Nidhi And Silvestru’s Italian City Hall Wedding Is How You Go Off-Script In The Best Way

Finding a soulmate can mean different things for different people. But speaking to Nidhi Govindan, I couldn’t help but resonate with her idea of love. Sometime in the middle of our video call, we nodded our heads together as she explained how she fell in love with her husband, Silvestru Ciubotaru and how a person’s soul matters more than the external factors that define them. “That (external circumstances) can always change. If your partner is not at a certain level of success when you meet them, and they’re a 30-something person, they’ll get there. And so will you! You’ll get there together. Life is a journey, you can build your life together,” she says, leaving me feeling oddly comforted by her words. 

For Nidhi, timelines, convention and societal pressure are not deciding factors for life’s decisions, as she’s accustomed to taking leaps of faith that have defied what people around her deemed ‘normal.’ At the age of 19, Nidhi decided to accept a three-month student exchange program to Italy that made her realise that she loved the country, the culture, and the food so much, she must go back for a graduate degree. As she went back, she ended up staying and building a life there, even when she’d return to India, she’d be working, taking on projects and then heading back to the land of Sophia Loren, Gelattos and heavenly sea-sides. Nidhi met Silvestru after several years of being well acquainted with Italy. 

“We met on Bumble, surprisingly. It was my first date with anybody I had met on a dating app. Before this, I was in a long-term relationship with someone from here, Italy, as I’ve been living here for over ten years now. After I did my masters from Istituto Marangoni, I started working here on and off. And then in 2021, I came back to Italy, and thought to myself, you know what, ‘Let's just try Bumble. Let's see what's out there.’ And my husband was the first man I ever met off of a dating app.”

Among all the conversations around the hopelessness of finding a soulmate on a dating app, Nidhi Govindan and Silvestru Ciubotaru’s story is an example of how love will find you when the time is right and in ways you may not even expect. 

For some couples, love is an unsaid and deeply known truth. You could say the same was and is true for this happy, newlywed duo. Love and marriage were not a striking revelation; Govindan and Ciubotaru seemed to know from the beginning stages of their relationship that they were special to one another. Nidhi, who is a graphic designer and is running a business with her husband and mother-in-law, also makes it a point to mention just how important patience is while meeting romantic suitors. When we asked her how she knew he was the one, she said it was a steady realisation, a gentle observation of how she felt in his presence. “We took the time to get to know each other and get used to each other’s personalities. But his patience, his demeanour towards me, how I always laughed when I was around him, how I wanted to try new things and how my adventurous side thrived in his presence, were all signs of him being the one, and that we were meant for each other,” she tells us.

“And to think that, I come from Mumbai, he (Silvestru) is originally from Moldova, but he grew up in Italy and for us to have met at that time, that particular place, that city–things had to have aligned,” she adds 

When it comes to the proposal and how the discussion of marriage took place, it seems the couple had been joking about tying the knot long before the question was ever popped. “There was an instance when we were on a flight from Mumbai to Milan, and I was slightly nervous about my visa (even though everything was already in place regarding it), Silvestru replied by saying ‘Don’t worry, I’m going to marry you anyway,’” she quips while talking about the events that led up to the proposal.

“A few months down the line, the idea of marriage turned into a more serious conversation between us. I’d already started the documentation work for our wedding before he proposed!. And one fine day, a few weeks before Christmas, I was in the shower while he had set up candles everywhere in the living room. He’d also spritzed the room with a favourite Oud fragrance. I remember coming out of the shower, entering the living room and seeing him down on one knee. I’d also always wanted a private proposal, and we were on the same page about this.”

As for the couple’s wedding, it seems both planned the perfect city hall wedding in central Italy.  

“We didn’t have a religious ceremony because we’re more spiritual than religious. So, we chose to have a civil ceremony at the city hall in my husband’s hometown, Orvieto, Umbria. Which was then followed by aperitivo; Aperitivo is an Italian concept which includes having drinks and snacks with your loved ones.”

Listening to the description of Nidhi’s wedding day, I couldn’t help but smile. Something about the simple sophistication of their wedding ceremony, paired with celebratory food spoke to me. Though the couple had contemplated a bigger wedding, booking a venue and all that jazz, as the duo waited on the municipality to approve the legal wedding ceremony date, they had about three months to do so, and ultimately decided on a city hall wedding. 

However, the newlyweds do plan on cementing their wedding by celebrating it on a larger scale by travelling with loved ones next year. Think of it as a White Lotus-esque, curated experience with their favourite people. They also commemorated their union back in Mumbai, when the couple travelled back to India and enjoyed a grand dinner with Nidhi’s family back in the city, as well. 

After the wedding, the couple decided to head to a 16th-century church-turned restaurant in the heart of Orvieto to have a fabulous ten to twelve-course dinner. The bride and groom and the 15 guests who were a part of the ceremony walked the charming, cobbled streets of the town over to Coro Ristorante to enjoy dinner and dig into a glorious cake afterwards for dessert. In good-natured banter, I let out a “How chic!” Nidhi’s wedding is an example of the wholesomeness that a walkable city or town can add to life. 

For the city hall ceremony, Nidhi wore a white, silky, sleek, corseted dress by Kosovo-based designer Nita Bllacaku, whereas her husband chose a suit by Belgian fashion designer Ann Demeulemeester. Govindan kept her accessories minimal and sophisticated to match the outfit. She wore a diamond necklace, a pair of diamond dangling earrings, two pairs of hoops and a ring that her father had chosen for her. While Silvestru paired a pearl necklace (which, just FYI, belonged to Nidhi’s late mother) with his outfit. 

Post the civil ceremony, Nidhi decided to change into a different outfit. She wore an off-white dress that her friend sourced from a designer, and carried a stunning red bag along with it. 

She was naturally sentimental about the big day, ecstatic about marrying her now-husband and seeing the rest of her life in front of her. “I remember during the civil ceremony, when the officiant asked Silvestru ‘Do you take her as your lawfully wedded wife?,’ he responded with an excited ‘Sì Sì Sì!’ (yes in Italian),” she shared with us while talking about her favourite memory from the wedding.

Having worked in fashion marketing and now owning a graphic design studio, Govindan has always had selective and refined taste, and the same can be said for her friends, who mostly work in similar industries. So, it’s no surprise that the images of the wedding came out perfect, even while being shot on multiple people’s phones. Nidhi and Silvestru did intend on booking a photographer, but the dates and availability did not align – so the couple did what anyone else would do, pulled out their phones, and had friends do the same! Having said that, they’ve also planned two photo shoots post the wedding to mark the beginning of the rest of their lives together. 

As I asked Nidhi what she looks forward to now, after her wedding, she happily exclaimed, “Just living life with my husband!” She also shared a few words of wisdom for anyone else planning an intimate wedding. “Take your time to curate and plan. Planning an intimate wedding may sound easier than a big wedding, but it’s not. Have a vision in mind, set your intentions for the day. Try to find moments where you connect with your partner throughout the day, because things may get chaotic, and it’s important to ground yourself and remain present during it all.”

Nidhi and Silvestru’s wedding is an example and quite the mood board for anyone looking to plan a wedding in a way where they can enjoy time with their loved ones, while holding onto a specific vision for how it must play out. If I could conclude and describe their special day in a few words, I would call it the spirit and philosophy of Italian joy all wrapped in one day.