Raissa and Tony wanted to incorporate all of the colour and fun of the bride’s home city into their bohemian inspired day. Married in September, the couple planned a day that was heavily influenced by Rio and their chosen venue.

“I was born and raised in Rio and it’s a super bohemian and tropical city”, Raissa told us. “I wanted the wedding to represent it. Also, Rio was the place Tony and I had our first date so It is an extremely important place to us.”

They chose Casa da Palma, located at in the Santa Teresa neighbourhood, as their venue as it was so beautiful and colourful in it’s own right – it suited their theme to a T! “It is a colonial house located in the middle of the trees with an amazing view to the city”, the bride continued. “I asked the florist to use tropical flowers and plants for the decoration.”

The day began with a short, informal ceremony led by the bride’s friend Thalita in Portuguese and translated for their English-speaking guests by her cousin Alessandra. “Tony and I actually eloped in April of 2017 because we didn’t want to have a big wedding and we need to be official so we could live together in the US. But a few months later Tony asked me ‘Do you wanna get married to me again?’ and gave me the most beautiful heart-shaped diamond ring! I was like ‘WTF is going on!?’ but of course I said a big YES!”

“We weren’t planning on even having a ceremony, we just wanted a fun reception for our loved ones, but in the end we decided to have one. We had 75 guests total and they were all standing around us – no seats! It was perfect and we both felt so loved!”

“Although we never imagined we’d have another ceremony it actually ended up being our favourite part of the day – it was so special. Since we were already married I didn’t think I was going to get so emotional but I cried like a baby! Seeing Tony crying when he saw me was priceless and unforgettable.”