A Fairytale Wedding Celebrating the Bride’s Multicultural Roots at the Groom’s Medieval Castle in Italy
Tosca Marie Augustin and Paulo Misasi Ruspoli first met over 10 years ago in Brazil. Paulo is half Brazilian and half Italian, and grew up between the two countries, while Tosca was living in Brazil at the time and working as a lawyer. “We had friends in common and met up at dinners and parties,” the bride remembers. “We had a little fling and liked each other, but we were in our mid-20s, so never thought of it as anything serious.”
Four years ago, Tosca underwent a career change and started working in the wellness space, organizing retreats all over the world—and she found herself wanting to host one at a castle. A close friend reminded her of Paulo and how his family owned a medieval castle in northern Lazio, Italy. “I sent him a message over Facebook because I didn’t even have his number or Instagram,” she admits. “I hadn’t spoken to him in years, but I asked him if he would be interested in having a retreat at his family’s castle. He was super excited and said, ‘Let’s do it!’ We started organizing this incredible retreat and that’s where we fell for each other again—but this time it was very serious.”
They got engaged in March of 2023, when Paulo had to go to Brazil for work and suggested that Tosca accompany him. “I never decline a trip to Brazil—all of my friends are still there, and I just love the country,” she explains. “Little did I know that the engagement ring was in Brazil: a family heirloom and is composed of diamonds that belonged to Paulo’s Sicilian great-great-grandmother Franca Florio.” Paulo initially planned to ask Tosca to marry him a few nights after they arrived at the couple’s favorite Japanese restaurant, but ended up being too nervous to pop the question—so he ended up asking Tosca the morning after, over breakfast. “It was very sweet: He told me I forgot something in a shopping bag that I left in the living room and when I went to get it…I found a box,” Tosca recalls. “I thought, ‘Is this what I think it is?!’ and opened it to find this very special ring!”
The church ceremony was at Basilica di Santa Sabina All’Aventino in Rome on May 24, 2024, and a party followed the next day at Paulo’s family’s castle, Castello Ruspoli—in a town a one-hour drive from Rome, called Vignanello.
The wedding planning took about a year. “Our wedding planner Diletta Alliata has worked with my husband at the castle many times, which was helpful as they both knew all the suppliers very well,” Tosca says. “We also had the family decorator, Ferdinando Sciarrini, helping us create the perfect atmosphere for our guests. Having said that, we had the time to focus on surprising our guests and creating something special and different.”
Most Ruspoli family members have married in the church at the front of the castle, which was built by Prince Francesco Maria Ruspoli in the 1700s—but Paulo wanted to do something different. “We decided to marry in a church in Rome,” Tosca says. “Paulo’s family has also been very connected to the Vatican, having previous family members that were cardinals and relatives to a previous Pope. My mother is very religious, growing up in the Philippines, which is one of the most Catholic countries in the world, so we were thrilled to have Cardinal Antonio Luiz Tagle to officiate our wedding. He is Filipino and one of the closest Cardinals to the Pope.” To honor Tosca’s Filipino heritage, many guests wore traditional clothing to the wedding: “The Filipiniana for the woman and Barong for the men,” the bride adds. “It was beautiful to add this cultural touch to the ceremony.”
For the church ceremony, the bride knew she needed a look that was covered and traditional. “I went to Paris and London to try so many different brands, and when I saw Phillipa Lepley, I knew that their style was exactly what I wanted,” she says. The designer created the bespoke gown from scratch over eight fittings that spanned 10 months. “Seeing the dress develop more each time was a unique process,” she continues. “The last fitting was very emotional, the dress was perfect. I chose a classic duchess satin fabric, with a large overskirt that I removed before the dinner—so I could be more comfortable moving around and dancing!”
Tosca also knew she wanted a veil that would fit with the indoor Italian garden setting, and Luisa Beccaria dreamt up a piece that realized her vision, with delicate white and green flowers woven throughout. “The process of working with the founder’s daughter Lucilla was incredible,” Tosca adds.
