Exploring Vanessa Hudgens' unexpected choice of Jay Shetty to officiate her wedding in a Mexican jungle oasis

Vanessa Hudgens and Cole Tucker got married in an incredible ceremony in Azulik City of Arts, Mexico. To make their special day in the Mayan jungle even more magical, the ceremony was officiated by former monk turned storyteller and podcaster, Jay Shetty.

Hudgens met Tucker over one of Jay Shetty's Zoom meditations in October 2020. Recalling when they first met, Hudgens said (via Vogue):

“I was literally on the Zoom with my girlfriend, and I started hitting her asking who he was, and she had never seen him before. So I proceeded to look on the Zoom square to find out his name and found him on Instagram—and he sent a DM the next day.”

As such, the pair never had any doubts about who they wanted to officiate their union.

"Cole and I met in 2020 on a Zoom meditation led by Jay Shetty," Hudgens said (via Vogue), "so when we got engaged, we knew that we wanted Jay to officiate our wedding."

How Vanessa Hudgens and Cole Tucker chose their wedding venue

It may seem like a strange location choice for the "High School Musical" actress and baseball shortstop, but Vanessa Hudgens has long followed the Azulik Hotel on Instagram.

Discussing how they reached the decision, Hudgens said (via Vogue):

“One of my really good friends had just finished a show on Broadway, and he was asking me where he should go for a little vacation, and I was scrolling through Instagram right before he called, and I was like ‘Oh go to Azulik—this place is so freakin’ beautiful.'

“I told Cole, ‘Maybe we could go here on our honeymoon…we would get such great pictures. Wait—maybe we could get married here?!’”

While the venue is indeed beautiful, it came with its fair share of challenges, as Hudgens recalled:

“A lot of it was down an unpaved dirt road, and I proceeded to think, ‘There’s no way in hell we’ll be able to have our wedding here—how are we going to get our entire party out here down this bumpy dirt road?’

“I knew that it was our place. I felt like I was transported to some kind of utopia, unlike anything I had ever been to before. It was whimsical and magical, and I just fell in love.”

While the road to the venue may have been bumpy, the ceremony went off without a hitch and Vanessa Hudgens and Cole Tucker are happily married.