Founder and CEO of Education Model Towns, Ernesto Argüello, married fellow philanthropist Ashley Taylor Cooper at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York a few weeks ago followed by a magical celebration in front of 400 people at the iconic Plaza Hotel.
It was an extraordinary night with a champagne reception in the Palm Court, cocktails in the Terrace Room, Wedding Dinner & Reception in the Grand Ballroom, as well as Aerialists, Gogo dancers, Mariachi, Samba dancers, Beat boxers, Cocktail coquettes and a musical performance by 10 year old Instagram star Vivian Hicks.
Beyoncé’s sought-after florist, Dieter van Beneden for Vert-de-Gris had custom made the decorations adorning the Hotel, and the cake was provided by no other than celebrity cake-maker Sylvia Weinstock.
Even the wedding invite was very unique: every guest received a briefcase with a video message personally inviting them to the couple’s Big Day. The video invite, which was filmed in Colombia, can be viewed at: romanceandthecity.com.
This couple really live to give back; their wedding registry was strictly donations which will be used to build a new educational center for underprivileged children, and they did not accepting any gifts. Said Ashley, “So many people really need the basics of life and we don’t NEED anything!” Donations are still accepted via Crowdrise. Ernesto’s Education Model Towns builds entire communities and education centers from the ground up in the most impoverished areas in Latin America, offering the locals a home and a safe community.
Ernesto and his life-changing organization also donates schools, security, after school programs and sports development programs, nutritional programs and clean water, as well as promoting by entrepreneurship opportunities to the locals. Ashley and Ernesto, co-founders of Snap2Live, have also partnered with the United Nations as spokespeople for road safety, in order to help address the number one killer of youth in the world.
Attendees coming from all over the world (France, Brazil, Spain, Colombia, Nicaragua, Peru, Honduras, Ecuador, Italy, Israel and England) included: Mr. Bert Jacobs (Owner, Life is Good), Mr. And Mrs. James Curleigh (President, Levi’s), Mr. Kweku Mandela, Ms. Eva Hughes (CEO, Condé Nast Latin America), Mr. And Mrs. Tim Lopez (Singer, Plain White T’s), Mr. Ben Patton, Mr. And Mrs. Angela Arabov (Founder, Jacob & Company), Mr. And Mrs. Jim Regusci (Owners, Regusci Winery), Dionisio Velez (Mayor of Cartagena), Mrs. Amber Kelleher-Andrews (CEO, Kelleher International), Mario Cader-Frech (Senior Vice President public affairs & CSR, MTV), Ms. Carlota Álvarez (Owner, Vega Sicilia Wine), Mr. Juan Suárez (Owner, Suarez & Sons), Yfke Sturm (Super Model), Angelica Fuentes (Shareholder, Grupo Omnilife-Angelissima-Chivas), Mr. Hunter Christoph (Owner, RCI Marine Group), Mr. And Mrs. Alejandro Viel (Owners, Casablanca Polo), Tony Tijerino (President, Hispanic Heritage Foundation) , Mr. Dan Ragone (Publisher, Maxim Magazine), Mr. Leonardo Davalos (Publisher & Editor in Chief, Complot Magazine) and Mr. Pedro Maal (Creative Director, Complot Magazine).
After the wedding festivities, the couple took off on a worldwide honeymoon with stops in Iceland, Finland, Spain, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Australia and Fiji.
Ashley Taylor Cooper, Ernesto Argüello