On March 21st, Kerian Messler and Trevor Thomas Garco were standing behind Convento Santa Clara, a vast decommissioned in the Church of Santa Clara in Antigua, Guatemala. In the distance, Volcánde Agua, a towering 12,000 feet, approached. The song “Wake Me Up” by Avicii blows up 18th century monasteries and gardens.
“Fireworks, they were bigger and bigger than the venue and people were hooked,” said Garco, 45. “Tears were flowing from my eyes with happiness and joy.”
He added: “It was the best three and a half minutes of my life.”
“It was this pour of love from people like, 'That's your turn,'' said Messler, 43.
The moment was made more powerful by the couple's journey, said Brian Leftman, 46, a friend of Garco's college and groomer. “These are two of us in our 40s and we've gone completely unconventional to get there, but true love has won.”
Mr. Luftman described their journey as a “boomerang.” The couple dated and separated early in their lives, and returned together ten years later.
Messler and Garco met for the first time in 2006 when they were 25 and 27 years old. Both lived in Washington. Messler was the Washington commander of the National Football League team, Redskins and Garco, who worked in technology sales.
Garco placed an ad on Craigslist for his roommate, and Messler's best friend answered. “I checked out the place with her. I thought the guy was cute so he asked if we wanted to go out with his friends,” she said. “I said yes.”
They eventually closed the sports bar. Messler recalled that Garco gave the taxi money. Garco was impressed that Messler had a part-time job on the 10-cent wing.
Two weeks later, they saw the rock band Blue October at the 9:30 club on their first official date. Three months later, they were officially a couple.
That summer, a funny moment occurred when Garco first met Mr. Messler's parents after meeting them at the bar a day after a kayak. “I've only had clothes the night before, so I was wearing Trevor basketball shorts and a t-shirt,” Messler said with a laugh.
In 2007, Messler moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he worked for the Charlotte Bobcats, a team with the National Basketball Association. The two tried to develop a long distance relationship, but with busy work and life, they eventually drifted away. The couple broke up in 2009.
“It was timing,” said friend Katherine Kennedy Allen, who answered a Craigslist ad, which was later a bridesmaid. “Kelli Anne's career took off, she traveled a lot, she found herself as an individual.” Certainly, Ms. Messler continued to work for companies like Coca-Cola, Burger King and Nando. Garco got married in 2016 and divorced a few years later.
Fast forward to 2019 when Garco watched the March Madness Basketball Tournament on TV, and the alma mater of University of Tennessee volunteer Messler was playing. “I said, 'Oh, my god, I miss Keri'. “I sent her two words text: 'go vols.”
After six months of texting, they met for dinner at Meydan, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Washington. Both made an effort to dress up. “It seemed he was courting me, despite this being someone I knew at his heart,” Messler said.
They were both changed as people. “When Trevor and I first met, I didn't even have a passport, but now I've traveled to 20 countries,” Messler said. And it seemed they were working as a couple more for the second time. By the summer following July 2020, they had moved together.
My friend Allen couldn't believe it when she told her she was dating again during happy hour on Zoom. “When they first met, Keli Anne and I dreamed of her wedding,” she said. “When they returned together, they felt that it was just right, so that they would be together forever.”
Galco grew up in New Berlin, Wisconsin and attended the University of Miami in Oxford, Ohio, where he earned his Bachelor of Finance. Galko is working on software sales for high-tech startup Chainguard.
Ms. Messler grew up in Oak Hill, Virginia, attended the University of Tennessee, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications. She currently works as a marketing executive at Call Your Mother, a Washington-based delivery chain.
The couple, who lives in Arlington, Virginia, got engaged in March 2024 while traveling to Wales. They had just landed in London and drove in Wales for four hours, so Ms. Messler didn't understand when her boyfriend insisted on driving for another 45 minutes for the hike.
“We got up there, and it's the most magical place I've ever seen,” she said. “Below is the ocean and these perfect little gentle hills. The reason the grass is completely cares for is because we had these wild Shetland pony.”
Garco discovered that only other person was walking around and asked him to video him when he went down one knee and popped the question. Later, as they were celebrating, they met four British people who rented a nearby lighthouse and invited them for a celebratory drink.
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The couple legally married on March 17th and filled out documents relating to the stairs of the Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown, where Messler's grandparents were engaged. In Washington, couples can reinforce themselves.
As they have visited many times, they chose Guatemala for their celebrations, and Garco invested in a local brewery called Antigua Cerveza. “We wanted to take our friends somewhere,” Messler said. About 150 people traveled.
The festival began on Wednesday, March 19th, with guests voluntarily texting that Mr. Garco had borrowed a Baerti Grenegro. “We were wandering around the city of Guatemala and trying to find this speed, but it wasn't marked at all,” Allen said. “We were chilled and relaxed in this super cool, dark room, almost like a mountain of smoke.”
On Thursday evening there was an official welcoming event at Casa Troccoli, a rooftop bar and restaurant overlooking the erupting volcano. A local caterer made handmade tortillas and there was a taco stand. The DJ and saxophonist serenaded the crowd with the popular hit. “Every girl got hooked on 'dance floor murders',” Allen said, because it was the theme song for the year in Washington.
Friday, the official wedding celebration day, started with the couple introducing each other. Sentimental stuffed animal and Messler diamond necklace for Mr. Garco. They arrived separately at the monastery. “All of these locals stopped and waved at me when they got off the bus, they were all applauding,” the bride said. “I felt like royalty,” Mariachi joined the wedding party and took photos around town.
The party began after a 25-minute pledge exchange led by Messler's brother-in-law, David Watson. “You go through this cave, come out into this magnificent room, come out into this magnificent room,” says Luftman, the groom. “It was a perfect day in this beautiful garden and the flowers were amazing,” he said no one would leave the dance floor for hours.
“No matter what expectations I had, it was blown away,” he continued. “I wasn't Tom Brady and Gisele's wedding, but there was no better way.”
At 9pm, after the fireworks, guests were in a garden with trees and flowers on a bus to the brewery where Mr. Messler invested. The lasers illuminated the dance floor and guests helped themselves to Smores Station and Woodfire Pizza.
Messler said it was worth the wait for a week. “All these people just embraced us and our stories and we were so happy that we found each other again,” she said. “It was truly our happiness.”
This day
March 21, 2025
Santa Clara Monastery in Antigua, Guatemala
After the wedding celebration, “Groupieemoon”, the couple and 18 guests traveled by van and boat to Lake Atitlan, a body of volcanic crater waters in southwestern Guatemala. They spent three days sightseeing, relaxing, eating and drinking.
Local Makeup The Bride and her bridal party were made by Monica Boppel, a friend of the groom's friend. She lives in Guatemala and the bride had not seen her until the day of her wedding celebration. “It was the best makeup I've ever seen in my life,” the bride said. “Everyone looked very good.”
Find a friend. The groom sent a list of his favourite restaurants, bars and spas to Antigua for all his guests. He added everyone to his “Find My Friend” app and said he loves to see where everyone is throughout the wedding weekend.
