Alena and Andrey: Two Party Lovers at an Italian Aristocrat’s Villa

From a LinkedIn post to a wedding in Italy… it’s not as big a leap as it might seem!

In January 2021, at the height of COVID, Alena wrote a LinkedIn post about remote work, and Andrey commented on it. And while he was at it (a low blow!), he attached a photo of the kittens he had recently adopted so he wouldn’t feel lonely during lockdown. They started chatting online, and then it suddenly turned out that thousands of miles separated them! Andrey had moved to Silicon Valley a year earlier but had never updated his city on the social network. Alena was really upset – she had been sure they both lived in Minsk. Besides, with quarantines and closed borders, there was almost no chance of meeting in person.

But then Alena’s friends stepped in! They were convinced she absolutely had to take a vacation in the States, and even gave her a pink suitcase for her birthday. Her friend Tanya found a visa agent who helped Alena get the coveted US visa.

On September 25, 2021, Andrey met Alena at San Francisco airport, pink suitcase and all, and… the images they had built up over months of chatting online miraculously matched reality. They have been inseparable ever since. As you can see, LinkedIn brings hearts together just as well as Tinder!

For their wedding in Italy, Alena and Andrey chose a magnificent historic villa on a hilltop with panoramic views of Rome.

The couple spent the morning before the wedding apart, each with their own friends, saying goodbye to single life. (The villa is so spacious that a bachelor party and a bachelorette party can happen at the same time without getting in each other’s way!)

The symbolic ceremony took place in an old hall painted with medieval frescoes and lavishly decorated with fresh flowers and mirrored disco balls.

As if a young couple of party lovers had moved into an Italian aristocrat’s apartment

– that’s how Alena, laughing, described her wishes to us during the planning.

Vows of love and fidelity, spoken beneath ancient vaulted ceilings with a view of the Eternal City, sealed this union better than any official stamp.

The couple wanted a fun, light and relaxed atmosphere at their wedding. No obligatory toasts, no handing over envelopes of cash, no mock bride kidnapping and no corny jokes from an MC. And most importantly – no endless sitting at the table, as is customary in both Russian and Italian tradition.

Instead, guests were treated to an aperitivo where they could mingle and also record an audio message for the newlyweds on a high-tech gadget that looked just like a vintage telephone. What a wonderful way to keep living memories of the wedding! Guests could also share their impressions by writing a few lines in the guest book.

When the newlyweds returned from their photo walk through the park, everyone was already waiting for them at the wedding table and greeted them with cheers, waving their napkins. Nobody got bored at dinner – we had prepared a fun quiz about the couple for the guests.

After fish, risotto and a sea of prosecco, it was finally time for the wedding cake! Decorated with purple and pink flowers, it was waiting for the couple by the balcony overlooking the lights of Rome at night. As much of a shame as it was to cut into such a beauty, the newlyweds ceremoniously cut the cake and thanked everyone who had traveled hundreds and even thousands of miles to share this day with them.

And then Alena and Andrey kicked off the wedding dance party with their first dance!

P.S. And here is the very photo of the kittens that started it all 🙂