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Lush Tulum Jungle Wedding at Espacio Chechen

August 9, 2020 | riley

Mini mezcals, Mexican wedding cookies, and lush tropical backdrops? Count us in. Chiara and Eric’s lush Tulum jungle wedding at Espacio Chechen is the perfect combination of killer style, neutral tones, and a whole lot of fun. We’re utterly obsessed with the décor put together by Arlenis Ruiz and we’re so glad that Conie Suarez Bravo was there to capture it all. We love what Chiara had to say about her special day:

“I found all my vendors through Instagram, it is such a great tool when planning a destination wedding. Originally, our venue was supposed to be beachside but that fell through a month before the wedding. Fortunately, our amazing wedding planner already had backups. I was unsure about it having to be in the jungle and then also having to change the decor and floral that I already ordered. But all the vendors were flexible and I was able to change it right away.

I wanted to feature the lush greenery of the venue so I decided to keep the florals and decor minimal. Our caterer served a delicious taco bar and tres leches cake with a figurine of our puppy on top. I surprised my husband with a churro cart at the end of the night and unbeknownst to me, he also had a surprise lined up. He asked one of our guests to sing our first dance, River by Leon Bridges and it was so beautiful. By the end of the song, all of our guests who have never heard it before were singing along. Truly the best day.”

Despite the hiccups the couple endured, the day turned out beautifully. Get your inspiration boards pulled up because you’re going to want to save this one!

The Couple:

Chiara and Eric

The Wedding: 

Espacio Chechen, Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico

The Grace Loves Lace Dress and Pearl Necklace

I have always loved Caroline Bessette-Kennedy’s wedding dress. It was simple, elegant, and timeless. Grace Loves Lace’s “Loyola” dress was the third dress I tried on and it instantly reminded me of her dress. I tried on around 20 dresses after that just to shop around but I could not stop thinking about the Loyola dress. I also loved the fact that she kept her hair and accessories minimal. I only wore my wedding ring and a pearl necklace from Mejuri. The pearls were a tribute to my late grandmother, Cornelia, who helped raise my siblings and me in the Philippines. She would take my sister, Kristine, and me to the flea market on the weekends, and even though money was tight, she made it a point to buy us little pearls. The necklace was my homage to her.

Shop similar custom stamps: Custom Wedding Stamp ($16.99); Custom Rubber Wedding Stamp ($18.74); Wedding Logo Stamp ($12.79); Wedding Monogram Stamp ($21)

Why the Espacio Chechen

At first, we had a beach-side venue but that fell through two months before our wedding(!!). That ended up being the best thing that could have happened to us. While we enjoy the beaches, we find ourselves more drawn to the people, food, music, and cenotes in the downtown area and the jungles just outside Tulum. Our affection for this side of Tulum combined with the improvisation and scramble to find a new venue to yield a beautiful organic and bohemian vibe that we feel is far more authentically “us.” The final result was a complete collaboration amongst us, our amazing wedding planner Arlenis, and all of our vendors.

Soaking Up Time With One Another

One of our dear friends who couldn’t make it (due to a new baby on the way!) gave Eric amazing advice to take a moment with just the two of us and look around at all of the people who came so far to celebrate with us. After all, this will be the only time in our lives where this exact group of people will be at the same place together creating this exact energy. We did this after the recessional, and our photographer Conie actually caught us basking in the moment! Think of how surreal it is to have a destination wedding all the way in Mexico and 100 people ventured all that way to witness our union.

Adding Personalized Touches

I added a lot of personal touches to our wedding, Etsy really became my savior throughout the whole process. We used it for everything from ordering a customized stamp with our initials and our wedding date (then stamping it on 200 linen bags used for flower tossing and favors) to ordering our wedding cake topper in the likeness of our adopted dog, Parker. Also, having known Eric for almost 20 years, we did a yearbook of all of our pictures together through the years as our wedding guestbook. I had so much fun thinking of different ways to personalize every detail.

Shop similar cake toppers: Custom Pet Cake Topper ($66); Personalized Pet Cake Topper ($41.99); I Do Too Clay Dog Cake Topper ($90)

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Conie Suarez Bravo
Event Planning – Arlenis Ruiz
Venue – Espacio Chechen
Floral Design – Cherry Blossom
Catering – Catering by Corina
DJ – Uno Audio Visual
Makeup Artist & Hair Styling – Doranna de Bortoli
Wedding Dress – Grace Loves Lace
Bridal Accessories – Mejuri
Groom’s Apparel – No How Style
Groomsmen’s Apparel – Everlane
Rentals – MSM Rentals and Event Design
Favors – Turtle Bay Cafe & Bakery

 

Congratulations to Chiara and Eric for their special day at Espacio Chechen—and a huge thank you to Conie Suarez Bravo for capturing it! To see more Tulum inspo, check out Diana and Zach’s Chic Oceanfront Wedding at Akiin Beach Tulum.

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Vibrant Tuscany Wedding at Molino di Amarrante

August 8, 2020 | riley

We’re suckers for destination weddings and Abigail and Geraint’s vibrant Tuscany wedding at Molino di Amarrante is no exception! With the help of The Marthy’s Vintage Garden, the couple turned the Italian villa into a boho wonderland. We love what photographer Margherita Calati had to say about to couple’s special day:

Abigail and Geraint are a British couple from London. They decided to celebrate their intimate wedding in a rural venue in the earth of Tuscany, having a relaxed week with their families and friends and enjoying Italian food and beauties.

For the wedding day, they planned a small ceremony outside, in the late afternoon of a very warm June day, and after a long couple session around the venue, they had a pizza party in the courtyard. The ancient Molino had an original wood oven, for the bread production, and the catering used it for the best gourmet pizza! There were speeches during the dinner and at the end the cut of the cake under the trees!”

We’re pretty sure that’s about as romantic as it gets! So what are you waiting for, babes? Start saving this dreamy Italian getaway!

The Couple:

Abigail and Geraint

The Wedding:

Molino di Amarrante, Montaione, Tuscany, Italy

Wedding Day Advice

Inspiration is all well and good when starting to plan your wedding but when the day comes, you don’t need to compare your wonderful day to others! It’s always going to be unique and special to you, so just focus on what’s happening in front of you and make sure to take it all in. It goes in a flash!

The Most Memorable Part of Their Day

The most memorable part of the day for us was actually before anything wedding even started. While our wonderful wedding planners were setting everything up, and our families were relaxing and enjoying some lunch, me and Geraint wandered up to Montaione to pick up some things from the shops and ended up just sitting at the viewpoint in town for a while. It was so peaceful and was such a nice opportunity for us to enjoy some calm with just each other for company before the day started!

How They Got Flexibility for Their Wedding Day

We officially got married in London two weeks before our wedding day in Italy, so all the paperwork had already been done. This gave us some freedom with how we conducted the actual ceremony and allowed us to pick someone close to us to actually marry us! We chose my cousin Emily to officiate the ceremony, and she was absolutely brilliant. It was so fun to have someone close to us up there rather than someone we didn’t know.

The Colorful Flares

Our wedding planner and photographer had given our guests some colorful smoke flares which they set off when we walked down the aisle and it was such a surprise!

 

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Margherita Calati
Event Planning & Invitation Design – The Marthy’s Vintage Garden
Venue – Molino di Amarrante
Floral Design – Chiara Sperti
Catering – Rolands
Videography – Carlo Vittorio Studio
Makeup Artist & Hair Styling – Sueli Menichetti
Wedding Dress – Rue de Seine
Groom’s Apparel – Moss Bros
Macrame Art – Shambaloo

 

Congratulations to the beautiful couple, Abigail and Geraint! And thank you so much to Margherita Calati for sharing her stunning photos! If you’re looking for more Italian villa inspo, check out Sophie and Umberto’s Elegant Villa Bria Wedding in Torino, Italy!

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Nostalgic Vintage-Inspired Ottawa Wedding at The Chateau Laurier

August 7, 2020 | riley

Holly and Steve have us swooning over their vintage-inspired wedding at The Chateau Laurier. Holly loves the glitz and glamour of the ’20s and ’50s so the minute she laid eyes on Knox Presbyterian Church, she knew it was the venue of her dreams. Photographers Joel & Justyna perfectly captured the church’s natural light, stained glass, and The Chateau Laurier’s old-world feel. The bridal party added to the magic with the bride’s royally inspired Lee Grebenau gown and the custom bridesmaid dresses designed by the maid of honor, the bride’s sister! With sparkle and glamourous touches, this wedding is definitely one meant for royalty.

The Couple:

Holly and Steve

The Wedding:

Knox Presbyterian Church & The Chateau Laurier, Ottowa, Canada

Why The Chateau Laurier

I love history and knew I wanted our wedding to have that old nostalgic flair. I took inspiration from vintage style from the ’20s to the ’50s, moody Vanity Fair photography, and The Royal Weddings. I wanted the day to feel swanky, elegant, and romantic. My mom and I would joke about asking ourselves “Would Duchess Kate have this at her wedding?!?”

The Lee Grebenau Gown

I chose a slinky beaded gown from Lee Grebenau. I tried a lot of dresses but when I put this one on there was no comparison, it was perfect. I wanted my dress to be unique to me and it was important that I got my royal moment with the big princess skirt, so we created a custom removable overskirt with a 10-foot train. It was so dreamy. I couldn’t have felt more royal.

The Knox Presbyterian Church as Their Wedding Venue

I love the look of old English churches and wanted to find something that would be similar. The first time I saw Knox church I knew it was perfect. It has the most beautiful natural light, stained glass windows, stone pillars, and the longest center aisle. Its natural beauty needs very little decoration.

Plenty of DIY Went Into this Vintage Ottawa Wedding

I did a lot of DIY. I designed the invitation suite, programs, seating chart, menu’s, and our website. I also created a custom monogram, illustrations of our venues, and hand-lettered our welcome sign. I’m a graphic designer and illustrator so I was excited to be able to take on all the print work and web design myself.

 

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Joel & Justyna
Event Planning & Floral Design – The Design Co.
Ceremony Venue – Knox Presbyterian Church
Reception Venue – The Chateau Laurier
Cake – The Girl with the Most Cake
Officiant – Reverend Peter Mcintosh
DJ – Oxygen Entertainment
Makeup Artist – Beauty by Haneen
Hair Styling – Cosmetalogy Beauty Bar
Wedding Dress – Lee Petra Grebeneau
Bridal Accessories – Brides and Hairpins
Bridesmaids’ Apparel – Saks Fifth Avenue
Groom’s Apparel – Harry Rosen
Groomsmen’s Apparel – Morris Formalwear
Rings – Mark Lash
Rentals – Joe’s Prop House & Plate Occasions
Transportation – Vegas Limousine
Printer – Lunar Caustic Press

 

Congratulations to the beautiful couple, Holly and Steve! Thank you to Junebug member Joel and Justyna for capturing this beautiful day. To check out more of their work, visit their profile in our directory of best wedding photographers in the world!

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