Against the breathtaking landscapes of Loja, Spain, Alexandra and Álvaro celebrated their wedding at La Bobadilla on the 25th of May 2024, combining timeless British elegance with the warmth of Spanish romance.
With support from Weddings With Love, they crafted a deeply personal day featuring a jasmine-scented atmosphere and a curated live band.
Alexandra wore a stunning couture Phillipa Lepley gown in exquisite ivory duchess satin, enhanced with delicate embroidery that complemented the Andalusian surroundings. Guests from around the world gathered at the historic Parroquia de Santiago Apóstol, where heartfelt vows and meaningful traditions created an unforgettable experience. The day’s elegance and romance were captured by celebrated photographers and filmmakers, preserving each cherished moment for a lifetime.
Film by Will Warr and photography by the wonderful and highly recommended Carrie Lavers.
New Things…
In December, we’ll be sharing our beautiful new website – a project we’ve been working on for many months. Our new site will usher in a beautiful new era for Love My Dress and make your visitor experience here more fun, purposeful and enjoyable. You’ll be able to create your own Love My Dress account and save all your favourite real weddings, advice pieces, shop items and improved directory listings to your own dashboard.
We’ll have helpful new filters to help you discover tailored real wedding inspiration by style, season, colour and location and a vasty improved search facility. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay in the loop.
Explore more designs in our shop
Bridal Beauty & Accessories
I chose a two-tier silk tulle veil, hand-embroidered with a fern motif, by Phillipa Lepley. It was the first veil I tried on, and I found the effect of the delicate embroidery on top of the ivory duchess satin to be absolutely breathtaking. I would absolutely recommend a veil to other brides – it’s the only chance to wear such a dramatic yet delicate accessory.
I have a low tolerance for uncomfortable footwear, so my strategy was to wear dance shoes! I bought my ceremony shoes from a dance shoe company called Werner Kern, and my reception dancing shoes from a different dance footwear company called So Danca.
To hold my veil in place, I wore a pearl tiara by Jennifer Behr that I found while working in NYC. I loved that it was very minimal and delicate, and also echoed the vines embroidered on my veil.
I selected jasmine because it is ubiquitous in Andalusia, including at our venue, and it’s in full bloom in late May. I wore a jasmine perfume by Le Labo, which I also bought in NYC. During the reception, we also used jasmine scented candles and diffusers by The Wedding Scent, a brand created by our wedding planners. They recommended the power of olfactory memory to transport us back to our wedding day, and they were right! We kept walking past jasmine plants during our honeymoon, and it always made us smile and remember our reception.
I really leaned into pearl accessories during the whole wedding weekend. Pearls are so classic and, to me, so bridal. On Friday and Sunday I wore a Tiffany pearl necklace and earrings gifted to me by my parents and now-husband, and on the wedding day I wore pearl drops and a pearl tiara (see Hair Accessories).
I gifted my mother, bridesmaids, mother-in-law, and sisters-in-law with hand-painted fans by an artist from Pamplona, Patxu Malmierca, customised to match their dresses. I also had one made for myself. It’s a tradition in Spain for female guests to carry a fan, or abanico, as a summer wedding accessory to keep themselves cool.
The Dress
I’d had my eye on Phillipa Lepley’s work since I was a teenager in the States, where her name appeared as a possible candidate for Kate Middleton’s wedding dress designer. The exquisite fabrics and built-in corset were a huge draw for me. My dress was a gift from my mother, and it was the only bridal boutique we ever visited while on a trip to London. The first dress I tried was the one I eventually selected, although there were so many gorgeous designs that it was a difficult choice!
Words cannot express my gratitude to the entire Phillipa Lepley team. Everyone is so friendly and attentive to detail. I couldn’t believe how meticulous they are with every single bride. My mother and I will forever cherish the memories of our visits to the atelier.
I felt so elegant and beautiful in my wedding dress. The ivory duchess satin positively glowed and suited my fair complexion so well. The corset really supported me and held everything in place, and all the weight of the fabric and petticoats rested comfortably on my hips.
One of my favourite moments from the day was being helped into my dress by my mother and bridesmaids – we danced, we sipped bellinis, we fluffed petticoats! We were all giddy with anticipation.
The night before my wedding, I wore a dress by Andrea Hawkes. I had read through Love My Dress’s writeups all about the designer. Her warmth and consideration to sustainability really shone through. My ‘dress’ from the brand is actually a two-piece top and skirt with detachable petticoat, so that I can separate and dress them down.
The Ceremony
It was really important to Álvaro’s family to conduct the ceremony in a Catholic church, which influenced our venue search and more formal style. I adore dressing up, and I also love a man in a tux, so I wanted a black-tie wedding from the very beginning.
This is a bit unusual in Spain, where weddings are still mostly daytime events and the groom wears a morning coat. We put a dress code guide on the wedding website with pictures, and guests really nailed it!
It was such a joy to be accompanied down the aisle by my father, to whom I’m very close. My father is rather endearingly clumsy, but we made it all the way to the church and down the aisle in one piece, and he only stepped on my train once!
We hired harpists for the ceremony, and I was in charge of selecting from their repertoire.
Álvaro really wanted to use Canon in D, but I managed to convince him that they couldn’t play it. He was thus completely surprised and nearly moved to tears when Canon in D started playing as my bridesmaids began walking down the aisle.
We were married in the Parroquia de Santiago Apóstol, in the town of Iznájar. The ceremony was officiated by the parish priest. He was very accommodating of the various American traditions I wanted to include in the ceremony.
We had the challenge of conducting a bilingual ceremony, where the majority of English-speaking guests were also not Catholic and thus less familiar with the flow the ceremony. We chose to have one reading in English, read by my aunt, and we also printed ceremony booklets that had each language side-by-side so that non-Spanish-speakers could follow along.
We did not tailor our vows, we used the traditional Catholic vows in Spanish. Although Álvaro accidentally tailored his by promising to be faithful through “austerity” rather than “adversity.”
We chose one reading in Spanish (Book of Ruth. 1, 15-22) read by one of Álvaro’s brothers, and one in English (Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. 13, 4-13) read by my aunt. We wanted the readings to reflect themes of love and commitment to one another.
Álvaro found Vanbruun while researching the ‘4Cs’ of diamonds. Their website has tons of information, and they have great customer service and beautiful designs. We wanted to work with a local Swedish brand that also offers global coverage.
Their process for customising a design is straightforward and we really trust their quality.
Photography
Carrie Lavers was absolutely incredible! Her style encompasses such a wide range, from emotive and lighthearted to dramatic and artistic. We are not used to being photographed, but we both felt so comfortable in front of her lens. I also really appreciated how much she advocated for the shots she wanted to capture – were it not for her, we never would have squeezed in a spectacular sunset session. She also gave us so many tips that I never would have considered, it was the perfect amount of guidance without overwhelming.
We are so happy that we chose Will Warr to film our wedding. Our film is beyond our wildest dreams, it really transports us back to the day every time we watch it. He has such a gift for capturing the movement and emotions, without ever veering towards cheesy.
How They Met
We were both living in Luxembourg in autumn, 2019, working at the same company, in the same building, even on the same floor! And yet we never met at the office (although Álvaro swears that he heard a loud American girl chatting in the office).
We finally crossed paths in Tel Aviv, Israel, through a trip organised with mutual friends. During a week of traveling across Israel, I (Alexandra) became smitten with Álvaro, but alas, he remained clueless. Upon our return to Luxembourg, I decided to ask him out. We’ve been together ever since, and little over one year after our first date, we moved to Stockholm, Sweden, together.
I told Álvaro from a pretty early stage that I wanted a two-year engagement, so that I could really relish the whole planning process. Álvaro actually carried the ring around for a few months, contemplating different proposal plans. He ultimately decided on a weekend trip to the Swedish city of Gothenburg and put ‘surprise getaway’ in my calendar, which immediately aroused suspicion (as no one had an approaching birthday) and inspired me to get a manicure, just in case.
While enjoying a stroll in a park during one of Sweden’s first days of spring, Álvaro got down on one knee and gave a beautiful, heartfelt speech in Spanish, sharing his dreams for our life together.
The Reception
I adore the soft glow of candlelight and joked to my wedding planners on multiple occasions that I wanted so many candles as to create a fire hazard. I must have jinxed it, though, because when my father got up for his speech, he set his menu next to a candle and a few minutes later it caught on fire!
My mother and I were subtly trying to put it out without distracting my father, who somehow completely missed this frenzy right in front of him. Luckly my brother-in-law saved the day and helped us put it out. Yet I still stand by the number of candles, they looked beautiful!
Our guests were all staying at the same hotel (La Bobadilla), so we left everyone little hand-written notes in their rooms welcoming them to the wedding weekend. It was a great opportunity to share how happy we were to have them all there with us, since one doesn’t have a lot of time to chat with each guest at length when there are 150 attendees.
Our stationery was by Tira de Papel. We created all of our stationery with Tira de Papel. Álvaro’s older sister painted watercolors of olive branches and of the ceremony and reception locations for us to use on our stationery, which was such a thoughtful and meaningful wedding gift.
Our florist was Virginia Florista. I wanted a really small and delicate bouquet that wouldn’t block too much of my dress and used local, seasonal flowers. In particular, she recommended white bouvardia for my bouquet, which resembles jasmine in appearance and scent but is longer-lasting once cut.
Our cake was by Aquarela Cakes. I’m an avid home baker and general pastry-eating enthusiast, so I have quite a discerning palette when it comes to cake. It needed to be moist, flavourful, and not too sweet! We fell in love with ‘flavours of Sevilla’ which featured Sevillian orange blossom and bitter orange marmalade. The cake reflected the region so beautifully, and guests raved about the flavour!
Evening & Dancing
We asked the live band to perform L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole for our first dance. I was a bit nervous that, having always practiced to the original recording, it would be difficult to translate to a live version, but it worked out great and I’m so glad we were able to start the party off with the energy of a live band.
It’s so hard to choose one favourite moment in the day… but I think I might have to choose the moment where Álvaro and I made our grand exit from the church to our getaway car after the ceremony. All the guests lined up to shower us in petals and rice, and in the pictures, you can see that we are filled with so much joy and love. It was an overwhelming but beautiful moment, even though rice somehow found its way into every nook and cranny!
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Make sure your dress is relatively comfortable as well as beautiful, and check that you can dance in it if you don’t plan on changing into a second dress. Jump and twirl around, lift your arms, make sure it’s supporting you in the right places. A comfortable and relaxed bride is a happy bride!
Give yourself a lot of time to relax the day after the wedding. We were completely exhausted and spent the first 24 hours of our honeymoon mostly sleeping.
Invest in a good photographer and videographer that you feel comfortable with – these are the only keepsakes you’ll have from the day besides what you wore.
I only wish I could have enjoyed the delicious food more! I was so busy chatting with everyone, and I had so much adrenaline, that I hardly ate all weekend! If I had thought about it more in advance, I would have assigned specific friends to bring me the canapés/drinks/midnight snacks I was most excited to try. Luckily some friends did this without asking (and one couple kept bringing me water, thank you!) and thank goodness they did or I would have been too distracted to taste anything!
Love My Dress Recommended Vendors & Venues
The below suppliers and venues featured in this article are part of the Love My Dress Wedding Directory.
Carrie Lavers Photography
Additional Credits
The below suppliers and venues are featured in this article, but are not part of the Love My Dress Wedding Directory.
Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
