Does it feel like home to you then?
Definitely. The people who work here are what make it feel like home to me. You get to know everyone so quickly - I was made to feel like family right from my very first day. There are some people who have worked here for at least 15 years - for them it really is their home. I can’t imagine this place without the people who work here - it would still be beautiful, of course, but it’s really the people that make Palmilla what it is.

What makes the Chapel such a special building for you?
I think it’s the history of the place, there’s a life to it… a certain energy. It feels like the energy of all the people and their stories throughout the years has been kept in the chapel. It’s certainly not a fake chapel - it’s a very real one, designed for a community, and not just for weddings. I think that’s why it feels like such a privilege to have a wedding here - you feel like you are part of something much bigger.

Is it a very Mexican chapel?
Yes, it’s really Mexican - not just the design, but also the sense of peace that surrounds it. It’s a classic, beautiful building. Sometimes people like to have dinner or a cocktail on the terrace, just because they want to have the chapel in the background. It’s such an inviting building - perhaps because it’s not a huge structure. Its life and its energy - it just draws you in.

Do people come back after they have been married?
Of course. I met a couple who got married here this March. They had been together for 10 years, and the husband had been coming here for 15 years, so for his wife this place means a whole experience. The way they share, how they feel comfortable and taken care of. Having this hospitality - their own special place - is a very unique thing. We are an extension of their home back in California. They wanted to bring their family and friends here because it is such an important and meaningful place to them. They have already come back three times since the wedding! I think that for them, Palmilla will always be a home away from home.

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