A Romantic, Modern Wedding At the American Trade Hotel in Panama City, Panama

Ana Gabriela Pastor and Alexandre Klein first met in Paris, France at a club called Showcase. Alex, who is French, was in Paris working for Dior, while Ana was living there for college. It was love at first sight, and the two discovered a mutual passion for fashion and travel, as well as other commonalities. 

“She looked like an exotic beauty I had never seen before,” Alex says. “Right away, I told my friend Victor that she was the one. Five years later, he was the witness at our wedding.” On the eve of their four-year anniversary, Alex proposed at the Waldorf Astoria in Panama.

During the wedding planning process, the couple sought out the best wedding planner in Panama and enlisted the help of Judy Mendez Amado of Mendez, Amado and Associates. With a year to plan the perfect wedding, Ana and her mother were in constant meetings with the decorator, musicians, photographer, caterer, and a slew of other vendors.

Proper planning and organization paid off, as the bride enjoyed a relaxing morning on the day of the wedding. One of her favorite moments was walking down the aisle with her dad. It was a personal and intimate ceremony, and the priest was a friend of the family–the same priest who married her parents 29 years before, and baptized her. The couple chose the polyphonic chorus of Panama to sing during the ceremony as well, which set the perfect mood in the San Felipe de Neri Church.

For the wedding, 35 guests flew in from around the world (particularly France) for the destination affair. The couple envisioned a romantic, modern, and voluptuous wedding with an all-white color palette. Floral arrangements of tulips, hydrangeas, baby’s breath, roses, lilies, and orchids were used–all, in white–and created a romantic, modern setting. The bride also wanted a large, eye-catching round piece to be a focal point above the dance floor, so a stunning floral chandelier was designed as well.

A delectable wedding feast was open for guests to enjoy throughout the entire night, from 8pm to 5am. The menu included prime rib, shrimp, ceviche, live chefs making risotto and pasta, a cheese table, and a dessert table with several large cakes and miniature desserts. For drinks, an open bar was offered along with a champagne fountain and ice sculptures. “I really wanted to do something different,” says the bride. “Since our favorite drink is mojitos, we had a mojito bar serving classic, strawberry, and passion fruit mojitos to our guests.”

During the reception, a famous Panamanian music group performed along with a live orchestra and DJ, keeping the party going until 6am. Two days later, the newlyweds hosted a farewell activity for their overseas guests by chartering a mega yacht to take everyone to Contadora–one of Panama’s most beautiful islands.

For their first honeymoon, Ana and Alex traveled to Japan. They also plan to visit Australia and New Zealand in 2016.