Valery Kaufman’s wedding on Lake Como. Dior Haute Couture wedding dress + 3 Balmain looks for the after-ceremony. Against the backdrop of a fairytale garden
Victoria’s Secret angel Valery Kaufman and commodities trader Dimitri Varsano met exactly two years and seven months ago during the Venice Film Festival. “We met by chance,” Valery recalls. «We were sitting at the same table at the amFAR charity dinner. At one point, I went on stage to auction off a pink and silver striped jacket that belonged to Mick Jagger. For a very long minute, no one raised their hand, until Dimitri came to my rescue. As soon as he raised his hand, other people joined in and, in the end, the jacket sold quite quickly.”
Their second meeting took place during Paris Fashion Week. Dimitri knew that Valery was in the City of Light with his dog Cosmo, so he had some thoughts delivered to her in the hotel room, jokingly signing himself “the dog-sitter”. “That’s when we started to get to know each other better, and we quickly went from being friends to being in love,” says Valery.
The engagement on a boat
Dimitri asked Valery to marry him on the occasion of their first anniversary, during a boat trip on Lake Como, where they were spending a weekend together. «I had the feeling that a marriage proposal was in the air, but I expected him to make it to me in the evening, in a restaurant, by candlelight», says Valery, who, as she herself reveals, had packed a suit special in anticipation of that moment. Instead, it happened the morning after they arrived. «The previous evening, Dimitri had told me that he had booked a boat tour for the next morning», says Valery. «Then we would return to the hotel in time for lunch. So, the next day, I got up, put on the first thing I could find, and left the room without even looking in the mirror or brushing my hair. During the boat ride, while I was lost in contemplation of the view, Dimitri asked me to marry him. Making me the happiest girl in the world.”
The choice of location: southern France or Lake Como?
Valery and Dimitri returned to Lake Como for their wedding, celebrated last May 11th in Cernobbio, at Villa D’Este, after about seven months of preparations. «For me, the most difficult part was choosing the location», says Valery. «The dilemma was between the south of France, with its beautiful beaches, and Lake Como. I am convinced that, on these occasions, you should follow your heart, not the advice of others. In particular, if you want to celebrate a wedding abroad, in a place far from the frenzy of modern life. In the end, we opted for Italy.”
