While swiping on Bumble, Christina Napolitano saw that Emilia Monell’s profile featured a French bulldog like her own, and it was a match! After nearly two years together, Emilia was the first to propose—Chris followed with her own question a month later. “We each wanted to give each other a proposal entirely designed for them,” Emilia shares.
Wanting to propose first, Emilia whisked Chris away to Asheville, North Carolina, to an Airbnb atop a mountain, overlooking a valley. “I had once told Emilia that I wanted to live in the valley from the Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing bottle, and she took that to heart in the planning process!” Chris smiles. Emilia proposed on Saturday, as the sun set. “It was bliss.”
Chris’s proposal was during Pride Weekend in NYC. Emilia thought they were going to a disco concert in Central Park, but Chris sent her on a city-wide scavenger hunt to all of their favorite places. It led her back to their apartment, which had been transformed with flowers and a rainbow cloud curtain. The final clue instructed Emilia to look across the street at a hotel’s rooftop pool, where her mother, sister, and nephew held up a huge banner reading, “Will you marry me, Emilia?”
Once engaged, the couple booked Valley Rock Inn in the Hudson Valley for their summer wedding. “We planned all of the wedding together, and our dresses were the only thing we kept secret from each other,” Chris shares. “Our initial vision was ‘fresh fruit meets Met Gala,’ which was kind of wild and out there, but we went for it!”
Ashley Douglass Events helped the pair thread the needle of playful yet sophisticated, while Over The Moon The List Photographer Jenny Fu Studio and videographer The Andrews Films lensed every special moment. Over The Moon The List Illustrator Vidhi Dattani Designs set the tone with a nature-inspired invitation suite. “We felt so lucky to work with the entire vendor team, who helped us create a wedding more beautiful than we could have ever imagined,” Emilia shares.
The pre and post-ceremony fashion choices were purposefully bold and colorful. Emilia started the weekend in a sculptural Akira top and Selena London pants, while Chris chose a top by Kim Shui, bottoms by Elsa Anjali, and Mignonne Gavigan earrings.
The next day, Emilia put on her Vera Wang strapless wedding dress, paired with a Justine M. Couture veil. “With regards to jewelry, I only wore two bracelets that my dad had given to my mom, who then gifted them to me,” she explains. “Wearing them made me feel like my dad, who had passed a few years prior, was right there with me throughout the day.”
Chris’s wedding dress was from Australian brand KYHA Studios and paired with a custom embroidered veil by Harriet Flavey and Marie June ear cuffs. “For the ceremony, as I mentioned, I thought I was going to want a sleek, simple dress and went in the total opposite direction,” she smiles. Beth Chapman Styling helped both brides get ready, while Face Time Beauty made them feel like glam versions of themselves.
And they each held bouquets with ladybug charms—a nod to the insect that showed up at pivotal moments during their relationship. “The universe didn’t let us down and was sure to send us some real ladybugs our wedding weekend too: one that landed on Chris’ sister as we all were settling in around the pool the first morning and one outside our wedding planner’s Airbnb door as we were wrapping up the wedding weekend,” Emilia shares.
On August 9, 2025, the brides met amongst their loved ones in the Shade Garden. “It felt like a dream to be in that space surrounded by the people we love, and marrying my favorite person in the world,” Chris shares. “The ceremony was so incredible we actually went back in the space together during cocktail hour for some extra photos and to soak up the magic of being there together.”
The reception unfolded under a Sperry Tent, featuring a floral chandelier by a.p. bio, draping from Social Decor, and a green checkered dance floor. And once the sun set, the brides changed into their second looks. Emilia wore a fun Fleur du Mal bodysuit with fun, textured Selena London pants, while Chris rocked a Moda Glam dress with Nana Wantanabe earrings and Jeffrey Campbell shoes.
The energy levels were high throughout the night with The Evolution Band and DJ INFLYT of Jarrell Entertainment. “I don’t think we ever stopped dancing, except to cut the cake, which was made by Emilia’s Best Woman, Lisa Boyce,” Chris says. There was also a surprise performance by drag artist Kameron Michaels. “I think getting twirled by her on the dance floor is now cemented as one of our top life moments!”
Ahead of the on-site after-party, Chris had an extra outfit change into a final, sparkly Meshki dress with Mignonne Gavigan earrings, and Kate Spade shoes. Artisanal jello shots rounded out the evening completely. “It was the perfect blend of keeping the party going but also being able to sit down with our friends and chat until the wee hours of the night,” Emilia says of the last moments of the wedding day. “We also loved being able to just walk back to our guesthouses at the end!”
