A Glamorous Spanish Coast Wedding + Palace Reception

Hello lovelies! I’ve got a gorgeous wedding up my sleeve for you today; think Spanish sunshine, the cutest page boys and flower girls you’ve ever seen, and of course, a beautiful bride.

Our bride and groom, saleswoman Adriana and her long time love, engineer Javier, chose to be married at the church of Santa Maria de Luanco, on the coast of Siero in their home country of northern Spain. They chose 9th September 2017 as the wedding date and followed the church ceremony up with a stunning reception at the 17th-Century Valdesoto Palace.

“I was pretty clear about what I wanted and didn’t want for our wedding day from the start. I was inspired by wedding blogs and weddings in Asturias and Ibiza.”

Photography by La Mar Studio

Adriana and Javier first met 14 years ago at another wedding they were both guests at. After losing touch for a few years following their first meet, they reconnected, becoming an official couple and eventually getting engaged. Javier proposed to Adriana at sunset on the beach at Cala Comte in Ibiza, one of Adriana’s favourite places and a proposal she describes as ‘ truly magical!’.

Adriana chose an utterly stunning scoop neck long sleeve dress by Asturian wedding dress designer Nicolas Costura for her day, a fitting choice for the beautiful Spanish surroundings.

“I couldn’t have had better company to walk me to the altar! I was on the arm of my father and he knew how to calm me as I entered the church. My legs and arms began to tremble as I was so nervous! My dress from Nicolas Costura was made bespoke, just for me, and every month we went through a process of taking measurements, choosing fabrics and testing it all to make sure it worked.”

“I thought it would be an easy process, having a clear idea of what I wanted for my wedding dress, however having to imagine it all so far in advance made me very nervous! I loved every single part of my dress in the end though. From the fall of the silk, to the spectacular neckline at the back, and the sleeves – everything about it!”

“The headdress was a jewel made by Paula-Le Touquet and was a wonderful enveloping crown of flowers in powdery tones including blues, nudes, roses and golds.”

“For my hair I chose the team at Anita Hairpins, a salon who specialise in wedding hairstyles and who have great experience in doing weddings. They also grasped what I wanted to achieve with my hair straight away; a loose and natural style. For my make up I put my trust in Aida Carbavo, a professional who also managed to capture exactly what I wanted; a natural make up look that would bring out the best in me.”

“I kept faithful to my classic perfume by Chloe which is a scent I feel most comfortable wearing. As for my earrings, I wanted to keep them simple as the main focus was the dress and the headdress, so I opted for a simple white gold pair. For the alliance holder, I wanted something vintage and looked for some small boxes with a gold edge. Nicolas made a small cushion for me from the same fabric as my dress to tie the alliances to, which was also applied to the wedding coins which the children carried.”

“The children were wonderful! The girls wore blue dresses with a lace hem and sleeves from a local store in Gijón called Little Angela, and their spectacular headdresses were again made by my cousin Paula. For their accessories they wore a pair of beige espadrilles and carried wicker baskets filled with pauniculata, a beautiful flower in my opinion. The boys also looked very handsome in short beige linen shorts, a light blue shirt and a pair of espadrilles on their feet from Bonete and Pompom.”

“And for the icing on the cake, I bought them all some blackboards which they hung around their necks with each writing a funny message such as ‘Uncle Javi, it’s your last chance to run away..'”

“Our ceremony took place at the church in a beautiful town on the coast in which I lived all my life. It’s a spectacular place by the sea. The Valdesoto Palace we decided on due to its large gardens and large living room where we could enjoy dinner and dancing.”

“My veil was also created by Nicolas. It was made from beautiful tulle in a slightly toasty colour to contrast with the tone of the dress and make it even more special. I wore sandals from Lodi, which were beautiful suede sandals in a blue colour. They were so gorgeous against the style of the dress and went phenomenally well with my bouquet and headdress.”

To accompany her down the aisle, the bride chose her father to carry out the honour, and they walked in to Pachelbel’s Canon in D.

“Javier wore a very elegant morning coat in a blue colour, a beautiful waistcoat and a tie in the same blue as his suit jacket.”

For the ceremony the couple hired a string quartet called Arsis and their rings came from the same place Javier bought Adriana’s engagement ring, a jewellery store in Gijón called Roibas. They each chose a simple gold band engraved on the inside with their names and the date of the wedding day.

To capture the magic of their wedding day on camera, the couple hired Spanish wedding photographer Jaider from La Mar Studio, whose natural documentary style photography impressed them initially, and whose personality made a lasting impression.

“We couldn’t have made a better choice than having Jaider to photograph our wedding. The first thing we liked about him was how good he made us feel the first time we met him to discuss the photos and wedding day, which was very important to us. The second thing we loved was the idea of photos without having to pose for them, and photos that felt more natural and candid.”

Adriana had a clear vision when it came to the flowers for the day, opting for beautiful wild blooms in blue tones with orchids, eucalyptus and nude roses, all created by talented florists Oviedo’s Greenhouse.

“I ended up giving my bridal bouquet to my sister who is also my soul mate. I also had two replicas of my bouquet made and gave one to my best friend Maria, and one to my sister-in-law Yolanda. The one I gave to my friend also had a hanging silver medal engraved with a heart and her name, and in the bouquet I gave to my sister-in-law, I included a sheet engraved with ‘you will be the next one…'”

“For our favours we gave guests a bag of Muscovites each which are a typical sweet from the Asturias. We also gave the ladies a pair of cloth espadrilles so they could continue dancing for hours without having to wear heels. And finally, we gave each guest a card in collaboration with UNICEF.”

The girls at Oviedo also took care of the rest of the decor throughout the church and reception venue, including the floral centrepieces and seating plan.

“The seating plan was going to be one way at first, then as it started to rain, we had to opt for plan B. The first idea was to have glass jars with water and flowers hanging from a big tree near to the entrance of the palace, with the name of each guest on each jar, however we had to change it and put a big golden mirror with the names of our guests at the entrance due to the rain. It turned out to look amazing though!”

“Each of our tables were named after different coves in Ibiza as we really wanted the island to be a part of our day since it’s where our proposal took place, and one of my favourites.”

Other decor included huge arrangements of wild blooms and tea light candles, LED light balloons, gold chivari dining chairs, a light up ‘yum’ sign and a sweets table adorned with all kinds of delicious looking treats including brownies, cupcakes and cookies.

“The sweets table was made by Sandra who I chose as she takes great pleasure in preparing these types of sweets tables, and of course because everything she does is great too! Our catering was provided by the Real Salinas Spa and commanded by Isaac Lova.”

“Our stationery was created by Catenaria, including the invites which were large and simple cards with envelopes lined with a beautiful floral pattern.”

After the wedding breakfast and speeches were devoured and enjoyed, the couple took to the dance floor for their first dance as newlyweds, an emotional moment for the two.

“We chose to open the first dance with Safe Inside by James Arthur. At the entrance to the dining room we played Malibu by Mile Cyrus and for the delivery of the bouquets we chose a beautiful song by Manuel Carrasco called I Want To Live. During our first dance we distributed flares amongst our guests so they could surround us with them. The photos of this moment are super nice and fun!”

“I really couldn’t choose just one favourite part of the day! All the moments were so magical, from the preparations at my parents house where we had our hair and make up done, to the arrival at the altar on my father’s arm, the first encounter with my future husband, the dinner, the dance…everything was amazing!”

Words Of Wedded Wisdom

“My best advice would be to enjoy everything to its fullest; every preparation you make, every test, choice of menu, flowers, everything! Although at first everything may seem overwhelming, all the preparation is also part of the wedding day. It’s one of the most important days of our lives and one which passes so quickly so treasure each moment.”

Such a beautiful day! Thank you so much to Adriana and Javier for sharing it with us – we wish you all the love and joy for your future as Mr and Mrs. A big shout out also goes to Jaider from La Mar Studio for his stunning work.

Until next time…

Much love,

Holly x