Colombian wedding breaks tradition with 1,000 lockets and pet portraits

Elizabeth and Holden Blanco’s Medellín wedding wasn’t your typical affair; it was a meticulously crafted, surrealist experience, pushing the boundaries of traditional nuptials with a personal and deeply artistic touch.

A celebration of two lives, not just one day

The couple, already legally married in a Philadelphia housewarming party in 2023, envisioned a weekend-long celebration that would truly unite their American and Colombian families. Rejecting the singular focus on a single-day event, they approached it as a collaborative project – a creative endeavor to inject their unique artistic vision into every detail.

“We really had a teamwork approach to this wedding, so we were the only ones that knew the schedule and knew all the little moments and surprises,” says Elizabeth. “I really wanted to just approach this whole wedding as a project, make stuff, and bring our own art into this.”

A wardrobe of dreams

The Blanco’s sartorial choices immediately signaled the unconventional nature of the event. Elizabeth stumbled upon an Odylyne the Ceremony dress at a trunk show, captivated by its flowing silhouette and theatrical feel. “There was just one day I had available, and I thought it was meant to be,” she recalls. Holden championed the bold design, urging her to embrace the dress’s dramatic flair. “It was almost like costume in a way. It was big, voluminous, and really set the tone,” she remembers.

Lockets as storytellers

But it was the lockets that truly defined the wedding’s aesthetic. Elizabeth, driven by a fascination with heirlooms and memory, amassed nearly 1,000 of the vintage trinkets. Transforming them into a bespoke purse, each locket held a photograph – often featuring guests’ beloved pets, both living and gone.