WEDDING BLOG

A Little Color Went a Long Way in This Elegant Antigua Destination Wedding at Convento Santa Clara

September 5, 2019 | Junebug Weddings

If outdoor elegance and historical settings are your things, you’re going to love Natalie and Andres’ Antigua destination wedding at Convento Santa Clara! The couple tied the knot among the 18th-century ruins, opting for a traditional religious ceremony and a stunning outdoor party that featured vibrant florals designed by Addy Florales, cafe lights, tons of vintage details. The couple and their planner, Carolina Mendez Events, really allowed the natural landscape to influence the design, and the result was breathtaking! There was so much beauty in one space, and so many sweet moments from beginning to end, and Daniel Lopez Perez Photography could not have captured it all more perfectly!

The Couple:

Natalie and Andres

The Wedding:

Convento Santa Clara, Antigua, Guatemala

Since this was a destination wedding, the most important aspect of planning our wedding was finding a group of people who could assist us in planning the most memorable day of our lives from far away. We were lucky enough to find a fantastic team of workers that included our wedding planner, decorator, catering service, photographer, videographer and musicians who understood the importance of sharing our love with our family and friends.

The most memorable part of our day was definitely the ceremony. We felt so lucky to share it all with our family and with our friends in the historic ruins of an old Catholic convent, even when there were a couple of hiccups in the order of the ceremony, it was an unforgettable and beautiful scene.

Our best advice is to make a list and remind each other to continuously check that list! Specifically for the bride, do not get angry with the groom when he inevitably forgets to check the list. Specifically for the groom, do not get frustrated when the bride inevitably gets angry with you for not checking the list. Remember that you are both in it together! (But groom, definitely check the list!)

Andres is originally from Guatemala and has an elderly grandmother there, so we knew we wanted to have our wedding there, but it was not until we traveled to Antigua during our engagement and visited the ruins of Convento Santa Clara that we knew it was a perfect place for us. The open outdoor scenery, perfect lighting, and beautiful natural flowering intertwined with historic ruins were just breathtaking.

Our wedding favors included Guatemalan coffee, traditional Guatemalan candy and hand-embroidered tissue holders made by Natalie‘s aunt. We wanted to give our guests a taste of Guatemalan culture and a remembrance piece.

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Daniel Lopez Perez Photography
Event Planning – Carolina Mendez Events
Venue – Convento Santa Clara
Floral Design – Addy Florales
Catering – Club Industrial Guatemala
Cake – Pasteleria Ciro
DJ – High Pro Audio Guatemala
Live Music – Luis Guarcas
Videography – Evolucion Cinema
Stationery – Posters by Poster
Makeup Artist – Maria Tellez
Hair Styling – Beauty Station
Wedding Dress – Essense of Australia
Groom’s Apparel – Joseph Abboud

Congratulations to Natalie and Andres, and a special thanks to Daniel Lopez Perez Photography for sharing this Antigua destination wedding! Planning a destination wedding? Here are 6 destination wedding etiquette tips you need to know!

Unique Wedding Readings to Reflect Your Love

September 4, 2019 | Junebug Weddings

photo by Gloria Goode Photography

Adding a reading to your ceremony is one of the most romantic ways to personalize your day. But we totally understand that it can feel overwhelming to find a reading (or readings) that actually reflect your love. So, we’ve done the hard work for you and found the most perfect, most unique wedding readings to incorporate into your celebration!

photo by Eliza Jane Photography

“How Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog” by Taylor Mali

On cold winter nights, love is warm.
It lies between you and lives and breathes
and makes funny noises.
Love wakes you up all hours of the night with its needs.
It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy.

Love doesn’t like being left alone for long.
But come home and love is always happy to see you.
It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life,
but you can never be mad at love for long.

Is love good all the time? No! No!
Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! Very bad love.

Love makes messes.
Love leaves you little surprises here and there.
Love needs lots of cleaning up after.
Sometimes you just want to get love fixed.
Sometimes you want to roll up a piece of newspaper
and swat love on the nose,
not so much to cause pain,
just to let love know, “Don’t you ever do that again!”

Sometimes love just wants to go out for a nice long walk.
Because love loves exercise. It will run you around the block
and leave you panting, breathless. Pull you in different directions
at once, or wind itself around and around you
until you’re all wound up and you cannot move.

But love makes you meet people wherever you go.
People who have nothing in common but love
stop and talk to each other on the street.

Throw things away and love will bring them back,
again, and again, and again.
But most of all, love needs love, lots of it.
And in return, love loves you and never stops.

photo by Brandi Toole Photography

The Bridge Across Forever by Richard Bach

“A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we’re safe in our own paradise. Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we’re two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we’ve found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life.”

photo by Laurken Kendall

“The Art Of Marriage” by Wilferd Arlan Peterson

Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created. In the art of marriage, the little things are the big things. It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say “I love you” at least once a day.

It is never going to sleep angry. It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon, it should continue through all the years.

It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives. It is standing together facing the world. It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family. It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.

It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways. It is not looking for perfection in each other.

It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.

It is finding room for the things of the spirit. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.

It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner. It is discovering what marriage can be, at its best.

photo by Henry Tieu Photography

From Beginning to End by Robert Fulghum

“You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks — all those sentences that began with “When we’re married” and continued with “I will and you will and we will” — those late-night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” — and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart.

All these common things and more are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed—well, I meant it all, every word.” Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another—acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, and even teacher, for you have learned much from one another in these last few years.

Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this is my [husband], this is my [wife].”

photo by Alisha Siegel Photography

“Two Fragments” by Sappho

Love holds me captive again
and I tremble with bittersweet longing

Evelina by Frances Burney

“I revere you. I esteem and admire you above all human beings. You are the friend to whom my soul is attached as to its better half. You are the most amiable, the most perfect of women. And you are dearer to me than language has the power of telling… You are now all my own… How will my soul find room for its happiness? It seems already bursting!”

photo by Heather Shane Photo

“Marriage Joins Two People In the Circle of Its Love” by Edmund O’Neill

Marriage is a commitment to life,
the best that two people can find and bring out in each other.
It offers opportunities for sharing and growth
that no other relationship can equal.
It is a physical and an emotional joining that is promised for a lifetime.

A wife and a husband are each other’s best friend,
confidant, lover, teacher, listener, and critic.
And there may come times when one partner is heartbroken or ailing,
and the love of the other may resemble
the tender caring of a parent or child.

Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life.
Happiness is fuller, memories are fresher,
commitment is stronger, even anger is felt more strongly,
and passes away more quickly.

Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life
is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life,
new experiences, new ways of expressing
a love that is deeper than life.

When two people pledge their love and care for each other in marriage,
they create a spirit unique unto themselves which binds them closer
than any spoken or written words.
Marriage is a promise, a potential made in the hearts of two people
who love each other and takes a lifetime to fulfill.

photo by A Little Long Distance

Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith

“People are like cities: We all have alleys and gardens and secret rooftops and places where daisies sprout between the sidewalk cracks, but most of the time all we let each other see is is a postcard glimpse of a skyline or a polished square. Love lets you find those hidden places in another person, even the ones they didn’t know were there, even the ones they wouldn’t have thought to call beautiful themselves.”

Looking for more wedding reading ideas? We’ve got you covered!

15 Beautiful Nonreligious Readings for Your Wedding Ceremony

12 Romantic Love Poems to Read at Your Wedding Ceremony

13 Unexpected Wedding Ceremony Readings

Romantic Relaxed Outdoor Agreco Farm Wedding in Crete, Greece

September 4, 2019 | Junebug Weddings

champagne dark red light blue light pink sage green

After getting engaged in Venice, it was only natural that Claire and Billy planned their Agreco Farm wedding to have an air of Venetian elegance and romance! The couple’s planner Moments Weddings & Events helped the couple keep a relaxed vibe throughout the day, which allowed them and their guests to feel like they were on holiday for the entire wedding weekend. Their florist, Oneiranthi, used a soft palette of spring blooms, including huge protea as a nod to the groom’s South African heritage, and Claire kept her look equally soft yet elegant with an intricate lace Made with Love Bridal gown. As far as outdoor destination weddings go, this one has all the dreamy inspiration we can handle! And Steffen & Christin Photo & Film captured it all brilliantly!

The Couple:

Claire and Billy

The Wedding:

Agreco Farm, Crete, Greece

We knew we wanted a relaxed, outdoor wedding from the outset – Billy is from South Africa and I grew up in Brazil so a warm evening celebration felt the most natural to us. That led us to Crete where guaranteed sunshine and a spectacular, rustic venue ensured we had the perfect day.

The ceremony itself was very special to us. My father walked me down the aisle and my stepfather conducted the ceremony. Having someone who knows us both individually and as a couple made for a very personal ceremony filled with love and laughter. And there were obviously tears — mainly from the groom!

We would highly recommend planning a wedding abroad where all your guests are in holiday mode. Everyone was so relaxed and it gave us the opportunity to spend lots of time with our guests on the days before/after the wedding! Also, asking people to put their phones away during the ceremony meant we looked out onto the faces of all our loved ones (rather than the backs of their phones) which made the ceremony feel more intimate. Lastly, we would have been lost without our wedding planner, Annika, so would highly recommend having that support.

We are casual people who pretty much live in jeans so we wanted an informal day where everyone would feel comfortable. Billy is a tailor so made sure he and his groomsmen looked the part in their outfits and I made sure my bridesmaids were in mismatched dresses to maintain a less formal feel. I had intended to wear a more casual dress but what can I say, the dress chose me! I included a Protea in my wedding bouquet, which is the South African national flower as a nod to Billy‘s heritage. It also dictated the burgundy worn by the men and tied into the softer pinks in the rest of the wedding.