To complement the gown, she wore Manolo Blahnik for Danielle Frankel shoes and a cathedral-length mantilla veil, a cherished family heirloom passed down from her cousin. “There’s something very theatrical about mantilla veils,” she says. “On the donkey, with the veil flowing behind me, I kept being told I gave off Virgencita vibes.” Her earrings, designed by her friend Jo-Ann Arosemena, added a personal touch. (Meanwhile, Andrea opted for a classic blue Zegna suit with a green Marinella tie and his Jaeger-LeCoultre watch.)
On the day of the wedding, as the ceremony approached, Andrea was still watering flowers at his family home in jeans, while Alessandra was surrounded by her mother, godmother, cousin, and best friends. “They all teared up when they saw me, and my mom stayed with me until the last moment,” she recalls. Walking into the church, she was met with shouts of “Auguri!” from townspeople gathered in hiking gear to watch. “There’s a wonderful photo of some of them standing by the church, with a kid’s mouth wide open in awe,” she says.
The ceremony itself was an emotional whirlwind. “I smiled at our friends and family as we made our way down the aisle, but the moment I saw Andrea standing at the end, I had to fight back tears,” she shares. Their aisle songs—a harp rendition of Blink-182’s “All the Small Things” for Alessandra and a version of “This Must Be the Place” by Talking Heads for Andrea—added a playful, personal touch.
After exchanging vows, the couple exited the church to a rice-throwing tradition. “I thought rice would be more traditional than petals, but I never imagined it would sting as much as it did!” Alessandra laughs. Following the ceremony, the couple and their guests embarked on a truly unique journey to the reception—by chairlift. “This was many of our guests’ first time riding a chairlift—it was mine too!” Alessandra says. The reception took place at Punta Jolanda, a traditional Alpine rifugio perched on the mountain. Guests sipped cocktails to the sounds of alphorns while a local woman prepared fresh polenta.
The reception space was designed with nostalgia in mind, honoring Gressoney’s heritage. “The tables were adorned with Ginori’s yellow Oriente Italiano plates, and the seating chart named each table after surrounding mountains—including three from Panama for my family.” As the evening unfolded, a cloud rolled in, enveloping the venue in mist. “It felt like we were floating in the sky—it was surreal.”
Dinner was an indulgent affair with courses interspersed by dancing to 1960s and ’70s Italian classics played by Gerardo e i Montecarlos. The cake—a millefoglie—was decorated live, a surprise even to the couple. “Andrea and I ended up drawing a heart with strawberries on top while ‘Kiss Me’ by Sixpence None the Richer played. Then, as ‘Underneath It All’ by No Doubt started, he began feeding blueberries to the crowd.”
The real party kicked off after dinner, with a mix of merengue, salsa, reggaeton, and dance music keeping guests on their feet. “The Panamanian in me had to make sure we opened with a bang,” Alessandra says. “At one point, a second dance room emerged where our DJ, Lorenzo Fassi, played techno.” The festivities continued well past midnight, with the newlyweds and their guests descending the mountain in jeeps under the stars.
Reflecting on their wedding, Alessandra and Andrea are overwhelmed with gratitude. “Seeing our families come together in such a magical place—one that many wouldn’t have visited otherwise—made it all the more special,” Alessandra shares. “We’ve come to appreciate that our happiest days are the ones where we’re surrounded by those we love, and this was exactly that.”
