Save this story Save Story Save this story Kathryn Mawhinney and Grayson Judge ’s first date was technically a phone call. A seven-hour phone call, to be precise. “We both grew up in the Bay Area but didn’t meet until 2024,” says Kate, who at the time was still finishing college in Atlanta. Rather than waiting until they were in the same place, the two spent six weeks talking on the phone every day. “After that first call, I knew I needed to have her in my life,” recalls Grayson. “She was unbelievably charming, funny, and warm, and I knew there would be a line of guys waiting for her when she got home.”
When they eventually had their first in-person date, it was in San Francisco, halfway between their two hometowns. Grayson planned a night out at a tequila bar (margaritas are Kate’s favorite), followed by tapas for dinner, and finally a lookout point in the Russian Hill neighborhood. “I texted one of my buddies on my way home and told him I would marry her one day,” he says.
Fifteen months later, Grayson proposed at that same lookout point. “I got her there by convincing her we were on our way to brunch with my cousin, and instead brought her back to the place where it had all started,” he says. Despite the couple having previously talked about a general timeline for getting engaged, the actual proposal caught her off guard. “The second I realized what was happening, I immediately started sobbing uncontrollably,” she says.
When the couple was deciding where to get married, they landed on an intimate gathering of family and friends in Fajãzinha on Flores Island in the Azores. (They also plan to have a larger wedding next summer in a town the bride’s family grew up visiting.) The island is among the most remote in the Azores, and is where Grayson’s maternal ancestors are from. “My Azorean heritage has always been a source of pride for my family and me,” he says. “Returning to my ancestral homeland to marry the love of my life was truly an indescribable feeling.”
They rented out the entirety of Aldeia da Cuada, a 17th-century stone village turned hotel that was able to accommodate everyone in town for the week’s festivities. “The little houses were originally built higher on the island to escape pirates, and the whole place felt like a fairy tale,” Kate says.
Kate took the lead with conceptualizing and planning, while Grayson spearheaded logistics. “My man of honor jokes that it was really just me and my 100-page Canva board against the world,” she says. Kate sourced vendors from all over the world, including Etsy stationery artists and commercial wholesalers for embroidered towels and aprons.
Among their standout vendors was their florist, Alice of Jungle Utopia, who purchased special headphones that translated French to Portuguese so she could figure out how to import the flowers they wanted. “And on top of everything else, she even foraged in the mountains for garnishes for our Palomas. She is truly such an angel,” Kate says.
Carlota, the owner of Aldeia da Cuada, was also instrumental in the planning process. “She and her team went above and beyond, building cocktail tables by hand, learning to make passion-fruit margaritas on the fly, and working with civil and parish authorities to help pull off the first wedding our church had hosted in more than 20 years,” Grayson says. “I joke that Carlota is the second love of my life,” Kate adds. “We truly could not have pulled this off without her.” A month before the wedding, they also brought on a team of two from Mason Market (Sam and Tyler) to bring everything over the finish line.
For their welcome party, Kate chose a Ralph Lauren gown circa 2001 (her birth year) and paired it with Jimmy Choo heels and her mother-in-law’s diamond studs. “The earrings were especially meaningful: They had belonged to her mother and were originally given to her by Grayson’s late grandfather, whose ashes were scattered on Flores,” Kate says. Grayson opted for a dark brown suit and tonal shirt from Todd Snyder.
The morning of the wedding, Kate slipped into a robe and slip she had thrifted in France to get ready. “We didn’t have elaborate dressing teams or glam squads for everyone,” she says. “My best friends [got] ready on the floor using their iPhones as mirrors. They joked that they experienced the purest form of girlhood.”
The ceremony took place in the Church of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, a Catholic church constructed in 1776. Kate walked down the aisle in a long-sleeved, open-back gown that she had found while shopping with her grandmother and mother. “We customized the Sareh Nouri gown extensively, removing the bow and extra train in the back, changing the short sleeves to long sleeves, extending the train, and adding tiny buttons along the sleeves,” she says. She paired the gown with Amina Muaddi heels, vintage earrings, and a veil with a removable blusher.
“I will never forget the first glimpse I caught of her through a small crack in the wooden church doors,” Grayson says of Kate’s dress. For his own look, he wore a Saint Laurent tuxedo with a Giorgio Armani tuxedo shirt, which had been gifted to him by his mother-in-law a few years earlier.
A local priest named Júlio presided over the ceremony, which was half in English and half in Portuguese. A few of the townspeople sat in the back pews to witness the ceremony. “There was something so moving about having them there,” Kate says. “It made me feel like we were becoming part of something much bigger than just our own marriage.
After the ceremony, the two were waiting to sign the marriage certificate when Kate felt a light tap on her arm. “I looked down, and a little girl handed me a drawing and said, ‘This is for you,’” she recalls. It was a picture she had drawn of the couple. “It was the pianist’s daughter, and we were told later that it was her first wedding and she thought that Kate was a princess,” Grayson says.
The group proceeded down to the town square of Fajãzinha, where a wine bar had been set up. “Each guest had a wine glass with a Portuguese scarf tied around it, which Kate had embroidered with their names,” Grayson says. The priest, local townspeople, taxi drivers, and shepherds all joined the celebration.
When guests arrived at the reception, a handwritten letter from Kate awaited each of them at their respective place settings. “Kate is the only person I know who would handwrite four-plus-page, personal, heartfelt letters to 29 people expressing her gratitude for their role in helping her become the woman she is today,” Grayson says.
Once speeches kicked off, the couple were both brought to tears when Grayson’s mother took the microphone. “She hired a genealogist and began the speech by reading the names of Grayson’s ancestors who had lived on Flores, including multiple couples who had been married in the very same church where we had said our vows just hours earlier,” Kate says. “We had no idea, and it made the entire day feel even more special.”
The group eventually migrated to the circular stone roof of an old atafona (traditional mill) and danced under string lights, drank wine straight from the bottles, and partied into the night on the makeshift dance floor (“with a constant fight for who was on aux”). The after-party moved to the pool, where everyone swam and danced until 6:30 in the morning. “As proof that I was having the best night of my life, I managed to roll my ankle and just kept dancing,” Kate says.
Looking back, it was these moments of friendship and family they say they’ll remember most. “I think an underrated part of a wedding is that while you’re marrying the love of your life, you’re surrounded by the people who were your entire life first,” Kate says. “One of my relatives, who hadn’t flown in decades because he was afraid of flying, got on a plane because I was getting married. My mom pressed three of the groomsmen’s suits when they wandered into her little stone house looking for help… They say your wedding sets the tone for your marriage, but I hope that week sets the tone for the rest of our lives.”
Expand Photo: Josh Simpson 1/67 Flores Island. In the foreground is the historic stone village of Aldeia da Cuada, where we held our reception, and in the distance, Fajãzinha village and the Church of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios. The last time a member of my family was married in that church was 150 years ago. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 2/67 My soon-to-be husband looking incredibly handsome in his tonal look for the welcome party. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 3/67 One of my favorite bridal looks: vintage Ralph Lauren from my birth year (2001!) —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 4/67 Some things never change: getting dressed up with my favorite girls, vino in hand, and having the best time celebrating Kate. The show is about to begin! —Katherine, bridesmaid
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 5/67 Our welcome drinks beneath the Azores’s quintessential waterfalls and towering cliffs, featuring cocktail tables handmade especially for the occasion by the hotel owner’s husband. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 6/67 The Palomas, which our bartenders learned to make especially for us (my girlfriends and I happily indulged in more than a few taste tests during my makeup trial), were topped with fresh garnishes our florist had hiked into the mountains to gather that very morning. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 7/67 My perfect mother-in-law and me, with her looking absolutely beautiful in Cult Gaia. We were already so close before Grayson and I got engaged, but working together to pick out all of her looks for the weekend solidified our best friendship. I truly hit the jackpot with her, and I couldn’t adore her more. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 8/67 All smiles on night one. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 9/67 My groomsmen and I are all water polo players and surfers, so getting in the ocean the morning of the wedding was a must. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 10/67 Racing up the stairs to see my beautiful bride. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 11/67 Framer! —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 12/67 My groom taking one last dive before the ceremony. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 13/67 My little robe and slip, thrifted in France, paired with my mother-in-law’s diamond earrings. Clearly, I was beyond excited to walk down the aisle to the love of my life. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 14/67 Watching my best friend become a bride on this beautiful island took me right back to every memory we’ve made, and I know this one will forever be my favorite. —Veronica, maid of honor
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 15/67 The back was, and still is, my favorite part of the dress. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 16/67 I was tempted to caption every single one of these, “My wife looking hot!” —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 17/67 When I first visited Flores with my family, I never could have imagined that one day I would return to get married there. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 18/67 My sorority little, getting ready with an iPhone, just like we used to do together before every college date party. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 19/67 Grayson is a brother to each of us, and it was both surreal and an incredible honor to share this time with him on the happiest day of his life. —Anthony, best man
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 20/67 We had the best morning getting ready with our “friends-in-law,” as we like to call each other. —Ellie, bridesmaid
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 21/67 Doesn’t get better than this. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 22/67 No cold feet here! —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 23/67 My first look with my dad was a moment I’ll never forget. I had dreamed of this moment since I was a little girl. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 24/67 One of my favorite photos of the week. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 25/67 Arriving at the church with my dad in a convertible borrowed from the hotel owner’s sister, my dream bouquet of lily of the valley in hand. Because the flowers were out of season, they had to be shipped all the way from Kazakhstan! A hilarious coincidence, as it happens to be one of our favorite places we’ve traveled together. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 26/67 My dad escorting his parents to the church. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 27/67 My maid of honor and best friend since high school. And quite possibly the first good photo we’ve managed to get together in nearly a decade of friendship. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 28/67 Let’s pretend the photographer said, “One, two, three, shaka brah !” —Alex, groomsman
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 29/67 We held hands the entire ceremony. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 30/67 My best man, my best friend from childhood, and Kate’s maid of honor gave three readings during the ceremony. Somehow, none of them knew they would be called to the ambo, but they were all fantastic lectors. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 31/67 Julio, our priest, presided over the best ceremony we could have asked for, blending Portuguese and English and striking the perfect balance between tradition and fun. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 32/67 One of countless moments caught gazing at my beautiful wife. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 33/67 Generations of Grayson’s family signed this very same marriage register before immigrating to the United States. Getting to be a part of that family legacy was incredibly special. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 34/67 A new chapter in the history of my family. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 35/67 We had planned to practice our dip all week, but with all the craziness, we forgot and ended up winging it! I think we killed it. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 36/67 Our first hugs with our loved ones as husband and wife. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 37/67 My mom’s smile on the right is my favorite part about this photo. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 38/67 Time to celebrate. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 39/67 Our post-ceremony drinks were held in the Fajãzinha town square, where we had set up a bar with wine glasses adorned with Portuguese scarves embroidered with each guest’s name. The priest, the church pianist, and local townspeople all joined us for a drink as we toasted to our new marriage. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 40/67 Our first group debrief of the ceremony. We will never get tired of going through every detail. —Veronica, maid of honor
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 41/67 My in-laws absolutely “mogging.” My father-in-law had to Google the term after I used it in our family group chat, though, in fairness, I had only learned it from my little sister a few weeks earlier. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 42/67 Paying tribute to the local legends who graciously accepted us and supported our marriage like family. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 43/67 Retracing the steps of my ancestors with my new wife by my side. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 44/67 Unfortunately, the bride said no to me wearing a matching rainbow tux. —Caleb, man of honor
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 45/67 “Vengaaaaaa, Mrs. Judge!” —Asa, groomsman
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 46/67 As picturesque as it gets: gorgeous wife, beautiful church, jagged cliffs, and misty fog rolling in from the ocean. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 47/67 During our first and only site visit, Grayson came across this beautiful view, and his one request for the wedding weekend was that we take a photo there. Getting to it turned out to be quite the adventure, including the best man literally carrying me over a stone wall, but it was well worth the trek. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 48/67 We didn’t have any practice with the post-ceremony dip, but this pose wasn’t new to us. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 49/67 I cannot put into words how happy I was here. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 50/67 Our florist, Jungle Utopia, killed it. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 51/67 We were all holding back tears (with varying degrees of success) as we read the personalized letters Kate had written to each of us. —Ellie, bridesmaid
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 52/67 Me hugging the best man and my chosen big brother. —Kate
Expand Photo: Josh Simpson 53/67 Our videographer, Josh Simpson of Joyride Films, managed to capture some incredible aerial shots, including this one of the reception dinner. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 54/67 Our reception table, toasting with our closest friends over a fantastic traditional Flores paella made with local shellfish. It truly was my dream friend trip where I got to marry my dream boy. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 55/67 How lucky am I that I get to call this stud my husband ! —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 56/67 Three generations of Judge men. Some seriously handsome genes in the family! —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 57/67 Keeping the candles lit against the marine wind was a struggle, so we ended up racing through a quick candle blow-out to kiss. Made it work! —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 58/67 Carlota, the owner of Aldeia da Cuada, pouring wine for her team. The staff went above and beyond all week to make sure every wish was fulfilled and every moment went smoothly. Truly an exceptional group of individuals. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 59/67 The Judges know how to party. It’s a fact. —Anthony, best man
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 60/67 My little sister and her best friend playing hurricane shots with the groomsmen. I can’t think of a picture that better captures the energy of the after-party. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 61/67 We don’t have an issue being affectionate. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 62/67 The embroidered scarves found a second life. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 63/67 Already framed in our kitchen. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 64/67 Missing a few members of the wedding party at brunch, courtesy of the previous night’s festivities. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 65/67 First day of marriage looks really, really good on her. —Grayson
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 66/67 My man of honor looking incredibly sharp, as per usual. —Kate
Expand Photo: Rob Tennent 67/67 There is nowhere in the world like Flores. Thank you to my husband for being from the most magical island on earth and giving me an excuse to have the most magical week of my life there. And thank you to our friends and family who took planes, trains, and automobiles to the middle of the Atlantic to make it all happen. What a week, what a place, and what a life I am beyond grateful to be sharing with Grayson. —Kate
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Source: Lifestyle
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