The Bride Wore an Ostrich-Feather Skirt and a Corset for Her Colorful Three-Day Wedding in Seville

On Saturday, Alexandra and Stefan wed at Casa De Pilatos, a 16th-century Andalusian palace. “I have always found courtyards enchanting, so I knew I wanted to hold my wedding in a series of courtyards. Robbins Otoya suggested we look for venues in Seville, which is a city full of courtyards. When we began searching for locations, one of our planners, Luis Otoya, described the aesthetic we were going for as ‘crumbly’ since we didn’t want the venue to look too perfect,” Alexandra says. “Casa de Pilatos is unassuming from the outside, but my jaw dropped when we walked in and I knew we had found what we were looking for: a stunning palace with many courtyards, lots of color, and the perfect amount of crumble.”

Alexandra wore a Monique Lhullier ostrich-feather ball skirt paired with a strapless corset, as well as a rhinestone-and-pearl veil. As an added statement, she accessorized with diamond-and-emerald drop earrings from Anmol Jewellers in Mumbai.

Her father walked her down the aisle to Pachelbel’s “Canon in D.” She met Stefan, wearing a Sarto Bespoke tuxedo, under a flower arch of bougainvilleas, peonies, and garden roses. Before their ceremony commenced, their officiant Reverend Jim Rooney asked the guests to “mingle.” “Reverend Jim opened the ceremony by asking all of our guests to move across the aisle and to introduce themselves to someone that they didn’t know,” Alexandra explains. “I had never experienced this before and was a bit skeptical at first, but I am so glad that we did it. The mingling gave me and Stefan a brief moment to ourselves, and also it added a warm and convivial atmosphere to the ceremony.”

Instead of traditional vows, the couple instead asked Reverend Jim to share the story of how they met. The ceremony reached its emotional apex when Stefan’s daughter, Lara, joined the couple at the altar. “Lara stood in between us for much of the ceremony. We shared our first kiss as husband and wife with Lara standing in between us and playing with the feathers of my skirt,” Alexandra says. “It was also important to us that she be part of the ceremony as well since this was the moment that the three of us officially became a family.”

After the ceremony, cocktail hour began in the walled garden of Casa de Pilatos. Here, a menu of creative libations took center stage: “Because of our family business, the cocktails were a particularly important part of our festivities. We created 20 signature cocktail recipes for the weekend (each event had distinct cocktails) and trucked a pallet of spirits from Poland. The recipes were created by Chopin’s in-house mixologist, Artur Wawrzyszczak, who is a true genius,” Alexandra says. As the evening grew later, guests wandered in awe into the main courtyard for dinner, where they served a watermelon gazpacho with idiazabal cheese ice cream, lobster salad, and wild sea bass.

A sweet piece de resistance? The couple’s six-foot, two-flavor cake, complete with vodka-infused strawberries by France-based bakery Made in Cake. “I didn’t want a traditional all-white wedding cake, so we added hand-made coral-colored flowers made of rice paper, and frosting squiggles for a bit of extra fun,” says Alexandra.

Then, it was time for the after-party. Alexandra and Stefan converted the former carriage house of Casa de Pilatos into what she describes as a “jungle cathedral” with large banana leaf trees and hundreds of candles. Robbins and Otoya also constructed a bar, meant to resemble the altar at the Chiesa di San Pietro Apostolo church in Bergamo, Italy. “The altar bar was so convincing that quite a few guests thought we were in an actual church,” the bride says. Outside, the couple created a carnival-like market complete with late-night snack stands serving grilled cheese, ice cream, and churros, while the magician Pete Heat played tricks on thrilled guests.

At that point in the night, Alexandra changed into a custom gold strapless sequined mini dress by Emilia Wickstead. “I wanted something that was short, sparkly, and fun but still timeless,” she says. Turns out, it fit perfectly with the festive occasion: The dance floor went on until 3 a.m.

The next morning, the couple culminated their wedding weekend with a farewell Sunday brunch at the Hotel Palacio de Villapanés. It was Alexandra’s vision to have the courtyard resemble an orange grove—but since orange season is the winter, her planners hung 300 styrofoam oranges on trees instead. Her father brought two six-liter bottles of Chopin Potato Vodka for guests to sign before they departed. “It was like our version of a guest book and something we will treasure for years to come,” she says. Alexandra wore a coral Carolina Herrera dress adorned with red flowers and a green palm print.

Months later, Alexandra says she and Stefan are still filled with so much appreciation for all the effort that went into their big day. “I feel overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone who brought our celebration to life,” she says. “From our planners who helped us realize our vision, to all the vendors who executed flawlessly, to our wonderful friends and family that created such a joyful, convivial atmosphere. And above all, we feel lucky to have a new family.”