An Elegant Estate Wedding at Villa Aurelia in Rome, Italy

Five months before their wedding, Rubie Flores and Ryan Olivarez decided to turn their family trip to Rome into a destination wedding at the elegant Villa Aurelia.  “Upon finding my venue through the rabbit hole of Pinterest, I knew that simple was the way to go because Villa Aurelia had so much beauty on its own,” Rubie says. She worked remotely with her planner to create a formal, sophisticated celebration with a color palette of whites, greens and dusty blues. The bride says these colors gave a “distinct softness” to the timeless estate, but perhaps the most impressive element of the wedding was the flower arrangements. “My husband comes from a family of florists, and my maiden name was Flores, which means flowers in Spanish, so naturally flowers were very important,” Rubie says. “Keeping with my color palette, I chose all-white flowers and greenery. The showstopper was our altar floral arrangement: It had such a significance to us because it was a joining of Ryan and myself—an O for Olivarez made of flowers.” Rubie carried a bouquet of white peonies, which also made up the reception centerpieces. Rubie wore the first dress she tried on; it featured sheer sleeves, lace details and formfitting crepe material with buttons. She accessorized with her mother-in-law’s single-string pearl necklace, pearl earrings and nude shoes. Ryan wore a classic black tuxedo, white shirt with black buttons, a black bow tie and Star Trek cuff links. “One of our favorite parts of our wedding was being surrounded by our immediate family,” Rubie says. “It meant the world to us both.” 
Our favorite #MakeTradition Moment: “I arranged to surprise my husband, his parents and mine to arrive in a vintage Silver Cloud Rolls-Royce,” Rubie says. “In an already fairy-tale-feeling day, driving through the ancient city of Rome in the Silver Cloud added a level of specialness.”