"I'd marry you with paper rings."
Updated Apr 22, 2024Exclusive: Inside Jasmine Tookes' Destination Wedding In Ecuador
"We're still just replaying it in our minds over and over again," says the supermodel.
Just as summer 2021 came to a close, a sprawling city in South America hosted its royal wedding of the year. Supermodel Jasmine Tookes and husband Juan David Borrero married in a lavish, in-part-destination wedding in the groom's native country of Ecuador—where his father is currently serving as Vice President of the country.
"The first time I visited Ecuador, I felt how special of a place it is," Tookes, 29, reflects to The Knot in an exclusive interview. "My husband, Juan, actually grew up in Quito. The people and culture are so amazing and I truly fell in love with it since day one."
Tookes, herself, is native to California, where she was exposed to both the fashion and entertainment industries from a young age. She walked her first Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2012, and her mother is well-known celebrity stylist Cary Robinson. Unexpected was her choice to throw a wedding in her husband's native country. "I felt, with doing my wedding in Ecuador, that we had to definitely embrace as many traditions as we could," she explains. "To make it that much more magical." Here, The Knot rounds up details about Jasmine Tookes and her husband's wedding.
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Jasmine Tookes' Wedding Details
Mariuxi Pogo
The Couple Married in a Historic Convent
The wedding took place in the capital city of Quito inside a 16th-century convent featuring an ornate, gold-gilded dome. "My favorite memory from the day was standing at the altar and really taking it all in," Tookes tells us. "The church where we got married is honestly one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen and it felt so magical standing up there with Juan. It feels exciting to be married we're so overjoyed after the momentous occasion. We're still just replaying it in our minds over and over again."
The Bride's 'Something Blue' Was on Her Shoe
When your mother is a celebrity stylist with two decades of experience, the level of attention to detail doesn't get lost while planning head-to-toe attire for the wedding day. Case in point: Robinson noticed her daughter was missing a "Something Blue" ahead of her wedding, so she and shoe designer Sarah Flint came up with a clever way to integrate it. Flint created a custom, scalloped blue leather lining for the bride's shoes.
"I wanted to create a special shoe to address everything a bride needs (at least for her feet) on her wedding day," Flint says. Tookes went with the Wedding Perfect Sandal, an Italian-made option comprised of water-resistant satin and extra padding (to assist brides throughout the day).
Mariuxi Pogo
Mariuxi Pogo
The Bride Wore a Couture Wedding Gown
Befitting was Tookes' wedding dress: a hand-embellished, long-sleeved, lace gown with floral detailing. The piece featured a detachable skirt with an elaborate train, all designed by Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad. Tookes teased that she would likely be wearing a wedding dress by Murad while attending one of his runway shows in Paris. "[Ten] years ago I used to walk his couture shows & now I wear his dresses on almost every red carpet," she wrote. "Something even more special is coming very soon."
The mother of the bride likely helped Tookes along the way with her bridal attire. "We have the exact same taste," Robinson told HerCampus in 2018. "We'll be looking at lookbooks, and I'll look first and not find anything, there will be one or two that are okay, and she will say the same thing about the same ones. Looking at lookbooks and being at fashion shows, we always pick the same dresses that we like."
Mariuxi Pogo
Her Bridesmaids Included Fellow Models
Tookes and Borrero had a large wedding party, notably consisting of numerous supermodels as bridesmaids. Her crew included her best friend, Josephine Skriver, as well as Kelsey Merritt, Sara Sampaio, Shanina Shaik and Lais Ribero. All were uniform in satin gowns by Amsale in an earthy tone of green, paired with Sarah Flint's Perfect Sandal 100mm heels in a gunmetal lamé color that has yet to be released.
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"It was the most magical day," Skriver wrote on Instagram. "You and Juan mean the world to me and beyond honored to be by your sides celebrating such a milestone in your lives🥰 can't wait to do this again for the 10 year anniversary." Prior to the wedding day, Tookes and her bridesmaids celebrated her bachelorette party in Croatia.
Mariuxi Pogo
There Was a Snapchat-Studded Guest List
Borrero, an executive at Snapchat who touts he was the 23rd employee at the tech company on his LinkedIn profile, invited notable colleagues to his nuptials. Present at the destination wedding was Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel and his wife, Miranda Kerr. The groom stood out on his wedding day in a tailored, double-breasted tuxedo designed by Armani.
Mariuxi Pogo
Mariuxi Pogo
Her Wedding Advice Is…
"We were given the advice to really embrace every moment on your wedding day," reflects Tookes. "And to take time alone to step away and take it all in. I can't stress that advice enough because it really goes by so fast and is over in a flash. It is so important to take those small moments and look around and tell each other to remember this time together."
The Wedding Vendors
Planning: Wedding Planner Ecuador | Photography: Mariuxi Pogo | Wedding Dress: Zuhair Murad | Wedding Shoes: Sarah Flint | Wedding Design: Fialo Eventi | Florals: David Vasquez Design | Bridesmaid Dresses: Amsale | Groom's Attire: Armani | Engagement and Wedding Rings: Ritani
Jasmine Tookes & Her Husband's Engagement Details
Borrero proposed to Tookes in September 2020, in a sweeping gesture of an engagement that started at the site of their first date: The Rose in Venice. He then took Tookes on a helicopter ride at sunset in the middle of nowhere in Arizona, where he popped the question with a custom, seven-carat ring from Ritani.
"He knows me so well that he had Popeye's catered," Tookes told Vogue. "I was in heaven! So we ate chicken tenders and drank champagne until we landed in Page, Arizona. Then we hopped on a helicopter which flew us to the most beautiful, otherworldly … secluded place in the middle of the desert rocks in Utah."
The choice of brand for Jasmine Tookes' engagement ring was equally meaningful. A Ritani rep previously told Page Six that the bride had selected the jeweler for various red carpet appearances through the years after her mother has been loyal to the brand for years.
