Andreina De Abreu and Daniel Lombardo met ten years ago in high school, after an unfortunate car accident. Daniel was in the car with one of Andreina’s friends, and news of the collision quickly circulated around campus. When the two boys returned to school, Andreina went to greet her friend and Daniel was with him.
“Every morning, I would come and talk to him,” Andreina explains, “and for Daniel it felt like we knew each other for the longest time. After a couple months of talking and going to the gym together with our common friend, I gave him my phone number. From then on, we never stopped talking.”
“AFTER VISITING PORTO, PORTUGAL, WE FELL IN LOVE NOT ONLY WITH THE CITY BUT WITH THE VENUE AND THE CHURCH.”
On June 12, 2011, Andreina and Daniel became an official couple. The two spent the next several years growing together and creating countless memories – all, leading up to January 2, 2018. While spending New Year’s Eve in NYC with Daniel’s family, Daniel told Andreina they’d be going ice skating at Rockefeller Center with VIP tickets that granted them extra time on the ice with some great photo ops.
“The Rockefeller staff cleared everyone from the rink, making me think that it was because of our VIP ticket,” Andreina shares. “And then our song started playing – ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran. I was so confused as to what was going on; but when I turned, I saw Daniel was on one knee, asking me to marry him. It was one of the most special moments of our lives.”
Following their engagement, Daniel and Andreina embarked on an incredible wedding planning experience that spanned nearly two years. Grace from Red Velvet Productions orchestrated the details, and everything started coming together for a dream destination wedding in Porto, Portugal. With Daniel’s family being from Italy and Andreina’s coming from Portugal, a European wedding filled with palaces, culture, and architecture was the perfect fit for them.
“After visiting Porto, Portugal, we fell in love not only with the city but with the venue and the church,” Andreina describes. “It was perfect! As an architect, I wanted to have every aspect thought through, and we did that with the expertise and amazing help from Grace. I couldn’t have done it without her. She took care of every detail; but more than that, she made everything unique, special, and incorporated things we’ve never seen before.”
The couple’s destination wedding in Porto was romantic, chic, and had an ambiance of royalty. White flowers were offset by gold mirrored tables, and the dessert table was a custom design that Andreina and Grace created together. Guests were served a carefully selected menu with expert wine pairings chosen by a sommelier and enjoyed a special musical surprise – an opera intermezzo during dinner.
“After the most amazing day of our lives, we had planned to enjoy an amazing honeymoon,” says Andreina. “Daniel is a safari person; he loves animals. I love the beach, so we divided our honeymoon to have the best of both worlds. We started our honeymoon by flying into South Africa, where we spent five days at Naledi Lodge which is a beautiful private hotel inside Kruger National Park. It was a one-of-a-kind experience and I ended up loving it so much that we are planning on going back. Next stop was Mauritius. It was time to relax, so what better place was there than the Shangri-La Hotel to enjoy the tranquility of the white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters. Our honeymoon was perfect – we enjoyed the culinary culture of all these places, we met other people, we danced through the night, and most importantly, we enjoyed ourselves.”
WEDDING TALENT
Planner & Event Design: Red Velvet Productions Miami, FL
