Giovanna Campagna, previously at Vogue and W and current founder of upcoming Latin American-inspired beauty brand La Curuba, and Oliver Garthwaite met through mutual friends, while they were both living in New York after college. “He is from London and went to Oxford, but he became close with a group of my Princeton classmates when he moved here, so we crossed paths quite a bit. We even threw a big joint birthday party together in 2014, as our birthdays are a day apart,” Giovanna says.
He moved back to London in 2016, and they stayed in touch, often catching up at their friends’ weddings. However, when Giovanna went to London right before Christmas time in 2018, their relationship shifted into something more romantic.
Early into dating, they decided they were ready to start a family, and in September, they were excited to find out they were expecting a daughter, who is due this May. The official proposal then happened in December at their home. “Had you asked us two years ago, neither one of us would have ever imagined we’d be married with a daughter on the way… but I guess that is what makes life exciting!” she says.
For their winter wedding, the couple decided to host an intimate ceremony at Giovanna’s parents’ apartment uptown. “I love that our marriage license has our home address on it—it will always be my happy place,” she says. Following the “I do,” they threw their reception dinner in the library of the Racquet and Tennis Club on Park Ave.
As the bride started out in special events at Vogue, she decided to plan the whole thing herself with some help from her mother and sister, Gabriella. For florals, she worked with Rawan Rihani of Aurora Botanica to create romantic, overflowing pieces, and Crystal Ochoa illustrated the most beautiful menus, place cards, and custom crest.
On the day of, Giovanna put on her Dolce & Gabbana white lace midi dress (which complemented her visible baby bump), her mother’s multi-colored Bulgari bracelet, and fuchsia Tiffany & Co. earrings. Her mother’s close friend, Nancy Gonzalez, gave the bride one of her white bags to wear, which they embellished with fresh flowers. “I finished off my look with simple, nude, pointed-toe pumps by Aquazzura (another Colombian designer – always trying to represent!),” Giovanna says. And her friend and makeup artist, Natalia Mejia, took care of her beauty look and even placed a few of the flowers from her bouquet into her hairstyle.
The intimate, living room ceremony, with just around 10 people present, was officiated by Giovanna’s close college friend, Mark Guiducci, who put together a thoughtful address before leading the couple into their vows. Once married, they signed the marriage license and champagne flowed.
At the Racquet and Tennis Club, the newly married couple toasted with 80 more guests before heading into the library for dinner. “My mother is Colombian, and has a huge extended family, so a good portion of our guests were our wonderful cousins, aunts, and uncles,” Giovanna says.
For entertainment, a Salsa band that the mother of the bride invites to play at a lot of her gatherings provided lively music for everyone. “It wouldn’t have been the same without them, and we needed a genuine Latin touch for an otherwise very New York venue!” Giovanna says. And after dinner, their chocolate crême fraiche wedding cake, by Luckybird Bakery, layered with berries and vanilla cream was brought out—“it was honestly the most delicious cake I’ve ever tried, I am still craving it!” she says.
The new Mr. and Mrs. are saving their first dance for a bigger celebration in Cali, Colombia, where Giovanna’s mother is from, in the not-so-distant future. “It will likely be more of a weekend of festivities than a traditional wedding, but it will mean a lot to me to host all of the people we love in Cali and show them the beautiful, tropical paradise that exists down there.”
