A Pronovias Gown For A Jewel Colour, Chic and Elegant Spanish Wedding

Hola lovelies! Today we have a to-die-for wedding that took place in the beautiful country of Spain, right by the sea and in the venue’s stunning grounds. It was an elegant and chic affair with a mix of cultures and languages to spice up the days events.

Ana, a research assistant and Conrad, a business owner were wed at the Pazo de Santa Cruz de Mondoi in A Coruña, Spain on 22nd July 2017.  The bride chose to wear a suitably chic and stylish gown from Pronovias paired with a cathedral-length veil from the same designer.

“I bought my dress from a store in A Coruña where the shop assistant Patricia made the whole experience a delight. She even brought us champagne to celebrate when we chose the dress! Although I’d always dreamt of a princess-style wedding dress, when it came down to needing to make a decision, I no longer felt that style was what I wanted for an intimate ceremony. I only tried on four dresses and when I tried on mine, I knew it was The One. As soon as I turned around and saw the back of the dress, I was in love with it! I loved the open back and the back embellishment with the gemstones.”

Images by Photography 34

After following photographer Tony Wilson from Photography 34 and his work for years before the wedding, it was a no brainer for Ana and Conrad when it came to choosing a wedding photographer for the wedding day.

“The way Tony captures the important moments is magnificent. We were so excited when we saw our pictures we couldn’t believe how good they were and we totally loved them. They represent how happy we were and all the emotions of the day. If you’re getting married and you want amazing photos, Tony Wilson is your guy!”“I also wanted a special videographer and it wasn’t easy to find someone who could make all my ideas come to life. Luckily, Diego Carro crossed our path and he totally understood what I wanted and made it possible. The result is that we have a wedding video we can’t stop watching over and over and keep sharing with our friends and family. If you’re getting married and you want to have a special and different memory of your day, get in contact with Diego.”

“The shoes I wore were custom and handmade for me by Jorge Larranaga in Madrid. I chose the textile, the shape of the shoe and heel, and Jorge made them come true. Although they were high, they were super comfy and I ended up wearing them all night.”

“The headpiece I chose was a simple one with two gemstone swallows looking at each other from Lucia Be, since I thought they would match the gemstones on the back of my dress. This accessory had a very romantic meaning as swallows are incredibly faithful and they never leave their partner once they’ve found the right one. My best friends and bridesmaids knew I loved flower crows and that I had also been considering one as an accessory.”

“I ended up choosing the swallows but they surprised me and gave me a crown of preserved flowers which they wanted me to keep forever. I loved it and immediately wanted to wear it so decided to give a twist to my look and wore it during the first dance at night. I will never forget this gesture from them.”

“I had my hair done at my usual hairdressers in A Coruña called Studio. I wanted a low, simple, maybe more classic up-do because I knew that on my wedding day, I wanted to enjoy it without worrying about having crazy hair. After a couple of trials, Javier the hairdresser understood perfectly what I wanted and so he carried it out on the wedding day for me.”

“The make up was provided by Laura Cuevas Rey and Diego Torres Peiro. Laura is a retail manager for Mac Cosmetics and Diego works for Dior. They are very talented and make you feel like a model. I wanted a simple make up look that would highlight my eyes for an evening wedding. They did an amazing job and 12 hours later the make up was still perfect!”

“I completed my look with my engagement ring and a pair of diamond earrings which was inherited from my grandmother to my mum and then on to me.”

“For my perfume, I wore Narciso Rodriquez for her eau de parfum. It’s my favourite and I totally love the smell and think it’s super feminine.”

Ana also kept her blooms classic and elegant, opting for a neat bouquet of peonies, David Austin roses and eucalyptus in a palette of whites, blush pinks and corals and created by florist Verdelar.

“I had been to previous weddings which Silvana at Verdelar had done the flower arrangements for and I loved her work. She has a talent and a great taste for arranging bouquets and creating wedding decorations. We composed my bouquet by basing it on the same colours that ran through my wedding shoes and then chose the rest of the arrangements based on the flowers in my bouquet. I spent the whole day smelling my bouquet as it’s smell was so fascinating!”

“The veil was also from Pronovias. I chose a simple one without embroidery but still different and very special because it was made of a double layer of tulle. I enjoyed wearing it very much.”

“There are plenty of reasons why we chose this venue, but to highlight a few, we chose it because it is a traditional Galician Manour hous and since I originally come from this region of Spain, I wanted to shoe our friends who came from all over world some typical Galician traditions.”

“I organised the wedding from Munich (where we now live) and the manager of the venue (David Lousa) and his assistant (Manuela Prego) were adorable and made every single step of the organisation very easy. It was a pleasure to work with them. On top of that, we wanted a civil ceremony and the venue has an agreement with the town hall, so that the Officiant could marry us right there on the same day.”

“This meant we could celebrate the ceremony and banque all at the same place, which was also easy for the guests. Furthermore, at Pazo de Santa Cruz, they do not use a catering service. Antonio Amenedo, the chef and second manager, prepares the whole menu on the same day, and this ensures that the quality of the food is exquisite.”

“I love to plan events and had been dreaming of planning my own wedding since I was young. I loved researching about the providers myself and knew that if I’d had a wedding planner, I would have driven them mad! I flew out to Spain 3 times in the run up to the wedding to organise everything. One week in August to book the venue, buy the dress and check the hotels for the guests; a second week in March for hair and make up trials, menu tasting and to buy the grooms suit; and a third time one week before the wedding. You could call it ‘how to organise a wedding in 3 weeks from abroad and not die whilst trying.”

“Mine and Conrad’s paths first crossed about 12 years ago when we both came to study at an English university (Conrad is German and as mentioned, I’m Spanish). Since that first meeting our souls became one and we’ve been inseparable.”

“We got engaged in the summer of 2016 in the Maldives and it could not have been more special! Conrad booked a romantic dinner for two at the beach of the hotel. It was just us, the beach, the moon and the stars, like in a movie. I didn’t suspect a thing until a blue velvet box rolled out of my napkin when he then kneeled down and popped the question. Of course I said yes! So my romantic German husband set the bar very high for all grooms out there trying to propose in a special way!”

With friends and family from all over the world joining together on Ana and Conrad’s special day, an international theme began to emerge whilst planning the wedding and they even celebrated it in 3 different languages.

“I can’t really say what inspired the wedding style. I guess we just wanted a reunion of family and friends with whom we could celebrate and share the happiest moment of our lives with. We had guests travel from South Korea, Sri Lanka, USA, UK, Belgium, Germany and Spain. That’s why we decided to do the civil ceremony in the garden, followed by the cocktail and banquet in the same venue so we could enjoy as much time as possible with everyone.”

The ceremony was a very elegant outdoor affair, taking place in the garden of the venue’s grounds.

Ana opted for bright and colour pop dresses for her maids in keeping with her bright and sunny day, and allowed each of her ladies to choose their dress themselves.

“In Spain, we don’t have a strong tradition for bridesmaids all to wear the same dress so I opted for different ones. The yellow and green dresses were custom-made by Blancaspina, the blue dress was bought from Zalando and the two-pieces were from Coco shop Online.”

Conrad chose a navy blue 3-piece suit from the ceremony collection at Etiem, which fitted him like a glove, but it was the grooms extra’s that really stole the show.

“The best parts of Conrad’s suit were all the extra’s; the shirt, vest, tie and shoes, which he got made from prestigious tailor Juanio Rig, owner of Fabulare Shop Bespoke. Everything Juanio does is exquisite. From the patterns to the fashion design, he makes high quality pieces that will last forever. He pays attention to details and with his knowledge and advice, Conrad made the right choices. The whole experience was a memorable one.”

After the ceremony, guests enjoyed a drinks reception before heading indoors to wait for the bride and groom to dance in, before sitting down to a feast cooked by the venues chef. The 3-tier semi-naked cake took centre stage, created by cake-maker Adriana Cabot.

“For the cake and also our favours (which were chocolate lollipops!), we were very clear that we wanted Adriana. She makes bespoke wedding cakes, desserts and gifts. For our cake we chose a carrot cake that Adriana decorated exquisitely with flowers to match my bouquet. As a topper we chose a love sign instead of the classic bride and groom figurines, which I felt were more boring. We had used Adriana before for other events and she has always excelled at the job. The cake tasted so so good that we couldn’t stop eating it and still today, almost a year later, we still dream about it…”

“As well as the band, we hired a photo booth from Cuatrofotos to entertain our guests. It was lots of fun during the dancing!”

“We also did our first dance to the intro song from Netflix series Narcos, by Rodrigo Amarante. It always made us smile when we watched the series. The lyrics of the song are very romantic and in Spanish, and it was the perfect length, so a great choice for us. We didn’t practice before the wedding day but it turned out OK!”

“I have so many favourite moments of our day but if I had to choose one, I think it would be entering the restaurant whilst out guests all waited for us. They were already seated and we danced our way in to Cheerleader by OMI. All the guests stood up and clapped and smiled our way in. I still get goosebumps when I recall that moment now. Very impressive!”

“I wouldn’t have changed a thing about our day – it was perfect for us in every way.”

Words Of Wedded Wisdom

“Do what you want, it’s your wedding day! On the day, enjoy every single bit of it as it goes fast. Don’t stress if something doesn’t go according to plan, it’s very likely you’ll be the only one who knows if something goes wrong. The important thing is that you and your husband are there with your loved ones celebrating your day, everything else is secondary.”

Congratulations to Ana and Conrad and a big well done to Ana for managing to pull off an overseas wedding conducted in 3 different languages without seeming to even break a sweat. A big thank you to Photography 34 for sharing these wonderful images with us.

Until next time…

Much love,

Holly x