to feel like myself in the dress, and I have never felt more beautiful than I did when I wore my wedding dress. I am forever grateful.”
Even though Lana found her wedding dress almost two years before the ceremony, the rest of her wardrobe was selected more spontaneously. “So much happened in my personal life, and I wasn’t able to get the rest of the dresses far in advance, but everything worked out just as it was meant to,” she says now. “I ended up finding the most magical reception dress, with one of my best friends, at Vera Wang during one of my final fittings for my ceremony dress. It was so soft and light—I felt like I was wearing air!”
The couple’s friend, stylist Brandon Nicholas, helped them with the rest of the wedding looks. “He and his partner Art Hunter have known Anthony and I for years, so he knows what we like at our core,” Lana explains. “He has also watched and curated our style and personal taste over the years and seen how it has evolved.” Brandon and Art dressed Anthony in Jacquemus for the welcome soirée, and then two custom Brooks Brothers suits for the wedding day. “Anthony really wanted his ceremony tuxedo to feel timeless,” Lana says. “He was drawn to the classic, elegant look of black and white. On his ceremony dress shirt, he added his initials to the cuff to really individualize his look.”
