Here a duo that knows how to celebrate a union fifteen years in the making. Think jetting off to Spain with their nearest and dearest for an entire week of serious fun, then capping it all off with a boho celebration filled with beautiful details from the talented Rachel Rose Weddings. Oh, and the gorgeous bride? She designed her own gown AND the stationery. Head to THE VAULT for every amazing detail captured by Anna Gazda, then stay tuned for a sweet film from StudioKrrusel below.
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From the Bride… After 13 years of friendship, and both of us leaving our hometown to travel the world and explore all that it had to offer, Rob and I finally ignited the spark and starting dating. Two years later and after a lot of trials and tribulations Rob asked me to marry him and with many tears I said “Yes!”
The engagement and lead up to the wedding day is a whole other story and one that we used as a creative Save The Date pictogram – You can learn more about how we finally got to the wedding day after 15 years of knowing each other. The graphic design work was done by a good friend Thera Colquhoun.
When deciding on a location we considered so many options, but Spain for me has always been very special, as I grew up with my father working there (we lived in England) and it was on his last trip to Spain when I was 6-years-old, that sadly he was in a car accident and passed away. Having our wedding in Spain felt like the closest I could be to having him there with us and gave our whole family a chance to view Spain as a happy place once again.
We found our perfect wedding venue when we discovered Rachel Rose Weddings. Rachel is an incredibly talented wedding planner based in Benahavis and as soon as I came across her website and the weddings she had styled, I had tears in my eyes imagining what we could create together. We viewed El Cortijo de los Caballos on a cold and rainy day in November, it was under construction so we had to use our imaginations, but I loved that it felt like an oasis when you walked in and was surrounded by cornfields and mountains. It used to be stables, which have been converted into guest rooms and a cottage with a gorgeous swimming pool, pool bar and garden in the center for everyone to congregate and hang out. I could imagine all the possibilities and we booked our date for September 12th, which was exactly a year after our engagement.
I think my style is bohemian and whimsical; I love nature, wild flowers, moss (my surname is Moss), hummingbirds, flower crowns and dancing barefoot. Whilst my Scottish husband is more traditional, loving all things Scottish, ice-cream, whiskey and cèilidh dancing.
To begin with I decided from the start that I wanted to design and create my own wedding dress and wear something that was truly unique and personal. I never tried on a single wedding dress and instead sketched out some designs of my own and worked with a local dressmaker in Dubai to help me create my vision. I have always been fascinated with hummingbirds since my time living in Panama and on many occasions I have been referred to as one, buzzing around with endless energy from place to place, so I decided I would love to have one on the back on my dress as the main focal point. I wanted the rest of the dress to be simple, but have a bohemian vibe, I also wanted a dress that wasn’t just white, but had details in color. I had chosen a pastel color palette, so I decided on pastel colored flowers on the front and back to tie it all in together. It was an endless job and took almost a year to create with fittings twice a week and endless changes as we watched the dress come together. It is the first time I have ever done anything like this and I have learned so much, I love the dress and so did everyone else, but I think if I was to do it again it could be even better!
Rob is Scottish so really wanted to wear a kilt, but as it was mid-summer in Spain he decided that it would be too hot. We decided together that we would like an informal and casual ‘rustic’ vibe and so chose linen for both him and the groomsmen. We designed a 3-piece suit in pale blue linen and had it made by a local tailor. We also bought tan color braces (suspenders) for Rob and all the boys including the pageboy Tom that looked super cute. The groomsmen were to wear beige linen trousers, white shirt, tan suspenders, and a mix of pastel colored bow ties that we had made by a tailor in Thailand.
There were so many details on the day, which you can see from the photos. I designed all the wedding stationery, we created a logo that was a combination of a hummingbird and a kilt and used this on everything.
Everything was custom made from local designers or artisans and Etsy.com was a great help! From the flower girls fairy wands and dresses, the dress hangers, all the gifts for the wedding party, the dress, the boys outfits, pretty much everything. Even down to the ring holder which was a birds nest with two little turquoise eggs on a bed of moss. It was perfect because it tied in so many of our details.
We wrote our own vows and created custom signage which Nulki Nulks our designer in Spain creatively wrote out of recycled palettes, vintage windows and other pieces of wood.
The dinner was served ‘Family Picnic Style’. We asked for long picnic tables so everyone could sit together, sharing and passing food. We didn’t want ‘fancy food’ or set courses, as I think it’s always hard to decide on these before you arrive and we wanted our guests to have lots of options to choose from and enjoy specialties from the local region. We had salads, a BBQ, seafood paella, a trio of deserts and the big hit was the ‘cheese’ cake which was rounds of cheese in a tower which the guests enjoyed for the remainder of the night. We also served midnight snacks of mini sliders and falafels.
Everyone who came to our wedding week commented that it was the best wedding they had been to. We created a week of activities to introduce people to Spain and show them some of our favorite spots so everyone also got to know each other really well. For the 30 guests staying with us at the Cortijo it was likened to an ‘Adult Summer Camp’ which none of us wanted to end!
The wedding took a full year of lots of planning and was not without it’s stresses but on the day it was all so worth it and together with the incredible team of suppliers and our Wedding Fairy Godmother Rachel we created a most wonderful, magical, whimsical lyrical wedding that will be remembered by us and everyone who came for the rest of our lives!
Photography: Anna Gazda | Cinematography: Studio Krrusel | Floral Design: Flor Valentin | Wedding Dress: Duchess, Dubai | Cake: Rachel Rose Weddings | Stationery: Nulki Nulks | Bride's Shoes: Rachel Simpson | Catering: Sana Catering Marbella | Hair + Makeup: Ella Megan Ogilvie | Venue: Cortijo Rosa Blanca | Event Planning, Decor + Styling: Cortijo Rosa Blanca
