Jenny and Dom´s Hillside Wedding in El Madronal, Marbella

It feels like so long ago that I saw Jenny and Dom in June but when I received Kris McGuirk´s photos of their big day yesterday all the memories came flooding back. And I don´t mind admitting that I gushed over these photos like it was my own wedding! I think it was the combination of a charming couple, the fun I had working with them and a great team of suppliers on the day that it made it so memorable. 

Jenny and Dom knew they wanted a very relaxed and fun day for their wedding and this was evident in their choice of decoration as much as the location they chose. After a beautiful church ceremony on the coast they headed up into the hills of El Madronal to their villa where upon entering they and their guests were treated to  cava and Spanish guitar music from The Latino Brothers while relaxing in the lush gardens.

We kept the table decoration elegant with tall silver candelabras for the centrepieces then added a quirky twist with ´nickname´ placecards which provided a great source of entertainment for the guests. As the villa is stunning in its own right, we enhanced some of its great features with fairy lights, large white vintage lanterns and tea lights scattered around the various terraces and chill out areas. A couple of lovely bay trees on the main terrace were used as ´wish trees´ which the guests loved but personal favourite was the table plan we created using three white wicker hearts which we adorned with hanging heart tea lights and ribbons.

The guests were a really fun crowd and at the end of the night some of the bigger boys (aka grown up men!) dived into the pool fully clothed to the surprise of the kids watching them. A really great time was had by all and I wish Jenny and Dom lots of love and luck in their married life together.

A big thanks to all the others involved in the big day - Marbella Catering for their delicious food (I can personally recommend the cheesecake hmmm!), Lisa Franco wedding planner extraordinaire for a seamless event as always, Flowers by Lisa for the lovely arrangements and to Kris McGuirk again for such gorgeous photos.

Karin and Michael´s intimate wedding at La Cabane : Sneak Peek!

No matter how many times I visit La Cabane it still takes my breath away. It´s simply stunning. So it was no surprise that German couple Karin and Michael loved it too. Yesterday was their wedding day and surrounded by a small group of family and friends they enjoyed an intimate ceremony with their loved ones followed by an amazing meal after which they partied the night away at La Luna nightclub. While we wait for David Toms´ photos, which I promise will be absolutely fantastic as they always are, I am afraid you will have to make do with my snaps to whet your appetite x 

Weddings abroad : the importance of local knowledge

Getting married is usually stressful at some point during the planning process (if not most of it!) so planning a wedding overseas if you don´t speak the language can be pretty terrifying and off putting. Where do you start, who to contact etc.. Personally I believe that getting a local wedding planner, one that speaks the local language, is key to a less stressful event. I´m not saying that without a wedding planner the wedding will be awful because it won´t, a planner (if he/she is a good one) will be your eyes and ears and this in itself will make the planning and wedding day much easier. With or without a planner, I would always advise you to research everything. Contact venues and suppliers and ask for testimonials. Gather as much info as you can before you make your choices and it will pay off. 

Without sounding mean and disrespectful to the couple involved, I want to share an example of a wedding a friend of mine attended here a couple of weeks ago and highlight the importance of local knowledge and organisation. 

Ok, so it goes like this. On a viewing trip that the bride and groom organised themselves they fell in love with a venue but it was way out of their price range for the whole wedding day so they decided on solely having their blessing ceremony there and the welcome cocktails and reception were held elsewhere. This in itself is not uncommon nor a bad idea as budget is always important. But the time of day they chose was not good. They had their ceremony at 4pm in June and the heat was unbearable. There was no shade at the outdoor venue and the guests ended up huddled under the only available tree in the area and did not get to see or hear the ceremony properly as they were so far away. If the couple had realised how hot it is in the summer here I´m sure they would have provided fans or parasols or something for their guests but it´s very hard to envisage how incredibly hot it can be when enduring the freezing weather most people suffer in the UK or Ireland for example. 

Next hiccup...the journey to the reception venue for welcome cocktails, meal, dancing etc. When the bride and groom were on their viewing trip over a year before the wedding they hired a car to travel about and the distance between the ceremony and reception venues was only about 15 minutes in the car. Fabulous they thought. They organised coaches for the guests to be collected from the ceremony and brought to the reception which was a great idea. However they didn´t know about the long term roadworks that had started and would leave their dehydrating guests in horrendous traffic for nearly an hour. By the time the guests arrived they were hot and bothered and not really in the mood to celebrate. 

There were a couple of other hiccups like the flowers for the centrepieces being the wrong colour (the bride hadn´t quite understood the Spanish florist) but I don´t want to scare anyone or totally criticise someone´s wedding, I just want to simply say that no matter how you approach your dream wedding in the sun, good old fashioned organisation and research is critical.