Ties that bind
High school, Ole Miss sweethearts make it official in San Miguel de Allende
Richard Mason doesn’t remember exactly how or where he met Mary Ann Cuellar, the sharp, fun-loving brunette who would become his wife.
In his defense, they were still just kids — two teenagers heading into their senior year, when fate and their private school classmates brought them together over the summer of 2010.
“We became really good friends, best friends, and started dating before we knew it,” says Mason, a Strake Jesuit College Preparatory alum. Cuellar attended St. Agnes Academy, the all-girls school across the street. “She was always fun, the life of the party. But very smart, too, and could help me with schoolwork.”
Even back then, he could tell she was a natural-born leader. “Mary Ann stuck out from the pack.”
Cuellar, a native of Panama, describes Mason as extremely reliable and genuinely honest. “That’s the foundation of any good friendship and relationship,” she says.
In the fall of 2011, after their graduation and much deliberation, the high school sweethearts enrolled at the University of Mississippi. Cuellar is quick to clarify it was a very independent decision on both their parts.
“It was kind of scary because I didn’t want it to seem like I was following my boyfriend to college,” she says. That’s just how the dice fell. “We never broke up and ended up with so many of the same friends. Our tight-knit group only got bigger.”
It wasn’t sunshine and rainbows, Cuellar says. But that’s part of growing up together.
Saturdays during football season were spent tailgating at the Grove, a large grassy pasture in the middle of campus with one decked-out tent after the other. And though the Ole Miss Rebels didn’t have the best ranking, Mason was a loyal fan.
On date night when they tired of cafeteria food, the couple splurged on dining out.
“Oxford is such a little foodie town,” Mason says. “Our favorite was Snackbar, it’s (chef ) John Currance’s spot. Our favorite brunch and hangover food was Big Bad Breakfast, another Currance spot.”
Cuellar pledged Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Mason joined Kappa Alpha Order, which meant lots of travel to New Orleans for Greek formals; Seaside, Fla., for spring break; and Telluride, Colo., for ski trips.
Even their parents got along. “Our family became one pretty quickly,” Cuellar says. “I’m an only child, and he’s one of three. So the Masons would say, ‘Oh, y’all are doing Thanksgiving, just three of you? Nope, come on over.’ ”
Everything just clicked. By the time they were upperclassmen, Mason was certain she was the one.
“I would say I fell for her over time but only because we were so young when we started dating,” Mason says. “Around junior or senior year, I realized this was definitely the girl I wanted to be with.”
The lovebirds graduated together in the spring of 2015 before moving back to Houston.
Mason followed in his father’s footsteps and accepted a position with commercial real estate firm Avison Young.
Cuellar, who earned a degree marketing and corporate relations, flirted briefly with the idea of living in Manhattan. “The only other city I considered was New York. I just love the fast pace,” she said. “But then I got connected with Marta Fredricks at Dancie Perugini Ware Public Relations and fell into a groove there pretty quickly.”
Good thing, as Mason’s plan to propose was underway. He buckled down about their future and started saving.
He broke the news to his parents in January 2018: The time had come to buy a ring and pop the question.
“Easter felt best, so we could get married the following summer,” Mason says. “I didn’t want to wait a full year and a half to marry her; 14 months was long enough.”
So his best friend drove into town on Good Friday; at the time, Cuellar thought nothing of it. She was distracted by the holiday weekend’s back-to-back social activities, including Easter Sunday Mass and the Mason family’s annual egg hunt.
“I love that tradition because there’s real money involved. One year I earned $200,” she says. “I always change into my tennis shoes, which they think is the funniest thing. So when Richard told me not to wear my tennis shoes, I told him, ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ ”
Turns out, everyone was in on the surprise — except the brideto-be.
She took off running while the others held back. Later, when Mason suggested that she’d dropped an egg, Cuellar turned to look and he dropped to one knee. Her longtime beau asked if she’d marry him and presented her with an emerald-cut diamond inside a Fabergé egg.
“I’ll be honest, I was pretty shocked,” Cuellar concedes, laughing. “Eight years went by before he proposed, but I still felt so young. I’m very intuitive and thought I could read him.”
As the first of their friends to get engaged, the couple had free rein. She wanted something unique, and he’d already witnessed nuptials at every country club in town.
“We looked at Colorado and then thought, ‘Let’s explore Mexico,’ ” says the bride, who considered Cabo San Lucas, their favorite vacation spot, before ultimately settling on San Miguel de Allende. “I wanted it to be close and easy enough to get to.”
With the destination picked and a date set, Cuellar made monthly trips to hammer out the details with Guadalupe Alvarez Penzi of Penzi Weddings. She hired a second coordinator, Gina Whittington, to handle logistics for the 24 bridesmaids and groomsmen.
The most challenging part of the process was being in a different country. “I have friends who can run off and do their cake tasting over lunch. Nothing went wrong, but it felt like things could.”
“I was along for the ride. As long as she was happy, I was happy,” the groom says. “I just wanted to be there with her.”
On May 30, 180 guests landed in San Miguel to kick off the wedding weekend with a rehearsal dinner at The Restaurant. The next day, friends and family paraded through town with mariachis and a burro in tow for the callejoneada, a regional tradition, before the welcome fiesta at Nextia restaurant.
And on June 1, they exchanged vows inside the Iglesia de la Immaculada Concepcion de las Monjas.
“We wrote letters to each other and did a first look,” Mason says. “I was a little bit in shock. Finally seeing her in the white dress after so many years was incredible. It’s in that moment when it really hits you.”
His family priest, Father Juan Torres from Holy Rosary Catholic Church, performed the ceremony — he also was the life of the party.
“My favorite would have to be the reception. I could not believe how good the band (Los Rabeats) was,” Cuellar says. “Well, it’s a tie between that and walking down the aisle, seeing Richard and realizing all these people had traveled so far to be here for us.”
Her husband’s best memories are of their new monogram painted on the dance floor and his father-in-law’s toast. “He gave a fantastic speech about Mary Ann’s life, and bringing her to the U.S. (from Panama) and now turning her over to me.”
The newlyweds, who celebrated their honeymoon in St. Lucia, have yet another big milestone coming up. This summer marks 10 years together.
“To me, it’s an even better relationship,” the newly minted Mrs. Mason says. “Marriage changes things in a good way. It’s an evolution of our friendship.”