The Bride Designed Her Two-Piece Wedding Dress for This Earthy Modern Wedding in Downtown São Paulo

Organic design met urban beauty in this breathtaking São Paulo, Brazil wedding, and we can’t stop thinking about it.

“We got married in the heart of our city,” say Caroline + Vinicius, “in a small – but cool – restaurant, surrounded by historic buildings, lots of gray, and lots of love on a beautiful sunny winter afternoon.”

(To those of us up in the northern hemisphere, a reminder that Caroline + Vinicius’ July wedding date is in fact a winter wedding where they tied the knot in Brazil!)

“We are a very urban couple, we truly love the city, the nightlife, music and the gastronomy… and that was the essence we wanted to share with our friends and family. That’s why it was so important to find the venue that represented all of this,” share the newlyweds of their choice to gather their friends + fam at hip eatery Parador Renata surrounded by the downtown São Paulo skyline.

The delicious design inspo for their deep yet earthy color-rich aesthetic? Figs. 

“From this fruit, the entire wedding aesthetic was built,” says Lara of Sonhos Altos Fotografia. “They used its rich color spectrum — from green to deep burgundy — to create an intense and sophisticated palette. In the decor, this universe was expanded with elements like cabbages, radicchios, and radishes, which added texture and depth while reinforcing the concept in an original way.”

We’re in awe of the way event designer Lori Baroni and planner Hellen Rocha collaborated to bring Caroline + Vinicius’ fig-fueled vision to life with such a distinct blend of earthiness, abundance, and uniquely modern mono-color minimalism.

Let’s take a peek!

First of all: THIS DRESS. Bride Caroline is a fashion designer and dreamed up this fabulously feathery two-piece look herself. The off-the-shoulder top and high slit skirt utilized 20 meters of feathers, 1,500 crystals, and 8 meters of fabric.

“Even though I’m a fashion designer, I never had the dream of making my own wedding dress,” Caroline explains. “It never crossed my mind. It was something that grew on me throughout the process.”

“I visited countless stores and tried on many dresses, but all of them made me feel like a character in a story that wasn’t mine. That’s when I decided to start from scratch and bring in my own identity and originality.”

“For me, the couple’s attire is almost like part of the décor, everything needed to make sense together. It was the best decision I could have made, and the result still takes my breath away.”

“My husband chose a very beautiful graphite Loro Piana suit,” Caroline says, “leaning towards a more classic style.”

A Ceremony In the City

“For the ceremony, a dramatic installation was created: a tower climbing up the pool staircase, made of cabbages, grasses, carnations, and anthuriums,” Lara of Sonhos Altos Fotografia recalls of Poppy Flower’s abundant + sculptural floral design. “A bold setting, designed to dialogue with the architecture of downtown São Paulo and the couple’s daring style.”

We love when couples abandon the traditional wedding chair and get creative with their ceremony seating! The sleek modern ceremony vibe truly pops against the iconic São Paulo skyline.

Our Musical Choices
Processional
Carla Bruni – Quelqu’un m’a dit
Recessional
The Smiths – There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
First Dance
We drop the formal first dance. Instead, we opened the dancefloor right after the toast to the song from Black, a super cool remix of Wonderful Life.

The bride + groom made it official by exchanging wedding rings from Cartier.

A Toast!

This delicate champagne tower was part of the ceremony decor, poised + ready for bubbly. Immediately after the “I do’s” the couple raised a glass with with all their guests.

Our Favorite Memory
The toast was one of the most special moments, where we could see all of our friends and family there, so happy for our wedding, raising their glasses to such a special day. For us. It brings me to tears just to remember that singular moment.

A Rich, Red Reception

There they are! The muse of the entire event’s design: Figs! You can see how the whole color world took its inspiration from their shades deep burgundy and green.

Getting married at one of your favorite restaurants is a great way to guarantee you’ll love the food at your wedding! Parador Renata prepared a beautiful menu for Caroline + Vinicius’s big day.

Loving the way the tablescapes kept things minimalistic and modern but brought the figgy color world to life with details like produce, richly tinted ikebana arrangements, and deep red napkins. Also, how great are the flashy pops of silver from those metallic silver charger plates.

VERY into this funky semi-formal wedding guest look! When in doubt: fringe.

If you’re as obsessed with Caroline’s bridal silhouette as we are, you’ll love our collection of the best two-piece wedding dresses and bridal separates.

And — if you’re not a fashion designer extraordinaire like Caroline — you can shop this look from Anthropologie for a similarly feathery two-piece vibe.

Camila White did such a beautiful job with Caroline’s shimmery neutral wedding makeup look and effortless bridal updo.

The day’s desserts included sweets by Petite Fleur Patisserie…

…as well as three darling, fig-covered wedding cakes by Choux.

“On the dessert table, they broke away from the traditional format,” Lara says of this densely floral dessert situation. “A composition of organic modules was used, with lots of movement created by solitary calla lilies and a garden of grasses and orchids.”

We’ve got a big crush on the calla lily at the moment. This drapey, ivory wedding and this intimate New Orleans wedding are two of our other favorite examples of celebrations that let calla lilies lead the floral vibe like Caroline + Vinicius did here.

Our Advice
Don’t be afraid to be original. Don’t be afraid to be authentic. This is one of the most special moments when you’ll likely have everyone you love around you, enjoying the day to the fullest. Do everything exactly the way you’ve always dreamed of, because in the end it only needs to make sense to you and the person you love… and I guarantee it will be one of your best memories.

Congratulations to the happy couple! Caroline + Vinicius: your earthy, modern São Paulo wedding was simply stunning. Best wishes from GWS!