A mutual friend’s brunch brought Yesenia Gonzalez and Canon Patel together, and two years later, he proposed during her family’s Spanish vacation. As they were dining cliffside in Mallorca, he dropped to one knee and organized a videographer and hidden microphones, so they could truly relive the moment she said yes.
Once engaged, the couple jumped at the opportunity to host their destination wedding weekend at Villa Miani in their favorite country, Italy. The three-day Indian-Colombian celebration started with a sangeet and mehndi on day one. The Hindu wedding followed with the Western vows and reception taking place on day three. To bring their multi-cultural fête to life, the couple enlisted the help of Simona Parisi of Brilliant Wedding, and photographer Rossini and videographer Lumiere Wedding Films lensed every moment, big and small.
For the pre-wedding events at La Lanterna, Yesenia chose a colorful custom lehenga by Papa Don’t Preach, while the groom was dressed in Amaare. Apsaras applied beautiful, traditional henna. The next day, the couple both wore bespoke Tarun Tahiliani ivory looks. The bridal party matched in light pink lenghas, while groomsmen wore Indo-Western kurtas in a mint green.
On May 10, 2025, the festivities started with the baraat, then the Indian ceremony commenced in the secret garden. “The ceremony followed many Indian and Hindu traditions but in an abridged version,” Yesenia explains. “I felt honored to be able to share Canon’s traditions with my family, and my traditions with his.”
The following day, Yesenia donned a custom Brandon Maxwell wedding dress for the Western service on the front lawn. “Because I wore a veil for the Indian wedding, I wanted to distinguish this ceremony by wearing a cape,” she explains. The design also featured a pearl neckline, which was fully idealized by the bride. And throughout the weekend, makeup artist Inna made the bride feel like the best version of herself.
After being announced as married, the newlyweds met their loved ones on the balcony, overlooking Rome, for cocktails. The start to the reception was lively and authentic. “To tie in my heritage, we started the night off with a rumba slow dance to the song ‘Amor de Mi Vida,'” the bride recalls. Then, they enjoyed a delicious multi-course dinner from Relais Le Jardin at a sweethearts table, decorated with florals by Andrea Patrizi.
Later on, the couple cut their tiered cake, as La Pirotecnica sparklers went off above and the Interstellar score was played by DJ Amraj of Kudos Music. The rest of the evening featured “plenty of chair lifts, Aquardiente—Colombian anise-flavored liquor—and the groom’s favorite 1942,” Yesenia shares.
At 11 p.m., the 200 guests moved into the Salone Veneziano for the after-party. “The icing on the cake was our salsa dance to Bad Bunny’s ‘Nuevayol,’” the bride remembers.
“After planning a three-day multicultural wedding in Italy, from New York, we were exhausted,” Yesenia laughs. “We really needed the two nights of 12 hours uninterrupted sleep after our wedding.” They postponed a honeymoon to the fall, when they headed to Japan to sightsee and enjoy delicious food—fully rested and refreshed.
