Ansley Joannes and Liam Long’s love story began far from home, during Ansley’s first week of medical school in Australia. What started as a friendship quickly became something deeper—though not right away. The two spent more than a year as friends before returning separately to New Orleans, where Ansley finally decided it was time to be honest. “I told him I wanted him to ask me on a date,” she recalls. “We went out to dinner a week later and have been together ever since.”
After more than two years of dating, Liam proposed while the couple was skiing in Vail—a meaningful place to both of their families. He timed the weekend so their parents would already be in town, then casually suggested stopping by a run to say hello to a friend. “There was no friend,” Ansley said. “Just Champagne, a photographer, and our families waiting nearby.” After asking her to take off her helmet, Liam—who had secretly designed Ansley’s engagement ring himself months earlier—got down on one knee. The celebration continued on the mountaintop before everyone skied down together.
When it came time to plan their wedding, Ansley and Liam knew immediately they wanted a destination celebration—one that felt more like a vacation than a traditional event. “We wanted it to feel like we were on a trip with all of our favorite people, with a wedding as the cherry on top,” Ansley explains. Spain felt like a natural choice. Ansley’s parents met in Ibiza, making the country sentimental, and after a visit to Menorca, she was certain. “I immediately fell in love,” she says of the Fontenille properties. “They’re beautiful and intimate, and I loved that our guests could experience both Santa Ponsa and Torre Vella.” Bringing the vision to life alongside the couple was planner Cathleen Holloway of Holloway Events, whose thoughtful approach allowed Ansley to fully trust the process.
Fashion played a meaningful role throughout the weekend, with Ansley working closely with Over The Moon Style Director Grace Givens, a relationship she describes as essential to bringing her vision to life. For the rehearsal dinner, Grace sourced a striking Johanna Ortiz dress that nodded to the all-white dress code while offering a bold pop of red. “It made me feel special and felt like perfect foreshadowing for the wedding day,” Ansley says. She paired the look with a beaded Dries Van Noten clutch that echoed the palette beautifully.
Ansley found her wedding dress unexpectedly—during what was meant to be a casual appointment with her mother, sister, and grandmother near her grandmother’s home. “I had a totally different designer in mind,” she admits, “but my sister picked the dress I ended up falling in love with.” The Vera Wang dress felt ethereal, comfortable, and unmistakably her. She completed the look with a custom veil and neck scarf made from the same fabric, adorned with floral appliqués taken from her mother’s wedding dress. Sentimental jewelry rounded out the ensemble, including Tiffany HardWear earrings from her father and her late godmother’s wedding ring stack. “Wearing her rings made it feel like she was still part of the day." Her hair and makeup were kept soft and effortless by Rebecca Spendlove.
Liam wore a custom Billy Reid tuxedo, designed alongside his brother, father, and Ansley’s dad during a special weekend together. “Watching them bond over buttons and details was really sweet,” Ansley says. He later changed jackets mid-celebration—mirroring Ansley’s own after-dinner outfit change into an Ines Di Santo dress.
The ceremony unfolded on August 30, 2025, at Santa Ponsa in a setting that felt almost unreal. More than 4,000 white roses lined the aisle, a breathtaking surprise orchestrated by Cathleen and Ansley’s parents, who work in the floral industry, alongside Demares Studio, whose design transformed the space.
The wedding party processed to an instrumental version of "Iris," and family heirlooms—including a Limoges ring box once used at her godmother’s wedding—were thoughtfully incorporated. “I felt so at peace all day,” Ansley recalls. “Walking down the aisle with my dad and seeing Liam, I felt excited and giddy but also completely sure. It felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.”
Following the ceremony, guests gathered for cocktails before transitioning into a reception that perfectly reflected the couple’s vision—one long table, shared by all 75 guests, styled with elegant tabletop details from Maison Margaux and paper goods by Caroline Kidney. “It felt like a giant dinner party,” Ansley says. “At this point everyone had been on vacation together for at least three days, so friends from all different corners of our lives had become fully integrated.”
Emotional toasts, live music by ALR Music that later gave way to a DJ, and nonstop dancing filled the night. “We didn’t sit down once after dinner,” she laughs. “We danced and drank Menorcan gin all night.” The weekend was beautifully documented by Over The Moon The List Photographer Cinzia Bruschini, with videography by Sergio Bonitti.
The celebration continued late into the evening back at the hotel lobby, where guests were greeted with gelato, churros, pizza, and sliders, alongside a piano player taking requests. “It was an homage to our favorite piano bar in New Orleans,” Ansley shares. “None of us wanted the night to end.”
After the wedding, the newlyweds stayed on Menorca to explore the island more deeply before continuing on to Madrid. “We wanted time to soak in a place that now feels so sentimental to us,” Ansley says—a fitting end to a celebration defined by intention, connection, and quiet joy.
