This Portugal Wedding Was All Old-World Elegance—With a Party That Ended in the Pool
Hedge Fund Quant Anaïs Katz and consultant Simon Royaux’s meet-cute was the stuff of snow day dreams. During a storm in the middle of winter, they struck up a conversation at the Ace Hotel bar, then sat inside and drank whiskeys all night. “It felt like we had known each other for a lifetime already,” Anaïs says. “We were inseparable from then on.”
After five years of dating (and traveling the world together), Simon proposed to Anaïs at home in New York City. She’d been in Singapore for work for a month and had just flown back to the city on her 28th birthday. “Unfortunately, my birthday happens to fall during a very busy time of year at work,” she explains. “Simon wanted me to take the day off since it was my birthday, and we hadn’t seen each other for quite some time, but I had to work most of the day.”
When she finally finished, he told her that he wanted to take her to all of her favorite places in New York; he’d put a whole list together. They set out, but as soon as they got outside, Anaïs ended up dragging him to completely different spots. “Little did I know he had the ring in his pocket!” she says. “We eventually made it to the Museum of Natural History, which is my absolute favorite place in the city.” Simon had planned to propose in the museum, but having no idea what was about to transpire, Anaïs told him she was feeling jet lagged and wanted to go home and take a disco nap before her birthday dinner. “Long story short, Simon had to improvise, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It was cold and rainy outside, and we were warm and cozy having whiskey in our apartment before my birthday dinner.”
Under the guise of exchanging gifts, Simon got down on one knee and asked Anaïs to marry him. “I don’t think I actually said ‘yes,’ I just said ‘finally!’” They then skipped dinner and went straight to the Ace Hotel to celebrate with friends. “While we were there, my best friend from L.A. appeared out of nowhere,” Anaïs remembers. “Simon had flown her in just so she could be there for our engagement and my birthday. We celebrated the entire weekend—it was the best birthday ever.”
Soon after the big engagement weekend, the couple started planning their wedding in Portugal. “We got married at the Quinta Do Muro, or House of Walls,” Anaïs explains. The house was built from 1983 to 1988 by French architect Pierre-Louis Faloci. He received the Equerre d’Argent in 1996, the highest French prize for architecture. The villa, like its name suggests, has many walls and an extremely modern feel—especially considering it was built over 30 years ago. “While the house itself is made of modern white stone walls, the property still has an old world European feel of olive and fig trees, lavender fields, and the ocean,” Anaïs says. “Because the property is so stunning, we did not want our aesthetic to takeaway from the natural beauty, so we went with very neutral colors and only added decor where we thought it would enhance the beauty rather than distract from it.”
Anaïs and Simon wanted everyone to feel like they were on a three-day vacation, so they tailored all of the decor, music, and food accordingly. The first night, they held welcome drinks in the small village square of Cacela Velha overlooking the Ria Formosa lagoon. Colorful bulb lights, linen throw pillows, and white bamboo couches decorated the space. “There was typical Portuguese street food—piri-piri chicken, sardines, corn on the cob, and pastéis de nata—and we handed out Kodak cameras on the first day and collected them back on Sunday,” Anaïs says. “Everyone was dancing and drinking in this little village until 1 a.m., and we have some pretty epic pictures from those cameras!”
Like any good southern European vacation, the weekend included a beach day. Anaïs and Simon gifted guests handmade Portuguese baskets with colorful Turkish towels, and all 150 made their way to the Fábrica beach concession stand, which the couple had rented. Volleyball and soccer games ensued, and the day was filled with music by DJ Grace Kim (who flew in from Paris), along with lots of gazpacho, Portuguese-style shrimp, mini Magnum bars, and of course, pastéis de nata.
The ceremony and reception—planned by Simon Verhoeven, an Antwerp-based event designer specializing in European destination wedding weekends—were held the next day. “The house feels like a hidden Garden of Eden,” Anaïs says. “And I wanted to feel like a fairy, so I selected an Inbal Dror dress that evoked this ethereal feel. The designer really worked with me to make sure the dress was perfect!” She paired the gown with Alchimia di Ballin shoes. “The dress is adorned, so I really kept jewelry to a minimum and only wore earrings and my engagement ring.”
Upon arrival, guests were taken up a long road surrounded by olive trees and greeted with Vinho Verde, a wine that’s made in Portugal. “We wanted the ceremony to be in the olive groves surrounded by ficus trees so that guests would really feel the southern European vibe we were going for,” Anaïs explains. Banana leaf fans were set out so guests could cool off while they drank their wine and waited for the ceremony to start, and a guitarist sang and played, bossa nova style, in the background.
Two enormous terra cotta vases with pampas grass and olive branches were placed at the end of an aisle lined with Portuguese carpets bought in Tavira. The chuppah was decorated with olive branches, bananas, oranges, pomegranates, lemons, and grapes—created by Gang and the Wool, the florist who flew in from Barcelona to oversee everything. “It was so natural and wild feeling. As my dad and I were walking towards the ceremony, I couldn’t believe it was all real. Seeing Simon’s face when he first saw me made me want to melt. I don’t think I have the words to properly describe the feeling!” Anaïs says. “I am Jewish, and even though Simon isn’t Jewish, it was important to us that we take parts from a Jewish ceremony: We had a chuppah, recited prayers, and of course, Simon broke a glass at the end!”
