A Veil That Spells "Us" and Cherries Saved Until August: Adelina & Ștefan's Wedding at Castel Mimi

Author: Natali Grace Levine
Wedding date: 08/30/2026
City: Chișinău

Love Story

It started with a glance across a schoolyard in 2018. Adelina and Ștefan were still very young, part of the same circle of friends, when he noticed her and later messaged her on social media, half as a joke and not really expecting a reply. Adelina replied in the same playful tone, and that single exchange turned into countless conversations. They weren't the usual teenage chats, but long, deep talks about life, emotions, dreams, and everything they were going through at the time. Looking back, Adelina believes that is where it truly began. “Before anything else, I got to know his soul,” she says.
What followed was young, intense, and occasionally dramatic. Ștefan was her first real love, and at that age, everything felt amplified. They were growing up at the same time, and at times things got complicated, and they stepped away from each other. For Adelina, a confessed perfectionist who had always imagined love in an ideal way, that was especially hard to accept. Over time, both matured, and she came to understand that love doesn't need to be perfect from the start to be real. Sometimes, as she puts it, two people meet before they have fully become who they are meant to be, and life gives them the chance to grow into those versions of themselves together. Even when they were apart, the connection never disappeared, and Ștefan always believed in what they could become, sometimes even before she did.
In August 2020, they found their way back to each other, calmer, more mature, and more certain. Soon came their first trip together, and then a series of choices that defined them as a couple. Ștefan moved to Bucharest, where Adelina was studying and where she saw her future. After she graduated, she moved back to Chișinău, where he saw their future. Both families embraced the relationship from the beginning, welcoming each of them with open arms. Today, Adelina works in marketing and advertising, telling brand stories through video, and is passionate about photography, content creation, and all things creative. Ștefan is an entrepreneur in agriculture, a field close to his family, and he loves chess and long-term projects. Eight years after their first message and six years after officially becoming a couple, Adelina says simply that for her, that person has always been Ștefan, and for Ștefan, it has always been her.
The proposal took place on April 10, 2025, during their first trip to the Maldives. Logically, Adelina was sure it couldn't happen there, since they traveled everywhere together and she couldn't imagine him buying a ring without her noticing. That evening, over a romantic dinner on the beach, Ștefan began talking about everything they had lived through and about the life and family he wanted to build with her. When he became emotional, she realized what was happening and burst into tears herself, even thinking for a second that no one was there to capture the moment. Of course, everything had been planned. Ștefan had chosen the ring himself months earlier, during a work trip in November, based on conversations she thought were completely casual, and had asked her parents for their blessing the night before they left. Under a spectacular sky, Adelina remembers feeling as if the whole universe was on their side.

About Your Wedding

Just a few weeks after returning from the Maldives, the couple went straight to Castel Mimi to reserve their date: August 30. No other date would have done. Their love story began on August 30, and it is also the wedding anniversary of Adelina’s parents, her grandparents, and the couple’s godparents. On the day Adelina and Ștefan married, her parents celebrated 28 years of marriage, her grandparents 51, and their godparents 23, turning one celebration into a tribute to several generations of love.
For a while, the couple seriously considered marrying abroad. Ultimately, what mattered most was having all their loved ones present, especially their grandparents, for whom a long journey would have been difficult, so they chose to celebrate at home in Moldova with 160 guests. They compromised on Italy, a country they both adore, which became part of the wedding story through several related moments. Detailed planning began in February 2026, and the next six months were intense, filled with decisions, ideas, and countless small details.
The vision centered on timeless elegance: an old-money aesthetic with subtle references to royal celebrations and a strong sense of what they called heirloom romance. That idea reflects the couple themselves. “Call us old-fashioned, but our love has always carried a little bit of old-soul romance in the contemporary world,” Adelina says. They wanted the wedding to feel connected to the generations before them, with details that could have belonged to another era yet still feel beautiful today. Above all, they hoped guests would leave feeling love and joy, and Adelina is confident they succeeded. “Honestly, if I had been a guest at our own wedding, I would have loved it.”

Morning Details

Nearly every detail of the day carried a story, starting with the stationery designed by Medeya Decor. Delicate lace motifs ran through the invitations, name cards and table numbers, while the menus were cut in the shape of a shell with scalloped edges and fine ornamental detailing. At the bar, a vintage silver tray served as the menu display, adding an old-world touch. The most personal piece, however, was the thank-you card prepared for every guest. Each featured a photo of the couple from Lake Como and an individual message written especially for that person; it also indicated their table, making it both a keepsake and part of the seating plan. The cards were displayed together in an installation titled “Our Favorite People,” creating a special moment for guests as they arrived.
The rings followed the same timeless logic. Because Adelina’s engagement ring came from Tiffany & Co., the couple chose wedding bands designed to complement it in style and simplicity, so that together they would feel like one cohesive set. Each band was engraved with the wedding date and their initials, a small personal touch on pieces they intend to love for decades.
On the morning of the wedding, everyone got ready in the hotel rooms at Castel Mimi. For a date already shared by three generations of the family, it felt fitting that the day began under one roof, with both families preparing just steps away from the celebration.

Bride Getting Ready

Adelina spent the morning with her bridesmaids, her sister and her cousin, in the rooms at Castel Mimi. Anna Marko did her makeup, and Piersanje Hairstyle and Afrodita Beauty Salon styled her hair. Throughout the wedding events, Adelina wore seven different looks from several designers, most of them made to her measurements and some based on her own ideas. Each was chosen to match the mood of a specific moment while still belonging to the same overall story. “I loved creating a collection of looks that reflected different sides of my style throughout the entire wedding experience,” she explains. Her main gown, the one she considers the perfect wedding dress, was created by Privato Dress to match her design preferences.
The accessories were just as personal. Her veil was embroidered with the couple’s initials, AȘ, a detail with a playful twist, since it can be read almost like “us.” Of the five pairs of shoes she wore across the celebrations, her favorite was a pair by René Caovilla. Her jewelry carried memories too: for one look, she wore the infinity necklace Ștefan gave her when they first started dating, and for another, a necklace and earrings her bridal team gifted her. Her Medeya bouquet featured ranunculus, among her favorite flowers, chosen for their refined, layered petals and quietly regal elegance.

Groom Getting Ready

Ștefan matched his bride’s sense of occasion with three looks of his own, from Sandro Livv, Viggo and Boss, each chosen for a different part of the celebration. Like Adelina, he prepared at Castel Mimi, before making his way down from the castle for his entrance. That walk became one of the day's most emotional moments for Adelina, who watched him from a distance just before her own arrival and suddenly felt everything become real. For a groom who had planned a proposal months in advance, chosen the ring himself, and asked her parents for their blessing, it was a fitting start to the day he had looked forward to for years.

First Look

Ștefan felt no shortage of emotion when He saw his bride. His first thought was a silent plea. “‘Don’t cry, don’t cry’ — she was spectacular,” he admitted, adding that she was the perfect balance of elegant, special, beautiful, sophisticated, and delicate. Adelina’s thoughts were just as clear: he was the one, and he looked incredibly handsome. After eight years, a proposal on the other side of the world and months of planning, the moment brought the whole journey into focus.

Photoshoot Before The Ceremony

Before the wedding, the couple traveled to Italy for a photoshoot on Lake Como with photographer Dima Iacovlev. For Adelina and Ștefan, the lake captured everything they love about Italian elegance: historic villas, classic architecture, and an effortless old-world romance. The shoot took place on a boat, linking it to the water element that had become meaningful since the proposal in the Maldives. “We had a photoshoot in Como on a boat, which became another beautiful chapter of the same story,” Adelina says. The images later reappeared throughout the wedding, from the guests’ thank-you cards to the screens in the reception hall. The couple’s love story video, filmed in a cherry orchard, added another chapter and was shown during the celebration.

Ceremony

The ceremony at Castel Mimi was rich in symbolism. Inspired by the ocean setting of their proposal, the couple held their religious ceremony on the water. Ștefan made his entrance first, coming down from the castle, before Adelina arrived in a horse-drawn carriage, a nod to 2026 being the Year of the Horse and to the knight that featured in the wedding’s chess-inspired décor. She walked down the aisle to “Young and Beautiful,” accompanied by a live quintet of piano, cello, and violins, and the music made the moment far more cinematic than the couple had imagined. Their ring bearer was a ballerina, whose graceful entrance felt almost like a small performance.
The vows moved them most. Although they had written the words themselves, saying them aloud to each other felt completely different, and neither could hold back their emotions. “That moment felt very intimate, even with everyone around us, because for a few minutes it felt like it was only the two of us,” Adelina recalls. The chess motif began here, too, and carried on through the photo zone and into the reception hall.

Photoshoot After The Ceremony

After the ceremony, the couple stayed on the grounds of Castel Mimi for portraits with photographer Alex Iordache. The choice was obvious. “Castel Mimi was the heart of the wedding itself,” Adelina says, and its architecture, grandeur, and atmosphere matched the celebration's refined, neoclassical concept. The session also captured the décor that made the day theirs, including the large mirrored checkerboard installation and oversized chess pieces in the photo zone, which reflected the castle and its surroundings in a sculptural, modern way.

Wedding Venue & Decor

For Adelina and Ștefan, the venue choice was never really in question. “We already knew that if we were going to have our wedding in Moldova, Castel Mimi was the only venue we could really imagine for ourselves,” Adelina explains. In the couple’s view, it is the most beautiful wedding venue in the country, and its grand architecture provided the perfect setting for a celebration rooted in heritage and elegance.
Medeya's décor followed one firm rule: every element needed a reason to be there. The palette of white, beige, ivory, and silver created a soft, cohesive base, with silver accents adding a subtle, regal sophistication. Lace appeared repeatedly, bringing softness and a sense of heritage. Chess, a game present in Adelina’s family and one of Ștefan’s hobbies, became the signature motif, interpreted in ivory and beige and encouraged by the décor team to give the concept its own identity. The florals combined hydrangeas, Adelina’s favorite, with gypsophila, which reminded the couple of the cherry blossoms in the orchard where they filmed their love story. Guests took home candles shaped like chess pieces, a final reminder of the symbols that ran through the celebration.

Reception

The couple’s entrance into the reception hall set the tone for the evening. “A saxophonist performed ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!’ live, which completely changed the energy and made the entrance feel fun, glamorous, and full of excitement,”Adelina remembers. Throughout the night, screens displayed photos from Lake Como alongside the phrase “All because two people fell in love,” a constant visual reminder of their story. For the first dance, Ștefan had known for years which song he would choose: “My Sweet and Tender Beast” by Eugen Doga. Presenter Ion Orlov led the evening, a lineup of musicians and performers, including Sunstroke Project, kept the energy high, and Zed Event’s photo and audio booth captured guests’ messages for the couple.
The menu was generous and refined, with seafood, meat dishes, and other carefully selected courses served individually to each guest. Cherries, closely tied to the family and especially to Ștefan, played a starring role. With cherry season ending long before late August, preserving their own cherries for the wedding took real effort, but they appeared on the cake and at the candy bar, displayed in mirrored, glass, chess-inspired stands. Miro topped the cake with cherries and designed it in a serpentine shape that echoed the reception tables' flowing layout. The couple also honored “colacul miresei,” the traditional bridal bread used in a playful ritual to decide who will be the head of the family. Rather than breaking it, Ștefan handed it to Adelina, a gesture she sees as proof of the quiet confidence that makes him the head of the family in the truest sense. When asked what she would repeat, Adelina answers without hesitation: everything, and she is grateful for every moment.

Wedding Team

Wedding Planning & Coordination @artgroupavanti
Photographer @alex_iordache_ @dimaiacovlev_wed @goroshenka
Videographer @andrei.padure
Decoration @medeya_decor
Location @castelmimi.wineresort
Music & Entertainment @sunstrokeproject @maxim.sacultan_magnat @feoctist @foxbngrmusic @vladimir_fotescu @novaeventofficial @avanti.show @quartet_paradis Ballerinas: @tnob.md
Presenter @ion.orlov
Photo & Audio Booth @zedevent.md
Dress @privatodress @atelier.custommade
Suit @sandrolivv @viggo @boss
Makeup @muaannamarko
Hair @piersanje_hairstyle @afrodita_beautysalon
Horse @kazakclub
Cake @miro_mimimi

Other Real Weddings

Porto 11/02/2026 Wedding

No Cake, All Fireworks: Hannah & James's Wedding at Pestana Palácio do Freixo

San Jose 10/26/2026 Wedding

Coffee From Their First Date and Diamonds From Her Mother's Ring: Cindy & Ryan's Wedding at Casa Real

Bali 10/23/2026 Wedding

A Floating Stage, Paragliders Overhead and 100 Guests Who Flew Across the World: Karen & Joey's Wedding at Pandawa Cliff Estate

Nantes 10/20/2026 Wedding

35 Countries, Four Cats and One Medieval Château: Şeyma & Valérian's Wedding at Château du Rocher Portail

Galway 10/16/2026 Wedding

She Noticed His Smile From Across the Street: Molly & Garrett's Wedding at Ashford Castle

Montpellier 10/13/2026 Wedding

A South of France Weekend to Remember: Jasmine & Max’s Wedding at Château l’Hospitalet

Bucharest 10/13/2026 Wedding

Black Details, Two Horses, and a Bride Who Planned It All Herself: Andreea & Bela's Wedding at Issa Resort

Nairobi 10/06/2026 Wedding

A Week of Celebration in Mombasa: Simran & Hardeep’s Wedding at PrideInn Paradise

Lake Garda 10/02/2026 Wedding

Timeless Italian Elegance on Lake Garda: Kendall & Jeff’s Wedding at Villa Bettoni

New York City 09/28/2026 Wedding

A Haitian Garden Party in Brooklyn: Laetitia & Yves-Marie’s Wedding at Hamilton Loft

New Orleans 09/24/2026 Wedding

A French Chateau Dinner Party, Reimagined in New Orleans: Cassidy & Levi’s Wedding at Race & Religious

Campi Salentina 09/22/2026 Wedding

Timeless Elegance and a Surprise Opera Singer: Hana & Benjamin's Wedding in Puglia

Lake Como 09/18/2026 Wedding

One Day, I Want to Get Married Here: Nadia & Mohamad’s Wedding at Villa Cipressi

Austin 09/15/2026 Wedding

Watching Her Float Down the Aisle: Freia & Mac's Wedding at Commodore Perry Estate

London 09/11/2026 Wedding

From Burma to the UK With Love: May & Eddy's Rare Mogok Ruby Wedding at Hedsor House

Detroit 09/08/2026 Wedding

Their Ring Bearer Wore a Bow Tie and Had Four Legs: Emma & Andrew's Wedding at Cambridge Mill