Getting Married & Getting Away: Newlyweds Sara Everest & Kate McConnell on their Argentine Destination Wedding with Fabulous Weddings!
Tuesday
Forget wedding planning, we’re out adventuring in a foreign land! Our first check box was swinging by the hospital to make sure we didn’t have syphilis. Strangely everyone marrying in Argentina must do this. The hospital waiting room felt more like a DMV than a doctor’s office but with Leti at the reins we were in and out of there in no time. She may have told the receptionist we were celebrities because before making our exit we all posed for a picture together, taken with her cell phone.
Before arriving in Buenos Aires we expressed concerns about outfitting ourselves for the trip and the ceremony and Leti connected us with Shop Hop BA. We booked Sophie, our very own personal shopper. Sophie knew we wouldn’t have a ton of time to shop, that our budget was tight and that I’m historically a terrible shopper but she wasn’t fazed. Ahh today could have been a disaster but it was a wild success, Sophie, you angel with an English accent.
Imagine vintage shops and stores like secret chambers, nearly invisible from the outside until Sophie spoke the magic words and the owner buzzed us in. We visited wonderful people and place all across Buenos Aires that are of course always open to the public but that would have been nearly impossible to find without Sophie. The trip got off to a great start when we had the pleasure of meeting a fourth generation jeweler Yanina Fayur at her shop, Oleana. Unbeknownst to me, Sara and Yanina have been planning the design of my wedding ring to complement Sara’s. Sara had already made the decision to keep her engagement ring as her wedding ring. (Interestingly enough, the aquamarine stone I gave her that signifies the month we met is a South American stone and the color of the Argentine flag – cool right?) We didn’t come to see the finished ring, only to meet the woman who is crafting it. I found her to be incredibly smart and passionate and we’re thrilled she has been pulled into the magic of our wedding. With Leti, Sophie and Yanina our wedding dream team is harnessing some pretty awesome and powerful female energy!
We hit all the right places after Oleana and found success left and right. Sara got a wedding dress I’m not allowed to see yet. She found it at LuLu Vintage and is as giddy as a school girl over it! My lesbian wedding outfit revealed itself late in the afternoon when a blue blazer came down from heaven and was passed into my hands by DELEON. Somehow Sophie knew what I was looking for despite my inability to articulate it and for that, this non-shopper is eternally grateful! And just when I thought I was spent Sophie swung us into an awesome leather shop called b.lit (www.blitbags.com) where I picked up my favorite souvenir – a handbag made of the finest Argentine leather, sold to me by the handsome and talented gay man who designed it and the exchange went down straight out of his living room, I might add.
Knowing our lesbian wedding attire is both collected and coordinated makes tonight’s outing fun and stress free. We’re off to tango!