M i a mi W eddin g
Daniela & Justin
After meeting in Las Vegas, a Miami couple hosts a Vizcaya wedding of Sin City proportions. | By Riki Altman-Yee | Photography by Maloman Studios |
October 5, 2013
Despite what those commercials say, sometimes what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay there; it moves to Miami. At least that was the case for attorneys Daniela Fontecilla and Justin Drexler, who met in Sin City four years ago. She was part of a bachelorette party, and Justin was vacationing with some friends, when the two locked eyes at an Encore Beach Club Labor Day event. “It was a very natural union,” she recalls. “We come from different places and different cultures, but there are a lot of similarities that we immediately connected on. All of our friends thought, how did this happen here, of all places?” Since Daniela’s home was in Miami and Justin was based in California, they dated long distance for a few years. Then, one November weekend in 2012, Justin planned a romantic rendezvous at Shore Club South Beach, where he proposed on the balcony of their oceanfront suite. He soon moved across the nation, and the wedding planning commenced. They first considered a private estate on Miami’s luxe Star Island, but eventually decided on a more expansive and lush venue originally suggested by Daniela’s parents: Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, a Gilded Age estate with elaborately landscaped gardens. “We didn’t want it to be stuffy and in a ballroom setting. It was important to us [for it] to be open-air and outdoors, fun and carefree. It’s such a breathtaking place. It takes you out of Miami and makes you feel like you’re in Europe!” Though Daniela said both families were “great” when it came to helping out with the preparations, it was the planner, Joan Love of Love.Style.Events, who made the couple’s nuptial dreams come to life. “She definitely executed my vision and helped facilitate the whole process,” says the bride. Love called on Parrish Designs to help transform one of Miami’s most Mediterranean venues into a modern and glamorous South Beach scene, incorporating lots of glass, mirror-topped tables, candles, white flowers and arching orchids. “I wanted a fun party—that was most important,” Daniela explains. To honor the groom’s Jewish roots, the guests danced the hora. Then they participated in la hora
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From top: Jason dreamed of having a Hublot watch since Daniela met him, so she surprised him with one as a wedding gift; the bride’s mother and two sisters assist with her Monique Lhuillier gown at her parents’ house. Opposite page: Justin and Daniela hold hands in Vizcaya Museum & Garden’s lush, tropical environs.
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Clockwise from top left: The couple’s informal and nontraditional bridal party; delicate candle and paper accessories enhancing the all-white color scheme; Vizcaya’s charming nighttime ambience; the monochromatic, flower-adorned confection; sparkling decor by Bubble Miami and Uplyte; the bride’s emerald-cut ring with hexagonal side stones. Opposite page, from top: Uplyte transformed a simple tent with glittering chandeliers for the reception backdrop; florals by Parrish Designs.
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loca, a Latin tradition involving music and props, which was a tip of the hat to the bride’s Venezuelan background. “I had huge angel-feather wings, and he had a tribal Indian [headdress] thing,” recalls the bride. Other quirky additions to the event included a waterfront hookah smoking area, a sculpture of a naked man with a lamp as his head sitting on a couch, and musical selections ranging from Bob Marley to Deadmau5. Then there was that truly unforgettable moment: “Toward the end of the reception, I saw Justin running downstairs and jumping into the bay, and I followed him,” recalls the bride, who claims she is still picking seaweed out from the layers of her Monique Lhuillier gown. “Keeping true to our personalities, that’s how we spontaneously ended the night. I think we created amazing memories for everyone that came.”
The List Ceremony & Reception Venue Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, Miami Catering A Joy Wallace Decor Bubble Miami; Uplyte Lighting & Staging Uplyte Planner Joan Love, Love.Style.Events Rentals Bubble Miami Calligraphy Invitations by Leston Florals Parrish Designs Accommodations Grove Isle Hotel & Spa; Sonesta Coconut Grove
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Entertainment Capricho-Xavier Gonzalez; DJ Stern; UTP entertainment (bongo man) Gown Monique Lhuillier Headpiece & Veil Chic Parisien, Coral Gables Shoes Jimmy Choo Ring Designer Jewelry by Marsha Groom’s Suit Dolce & Gabbana Hair & Makeup Gina Simone Transportation Ocean Drive Limousine
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