Founder and CEO of Education Model Towns, Ernesto Argüello, married fellow philanthropist Ashley Taylor Cooper at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York this past October 2016. The ceremony was followed by a 400 people celebration at the iconic Plaza Hotel in New York, which started with a Champagne Reception in the Palm Court, followed by Cocktails in the Terrace Room, and the Wedding Dinner & Reception took place in the lavish Grand Ballroom. The evening’s entertainment included the celebrated Carlos Estrella Band, 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.
Attendees coming from all over the world (France, Brazil, Spain, Colombia, Nicaragua, Peru, Honduras, Ecuador, Italy, Israel and England) included magazine moguls, business owners, music artists, government officials and fellow philanthropists. The majority of the wedding guests also attended the festive rehearsal dinner (brunch) which was a buyout of fine French bistro Bagatelle, where the focus was on getting all of the couple’s friends and family from all over the world to meet each other and break the ice leading up to the wedding. Said Ashley, “We wanted everyone to know most of the people at their tables and to feel comfortable and dance all night together!”
Everything down to the flowers had been designed by the couple to reflect their personal taste. Beyoncé’s sought-after florist, Dieter van Beneden for Vert-de-Gris had custom made the decorations which adorned the Plaza 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 the couple’s website: romanceandthecity.com.
top 2 photos by Oscar Castro
After the wedding festivities, the couple took off on a worldwide honeymoon with stops in Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, France and the Netherlands. The couple continued their European “honeymonth” with a 2 week California “buddymoon” to ski and enjoy Napa Valley with friends, for a total of a 6 week honeymoon.
This couple really live to give back; their wedding registry was strictly cash donations which will be used to build a new educational center for underprivileged children. Said Ashley, “We feel the best gift was finding each other! So, we decided to express our gratitude to God by asking our guests to not give us gifts but to make donations to build an educational training center for underprivileged children.” 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.
photo by Fabian Alvarez