Jennifer Aayadi, 33, a personal trainer, and Joe Keenoy, 37, a car salesman, were married on September 25, 2023, at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Puerto Aventuras, Mexico
Jenny had left a job in human resources in Mexico and travelled around Europe before arriving in London in 2019. “I had very bad expectations,” she says. “Everyone said it’s so rainy and it’s grey, and you get depressed.” But she loved it.
She grew up in San Luis Potosí, a Unesco World Heritage site in central Mexico, famous for its 16th-century silver mines. “London is such a big city with so many things to do,” she says. However, her enthusiasm started to wane as the pandemic took hold. With nothing to keep her in London, she had decided to head home after a couple more months.
But then she met Joe. From his profile on a dating app, she thought he looked fun and they chatted online for a few days before meeting in person at a pub on the Thames in Hammersmith, west London. It was a week before the second lockdown in November 2020.
Covid fears intensified the usual nerves of a first date. “I was anxious meeting people and being in crowds,” says Jenny. It was not a long date, but they met again a few days later for tacos. The following day, London went in to lockdown.
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They were both living in west London. Joe had been furloughed from his job as a car salesman, and they were not able to go out, so they spent a lot of time together, chatting and watching films. “It was like having a boyfriend and a friend,” she says. After only dating for three months, they spent their first Christmas together.
They share a silly sense of humour. “I am more patient,” says Jenny. She is a personal trainer, teaching barre and pilates to private clients and online HIIT classes to groups in Mexico. Joe enjoys going to the gym, but, after one attempt, realised he could not be taught by her.
“Joe has this special spark to make me laugh, smile and feel everything will be OK,” she says. “He never expects me to be someone I’m not. He accepts me exactly as I am. I feel happy to be able to be myself around him. I love that he reads me so well without me saying anything. He can sense how I am feeling and is willing to help out.”
Jenny got to know Joe’s family, who are based in Ealing. Last year he went with her on his first trip to Mexico. They stayed with her family and then holidayed with them in Cancun. Jenny has a younger sister and brother. Their parents separated and she was 17 when her father died unexpectedly.
She had made it clear that she wanted to be married but expected Joe to take his time to propose. When they went to Paris, in July last year, she thought it was strange that he wanted to go straight to the Eiffel Tower before even checking in. He had taken advice from a friend to propose as soon as possible to be able to enjoy the trip.
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At the base of the tower, Joe went down on one knee with a ring.
They considered having a London wedding but decided it would be less expensive and more fun to celebrate in Mexico. They legally married at the Clockwork Building in Hammersmith in January.
Jenny sought the advice of a client who is a wedding planner and made arrangements from England. They wanted a small wedding and invited 50 guests to join them at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Puerto Aventuras. They arrived two days before their wedding and hosted a cocktail party the night before.
The couple spent the day by the pool before getting ready for the 5pm ceremony. Jenny had brought two dresses from England — one for the beachside ceremony and another for the party. Joe wore a tailor-made suit. His older brother was his best man. Her sister was her bridesmaid.
Jenny walked into the ceremony with her brother. As is Mexican tradition, an “el lazo”, or necklace, was placed over the couple as a symbol of unification and they exchanged coins in a custom known as “las arras”. The buffet-style wedding breakfast was set up a short walk along the beach. Jenny and Joe each gave a speech.
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The newlyweds had not practised for their first dance to Frank Sinatra’s The Way You Look Tonight. “I wanted to enjoy the moment,” she says. They each danced with their mothers to Aretha Franklin’s I Say a Little Prayer.
As the dancing continued into the night, Jenny and Joe went for a sea swim under the stars. They spent a few more days in Puerto Aventuras and then continued their honeymoon on Holbox, an island on the north coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.
“Jenny is the kindest person I’ve ever met,” says Joe. “I love her attitude towards life.”