The romantic wedding of Migbelis Castellanos and Jason Unanue

Migbelis Castellanos, 29, has said ‘I do’ to Jason Unanue in a romantic ceremony this Saturday, November 24, in New Jersey. The presenter of the Desiguales (Univision) program and former Nuestra Belleza Latina 2018, Castellanos, has married a businessman of the same age, who is a member of one of the wealthiest Hispanic families in the United States. The couple, expecting their first baby, celebrated their religious union at the St. Pius X Roman Catholic Church chapel.

Exclusively for ¡HOLA! AMÉRICAS, the Venezuelan model shared with us all the details of her wedding, the most emotional moments of the alliance, the exchange of vows, her two wedding dresses, and her first impressions just 24 hours after starting her married life. After a slight inconvenience with the creation of her outfit, the beautiful future mother wore a beautiful Rosa Clará dress, a crop top bodysuit style, tight to the skin and made of lace, which had a special meaning since the groom’s family has Spanish ancestry, as does the famous fashion house.

Carried to the altar by her father, Mr. Miguel Ángel Castellanos, the television presenter experienced one of the most moving moments of the evening in the company of her loved ones. Her mother, Mrs. Isbelia Del Valle Romero, and her two brothers, Miguel and Moisés, were also present. Surrounded by her inner circle, her closest friends and colleagues, who joined the more than 180 guests, the attendees witnessed how the Venezuelan took one of her most longed-for steps.

The reception was spectacular and the newlyweds’ first dance was to the romantic tune Can’t Help Falling in Love With You by Michael Bublé. With her six-month-old baby bump, emotions running high and overflowing with happiness, Migbelis decided to tie the knot in the place where her now husband was born and raised. The church chosen for the two to become husband and wife has a special meaning, as it was the meeting point for both families when they first met.

In her first interview as a married woman, we present to you all the images of the religious union between Migbelis and Jason, their desire to have a large family, their plans for the future and the inspiring story of the model who is beginning a new stage in her life, ready for their relationship to last forever.

Migbelis, congratulations! How do you feel just a few hours after saying ‘I do’?

Well, throughout my life I have received many compliments, but the best one I have received was from my mother-in-law when she told me that I am the most relaxed bride she has ever met in her life, and that was a good compliment. We had to plan the wedding for about two and a half months and what started as something very simple with no more than 20 people ended up exceeding 180 guests, but it was still very intimate. I am fortunate to have married a man who has a very large family, so the celebration was very family-oriented, but I am very happy and I am very tired too.

You had a little mishap with your dress, but in the end, everything turned out well. Tell us about your wedding outfit…

I was working with a designer who has a store in Miami, she is from Chile, and as such I never met her in person; but, I don’t know what happened, bad communication; well, they didn’t work on what I was asking for. All of this happened just three days before I left for New Jersey for the wedding… it was a very unpleasant moment because although I didn’t have any dream dress nor had I ever chosen a particular model, there were details of the dress that I was looking for because I don’t feel thin enough with this pregnancy to wear any kind of dress.

I have lived in many bodies and now I am living in the pregnant body, and when I was looking for the dress I didn’t want to hide my belly, but I did want to look more stylized, for my neck to look longer, for my arms to look more stylized, my shoulders higher. I wanted a high-necked dress, with sleeves that went over my wrists, reaching down to my knuckles, I wasn’t convinced about using lace, so my first dress, which was never made, was made of a lot of lace. So, when I went to Rosa Clará, the next day, they brought me three types of dresses and the third is the one that I chose. One had a kind of bolero that didn’t come with the dress, in fact, I left it for the second change, for the reception. It was like a bodysuit-type crop top, very close to the skin, made of lace.

The dress, already large, was plain, which I thought was excellent, which was what I wanted. It had pockets, I don’t know why women love dresses with pockets. It was comfortable, there weren’t many alterations needed, and the most curious thing about all this is that the designer Rosa Clará is Spanish and my husband and his family are of Spanish origin, there was a certain connection. The reception dress was bought, from a brand, I bought it already made, the only thing was to adjust it a little to give more visibility to the belly. Then, on the bust area you will see some tight pins, that adjustment was made later.

Did you have any kind of inspiration for your dress?

For that first dress, I was looking for references from Kate Middleton’s wedding dress, which had a high neck, but since that didn’t work out, for the second option I decided to go with the high neck. The veil also matched the lace of the top, so I think it looked perfect and I felt very comfortable too.

Did you ever imagine that you would arrive at the altar pregnant? 

No, no… [laughs]. I was never going to imagine that on one of the happiest days of my life, I wasn’t even going to make a toast or a shot or anything. Ideally, you always want to enjoy your wedding party, dance, jump, do everything. During the pregnancy, there was a moment at the party when I had to sit down because I felt a lot of pressure in the lower abdominal area and I was a first-time mom… I started to think a little bit further and said ‘I feel better’.

I never imagined that my wedding would be like this, nor when I was little. I didn’t dream about the wedding itself. I always wanted a family and I always saw myself getting married, but not with luxury like that. However, my mother-in-law helped me make everything flow perfectly. She was the one who helped me from the first moment we decided to have the wedding, she was aware of all the details. I didn’t know but I got married with the wedding of my dreams, even though it wasn’t in my dreams.

We had to plan the wedding for about two and a half months and what started as something very simple, with no more than 20 people, ended up exceeding 180 guests; but it was still very intimate.”

Why do you choose to get married in New Jersey? 

My husband was born and raised in New Jersey, and his entire family is from here. Since we planned the wedding in a very short time frame, like two and a half months, we decided that the easiest thing to do was to have my guest list, which was smaller, travel to New Jersey so we could gather the whole family here. There is a very interesting fact about the church where we got married, which was not picturesque or big or one of those historic churches… it was in the parking lot of that church where I met Jason’s parents for the first time, it was a very quick meeting. And then almost two years later, my parents and Jason’s parents met again for the first time at the church.

Is it a church that your husband’s family attends frequently? 

It’s the family church. It’s three minutes from Jason’s parents’ house. The father is obviously very close to the family, and when we wanted to do it, the whole process required ecclesiastical steps that have to be followed and we decided to do it with someone we trusted. That’s why we decided to do it in that church, which is actually almost an hour away from the reception. It had a lot of meaning for us and Jason grew up going to that church.

How was the wedding day? 

I woke up at six in the morning, I had to be ready at 12:30 p.m. I suggested that I wanted all the women in my family to get ready in my room and I promised that I had to be available early so that the makeup artist could arrive, everyone. However, I started my process at around 8:00 a.m. with my hair, we didn’t know what to do and we decided on the spot. From there, we continued with the dress change. I think the most emotional moment was when my dad came in to see me for the first time in the dress. Then, we put on the veil and went to the venue.

What time was the wedding?

The wedding was at two in the afternoon. Another very nice thing is that my family is in Venezuela and I would have loved to share this date with them, but the rest of my family, my paternal grandparents, my aunts and uncles are in Venezuela, my cousins… and the church was able to generate a link for me via Zoom where they could watch the ceremony live.

The most curious thing about all this is that the designer, Rosa Clará, is Spanish and my husband and his family are of Spanish origin, there was a certain connection.”

Who in your family was present at the wedding?

My family, my inner circle: my two brothers and my parents. I have an aunt who lives here, but the day before a cousin was getting married, so she couldn’t come. The rest were all my friends who are like family, all the people I hang out with and see all the time in Miami. I only invited about 45 people and the rest of the guests were from my boyfriend’s family.

Of your television colleagues, who accompanied you? 

I was accompanied by Rafael Araneda and his wife, Marcela Vacarezza, Ana Patricia Gámez and her husband, Luis Martínez, Amara La Negra, Adamari López and Karina Banda with Carlos Ponce.

Tell us about the moment your dad walked you down the aisle… 

Yeah… we were joking around a lot because the aisle in the church on the way to the altar is really short, so I was telling my dad that it was okay to take two steps forward and three steps back, so we could show off [laughs]. At that moment, you don’t hear or see or are aware of all the emotions, but my dad walked me to the altar and then handed me over. I think he got all clouded for a moment too, because he didn’t know whether to shake Jason’s hand, hug Jason or do the peace sign [laughs].

What was going through your head at that moment?

Lots of tears and very surreal. Remember that my feelings and emotions are at their highest because I am pregnant. It was a very special ceremony and the father had asked us, in one of the courses, that we both send him, separately, via email, some kind of vows or what Jason meant to me and I meant to him. What I didn’t know, and here I was guilty of ignorance, is that the father was going to read them, so he read them and that was my favorite moment of the ceremony.

My mother-in-law helped me make everything flow perfectly, she was attentive to all the details. I didn’t know, but I got married with the wedding of my dreams, even though it wasn’t in my dreams.”

Do you remember what was said in the vows, what Jason said?

Jason said that he promised me that he would always put me and my family first. With that he closed his vows and I thought that was super cute.

How did you spend your time at the reception? 

Yes, from there we went to the reception to take photos, which was at the Italian restaurant Batello in Jersey City. Our guests had about an hour to rest between one event and the other. The reception started at 6 pm, lots of photos and… it was very cold! The photos we have shared with you with the beautiful scenery of the New York City Skyline facing the water, it was a sacrifice we made to make them look pretty [laughs]. We had a food truck selling Venezuelan arepas outside the reception.

What was the first song you danced to as a married couple? 

Our First Dance was Can’t Help Falling in Love With You by Michael Bublé.

What are your family plans? Will you be going on a honeymoon soon? 

Well, we’re going to spend this week in New York City and get together as a family for Thanksgiving. It’s the first time my parents are in New York City, so I’m really excited because this is one of my favorite cities and I want them to get to know it. We don’t have any real plans to have a honeymoon yet because there are a lot of things going on during the work season, but we’re really happy to have had the chance to celebrate the wedding with the family and after the baby is born, well, I’m putting pressure on Jason to take me to Japan, Tokyo.

If you ask me what success means, I think I’m experiencing it right now”

If you had to sum up this moment, how would you describe it?

I feel very complete, I am very happy. Many beautiful things are happening to me throughout my life. I have always said that God loves me so much that he never stops giving me many blessings and this has been one of them. It has been an exceptional year for many things, not only this wedding, but in my work life I have the good fortune of being on a program in which I learn all the time with ‘Desiguales’, I have received fabulous opportunities, I feel very happy. If you ask me what success means, I think I am living it right now.

What is Migbelis like at this stage of being married and being a mother?

Giving priority to my belly, above all. In fact, it was because of my belly that I decided to leave ‘Enamorándonos’, a project I was involved in for many years and that gave me the opportunity to connect with a very loyal audience, but now I am very happy and more aware in all areas of my life.

 Do you already know what name you are going to give your child? 

I’ve shared it around but I’m not making it official yet. I was waiting for the wedding and I didn’t want to put one thing on top of another.

Is the baby shower coming up? 

That’s right, we’re already out of the wedding and now we’re on to the baby shower. I’m thinking about doing it before my parents leave, who are leaving on December 28th. Let’s see if I can get a chance to plan everything so quickly.

Do you want a large family, with many children? 

Jason is 1 of 5 and I’m 1 of 3, so the number in the middle is 4. I think it will be 4 children because the math doesn’t fail [laughs]. Hopefully, I can have more. For now, we’re going to thank God for this one and then we’ll see. But yes, I would like to have a big family.