This picturesque wedding at San Jose El Viejo is no photo shoot: it only looks that way because the bride and groom are both wedding photographers, and SMP junkies! Don’t worry, they didn’t attempt to photograph their own wedding. Davina + Daniel shot every antique lantern, glass globe, and sepia stained stucco wall with perfection as the couple married and partied among Spanish Colonial ruins. You simply must see the breathtaking sunset setting and the bride’s almond tinged Amsale gown in the full gallery!
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From the Bride… Lionel and I are wedding photographers, so naturally, an incredibly picturesque location was a high priority. We found our “holy grail” in Antigua, Guatemala – a Spanish colonial town filled with brightly painted buildings, cobblestone streets, remarkable ruins, and surrounded by volcanoes. 41 guests joined us for the charm, beauty, adventure, love and laughter that was our wedding week. My family is from California and Lionel’s is from Maryland. It was important to us that our loved ones connect and get to know each other. To that end, we organized “The Amazing Race: Antigua” and sent them to our favorite spots in town to complete tasks. They salsa danced, made chocolate bars, tasted strange ice cream flavors, learned a Spanish phrase and negotiated in the market. The race ended at our welcome reception where everyone bonded over stories of their adventures. It really set the tone for a fun-filled and relaxed time together. Over the remaining days, we enjoyed first class cuisine (truly!), a volcano hike, live Cuban music, lots of shopping and walking.
Our wedding ceremony, set in the garden of an old ruined convent, was both breathtaking and meaningful. Afterwards, guests rode a chicken bus (brightly painted school bus) to the ruins of an old church where we celebrated the night away. I am a big Style Me Pretty follower and a DIY girl, but I had to settle on just a few items to bring and a limited number of craft projects. It was difficult to hand over the reins to a local, but with a destination wedding, I knew I had to. I sent the decorator screenshots from Style Me Pretty to give him a sense of what I wanted — neutral colors (peach, gray, cream, tans, and browns), lots of wood, burlap, rustic elements, vintage items, a hand-crafted look that wasn’t too perfect or matchy. He was brilliant — I was blown away by the results! Everything was even better than I had imagined.
One of our most frequently asked questions was, “Who is going to photograph your wedding?!” We found Davina + Daniel on Style Me Pretty, and we are over the moon about our choice. Not only did they rock our portraits – extraordinary pieces of art! – but they also captured the most precious and outrageous moments in a way that brought us to tears and then had us laughing out loud. They managed to create the perfect blend of arty and meaningful imagery that takes us right back to our beautiful day and beyond. To top it off, our families adopted them, they provided invaluable advice and support, and they even completed one of my craft projects for me! Truly outstanding human beings. We could not have imagined or asked for more.
Wedding Photography: davina + daniel / Ceremony: El Convento de las Capuchinas in Antigua, Guatemala / Reception: San Jose El Viejo in Antigua, Guatemala / Floral Design + Decor: Mario Ayala of Escenica / Wedding Planning: Diana Sciarrillo of I Do, Guatemala / Catering: El Convento Boutique Hotel / Gelato Bar: Primo de Roma / Wedding Cake + Camera Cake Pops: Granny Gail / Wedding Dress: Amsale “Dahlia” via Hitched Salon / Bride’s Shoes: Matiko + DIY Ribbon / Bride’s Earrings: Kanupriya Jewelry via Sassanova / Bride’s Bracelet: DIY by Her Mother / Groom’s Custom Suit: Indochino / Groom’s Shoes: To Boot New York / Groom’s Tie: Wood Thumb / Antigua Accomodations: El Convento Boutique Hotel + Casa Capuchinas / Lake Atitlan (Post-Wedding) Accomodation: La Casa Colibri
If there is one thing we love in SMP land, it’s glided glitter. When that lovely piece of glittery gold goodness is in gown form, we are forced to surrender. Surrender to a wedding that makes our glitter loving hearts pitter patter and flutter all at the same time. And when this gorgeous occasion just happens to be in Spain, we are done. Speechless. All we can say is, the full gallery by Chyna Darner Photography is a must see today.
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From Chyna Darner Photography… The year was 2008, and the location was The Coyote Ugly Saloon in New York, not a usual hang out for either Greta or Waldo. Greta was living in New York and had friends visiting the Big Apple for the first time, so naturally, she was showing them around town. Waldo was in New York on business with coworkers who wanted to see the famous Coyote Ugly Saloon from the 2000 movie Coyote Ugly. When Waldo walked thru the swinging saloon style doors he locked eyes with Greta, and any doubts that love at first sight existed were left outside. Waldo’s male coworkers unsuccessfully petitioned Greta to dance with them. Then Waldo walked up to Greta, took her hand and led her to the dance floor. She was waiting for him. From that point on, they were almost inseparable. He had to return to London shortly thereafter, but Greta visited him within a week. After a few months of constant flights back and forth, Greta moved back to London. She had been living there the year before while attending fashion design school, but she had transferred to New York to be closer to her friends and family.
Once Greta was back in London, Waldo was able to introduce her to his family, who mostly live in Sweden. By the time the wedding arrived, Greta had mastered Swedish well enough to give part of her wedding speech in Swedish.
Once engaged, they decided they needed a neutral ground in Europe to have their wedding. Since Waldo is half Spanish, and the Balleric Islands are so gorgeous it was an easy choice. A destination such as Mallorca would definitely lure her friends and family from the States to attend. The events started Thursday as close friends and family arrived for the rehearsal and family dinner at Cap Rocat. On Friday night there was a pre-wedding meet and greet at Puro Beach, allowing friends and family from different continents to meet one another. The ceremony and reception on Saturday took place at Cap Rocat Hotel (a former military fortress). As a jewelry designer, Greta has a flair for design and created many custom details for the event. This included both of their rings, her earrings and several jewelry pieces worn by guests. The reception events and dancing went on well into Sunday morning.
Wedding Photography: Chyna Darner + Jennifer Low of Chyna Darner Photography / Wedding Venue: Cap Rocat in Mallorca, Spain / Event Coordination: Anfitrian / Event Styling: Greta Nelson-Alvarez (The Bride) / Floral Design + Plants: Floristeria Merce Francia / Wedding Cake + Sweets: Cupcake Sisters / Wedding Invitations + Menus: Monika Day of Paperplain / Singer: David Gee / Saxophone: Anthony Rivers / DJ: Felipe Schiefer (34 601231512) / Wedding Dress: Alison Rodger / Hair + Makeup: Mariella Morreale / Rings: Greta Nelson-Alvarez of Garbo Jewelry (The Bride — garbojewelry@yahoo.com) / Friday Night Cocktail Venue: Puro Beach
I do believe Paris is the birthplace of pretty. The City of Light is just filled to the brim with beauty, and this lucky duo were lucky enough to meet, fall in love and get engaged walking it’s love-filled streets. They were also lucky enough to get their engagement photos taken in this place of pretty by Summer Street Photography, allowing all of us to swoon over every single love-filled image in the full gallery!
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From Summer Street Photography … Rachel is an American living in Paris, where she got a job after law school. There, she met the love of her life, Jilali, who is French. They worked together, became friends and fell in love. We were able to meet up with them while we were in Paris to capture a glimpse of their lives in together — in the city they met, fell in love and got engaged. We met up with them in the Tuileries Garden, which is right in front of the Louvre and made for a beautiful backdrop. We then made our way to the Pont des Arts, which is a footbridge over the Seine River that has hundreds of love locks on it. Couples come from all over the world and bring a padlock along to lock on the bridge together, and then they throw the key into the water below. Rachel had an adorable lock custom-made with their names and wedding date on it. After we photographed them throwing their key into the water, we jumped down along the Seine for a few shots of the two of them. Then we grabbed a taxi to get some photos of in front of the Eiffel Tower as the sun was setting. We had an amazing time photographing these two and hearing all about their love story. Félicitations Rachel et Jilali!
Photography: Summer Street Photography / Location: Paris, France
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