Photo: Nuno Palha1/21It’s funny because for my job I organize and plan a lot of events, but for my own wedding, I didn’t want to plan anything, so my mom organized everything—and it was perfect. Which is why she deserved the “best mother of the bride” title; some elements of my wedding were a surprise even to me!
Photo: Nuno Palha2/21Since my veil was essentially the cape of my dress, I didn’t know what I was going to do with my hair. I found this vintage headpiece, and loved it because it was composed of beads and it felt very Renaissance.
Photo: Nuno Palha3/21My wedding felt like going on vacation with my best friends and family. Since we all flew into Lisbon a few days before, we had lots of fun touring the city. My bridesmaids joined me as I was getting ready, and even though it was early, we were already celebrating with champagne!
Photo: Nuno Palha4/21The cape was my favorite part of my look because I used my mother’s veil with my great-aunt Niza's hand-embroidery on top. It felt really special, and it’s something that will hopefully get passed on to future generations of my family.
Photo: Nuno Palha5/21Because I was five months pregnant and I knew my wedding was going to last all night, my shoes had to be super comfortable. I loved these Manolo Blahnik heels because they had a small flower detail yet were simple and elegant.
Photo: Nuno Palha6/21My cousin, Olivia, flew in from Beijing to be my flower girl. I was a flower girl in her mom’s wedding so it was really special! She was very excited to be a princess for the day.
Photo: Nuno Palha7/21This moment, when I put on my dress, is when I realized I was getting married and got emotional.
Photo: Nuno Palha8/21In Brazilian weddings, you write your own wedding vows. André loves M&M’s so I wrote a few words that I wanted to say to him with M&M’s and gave them to him the night before our wedding. It was cheesy but cute!
Photo: Nuno Palha9/21My cousin was really excited to carry the bouquet. I picked lilies of the valley for it. I wanted something small and simple.
Photo: Nuno Palha10/21My mom and bridesmaids had already left, and it was just me and my dad. The funny part was that he was the one who had to carry my cape down the elevator and into the car—I think he did a good job!
Photo: Nuno Palha11/21Here, my mom is helping my cousin and her brother practice their entrance into the church. We told her she was entering Elsa from Frozen’s castle, and she was so excited.
Photo: Nuno Palha12/21This moment was surreal—I was waiting to enter Santa Maria de Belem Church, and there were a bunch of tourists lined up and watching.
Photo: Nuno Palha13/21A chorus made up of children sang throughout our church ceremony. It was the first time they had ever sung at a wedding, and it was beautiful.
Photo: Nuno Palha14/21The walkway was really long, and I thought I was going to be very nervous, but when the doors opened and I saw all my friends and family, and André waiting up at the altar, I was so happy.
Photo: Nuno Palha15/21I always wanted to get married in this church. It’s beautiful yet understated.
Photo: Nuno Palha16/21I loved walking out as husband and wife.
Photo: Nuno Palha17/21Exiting the church, all I saw were phones everywhere and when we got back from our honeymoon, it was really great to relive the moment by seeing all the pictures our friends took of us.
Photo: Nuno Palha18/21André and I were so hungry after the ceremony so we had snacks in the car before we entered the party.
Photo: Nuno Palha19/21I am the only girl and have three brothers, and sharing this moment with them right before I entered the reception was really fun.
Photo: Nuno Palha20/21This is the library of the Palácio do Conde d'Óbidos, where we had the reception. It’s all original from 1919. This was the moment before we entered the party.
Photo: Nuno Palha21/21André always likes to joke around and when we were trying to take this formal picture, he kept teasing me. In the end, it’s a great picture, though!
