Pérez, Tulann engaged to exchange vows on Sept. 23

 

Tony Pérez and Annie Tulann will be married Sept. 23 at Morais Vineyards and Winery in northern Virginia.

Pérez is a graduate of St. Michael’s High School and the University of New Mexico. He has a master’s degree in sustainable development from the School for International Training in Washington, D.C. He is operations advisor for the Export-Import Bank in Washington.

Tulann graduated from George Mason University in northern Virginia and holds a master’s in public policy from the same university. She is a senior program analyst for the U.S. Agency for International Development in Washington.

The couple met while working at USAID in 2016. They became engaged in 2021, while on a dinner cruise on the Potomac River after Tulann’s master’s degree graduation. Pérez proposed — with the maître d photographing the couple on Pérez’s cellphone — as the boat passed in front of Washington’s marble monuments.

The groom’s parents are José Amador Pérez and Dr. Pamela Etre-Pérez, retired educators. Jose Amador Perez, taught Spanish at Belen High School, and Dr. Pamela Etre-Perez worked in Adult Education for 17 years at UNM Valencia, where Jose also taught Spanish. They moved to Santa Fe, where they are currently retired.

With Mexican-Italian roots, Pérez was raised in Belen. After moving to Santa Fe and transferring to St. Michael’s High School in 2004, he ran track and field and was captain of the Horsemen’s football team. He was named St. Mike’s Athlete of the Year in 2006. He, and his football coach, are on the Wall of Fame at the school.

The bride’s parents are Raja Khan and Bilqees Akhtar. Of Pakistani descent, she was raised in Arlington, Va.

The wedding will be “black tie optional with a Pakistani flair.”

The bride plans to wear a Justin Alexander dress. She will have elaborate henna designs on her hands, representing her cultural heritage. The groom will wear a Vera Wang tuxedo.

The maid of honor will be Aiman Alhuda, the matron of honor Adeeba Mirza, both of northern Virginia.

The best man will be the groom’s brother, Paco Pérez, a Belen native who now lives in Río de Janeiro. His groomsmen will be PaaWee Rivera, of Washington, formerly of Pojoaque; Dale Sanchez, of Seattle, formerly of Belen; Jacob Romero, of Dallas-Ft. Worth, formerly of Belen; and Ricky Leyba, of Santa Fe.

Immediately after the wedding, the couple are planning a two-week honeymoon at a resort on Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Peréz and Tulann will live in Washington, D.C.