Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, right, and his boyfriend, Matt Mendez, left, will get married today in downtown Long Beach. Photo: Justin Rudd.
LONG BEACH — Mayor Robert Garcia and his boyfriend, Matt Mendez, are getting married today.
Garcia is Long Beach’s first mayor who identifies as gay.
Here’s a rundown on the wedding, the guests, the gifts, the honeymoon, and how they met.
- Garcia, 41, and Mendez, 33, will exchange vows at First Congregational Church in downtown Long Beach.
- More than 700 people have been invited, including family, friends, members of the media, political operatives, and financial donors to his various campaigns.
- After the marriage ceremony, guests will head over to the Long Beach Museum of Art for a champagne toast and cake.
- Garcia said he and Mendez are following wedding gift guidelines from the California Fair Political Practices Commission, and they will be publicly reported.
- The couple will honeymoon for seven days on the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean.
- Garcia announced his engagement to Mendez in July 2017.
- The two met in 2008 at The Factory in West Hollywood, which is scheduled to be demolished.
