Conor Kennedy, son of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., held a three-day wedding celebration in Rio de Janeiro with Brazilian pop star Giulia Bourguignon Marinho, professionally known as Giulia Be. The festivities, which began on Oct. 8, featured a blessing at the Christ the Redeemer statue and a ceremony at the Igreja Nossa Senhora do Carmo da Antiga Sé. According to Vogue, the couple had already married in a private civil ceremony in Los Angeles in March.
The social media presence of the event highlighted the couple's choice to center the celebration in Marinho's hometown rather than the United States. Marinho told Vogue, "We wanted to celebrate the wedding and Rio de Janeiro, the city we love." She described overlooking the city with family as a moment she would never forget. Earlier in the year, she explained to Brazilian outlet Globo that she wanted to show Kennedy's friends and family a good time, recalling telling her then-fiancé, "My love, I love you, but I’m not getting married in Massachusetts."
The wedding itinerary included a welcome party in Alto da Boa Vista and beach volleyball on Ipanema. The religious blessing took place at the Christ the Redeemer statue atop Corcovado Mountain, which sits within Tijuca National Park. The main ceremony was held at the Antiga Sé church in Rio’s historic center. Built in 1808, the church served as the royal chapel and cathedral after the Portuguese royal court arrived in Brazil. The reception followed at Instituto Brando Barbosa in the Jardim Botânico neighborhood, an area known for the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who serves as secretary of Health and Human Services in the Trump administration, shared photos from the event on social media. The images showed the wedding party beneath the Christ the Redeemer statue and his wife, Cheryl Hines, with samba dancers. Another photo captured the newlyweds checking their phones during a Seminoles-Cardinals game. In an Instagram response to her father-in-law, Marinho wrote, "Love you, Bobby," and added that she was happy to see everyone enjoying her hometown.
Vogue noted that Marinho wore a Calvin Klein slip dress for the blessing, a style the publication compared to the understated elegance of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Conor’s late aunt by marriage. Conor Kennedy is also a grandson of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, brother of President John F. Kennedy. The historic square nearby, Praça XV de Novembro, hosts a Saturday flea market where shoppers browse antiques, records and clothes, according to The New York Times.