Juliana Ribeiro and André Lima have known each other since their youth. The vice president of fashion and lifestyle at Black Frame PR and the neurologist first met through their families who just happened to be friends. “He and I were never really close,” the Brazilian-born Ribeiro explains. “But years later, we reconnected at my parents’ home during their New Year’s Eve party,” she adds. “That was when our relationship started, and we dated for two years before he proposed.” As fate would have it, the pair’s engagement, on Ribeiro’s 30th birthday, happened in the exact spot where they met. As she remembers, “my grandmother and mother knew what was about to happen because they helped design the ring, and our other family members and friends had a feeling it would happen on my birthday, especially after he showed up with a small box in his pocket. Turns out, the box was actually a pair of earrings for me, so I was a bit disappointed when I opened them. However, much later, around 2:00 a.m., we were dancing, and he whispered ‘Will you marry me?’ in my ear.” long evening dresses That was in November. In December, Ribeiro became pregnant and they began planning their wedding for May. “I never dreamed of a big wedding, nor did I have any specifics in mind,” Ribeiro notes. “But I did know that I wanted to get married in this church in Lisbon, where my parents have an apartment, at a monastery called Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. I first saw it when I was 15 and thought it was so beautiful.” As fate had it once again, Lima’s family is Portuguese, and their setting could not have been more perfect. long prom dresses The ceremony at the church was traditional, with a soloist singing classic wedding hymns alongside a children’s chorus. “It was such a special moment for me to see all my friends and family together in one place,” Ribeiro says. “The ceremony felt very intimate, even though the church was very grand and the outside was filled with tourists.” The bride wore a classic white satin gown with a long cape that was embroidered by her great aunt to include her mother’s old veil. Her hair was in a low bun, embellished with a vintage beaded headpiece, and she wore only her mother’s small pearl and diamond earrings and her wedding band. wedding dresses online Once the ceremony was over, the newlyweds and their guests headed to the reception at the nearby Palácio do Conde d’óbidos. “I really love the Portuguese culture and aesthetic,” Ribeiro says. “This old palace on the river has the traditional blue-and-white tiles, and since the decor is already so amazing, I didn’t have to do much else to the space.” She did, however, have the napkins and tablecloths printed with the same motif as the tiles, and matched her orchids and hydrangeas to the white and blue hues. The reception actually began at 3:00 p.m. and went until 3:00 a.m., and when dinner was served sometime in between, guests were treated to classic Portuguese fare like veal, codfish baked with potatoes and eggs, and a native sweet called pastel de crema. During dinner, the bridesmaids presented a film they’d made that showcased the newlyweds as children and then their story as a happy couple. Later came what Ribeiro called, “the biggest surprise of the evening.” “André, my uncle, my cousin, and two friends did a fully choreographed dance that no one had a clue about,” she says. “My husband actually hired a professional to teach him a dance to a special remix of all the cheesiest Bruno Mars love songs, and for the guys who weren’t in Brazil with him at the time, he taped himself doing the dance to send to them so they could practice,” she adds. “He’s a neurologist and pretty serious most of the time, so this was incredibly funny.” Though Lima’s performance certainly took the cake, the DJ had everyone from Ribeiro’s grandfather to her little cousins on the dance floor too. And at dusk, all of the guests gathered outside to release lit balloons into the sky for good luck. After, while the music raged on, something seemed to slip Ribeiro and Lima’s minds. “We were so excited to dance with all of our friends and family that we actually forgot to do the first dance,” Ribeiro remembers. “Our first dance was actually the last song of the evening, and it was a Caetano Veloso song that played on the radio during our first date—the perfect ending to a happy day.”