[section title=”The Planning”]
[field title=”Wedding Colors”]Ceremony – Neutral (white, creams and greens)
Reception – black, silver, mustard, burgundy, green (deep various tones)[/field]
[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]General details about the events:
Their wedding was a three-day event starting on Thursday with a catamaran excursion to Casa De Campo’s private island where the groom dj’ed on the beach. Friday evening, they hosted a Dominican-themed welcome party for their guests featuring a Dominican Frio Frio station, cigar rollers, and custom straw hats for every guest. After enjoying all the Dominican food, guests made their way to the sand for a dance party. It culminated with a Catholic ceremony on the steps of Saint Stanislaus Church in Altos De Chavon, followed by a wedding reception at a private ocean-side villa in Casa De Campo on February 10th, 2024.
Guests:
Their guests comprised an eclectic group of international creatives, including fashion designers, fashion founders, c-suite record label executives, start-up tech founders, SAG actors, and former NBA players.
The Planning Process:
Juan started working with Claire Duran Weddings and Events in October of 2022 to plan the engagement and, by Claire’s recommendation, also book all the wedding venues. Allie separately messaged Claire and the team in November of 2022, looking to tour venues, not knowing Juan had already planned the engagement and booked the wedding. The day before their “tour” with Claire’s team, Juan proposed to Allie and, the following day, shared with her their wedding date, February 10th, 2024. Over the 17th month process, Allie, Juan, and Claire’s team worked together, carefully crafting every detail. With both Allie and Juan having creative backgrounds, Claire’s team had maximum leeway to prepare a more vibrant, fun, and non-traditional wedding than ever before. They held calls every month discussing everything from the custom-built entrances and bars to the espresso martini station to the audiovisuals and D.J. booth. Beyond the tropical-disco aesthetic, Allie and Juan put particular attention on the music, curating the eight different musical acts over the three days, including the groom, DJ Cuatro, Dominican pop-singer Nikola Santiago, and international DJs Pat Lok and salute.
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[field title=”Proposal Story”]Allie and Juan met through a mutual high school friend, who transferred from Allie’s high school in Ridgefield, Connecticut, to Saint Andrew’s School in Florida for one year. They became fast friends after first meeting at a Topaz Jones show in 2016 at Trans-Pecos in Queens. Over two years, they maintained that friendship until Labor Day Weekend in 2018, when they went on their first date. At the time, Juan took a career break caregiving for his late mother in Baltimore, and Allie commuted back and forth over weekends at the start of their relationship. Through many cities – San Diego, Baltimore, and Boca Raton – caregiving for Juan’s mom and maintaining their careers remotely through COVID, Allie and Juan’s relationship only grew stronger through the turbulent times.
With his Latin roots, Juan is a passionate man who’s never been afraid to open his heart. After knowing Allie for several years, first as friends, while seeing other people, Juan poured his heart out to Allie on their first date. He told her he loved her at dinner that night – maybe not love at first sight but at first date. Their connection was instant. Both come from creative fields, Allie, a lingerie designer at Victoria’s Secret, and Juan, an advertising executive turned tech CMO. They say relationships have a rock and a star, but Juan and Allie buck that notion. Both stars are in their own right. Individually, they are the lives of every party they attend, often not finding each other until the night ends as they’re so busy socializing.
From the beginning, it was a labor of true love to keep their relationship steady through the rollercoaster of Juan’s (and often Allie’s) caregiving for Juan’s mom during her four-year fight against pancreatic cancer that, in many ways, fortified their relationship across all the cities they lived in and did long distance from – New York, San Diego, Baltimore, Hilton Head, and Boca Raton.
Once Juan’s mom, Dr. Marta I Rendon, passed in 2021, they both returned to New York to build upon the foundations they had left behind over COVID and in-between caregiving. They operated in this new normal and re-engaged in everything they love – music, food, travel, and art.
As is tradition, each birthday is a cherished moment, regardless of the year. Each year, they write all the reasons why they love each other correlated to how old the other person is turning that year (plus one, of course). For Allie’s birthday, Juan gifted her tickets to see Adele’s residency in Vegas – after seeing Adele sing “One and Only” in person, it was forever cemented in their minds as their first dance song. Months later, Juan invited Allie’s parents and his uncle, aunt, and cousins to spend New Year’s at Casa De Campo. Three days before New Year’s, December 29th, 2022, Juan asked Allie to marry her to a resounding “yes!” In his confident, passionate, and loving way, Juan had already booked their wedding venue and date months before, which he told Allie the following day. This was welcomed news, along with working with the tremendous Claire Duran weddings and events team to plan what would be the best day of their lives.
Allie and Juan got engaged on December 29th, 2022, in Casa De Campo. Juan had planned a family vacation there over the New Year’s holiday where one afternoon, he told Allie they’d be meeting with some of his cousins driving in from Santo Domingo for a happy hour. Juan walked Allie to a lookout with a violinist and flowers surrounding them, where Allie still stood perplexed, wondering who was about to be married there. Then Juan got down on one knee and wholly shocked Allie. Their families joined them shortly after for dinner, all fully surprised by the engagement.
Juan, unbeknownst to Allie, had already been working with Claire Duran Weddings and Events since October of that year, planning their engagement and more…
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[board_carousel title=”Getting Ready”]
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[board_carousel title=”Bridal Portraits”]
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[board_carousel title=”Flat Lays”]
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[section title=”The Fashion”]
[field title=”Wedding Gown”]Working as a fashion designer, the thought of choosing Allie’s wedding looks had always come as a bit of an overwhelming decision; however, to her surprise- the first dress she tried was “the one”. Allie’s Ivory ball gown was designed by Toronto-based Rita Vinieris. The gown’s hand-painted silk organza fabrication depicted Allie’s two favorite flowers, hydrangeas & peonies, and paired back with a ribbon-detailed corset bodice- a classical nod to Allie’s career as a lingerie designer. She paired this with a bespoke blusher cathedral-length veil. For shoes, knowing the precarious cobblestone aisle she needed to walk down, she wore Loeffler Randall satin block heels. The jewelry she wore was simple yet meaningful. Juan gifted her a Cartier love ring as a wedding gift the night prior, and on her neck, she wore a single diamond Cartier necklace that he had gifted her for her birthday a few years prior. Her earrings- or “something borrowed” were small gold embezzled diamonds from her mother. For Allie’s bouquet, she loved adding sentimental elements from her and Juan’s family. Tucked in the ribbon of her bouquet, she carried her grandmother’s rosary beads, a pin composed of pearls from Juan’s mother’s veil, and a handkerchief from Juan’s grandmother. For her hair styling- Allie chose a low-swept bun with classic bronzed bridal makeup, going after more peachy and gold tones.
For her second look, Allie chose a pearl-encrusted and sequin-embellished strapless mini by Watters. She updated her shoes to white Manolo Blahnik stilettos. Allie’s hair was swooped into a high ponytail for the rest of the evening.
For the welcome party, Allie embraced the authentic tropical feel of the event. She wore a linen raffia detailed white maxi strapless dress by Alexis, and for her accessories, the Bottega Veneta mini intrecciato leather clutch. Allie looked everywhere for the perfect playful statement earring – until she found these Saint Laurent Cassandre palm tree earrings. They felt like the perfect touch of tropics to match the gorgeous beachfront backdrop. For her second look, she needed to be prepared to dance in the sand into the evening; for this, she chose the Blanca Triangle Neck Dress in White Sequin from The New Arrivals by Ilkyaz Ozel. For this event, she decided to wear her hair down with more casual beachy waves, in juxtaposition to her updo’s the following day.
For the Rehearsal brunch on Friday- Allie wore a palm guipure mini by Colombian designer Andrés Otalora.
On Thursday’s beach party, Allie wore a white linen gingham printed Cult Gaia maxi dress with a Zimmerman belted textured bikini.
Juan wore a bespoke Cad and the Dandy peach suit and shirt with Common Projects sneakers at the welcome party. For the wedding, he also wore bespoke Cad and the Dandy ivory dinner jacket tuxedo. He included an outfit change into a custom Small Talk Studio jacket featuring graphics from his Florida and Latin roots.
The bridesmaids wore designer Jenny Yoo in a mix of Whisper Blue gowns. The Maid of Honors wore Bec & Bridge, Sabrina Musayev & Michelle Mason. Getting ready, the bridesmaids all wore Victoria’s Secret satin pajamas. When Allie changed into her second look, she also requested that her bridal party bring a change of dress as well to ensure that everyone was prepared to party the night away! The bridal party then changed into a mix of sequin minis from a variety of designers, including Rotate Birger Christiansen & Retrofete.
The mother of the bride wore a navy one-shoulder gown by Chiara Boni, and the Aunt of the groom wore a bespoke strapless emerald green embellished gown.
The groomsmen all wore black tuxedos.
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[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”][/field]
[field title=”Groomsman Attire”][/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Wedding Party”]
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[board_carousel title=”Ceremony”]
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[board_carousel title=”Cocktail Hour”]
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[section title=”The Details”]
[field title=”Food & Drink”]Appetizers – Cocktail Hour
– Tuna Pizza
– Mini Serrano Ham Sandwich
– Iberian Ham Croquettes
– Plantain Cups with Beef
– Crab Croquette
– Mushroom Truffle Croquette
Dinner Stations
– Argula Salad with Goat Cheese and Yellow Plantain
– Lentil Salad
– Shrimp Salad with Passion Fruit Dressing
– Stuffed Chicken Breast with Spinach
– Beef Filet (with mushroom, peppercorn and chimichurri sauces on the side)
– Pork Milanesa wit Cheese and Pomodoro Sauce (kitchen to make presentation as elegant as possible)
– Red Snapper in Champagne Sauce
– Seafood Risotto
– Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli
– Rice with Leek, bacon and yellow plantain
– Rosemary Potatoes
– Grilled vegetables
– Cauliflower au Gratin
Mini Desserts
– Passion Fruit Cheesecake
– Chocolate Truffles
– Tiramisu
– Chocolate Mousse
– Vanilla and Salted Caramel Mille-feuille[/field]
[field title=”Florals & Decor”]From Claire Durán: Allie and Juan’s floral and decor was so much fun for our design team to develop. They were happy to take risks, to be eclectic, to let us dream big in combining different textures and colores, in ways that we knew would come together formidably.
For the ceremony, since it took place in a very classic looking area, in a setting that replicates an old mediterranean village, we kept things more traditional (yet with a twist). Since the venue was so neutral, and since we were going to be quite bold in the reception, we kept the color palette of the ceremony fully neutral, in white, creams and greens, which popped up beautifully under the Caribbean sun.
For the Reception, we worked on the space transformation for over a week. The venue was an ocean front private villa, over which we built up a clear roof supported by greenery and metal covered structure. But the bigger feat was covering the sizable pool to create more seating space. We did it in a way that the floor would be at the same level as the existing floor surrounding the pool so guests wouldn’t have even guessed a pool was underneath.
For the specific details, the main icon of inspiration was the bird of paradise flower, Allie’s favorite, which we incorporated subtly into different elements (the columns at the entrance, the wedding menues etc). We wanted to have different setup for tables, as opposed to all the same, and have a diversity of linens or surfaces, chairs and table top options. Moreover, we wanted to create an atmosphere were wood, fabric, metal, marble, mirrors, all wood blend in to give plenty of dimension to the space. We also created contrast by combining curves and sharp edges in equal measures.
Finally, the clients live in NYC and love the scene there, just as much as they love the Caribbean tropical flare. So we worked on creating tropical ephemeral gardens that further complemented the vegetation already in the house, and brought in disco lights, chandeliers and other modern elements to bring that vision to life.
Not only did we rent lots of the elements, but we also worked really closely with a fabulous studio (Eccentrico) to create beautiful custom structures from scratch: their bar, the red metal columns covers, all elements in the stage, fake boulders, entrance columns, etc. [/field]
[field title=”Wedding Cake”]Ceremonial Cake just for the Bride and Groom
Vanilla with dulce de leche
Cakes (served only, not displayed) for guests:
– Vanilla dulce de leche
or
– Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chips [/field]
[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”]READINGS
Tobit 8:4b-8
Psalm 148:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-13a, 13c-14a
Corinthians 1 12:31–13:8a
CEREMONY MUSIC (String Quartet + Soprano)
– Prelude: What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
– Prelude: Here comes the Sun – The beatles
– Prelude: Dreams – The Cranberries
– Groom & Groomsmen’s Processional: Yiruma – River Flows InYou
– Bridesmaids and Children’s Processional: Canon in D-Pachelbel
– Bride and Father of the Bride’s Processional: Felix Mendelssohn–Marcha Nupcial
– Recessional: Love is in the Air-John Paul Young
Mass Music:
– Aleluya: Alleluia- Il Divo
– Rings: Ave Maria-Franz Schubert
– Presentation of Gifts: O Salutaris-Beethoven
– Saint: Sanctus- Franz Schubert
– Holy Father: Padre Nuestro-católico
– Peace: Hazme un Instrumento de tu paz- San Francisco de Asis
– Lamb of God: Cordero de Dios
– Communion: The Prayer-Andrea Boccelli
– Witness Signing: Somos Novios-Armando Manzanero[/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #1″]Almost all the speeches included mentions of Juan’s late mother, Marta Rendon, who made a profound impact on Juan and also Juan and Allie’s relationship. As part of her Colombian background, Allie wanted to represent that although the festivities were taking place in the D.R. by gifting Juan an original Fernando Botero lithograph that she won at an auction months ago.
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[field title=”Special Detail #2″]While the wedding withdrawal is real after a euphoric weekend, they could not have wished for a better wedding weekend surrounded by 300 of their family and friends who traveled from Europe to South America and across the U.S. to celebrate with them. The wedding perfectly encapsulated who they are as a couple, celebrating every moment, dancing for hours on end, and filling rooms with the love they share. The best reflection of this was the new friends and relationships that were made along the wedding weekend that have already started blooming in the weeks after.
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[field title=”Special Detail #3″][/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Couple Portraits”]
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[board_carousel title=”Reception”]
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[iframe http://player.vimeo.com/video/927263494 600 338]
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Photography: Samm Blake | Videography: Rice And Roses | Design: Eccentrico Studio | Event Planning: Claire Duran Weddings And Events | Floral Design: Nab.rd | Flowers: NAB Designs | Ceremony Venue: Casa de Campo Resort | Reception Venue: Casa de Campo Resort | Makeup Artist: Fjorella Pllumbaj | DJ: DJ Salute | DJ: DJ Pat Lok | String Quartet: Batuta by Pablo Polanco | Cocktail Hour Venue: Casa de Campo Resort | Hair Styling: Michelle Flaz | Linens: Nuage Designs | Rentals: Eventos y Alquileres del Cibao | Rentals: Divano Luxury Furniture Rental
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