Europe Weddings

Today’s stunning wedding is nothing short of a dream. From the floral adorned palace staircase to the charming indoor reception complete with the original palace china, every inch of this special day was fit for a royal. Splendida Weddings brought the couple’s intimate, destination wedding dreams to life while Passionate Photography was there to capture every can’t miss moment. Don’t miss the full gallery to see all the wedding magic unfold.

From the couple… What makes our wedding special: Our love is like a dream. It’s so easy, and simple, but for a same-sex couple, our dream wedding hasn’t always felt possible. We needed to honor this with a ceremony that celebrated what we love about each other, which we achieved by writing our own vows and having a special friend officiate. 

We also wanted to thank our wedding guests for traveling all the way to Europe by pampering them in an elegant venue. We wanted the classic charm of the palace to speak for itself, but we also wanted to highlight the elements of Portuguese culture that we love so much. 

The small details like using the original palace furniture for the ceremony, Portuguese china and crystal, traditional Portuguese cuisine, and utilizing different rooms/areas of the palace for the ceremony, cocktail, dinner, and dancing really set the experience over the top for us and our guests. We, and they, felt like royalty! 

We both come from families that value hard work, but sometimes forget to reward themselves. We wanted our guests to treat themselves to a hard-earned vacation and fall as in love with Europe and some of the finer things as we are. They literally can’t stop thanking us. It was a dream come true for all of us.

Photography: Passionate | Event Design: Splendida Weddings | Event Planning: Splendida Weddings | Floral Design: Alice Florals | Stationery: In love| unique moments | Shoes: Salvatore Ferragamo | Wedding Bands: Cartier | Suits: Ted Baker London | Wedding Venue: Tivoli Palacio De Seteais | Accessories: Tiffany & Co. | Makeup & Hairstyle: Vanessa Marinho Makeup And Hair | Rentals: Aqueduto | Rentals: The Rental Factory

With New England temps in the negatives right about now, I’m craving a gorgeous virtual getaway like you wouldn’t believe. And this slice of heaven from French Grey Photography has come to my rescue. It’s everything I envision the perfect Portugal wedding day to be… where the port is flowing, where playful patterns sneak their pretty way in every corner, and gorgeous architecture serve as backdrops for sweet kisses. Escape with me right here.

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From French Grey Photography…A styled shoot in the amazing Sintra region of Portugal, just a few kilometres outside of Lisbon. Inspired by the amazing colors, products and beauty of the countryside.

We worked with a very experienced team of vendors from the region, to create some beautiful images which will hopefully inspire future couples to choose Portugal for their destination wedding. The people and choice of high quality vendors on offer in this small but historically rich country is amazing!

With the assistance of my awesome wife, Kasia, from French Grey Events; and Monica the owner of Amor Pra Sempre, we found the best of the best within Portugal to collaborate with us on this shoot.

This fabulous team included the likes of Tania from T Bakes, this american-trained patisserie chef makes the most amazing sugar creations, so good you just want to stare and marvel at them all day long (yes, even the leaves and flower on the cake is edible)! The beautiful dresses provided by Joana Montez Atelier are romantically detailed with layer upon layer of chiffon and beautiful bead detailing, that were married perfectly with the amazing hand-crafted jewelry of Sylvie Castro from SYO luxury jewelry.

Stationary and graphics were created by Nabe Fabrics from France, a partnership which started years ago when we first met at the Salon de Marriage au Carrousel du Louvre in Paris. This talented team were amazing to work with and helped us to create custom invitation designs for our happy “bride and groom.”

We got lucky and had the most amazing beautiful sunny day at the vintage Quinta nestled high up in the Sintra park, with amazing views of the ocean. The whole place was at our disposal for the shoot, and the venue was full of amazing props that we used for the styled shoot. Future couples can also choose from an array of furnishings and accessories on site to make their wedding decor uniquely European and add that touch of vintage.

Photography: French Grey Photography | Videography: Something Blue | Event Styling: French Grey Events | Wedding Dresses: Joana Montez | Stationary: NABEFABRIC | A Quinta, Manor House: The Quinta - My Vintage Wedding Portugal | Cake Designer: T Bakes | Event Co-ordination: Amor Pra Sempre | Guest's Gifts: Castelbel | Hair And Make-up Design: Le P'tit Paris Lisboa | Jewelery Designer: SYO

When I was a little girl I’d dream of a fairytale type of wedding. It’d obviously be set in a far-away palace complete with a killer ballgown and horse-drawn carriage. And while my real wedding turned out a bit more understated, it certainly doesn’t mean I can’t live vicariously through this bride who, along with Karson Butler Events, Brancoprata and Meant To Be Calligraphy, brought every last dream to life. Katie Stoops captured the magic, and you better brace yourself for Portugal wedding perfection.

From Karson Butler Events… We absolutely love destination weddings and this spring wedding in the historic city of Sintra, Portugal is one of our all-time favorites. Lush landscapes, rolling hills and historic estates tucked into the mountainside provided a romantic backdrop perfect for a wedding weekend! We planned the weekend’s events at FOUR different palaces – each very different in architecture and style!

Favorite details:

*Its not everyday that you get to sleep in a palace, and Tivoli Palacio De Seteais, does not disappoint! The incredible team there ensured the wedding group felt right at home throughout their stay.

*The culinary team at Penha Longa Catering (led by the talented Sara Gomes) is incredible! We worked with them to create one-of-a-kind dining experiences. Our favorite meal was the wedding dinner! Each guest was served an individual Portuguese cataplana (a cataplana is both the name of the copper vessel and the dish itself – it looks like a copper shell and steam cooks the ingredients in broth.) During our initial consultation with the couple, I had mentioned a cataplana cooking class I had planned during my last trip to Portugal, which started our conversation about Sintra as a destination, and the rest is history! So to see this dish ultimately served as their wedding meal was really special for me!

*The intricate walls at the wedding venue Palácio De Monserrate served as inspiration for the invitation suite design (a laser cut custom sleeve matches the pattern in the walls) and the incredible cake by T Bakes! We had custom postage made using an image from a vintage postcard of the palace.

*Working hand in hand with Sofia at Brancoprata was a highlight to this wedding. We had long admired her work from afar, and were so incredibly happy to work together in her home country. The flowers were absolutely wonderful!

*Katie Stoops’ dreamy images bring back so many wonderful memories – we were so excited to have her in Portugal with us!

*A horse drawn carriage transported our bride between the palaces for the wedding.

Photography: Katie Stoops Photography | Event Planning & Design: Karson Butler Events | Floral Design: Brancoprata | Cake: T Bakes | Invitations: The Dandelion Patch | Catering: Penha Longa Catering (offsite Division Of The Ritz-Carlton Penha Longa Resort) | Calligraphy: Meant To Be Calligraphy | DJ: Ricardo Lemos | Transportation: Jet Limo | Accommodations: Tivoli Palacio De Seteais | Portuguese Guitarist: 4 Talents | Rehearsal Dinner Venue: Quinta Da Regaleira | Wedding Ceremony & Dinner Reception Venue: Palácio De Monserrate | Welcome Reception, After Party & Brunch: Tivoli Palacio De Seteais | Welcome Tour & Luncheon Venue: Palácio De Monserrate

With the weekend right around the corner, this styled shoot from Karson Butler Events and brancoprata couldn’t have come at a better time. It’s filled to the gills with easy elegance and Mediterranean charm — making it the perfect dose of pretty to start a Friday night off right. So go ahead and get cozy in the full gallery plus keep an eye peeled for this week’s lucky winners. Happy weekend! xoxo

From Karson Butler Events…. On our previous two trips to Portugal, we fell in love with the Jardim do Núncio at the Penha Longha Resort, one of our absolute favorite properties in the country. The garden dates back to the XVI century when it was used as a place for contemplation and is unlike any event space we’ve seen before. We had longtime been fans of Brancoprata (thank you blogosphere for connecting us!) and over the course of planning calls and emails collaborating on an upcoming wedding together we fast became friends, even though we had never met in person.

Sofia and I decided it would be fun post-wedding to put together a mini-style shoot before we departed Sintra. Our friends at Penha Longa were gracious enough to lend us their space and we enlisted the help of Tania at T Bakes. We were introduced to Tania through Maggie & Jess at Maggie Austin Cake, who Tania had trained under the year before here in the United States. Tania, who is also located in Porto, was practically neighbors with Brancoprata (also from Porto) and we were so happy to bring these Portuguese super-stars together.

The only design direction we gave everyone was to be inspired by Portuguese tiles with blue being our primary color palette and a few copper accents. The shoot was so fabulous because it wasn’t overly contrived; we all collaborated onsite together and when you put talented people together magic happens. To say that T Bakes knocked our socks off with the cake is an understatement. The hand-painted tiles on the cake we’re so incredible and it was better than we could have imagined. The cake really anchored our shoot and we’re forever grateful for the time and energy that went into each brush stroke. Sofia’s flowers we’re so dreamy and to see her assemble arrangements on the spot was nothing short of amazing.

Sofia is an incredible floral partner! Every time we stole a peek behind Andre’s camera, we squealed with delight. How he captures such beauty behind the lense is breathtaking and inspiring. What a gift he has! When we talk about European wedding industry super-stars, Brancoprata & T Bakes are at the top of our list. We had such a great time – and hopefully you’ll love these images as much as we do! Designing this inspiration shoot was pure joy for us – we didn’t have a big agenda or a crazy shot list; we styled with materials we literally found onsite (the pottery chargers, pastries and copper bud vases were things we picked up in shops around the town center that week) and the design came together organically. Designing just for fun with our new friends – we couldn’t think of a better way to end our Portugal trip.

Photography: Brancoprata | Event Design: Karson Butler Events | Event Planning: Karson Butler Events | Event Planning: Shutterfly | Flowers: Brancoprata | Wedding Cake: T Bakes | Reception Venue: Penha Longa Resort | Venue: Penha Longa Resort

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Anyone looking to do some holiday shopping? We’ve got some serious discounts from….

Love by Lynzie Weddings + Events
Mugshots Photography
PF Films
Toronto Bridal Style
Unique Visions Studio
The Georgia Club
Four Nineteen Weddings
Fourth Love
Lauren Michelle
Pear Tree Greetings
Postable

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Last chance giveaway reminders for…

A wedding gown from Allure Bridals
A KitchenAid Stand Mixer from Target

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And last but not least, this week’s winner!

MAJOR congrats to Jen S., winner of the Shutterfly holiday prize package!