MARIA & MATHEUS
A Vatican wedding
St. Peter's Basilica · Terrazza Les Étoiles · Rome · October 2025
CREDITS
Bride — Maria Clara Leal (@dra.mariaclaraleal) Groom — Matheus (@matheusianc) Photography & Film — Riccardo Riccio (@riccardoriccio_) Wedding Planning — Eterno Bianco (@eternobianco) Bride's Dress — Gaetana Morato (@gaetanamorato) Styling — Rosa Clará (@rosa_clara) Hair & Makeup — Nuala (@nuala_makeupartist) Ceremony — Basílica de São Pedro, Vaticano Reception Venue — Terrazza Les Étoiles (@terrazzalesetoiles)
THE STORY
Maria and Matheus came to Rome from Brazil, and their families flew in to meet them — most of them seeing the Vatican for the first time. The ceremony was at St. Peter's Basilica. The reception was at Terrazza Les Étoiles, a rooftop with the basilica's dome filling the horizon.
The thing I'll remember most is the speeches. One after another, family members stood up — voices breaking, switching between Portuguese and Italian, glasses raised toward a view of the Vatican most of them never expected to see in person, let alone at a wedding. By the third speech everyone had stopped trying not to cry. By the fifth, no one cared.
A whole family on the other side of the world, having the time of their lives.
