Photo: Gus Hildebrandt1/49We hosted an asado welcome lunch the day before our wedding. The theme was gaucho, which is essentially an Argentine cowboy. Nelson and I love to dress up, so having a themed event was a must. Excitement is all I remember feeling.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt2/49Villa La Angostura is truly one of the most beautiful and peaceful places on earth. My family has had a mountain house there since I was very young, so the area is so special to us. There is nowhere else that felt so right to get married in.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt3/49My immediate family with the newest to be a member. This picture perfectly captures the overall look of how people were dressed on that day.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt4/49We wanted the three days of events to feel as authentic and true to the area as we had so many guests coming to Patagonia for the first time. For the decor of the asado, we used rustic wood and greenery throughout with hues of red to bring a pop of color.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt5/49The weather in Villa La Angostura is unpredictable, so we needed to be prepared with umbrellas at all times. They came in handy.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt6/49The atmosphere of the asado. We had friends traveling very far to celebrate us and the multiple parties allowed for us to spend time with all of them.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt7/49We had various long wooden tables made for us locally. For the arrangements, cockscomb flowers were mixed with roses, tomatoes, and berries.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt8/49The groom and his father.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt9/49For the lunch, Lucas Mallman (nephew of distinguished chef Francis Mallmann) prepared a traditional Argentine asado cooked over an open fire. The menu consisted of chorizos, empanadas, and corderos à la cruz. They were served alongside root vegetables that were cooked underground in fire pits lined with hot rocks and pumpkin with corn cooked on the plancha.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt10/49The day before our wedding was actually my birthday. This will probably be the happiest birthday of my life.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt11/49Birthday and pre-wedding kiss.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt12/49My dress was a wedding gift from my former boss Ulla Johnson. She often finds inspiration from the gaucho style, so wearing Ulla couldn’t have been more perfect for the event. The hat is Albertus Swanepoel for Ulla Johnson and was inspired by the gaucho campero hat.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt13/49Nelson loves when I wear my hair down, so I wanted to wear it like this on the day of the wedding. Since I wasn’t wearing a veil and didn’t want any flowers in my hair, I worked with my hairstylist to find the right style that felt authentic to me but was still adorned. We settled on a set of tiny braids in the front of my hair that were crisscrossed and pinned down to create a subtle headband.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt14/49I got my hair and makeup done for the wedding in my house overlooking the lake. After two days of parties, I couldn’t have asked for a calmer moment before the wedding.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt15/49My mother surprised me and my two sisters with matching floral robes to get ready.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt16/49The groom having a moment with his close friends before the ceremony.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt17/49My mother helping me into my dress. After many fittings, we landed on this Reem Acra dress. Since our reception was in a forest, I wanted a dress that felt right in the space and evoked a feeling of fantasy. It needed to have moment, feel easy yet embellished and unique.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt18/49I had always known I wanted to use local flowers for my bouquet but surprisingly, hadn’t thought about the bouquet until the day before the wedding. After giving the decorator quite a bit of last-minute direction, we came up with this bouquet using wild flowers.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt19/49Taking a breather in my garden.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt20/49My husband with his best friend, Clement.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt21/49The boys making their way to the ceremony. They call Villa La Angostura “the garden of Patagonia” and I think this photo captures that.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt22/49As we walked down the aisle, my cousin (musician and actress) Chiara Parravicini played the ukulele and sang Cat Power’s “Sea of Love.” We loved the idea of having people that we care so deeply for participate in our wedding, so we had guests participate in as many moments as we could.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt23/49My father drove me to the venue in an antique car and walked me down the aisle. Seeing Nelson for the first time was the most emotional moment of the night.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt24/49Instead of using a veil, I decided to use a long cape. I was able to get more fabric and beading from Reem Acra to create a custom cape for the dress.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt25/49Very excited.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt26/49We got married in a Catholic church, but the ceremony was a bit untraditional. The priest, who is a friend of Nelson’s family, wanted to create a dynamic and interactive ceremony. This resulted in many laughs and made the ceremony feel very intimate. Turning around to see a jam-packed chapel filled with all our loved ones there supporting us was so emotional.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt27/49Making it official with our witnesses.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt28/49Nelson’s younger sister Sue was our flower girl and was also in charge of bringing us our wedding bands. She was so nervous she was going to miss her cue, so she spent the whole ceremony rereading the program.
Here, we’re exchanging our matching Cartier wedding bands. The only other piece of jewelry that I wore during the ceremony was my engagement ring, which I designed with Nelson after he proposed.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt29/49Our first kiss as husband and wife! And totally forgetting we had 240 people around us.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt30/49Being able to share this moment with so many friends and loved ones was our biggest dream.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt31/49Another kiss.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt32/49A hug with my mother.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt33/49We hosted the reception in a wooden shed in the middle of the forest. The vibe was very Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Here, we’re having a calm moment together in our fantasy world.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt34/49My mother. We couldn’t have pulled off this wedding weekend without her.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt35/49Our wedding decorator was so talented and created much of our decor by hand, including two massive aerial installations of lamps and lanterns.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt36/49For the decor, we wanted to find the right balance between a wild, untamed forest and sophistication without feeling over the top and stuffy.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt37/49The reception was a celebration from the onset. Since we had hosted a long-seated lunch the day prior, we didn’t want to do this again for the reception, so we had passed food catered by our favorite restaurant in the area, Tinto Bistrot. Many guests commented that this was such a great call as it allowed people to move around through the space and discover hidden corners.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt38/49Outside of the shed we had a large tent for dancing decorated heavily with local greenery to make the tent a continuation of the outside forest. Our bartenders created bespoke cocktails.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt39/49Speech time! Nelson’s father and my father were one of the many people who spoke.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt40/49Instead of changing, I decided to take off my cape and put on massive vintage emerald- and rose-cut diamond earrings. I always wear large earrings for parties, and when I put on my earrings, the party started.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt41/49Our wedding cake, embellished with local flowers and fruits.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt42/49Cutting our wedding cake.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt43/49We didn’t leave each other’s side all night.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt44/49Nelson’s sister Swann (left), cousin Antionette (middle), and sister Dune (right).
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt45/49Toward the end of the night we handed out sparklers. I don’t remember what song was on at this time, but this moment was the peak of the wedding. The sparklers kept the party going.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt46/49Everyone loved the sparklers.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt47/49Tossing the bride and groom in the air is a very Argentine wedding custom.
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt48/49From the beginning, we told our DJ to keep the music going all night as long as there were still guests left. At 6:30 a.m., we still had a huge group on the dance floor including my father (right).
Photo: Gus Hildebrandt49/49Nelson and I had learned tango for our first dance. During the beginning of the party, we escaped into the deep forest to practice and decided not to do it as my dress was getting in the way. At 6:00 a.m., the DJ put on the song and we couldn’t not do it. Our first dance became one of the last dances of the night and our favorite moment.
