Exclusive: Go Inside "Dance Moms" Alum Kalani Hilliker's Pastel Wedding Weekend in Lake Como, Italy

Dance Moms alum and mental health advocate Kalani Hilliker and Nathan Goldman got engaged on August 17, 2024, in Lake Como, Italy, so it was only fitting that they return to the area just over a year later to tie the knot. "We knew we had to get married at our favorite place in the world," the bride explains.

Booking their venue was an act of faith: Kalani and Nathan hired the team at Audrey Wood Events to plan their wedding, and when the team mentioned an amazing celebration they spotted on social media, the group collectively knew the venue was it. "We booked our venue without ever seeing it in person! My wedding planners saw a wedding that happened there on Instagram and when we saw it we knew it was the one," Kalani says. When they took a trip to Italy in April and finally set foot on the property, Villa Pizzo, it was clear they made the right choice. "It was even more amazing in person then the photos."

As planning got underway, Kalani and Nathan decided just one event wasn't going to be enough. After all, their family members and friends were flying from different places in the U.S. for the celebration, and the couple wanted the experience to be more like a vacation for their loved ones. To that end, they planned a family-centric rehearsal dinner, a blowout welcome party, and a wedding ceremony and reception to remember, giving guests multiple days of events to enjoy.

What unified each party was the couple's commitment to a light, bright color palette and an emphasis on fun. "The goal for our whole wedding week was to have a smaller more intimate wedding with our closest friends and family and feel like we are on one big vacation together," Kalani explains. "The vision of our wedding day was to feel light, airy, colorful, and free."

Here, see every stunning photo from the couple's three celebrations, including their September 17, 2025, wedding day, as captured by Roman Ivanov and shared exclusively with BRIDES.

The couple worked with Minted on their wedding stationery, which included a multi-piece suite in the celebration's signature pastel color palette. It also introduced the butterfly motif that would feature heavily throughout the weekend. "We incorporated a lot of butterflies because when Nate and I met we would always text each other butterflies and always talk about how we give each other butterflies," Kalani explains. "I’ve also always felt very connected to butterflies and see them as a good sign."

The couple, their families, and their wedding party stayed at Villa Camilla for the wedding weekend, so Kalani and Nathan chose to host their rehearsal dinner on the property's stunning grounds. "It was very intimate," the bride says.

The couple set a "colorful and pastel" dress code for the rehearsal dinner, and they stood out in their own pre-nuptial attire. Kalani wore a custom dress from Undone By Kate with a square neckline, spaghetti straps, and a flowing neck scarf. Nathan wore a relaxed blue suit and button down shirt.

A welcome sign greeted guests as they arrived at the rehearsal dinner, and it subtly nodded at the butterfly motif with the phrase "Here's to a lifetime of butterflies" at the bottom.

Guests were seated at one long table, where purple and blue ombré floral centerpieces were placed at intervals across the white linens. Neutral stoneware dinner plates were topped with scalloped menu cards and pale purple napkins—Kalani's favorite color and a hue that was used widely throughout wedding weekend—for a pop of color.

For dinner, everyone enjoyed a plated meal of their choice of eggplant parmesan, bolognese, and veal.

The next day, September 16, 2025, the couple hosted a poolside welcome party with a "That's Amore!" theme at Grand Hotel Tremezzo. "The welcome party was near the pool of the hotel and it was so special to have such a pretty atmosphere with the pool lit up, the red lights surrounding, the live music, greeting and dancing with friends and family as they were all arriving to Italy, and just getting really excited for the wedding," Kalani says.

Red-and-white checkered linens and bold red floral arrangements dotted the space; the bold event was in stark contrast to the décor seen at the rehearsal dinner and at the wedding to come, but it created a fun, lively atmosphere for guests as soon as they arrived.

Family members and friends found a spread of cheese, crackers, and fresh fruits and vegetables as soon as they arrived at the welcome party. That was just a taste of what was to come. Later in the evening, everyone was treated to a full spread of Italian classics, including a variety of different pizzas, caprese salad, and tiramisu.

The bride wore another look from Undone By Kate, which she paired with a purse emblazoned with "Mrs. Goldman," Kalani's soon-to-be name. Her oval-cut engagement ring from Brilliant Earth was also on full display. The groom wore a beige suit for the occasion.

"Planning a destination wedding is definitely more complex than planning something in our home country, but it was totally worth every minute!" Kalani says.

Kalani and Nathan leaned heavily on their wedding planning team to bring their vision to life, and they were so pleased by the results. "I really instilled trust in my wedding planning team and really looked to them to make all of my visions and ideas come to life. They found and worked with such fabulous vendors and all things were exactly what I wanted," Kalani explains.

Once their venue was selected, the group started discussing a vision for the big day, and a bright, happy color palette was quickly decided on. With that figured out, the rest of the details began falling naturally into place. "I’m a pretty easy going person when it comes to the vision I knew to trust my wedding planners," the bride says. "I had an idea of what I wanted since each event during this process has been so different, I wanted the wedding to feel bright, colorful, fun, energetic, and just an overall happy vibe! I knew my planners were more than capable of making the vision come to life and I knew they would find the perfect vendors to execute the look we were going for!"

Kalani spent the wedding morning getting ready with her bridal party, which included her two maids of honor Kennedy Cradic and Bella Feland and fellow Dance Moms alum JoJo Siwa. The group got ready in matching purple pajama sets (it is Kalani's favorite color, after all!) before changing into their pale purple House of CB gowns. "We were struggling to find something that we all loved and when I saw this purple corset butterfly dress, I knew that was it," Kalani says. "It really felt like an ode to Nate and I’s relationship and it’s special because purple is my favorite color. One of my bridesmaids, JoJo Siwa, was so kind and actually bought all of the dresses for the girls as a special gift."

Kalani wore three different wedding dresses on the big day, starting with her Netta BenShubu gown, which chose because it felt "very Lake Como to me." She worked with the team to customize the lace gown, which was originally designed in a different fabric. "I loved the fit but felt we needed a more airy lace," the bride explains. "That’s when she came up with this dress and made the most perfect custom gown for my day."

Though she knew there were plenty of talented professionals in Italy, Kalani opted to fly her go-to hair and makeup team from New York to Italy for the wedding. "As much as I know there’s great talent in Lake Como, I knew I wanted my glam team to be people I know, am friends with, trust, and really feel comfortable around on my big day," she explains. Alison Farfan, her hairstylist, gave her an elevated, elegant updo, which was topped with a veil from Toni Federici. "Kalani loves wearing her hair up, it’s definitely her comfort zone," Alison explains. "I wanted to create a look that still felt true to her, while adding a touch of elegance and still keeping everything snatched and lifted. Her wedding day look made her feel like herself and effortlessly elevated. Leaving one piece out at the end completed the lookout."

For makeup, Samantha Jaene delivered on Kalani's request for a more elevated, glowy take on her go-to beauty look. "The look we were going for is really timeless and all about enhancing her natural features," Sam says. "My goal for my clients is not to have people comment on the makeup, but rather on the bride’s beauty as a whole. We leveled up the glam a bit with a thin wing liner and soft individual lashes."

The bride carried a bouquet of fresh lavender, which was tied together with a pale purple ribbon and pearls.

Nathan had one wedding fashion non-negotiable: He didn't want to wear black, so he turned to Christian Charles Couture for something a little more unique. "I did a custom tuxedo that is navy blue which I found wasn’t super normal so it was fun to do something different and go through that process," he explains. "On the inside of my jacket, there’s a custom embroidery of the wedding date which is a special touch."

His groomsmen, including his best man, Sam, wore classic tuxedos.

"I’m obsessed with my husband and wanted him to see me as soon as possible," Kalani says of their decision to have a first look. "I knew it would help with the nerves and I always just want to be around him as much as possible."

The couple hosted an outdoor wedding ceremony, facing the water. Guests were seated in white garden-style chairs in the venue's sunken patio—the stairs added additional dimension to the space, resulting in a visually exciting setup. Colorful clusters of flowers, utilizing lots of purple blooms, were arranged at intervals down the aisle.

The couple's flower girls, dresses in pale purple gowns, and their ring bearer, in a mini tux, made their way down the aisle before the bride. Then, Kalani and her dad, Matt, entered.

Kalani sites her ceremony entrance as one of her favorite moments from the entire day. "Walking down the aisle and seeing the ceremony florals for the first time and then looking up and seeing Nate because he was tearing up. It made me super emotional," she says. "The wedding actually got pushed back an hour (wardrobe situation) and so we got a sunset and I’ve never seen a sunset before in Lake Como... it was just perfect."

Exchanging vows was another highlight for the bride and groom; they say it was an emotional time during which they—and most of their guests!—laughed and cried. Part of the reason why it was so emotional? Kalani and Nathan both wrote their own vows. "We shared many moments and stories about our love story that we liked having for our close friends and family to hear," she says. "It was so special and neither of us could barely stop crying the whole time!"

Musicians playing the violin and chello performed live during the couple's recessional, which was set to the tune of "To Build a Home."

During the open-air cocktail hour, guests enjoyed a variety of different drinks, including sips from a signature spritz bar. Espresso martinis, the bride's favorite drink, were also on offer.

Guests also found their reception seating assignments on classic white tented cards during cocktail hour. The lush floral arrangement hinted at the décor to come.

The reception was held in a tent-light structure, where long and round tables were arranged around the dance floor. Unique draped chandeliers were hung at various different heights from the ceiling, and they lent a warm, inviting glow to the space.

Tables were topped with pale green or butterfly-patterned linens, in keeping with the day's garden theme. Colorful centerpieces in shades of pink, white, purple, and blue topped each table, and they contained a mix of different flowers. Taper candles in pastel tones were also added to each table. "Even though our wedding is in September we wanted to keep the wedding light and colorful," Kalani explains.

Place settings varied throughout the space, but all featured some form of charger and dinnerware. At each seat, guests found the evening menu, which detailed the meal of a baby gem caesar salad, calamarata pasta, and grilled beef tenderloin.

The couple hired a three-piece band for their reception, but the trio also worked with their after-party DJ during breaks to ensure there was continuous music throughout the evening.

Kalani and Nathan shared a choreographed first dance to "Biblical" by Callum Scott.

The couple stole away so Kalani could change into her second look of the day—this one, a strapless gown by Anne Barge. "I tried on a couple styles with the team and ended up loving the style of the dress but wanted to add some more drama," she explains. "We changed the fabric to this amazing satin and added gloves and an over skirt for the super lux look."

"Our reception started off with live music and once the speeches and scheduled dances were over, the whole place turned into a club-like atmosphere with loud music and tons of laser lights," Kalani says of the reception's transformation. Late-night pizza was served to help fuel the party atmosphere.

As the party got into full swing, Kalani made one more outfit change. "I knew I wanted a mini because as a dancer I knew I had to be able to feel free to dance and party at the after-party! I also grew up wearing all the sparkles and knew I wanted a super sparkly dress that reminded me of my dance costumes as a kid," the bride explains. So, she tapped Undone by Kate one last time to create something unique. "She saw the vision and ran! She made the best custom mini with even a little sparkle detail that said my new name Mrs. Goldman on the bow."

The couple served a classic Italian millefoglie for dessert as well as a full array of other bite-sized treats. Grounded fireworks went off as the couple sliced the cake.

The Dance Moms alums in attendance—Kalani, Kendall Vertes, and JoJo Siwa—hit the dance floor during the reception to surprise guests with one of their childhood routines. The trio performed a dance to "We On Top" by Photronique.

After hours of dancing, the happy newlyweds and their guests headed back to the hotel for the evening. Now, Kalani and Nathan are enjoying a honeymoon in Mallorca.