At Her Beachside Wedding, Model Kamila Hansen Married Under a Chuppah of Garden Roses
Model Kamila Hansen and Official Partners cofounder Oren Alexander’s relationship began the old-fashioned way—with a pickup line. “I was in Las Vegas on a girls’ trip when he approached me [in a hotel lobby] and asked if I was lost,” Kamila remembers of their meeting in 2018. “It was just like that.”
The two began dating soon afterwards, and Oren eventually proposed while they were on vacation in Aspen in August of 2022. “It happened on the balcony of the house we were staying in,” Kamila recalls. “It was very casual, and surprisingly, I had no idea.”
Their wedding took place the following April in Islamorada, Florida, and the couple worked with Blue Water Weddings to plan everything. “It felt like we were putting together the ultimate weekend on an island for our family and closest friends,” Kamila says. “Since the pandemic, our social circle has shrunken, so we knew that we wanted our wedding to be very intimate.” To that end, she and Oren hosted a large engagement party for over 350 people at their home in Miami during Art Basel, which meant they were able to get away with doing something smaller for the actual wedding.
Selecting the wedding dress was a particularly fun part of the process for Kamila, who, throughout her career as a model, has worn many. “I went to Galia Lahav for the first time and picked three different dresses,” she admits. “A week later, I went back and chose a completely different one. I just fell in love with it, and they were able to make it for me in less than a month. Record time! I’m so glad it worked out because I loved the dress and felt it was perfect for my beach wedding.”
The bride kept her jewelry pieces simple and befitting of the al fresco wedding location. She wore a classic diamond necklace, bracelet, and earrings all from Material Good. As for beauty, she worked with Lauren Hen for a sun-kissed look, and also kept her hair down to ensure it felt as natural as possible. “Less is always more,” Kamila says.
The ceremony started just after 6:30 p.m., and the service took place under a jaw-droppingly beautiful chuppah consisting of garden and spray roses, hanging amaranthus, larkspur, snapdragons, frilled lisianthus, and astrantia, all by Petal Productions. First, Oren’s older brother and his 87-year-old grandmother walked down the aisle, followed by his middle brother and his fiancée. Next, his twin brother with his wife and the couple’s niece made their way down the aisle, Oren and his both parents—and lastly, the bride was escorted by her parents, who flew in from Brazil.
A rabbi led the traditional Jewish ceremony, which lasted about 30 minutes total with all of the traditional vows. At the end, the groom broke the glass, and everyone shouted “Mazel tov!” “I have always dreamed about my wedding day, and I was just so happy—literally in awe—throughout the entire ceremony,” Kamila says. “All I could do was smile the entire time.”
Afterwards, the newlyweds greeted their guests as the sun set in the background. Family friend and well-known Israeli singer Einat Sarouf serenaded the group during cocktails and then everyone sat for dinner, just as the bride changed into her second look of the evening: an easy, flowy satin dress by Retrofête. After a dinner under the stars, there was live music that honored both Kamila’s Brazilian and Oren’s Israeli cultures. The night ended with guests sampling various desserts from a table of Middle Eastern treats and the newlyweds finishing a magnum of 1986 Chateau d’Yquem. “We stumbled back to our room rightfully called the ‘honeymoon suite’ to find our dog Rio waiting for us in his tuxedo,” Kamila remembers. “He waited up for us, and we loved seeing him at the end of the night.”
“Now that it’s over, we feel like, ‘Mission accomplished!’” Kamila adds. “It all went as planned, and we wouldn’t have done anything differently. Even though planning was fun, it can also be very stressful wanting to make sure everything is perfect and that it will forever be a special memory, so I’m happy that part is over. It was such an incredibly joyful, happy evening.”
Photo: Hampson Photography1/48My Galia Lahav wedding dress hanging in my room.
Photo: Hampson Photography2/48A little nervous, waiting for parents to walk down the aisle.
Photo: Hampson Photography4/48Holding my bouquet and waiting for parents.
Photo: Hampson Photography6/48Getting ready for the big moment.
Photo: Isabella Lanaro8/48Coconuts with our names on them for guests pre-ceremony. It’s hot in Florida!
