Isolda’s Juliana Affonso Almeida Designed Her Own Wedding Dress to Marry at a Palace in Portugal

Juliana Affonso Almeida, the co–creative director of the womenswear label Isolda, rented a glass house on top of a mountain in the Chapada dos Veadeiros region of her native Brazil to celebrate her boyfriend, investment banker Vasco Henriques de Almeida’s birthday last TK. The couple met through a mutual friend and had been dating for two years when they made the trip to South America to celebrate. “It was a rainy Saturday, and we were in this house in the middle of nowhere when he popped out the ring and asked me to marry him,” remembers Juliana. “It was his birthday, but I was actually the one to get the best gift!”

August 24, 2017

Photo: Madalena Tavares
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Our lovely hand-painted by Isolda ID wedding invite and welcome booklet, with our favorite spots of Lisbon, Sintra, and Cascais.
Photo: Madalena Tavares
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The beautiful façade of the Seteais Palace in Sintra, where our dinner and reception were held.

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Some guests arrived in style at the Seteais Palace!
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Guests went through this stunning palace room with hand-painted walls on their way to the reception in the garden.
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We fell in love with the interiors of the palace. These marble stairs took you from the lobby to the dance floor and bar.

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I wanted to look as natural as possible with my hair in a bun and braids around it. My hair stylist from Griffehairstyle in Lisbon translated this perfectly. I loved the flowers in my hair.
Photo: Madalena Tavares
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Wow! When my sister, Melissa, walked in the room holding my goddaughter, Elisa, who is 4 months old, she looked like the cutest thing in her Isolda dress and hat!
Photo: Madalena Tavares
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I was so lucky to get these lovely H.Stern earrings as a gift from my mum. The crystal stones in them bring so much light to my face and looked perfect in the wedding photos! My engagement ring is by Cartier. My husband has impeccable taste.

Photo: Madalena Tavares
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These lovely and comfy Alexandre Birman white leather Clarita sandals were my “something borrowed” from my sister, Melissa. She only wore them once (at her own wedding!), and they let me dance all night long!
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Our lovely Isolda flower girl dress in double-silk layers with light crêpe and organza silk on top. Designing the flower girls’ and bridesmaids’ dresses was a joyful process—I did them in the same matching romantic floral print.
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Cris, one of my best friends and bridesmaids, preps for the ceremony, steaming a flower girl’s dress.

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My friends: Cristina Donnini and Bianca Latgé, beautifying before the ceremony. It was so much fun getting ready with them in the room!
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I love this shot and close-up of the “flowers on the pool” print in our Resort ’18 collectsion, which my bridesmaids wore! It looks especially good here in contrast with the rug in my room—I love the texture in it!
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Last minute prep! My friend Maísa and all of my bridesmaids helped by recalling names for the seated dinner placement. The name cards came from Brazil, so we had to write a few that were missed . . .

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I wanted the bridesmaids to wear flowers in their hair. Our florist, Marta Ferraz, brought some lovely fresh wild orchids and mini daisies. Here is my beautiful friend Mariana Catta Preta looking radiant with her hairdo.
Photo: Madalena Tavares
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My sweet niece, Josefina, looking through the window in my room while we were getting ready. This is one of my favorite images from the wedding; it’s so poetic!
Photo: Madalena Tavares
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My veil was Isolda in silk tulle. I loved it so much and couldn’t wait to wear it!

Photo: Madalena Tavares
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The cutest flower girls and boy wearing Isolda bespoke attire, which I designed especially for them. They looked like little angels to me. They are family, all daughters and one son of my cousins and sisters.
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Arriving at church with my dad in a carriage decorated with lovely flowers. I thought it would be quicker, but as the roads in Sintra are very narrow, it took us about 20 minutes. We stopped a lot to say hello to everyone in the street. We were the attraction of the town!
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My veil was 5 meters long. I loved it so much and did not want to take it off. I wore it as much as I could and only taking it off later at the party so I could dance without worrying about it.

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The church of São Martinho de Sintra is already so stunning, it didn’t need many flowers. I love the pastel tones, all hand-painted, and the Portuguese tiles inside it. While designing my bridesmaids’ and flower girls’ dresses, I thought a lot about the church, and it was essential that the colors of the dresses match the interiors of the church. It was not a very small church, but during the ceremony, I could feel everyone so close—it made it smaller in a sense.
Photo: Madalena Tavares
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It was a very emotional moment walking down the aisle with my dad and the flower girls and boy, seeing all those familiar faces of friends and family, and finally seeing Vasco at the altar!
Photo: Madalena Tavares
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You can see how thrilled I was to finally meet my husband-to-be!

Photo: Madalena Tavares
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Gorgeous bridesmaids and their dresses matching the Portuguese tiles on the wall. They looked so dreamy, like romantic garden nymphs!
Photo: Madalena Tavares
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Vasco holding the wedding rings. His is in yellow gold and mine in rose gold. The flower boy was so cute when he brought it to us on this silver tray that belonged to my father- and mother-in-law and also held their rings at their wedding.
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Exchanging the wedding rings, about to become husband and wife!

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Our first kiss as husband and wife! We were so happy!
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We were leaving church and so thrilled, smiles from ear to ear. We were over the moon to see all our friends and family at this very special moment!
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A very joyful moment after the ceremony—our friends throwing petals at us !

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Mr. And Mrs. Almeida! My husband didn’t want to have this “kiss photo” taken but I insisted. With our glorious flower arch, it was the perfect moment for a photo!
Photo: Madalena Tavares
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Surrounded by my divine bridesmaids right after the ceremony! Total dream team!
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An Isolda yummy-mummy moment. Maya Pope, my partner and co–creative director at Isolda, holding flower girl Madeleine Pope’s hand at the church’s entrance. Maddie and another flower girl were too shy to enter the church with me, but they made for great pictures!

Photo: Madalena Tavares
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Family portrait: With my and Vasco’s parents after the ceremony.
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Vasco and I taking some photos during the reception, which took place in the glorious gardens of the Seteais Palace. The sunlight was almost gone so we were trying to make the most out of it.
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The incredible view of Sintra from the stairs that take you to the Geometric Gardens of the Seteais Palace where the reception was held.

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Friends gathering at the reception. The lovely lady in the middle is Lujza Richter Hugo, a French-British actress friend of mine. She is wearing one of the latest dresses by Isolda, the Georgina Luau printed dress.
Photo: Madalena Tavares
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My beautiful cousin, Kiki Affonso Ferreira, holding her daughter, Juliana, one of the flower girls.
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Friends at the reception. It was a very hot summer day, not typical at all for Sintra, where it’s always a little colder than Lisbon. The weather was beautiful and some of the guests used fans, which added a lot of charm to their looks.

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Lady in red. A couple of friends mingling at the reception while the live band plays in the background.
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The sunset was unbelievable. Some friends even said that it was the most beautiful sunset they have ever seen! I believe them! The sunset with the live band was pure magic—what a dream!
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After cocktails, we headed to dinner, where the frescoed walls matched the flower arrangements. There was candlelight and hand-painted Isolda tablecloths with motifs of the palace and our monogram on them.

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Our beautiful hand-painted menu, tablecloths, and placements—we tried to think of every detail to make the evening special for our beloved guests.
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I love flowers and enjoy making arrangements, which I’ve learned all about from my mum, so I did a lot of research in order to decide what flowers to have at the wedding. We were very impressed by the talented Marta Ivens Ferraz from Flow because she interpreted my ideas and references so well. I love the contrasting colors and sizes that we used: peonies, mini daisies, and orchids—all very delicate.
Photo: Madalena Tavares
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Time to toast!

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The floral arrangements at our table were especially amazing, very blissful! Each one had its own little water case that kept the flowers hydrated all night long. We felt like a king and queen seating at this incredible table!
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We couldn’t get enough! Here we are with our friends and family, and we just wanted to take as many photos as possible and enjoy every minute while the wedding lasted!
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Our first dance was to a bossa nova song by Tom Jobim and Miúcha: “Pela Luz Dos Olhos Teus,” which talks about how a couple falls in love through the light of their eyes gazing at each other, and then their eyes need to get married! It’s a very sweet romantic song and couldn’t be more appropriate.

Photo: Madalena Tavares
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Our lovely wedding cake! It had three layers in different flavors, but we did not even get to taste it!
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Cutting the cake after dinner and making our wishes.
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Such a fun moment, throwing the bouquet . . . and who will be the lucky one?! I’ve changed dresses, and now I am wearing the Isolda Frida dress in Richelieu lace from the northeast of Brazil. We did a project with craftswomen from northeastern Brazil who make this beautiful type of lace, and our design in collaboration with them is called “Metamorphosis,” as it features a leaf that evolves into a butterfly. It felt fantastic to wear a dress that is sustainable and sophisticated—just perfect for a bride!

Photo: Madalena Tavares
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I couldn’t believe my friend Cris caught the bouquet! She is one of my best friends—it was almost like we were kidding!
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As we had a destination wedding in Portugal, and we live in Brazil, the vibe of the night felt very much like being on holiday. Everyone who came was very special to us, and the celebration was intense and had been going on for days at this point. We wanted to celebrate in every possible way—we were full of excitement!