A Love Story for the Ages: The Wedding of Sarah Rollins Gonzalez and Richard Gonzalez

By late afternoon on October 10, 2025, the light inside The Breakers had begun to glow—softened, gilded, and almost otherworldly. It was the kind of golden hour that feels less like a time of day and more like a state of mind. Within that light, Sarah Rollins Gonzalez and Richard Gonzalez stepped forward to be married, surrounded by 130 of their closest family members and friends, in a ceremony defined by stillness, reverence, and quiet emotional gravity.

What followed — hours later, beneath chandeliers and clouds of flowers — was something altogether different: a night that surged with sound and movement, surprise and release, culminating in a full-scale musical reveal that transformed the ballroom into a pulsing celebration of love in motion.

Together, the two halves formed a complete portrait of the couple themselves.

“I couldn’t commit to one theme,” Sarah says. “Because one theme couldn’t hold both truths of who we are.”

That realization—simple yet profound—became the foundation of the wedding. Rather than choose between softness or spectacle, intimacy or exuberance, Sarah and Richard chose to honor polarity: yin and yang, the sacred and the electric, the way love feels in private—and the way it feels when it bursts into the world.

The ceremony unfolded like a breath held. Designed in a palette of creams, ivories, and golds, the space shimmered without ever overwhelming. Reflective surfaces caught the light. Florals softened the room. Eight black-tie violinists stood elevated on suede-upholstered pedestals, their music creating a cocoon of sound that seemed to suspend time.

“There was an almost heavenly feeling Sarah and Richard wanted to carry through every moment,” says Justin Scalzo of YSD Events, an elite luxury event planning firm that curated and led the planning and production for the weekend’s events. “Each space—the welcome dinner, ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception—was designed to feel distinct, yet unified by softness, light, and luxurious materials like mother of pearl, velvet, silk, suede, and high-gloss reflective finishes.”

For Sarah, that inwardness was essential. “When you’re in love, you want to shout it from the top of a mountain,” she says. “But you also want to protect it. This moment gave us the opportunity to share our love while keeping it sacred.”

What they wore, too, was chosen with intention. After trying lighter, more ethereal silhouettes, Sarah selected a gown that mirrored the gravity of the vows themselves: a custom Elie Saab creation that was grand, architectural, and undeniably regal. “It felt like the Rolls Royce of wedding gowns,” she says. “Heavy, exquisite, and grounding.” The evening before, she opted for a celebratory look at the welcome dinner created by Carlos Mannings of Mannings Atelier.

Richard, in a classic Tom Ford tuxedo, matched that tone with understated elegance. Together, they stood at the center of a moment that felt less like a performance and more like a promise — an invitation into their shared inner world.

Sarah’s look was completed by Ariel Diaz and Amanda Maxwell, whose approach emphasized softness and natural radiance, echoing the ceremony’s ethereal romance. The ceremony and reception environments were brought to life in partnership with Birch Event Design, whose floral and décor vision layered softness and scale through lush installations, reflective finishes, and a palette that moved seamlessly from ethereal to electric.

Originally considering a destination wedding, the couple ultimately chose Palm Beach so they could be surrounded by nearly everyone they loved. With a guest list of 130 — and an attendance rate approaching 98 percent — the celebration felt deeply personal.

“That intimacy changed everything,” Richard says. “It allowed us to design the experience around the people in the room — not just the spectacle.”

It also unlocked extraordinary creative freedom. The smaller scale allowed the team to execute highly personalized food, service, and entertainment moments rarely possible at larger weddings — an approach The Breakers’ culinary team embraced fully.

As daylight faded and guests moved into the reception, the energy began to change — gradually, intentionally, almost imperceptibly at first. Inspired by Miami at dusk — the moment when the sun disappears but the city lights ignite — the ballroom transformed beneath a ceiling of cloud-like florals and oversized crystal chandeliers embedded within the blooms.

“What we wanted,” Sarah explains, “was to capture the feeling of falling in love — the anticipation, the excitement, the heartbeat.”

Dinner unfolded as a slow crescendo, the music deepening as the evening progressed. Beloved saxophonist Al Sax — flown in from St. Barths and inspired by the couple’s favorite nights at Nikki Beach — moved from table to table, climbing atop custom-built surfaces designed not only to support performance, but to invite participation.

“One of the most unique elements,” Justin notes, “was building tables with fully supported catwalks running down their length. It allowed our specialty performers — and eventually the guests themselves — to fully immerse in the experience.”

Entertainment throughout the evening was curated by Elan Artists, ensuring each musical moment built seamlessly toward the night’s crescendo.

Just before the reception began, Sarah and Richard changed — marking the night’s emotional and visual pivot.

Their second look was custom Chrome Hearts, an unexpected and deeply personal choice. The story began months earlier in St. Barths, where Sarah discovered a rare pearl-and-diamond Chrome Hearts necklace — one of only two in existence. A conversation with founders Richard Stark and Laurie Lynn Stark led to something unprecedented: the creation of the first-ever documented Chrome Hearts wedding gown, alongside a custom tuxedo for Richard.

“A friend of theirs told us they’re not a brand — they’re a family,” Sarah says. “A husband and wife creating together. That mattered to us.”

Her corseted gown, complete with a danceable train, stayed on for six uninterrupted hours. Richard’s look revealed what Sarah calls his “glamorous bad-boy side” — a contrast few had seen before.

“The ceremony was about conveying our love story,” Richard says. “The reception was about celebrating it.”

The night’s defining moment arrived disguised as tradition. As the couple moved toward the cake, the elegance of the evening quietly surrendered to anticipation. Guests were asked to turn away. A pause. Then drapes at the back of the ballroom parted.

What emerged was not simply a stage, but a transformation: towering LED walls, concert-level lighting, and DJ Steve Aoki — one of the most electrifying performers in the world — commanding the room.

In an instant, the wedding gave way to a world-class dance party. “That was the heartbeat moment,” Justin recalls. “The release. The fairytale coming fully to life.”

Throughout the evening, craftsmanship revealed itself in quiet, unforgettable ways: individual ice sculptures engraved with the couple’s initials presenting sushi and caviar amid swirling dry ice; custom cocktails and matcha mocktails; an unusually high staff-to-guest ratio that allowed for seamless, intimate service.

A live Louis Vuitton artist completed a hand-painted portrait of the couple during the reception, while guests left handwritten notes on travel-inspired stationery — mementos the couple plans to treasure long after the night.

The celebration was captured by Boone Studios and Michelle Scott Photography, with the weekend documented on film by Sculpting With Time.

And then there were the moments no one could choreograph — like the first dance. After months of lessons, the band played an unexpected arrangement. The choreography unraveled. They laughed, spun once, kissed, and ended it early. “It became one of our favorite memories,” Sarah says. “Perfectly imperfect.”

When the final song faded and the chandeliers dimmed, what lingered was not just spectacle, but feeling.

“Our hope,” Sarah says, “was that people fell in love a little themselves.”

A wedding in two movements — one sacred, one electric — Sarah and Richard’s celebration was not simply a night to remember, but an experience designed to be felt long after it ended: a reflection of love in all its forms, quiet and wild, grounded and soaring, held in balance.

● Planning & Production: YSD Events

● Floral & Décor Design: Birch Event Design

● Entertainment: Elan Artists

● Photography: Boone Studios; Michelle Scott Photography

● Videography: Sculpting With Time

● Beauty: Ariel Diaz; Amanda Maxwell

● Welcome Dinner Dress: Mannings Atelier

● Ceremony Gown: Elie Saab

● Reception Gown: Chrome Hearts

● Ceremony Tuxedo: Tom Ford

● Reception Tuxedo: Chrome Hearts