A Nautical-Themed Cruise Wedding on the Lady Hornblower in Marina Del Rey, California

While Johanna Keranen and Marcelo Lagos feted with their families and friends in Marina Del Rey, California, floating along the Pacific on the Lady Hornblower, their love story spans continents. Johanna is from Finland and Marcelo is from Chile, but their paths crossed in London, England, where they shared an apartment while studying. It didn’t take long for them to realize they had a special bond, and they started dating a month later. Five years later, on a trip to Italy, Marcelo got down on one knee in front of the Colosseum in Rome and asked Johanna to marry him. “We come from opposite sides of the world, and in many ways our cultures and personalities are different, but we balance and complement each other well,” Johanna says. Lovers of the ocean, a waterfront wedding was a must for Johanna and Marcelo. With a palette of red and white and a nautical theme in mind, they pulled off an intimate affair on the Lady Hornblower with their closest family members and friends. The couple gathered their crew on the boat’s teak and mahogany deck for the ceremony, where they exchanged heartfelt vows against a striking backdrop of calm blue. “The space had so much character that it didn’t need additional decorations,” Johanna says. The newlyweds and their guests then made their way indoors for the reception, where they enjoyed a sit-down dinner and a fun-filled night of celebrating. Johanna created all the centerpieces, infusing the Lady Hornblower’s elegant midcentury interiors with brilliant bouquets of red roses arranged in glass heart-shaped vases. Anchor motifs spoke to the day’s nautical theme and the setting. After dinner, Johanna, Marcelo and their families and friends hit the dance floor, where they mixed, mingled and showed off their killer dance moves. —Libby MacCarthy