Travel writer Jacqueline Neves (a.k.a. J.Q. Louise) and Drew Sabia have been together since their senior year at Phillips Exeter Academy in 2010. Eight years later, during a trip through the Rheingau wine region in Germany for Drew’s birthday, he proposed at the pink, Baroque Biebrich Castle.
Rome was an easy choice for the wedding, as the two have traveled and studied extensively throughout Italy, having lived there for six months. And to help plan everything, they hired U.S.-based planner Cristen Faherty of Cristen & Co.
Even though they were saying “I do” in Europe, the couple wanted as many details as possible to have connections to their home base of Boston. They started with their save the dates, which were commissioned from Boston artist Markus Sebastiano and featured the statue Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss by Antonio Canova. “I wanted to take inspiration from the classical time period, since I studied both Latin and Greek while at Exeter, where Drew and I met,” J.Q. says. Then, taking the color scheme from Sebastiano’s multimedia piece, The Paper Perfectionist created the full invitation suite.
After not being able to find what she wanted and having trouble articulating to bridal stylists, J.Q. went the custom route and created two wedding looks with Firas Yousif of Firas Yousif Originals in Boston’s Back Bay—one was a hooded long sleeve coat and the other was an off-white strapless gown. For shoes, the bride went to her friend at Christian Louboutin Boston and picked out the Follies Strass 100mm pumps. And for beauty, she already had her glam squad in mind before the big day. J.Q. flew out Haley Navarro for makeup and went to Federico Salon for hair, which was conveniently located right across from her hotel.
Drew looked handsome in a black tuxedo from Indochino, Christian Louboutin loafers, and a Rolex. The groom’s brother and best man, Connor, and the bride’s brother and groomsman, Jared, also wore Indochino tuxedos, and the bride’s sister and maid of honor, Juliana wore an Opening Ceremony top and MIAU by Clara Rotescu skirt for the ceremony.
The festivities began on Friday evening at the Sofitel Roma Villa Borghese for a welcome party to bring everyone together after traveling from all over the world. Guests enjoyed wine, cocktails, and lots of Roman bites as the sun set over the Borghese Gardens.
On the Saturday morning of the traditional Catholic matrimonial mass, the bride was eager to see her floral arrangements by Noosheens in the church. “We gave Noosheen and her team the creative freedom to design what they thought would be best,” J.Q. says. “My breath was taken away the moment I entered the church.”
Following the service, guests had time to explore the city and change into evening looks—metallics were highly recommended. Then, everyone gathered at the Hotel Hassler for the cocktail hour and reception. The party began in the Palm Court Courtyard on the ground level, where classical statues were dotted around the space and Nosheens had created some very Instagrammable moments with luscious installations.
Dinner was held on the rooftop terrace, overlooking the Spanish Steps, with white, pink, and gold roses decorating the mirrored table. The balcony was also covered in greenery to give a garden feel. The classic Italian meal featured burrata, carbonara-style risotto, an amatriciana pasta, and beef filet, and ended with the Hassler’s signature tiramisu and, of course, a beautiful wedding cake. “It truly felt like a luxe dinner party on the top of Rome, just as we wanted it to,” the bride says.
Guests continued to celebrate on the rooftop until a bit after midnight, and then the bride made a late-night change into a white sheath and tiara, before everyone headed to the Rome edition of the London favorite club Toy Room for the after-party. “Guests partied until 5:00 a.m., which was actually 6am because Day Light Savings rolled back the clocks an hour!”
