Richard and Natasha

The Venue

The Pena Palace (Portuguese: Palácio da Pena) is a Romanticist castle in São Pedro de Penaferrim, in the municipality of Sintra, Portugal. The castle stands on the top of a hill in the Sintra Mountains above the town of Sintra, and on a clear day it can be easily seen from Lisbon and much of its metropolitan area. It is a national monument and constitutes one of the major expressions of 19th-century Romanticism in the world. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. (Wikipedia)

We feel so fortunate to be able to celebrate our wedding at such a magical place and we hope that you will all fall in love with it the way we did the first time we set foot there together not long after we met.

Schedule

Here's what you can expect on the wedding weekend.

Friday, October 19

20:30 Those of you staying at the Pestana Sintra Golf can drop by the hotel bar for a drink with us.

Saturday, October 20

16:25 Those of you staying at the Pestana Sintra Golf Resort will take the shuttle from the hotel entrance at promptly 4:25 pm. Please be on time or risk being left behind.

17:00 You will arrive at the Palácio da Pena where you will walk up the hill to the palace and be greeted by servers who will happily provide you with an alcoholic or non-alcholic Welcome Drink. They will then instruct you how to get to the Terraço dos Veados, the private terrace where the ceremony will take place.

17:15 Take your seats wherever you please and settle in for the ceremony. The nuptials will be officiated by the marvelous Luiza Azancot, who has been a friend and guru to Richard and Natasha for many years. Since neither part of the pair is religious--although in Natasha's case, there seems to be an excess of religions-- the ceremony will include bits from their cultures, the cultures of the countries they've lived in, religions, families, astrology, literature, and who knows what else.

The bridesmaids are Maid of Honor Mabi Castro, Rachel Deitch, Sahar Salehi, Meda Sandu, Irene Seliverstov and Elizabeth Yardeni.

The groomsmen are Best Man Dominic Wells, Jonathan Moss, Christopher Moss, Will Leborgne and Alan Giabanelli.

18:15 After the 'I do's' are said, the smooch finished, tears shed, petals thrown and the ceremony is totally done, you will be invited to the Terraço dos Arcos where cocktails (alcoholic and non-alcholic) will be served as well as vegetarian and non-vegetarian appetizers, and a ham station.

19:00 Starting at 7 pm, the palace guides will take wedding guests on an optional tour inside the palace. We highly recommend you partake if you haven't been inside before.

20:00 Dinner will be served in the salon. Please make sure you fill out your dinner choices in the RSVP form.

21:00 Natasha and Richard will cut the cake, dessert will be served along with a fruit, desserts and cheese table in the same salon as the dinner took place. During dessert, a few speeches will be made.

21:30 The dance and open bar (including beer, wine, most hard liquors, sodas, juices, and a caipirinha bar) will begin on another terrace. Please make sure to bring comfortable shoes to change into as none will be provided.

24:00 As the night winds down, small snacks will be served to keep the party going for another hour or two.

02:00 The shuttle will head back to the hotel with the final stragglers. Those of you who would like to leave sooner, please be sure to use uber or ask your hotel for a taxi number you can call during the night.

Sunday, October 21

09:00 On the following morning, we hope to see those of you who stay at the Pestana Sintra Golf Resort in the breakfast area, though we can't make any promises we'll make it!