When Kaky Daniel lost her boyfriend, Giovanni Paolo Ronghi, in 2022 — just hours before her birthday — grief nearly hollowed her out.
Ronghi was 29, full of promise, and the future they planned together disappeared in an instant while they were in Mexico. In the days that followed, Daniel leaned heavily on the women who refused to let her sink.
This year, on her 40th birthday, the event planner decided to return that love in the most extraordinary way: by marrying 70 of her closest friends.
The three-day, $250,000 “sisterhood wedding” — held in Cartagena, Colombia, and shared exclusively with PEOPLE — became a tribute to the women who carried Daniel through her darkest hour.
“Why shouldn’t I say vows to the women who were at my side at the funeral home when he died?” Daniel told PEOPLE. “This wedding was my way of honoring the people who loved me back to life.”
A Ceremony Rooted in Grief — and Rebirth
Daniel described the women in her life as her lifelong “teachers, lifelines, and chosen family.” Instead of anchoring gratitude to the hope of a romantic wedding someday, she chose to honor them now — publicly, symbolically, and unapologetically.
Cartagena held personal significance: Daniel’s parents were married there 60 years ago. The weekend unfolded across lush rooftops, historic alleyways, and a private island on Barú.
The welcome reception painted Hotel Voilá in green. The rooftop ceremony at Movich Hotel Cartagena de Indias offered panoramic views of the walled city and the Caribbean Sea. The finale — a day at Zamaz Barú — felt, in Daniel’s words, “like summer camp mixed with a spiritual retreat.”
A Wedding Without a Groom — and Without Apology
Daniel wore a beaded gown and a custom veil embroidered with the names of her friends. The 70 women dressed in white bridal attire, each receiving a gifted engagement bracelet from designer Nelly Rojas.
But no one walked down an aisle. Instead, Daniel stood before her community and vowed loyalty, honesty, encouragement, protection, and presence — commitments echoed by the entire group as they said “I do” together.
Their shared vows included releasing societal pressure about marriage timelines and embracing the lives they’re living now.
“It was part wedding, part tribute, part healing ceremony, part celebration of abundance,” Daniel said.
A Celebration That Lifted Everyone
Traditional dancers and música típica led the bride tribe through the streets to the reception. Chef Juan Felipe Camacho prepared the dinner; Daniel prepared personalized vows — 70 of them — each reflecting a unique history.
The weekend also honored resilience. Three cancer survivors received flowers and tributes. A nonprofit founder in Cartagena was surprised with a video tribute and $7,000 in donations.
For many, the experience was transformational.
“People said things like, ‘No one has ever honored me like this,’” Daniel recalled. “Some even said it healed parts of them they didn’t know were broken.”
A movement, not a moment, she added.
Expanding the Definition of Love
Daniel’s story taps into a growing cultural shift: more people, especially women, are rejecting the idea that romantic partnership is the pinnacle of adulthood. Her “sisterhood wedding” reframes celebration, value, and emotional commitment — and does so without diminishing romantic love.
In a country wrestling with widening loneliness and fractured social support, Daniel’s vow exchange serves as a reminder that community, too, can be sacred.
Her point was simple: “Community is real wealth. Friendship deserves ceremonies too.”
For Daniel, honoring her friends wasn’t just healing — it was liberating.
“I’m still a lover girl because love has never failed me,” she said. “People have. Romantic love is one expression, not the only one.”
