Today's stunning destination wedding is proof that even the most meticulous plans can sometimes go awry, but that even if they do, you'll still have the most spectacular wedding! Caroline and Giuseppe are a stylish twosome, with two gorgeous little girls, who both work in retail fashion in Dublin. An Irish bride and Chilean groom, the pair were dreaming of a garden wedding in the sun, and figured a week-long summer celebration in Spain was the only thing for it. The weather may have tried to rain on their parade, but it didn't stand a chance against the glamorous boho style, beautiful rustic decor and dreamy setting at Mas Isern, in Peratallada, near Girona. Keisy and Rocky Photography documented the day for us to swoon over!
Caroline and Guiseppe met while they were both working at Dunnes Stores head office, “We both still work in retail,” explains Caroline, “I am head of buying at Primark and Giuseppe is head of merchandise planning at Arnotts.”
The pair met just as Giuseppe was planning to return home to Chile, “He has been stuck in Ireland ever since!” says the bride, “We have been together 10 years this year and finally decided it would be lovely to celebrate our family and life together with our closest family and friends.”
We love seeing all the behind the scenes preparations that go into a wedding!
Caroline had her heart set on an outdoor garden wedding, “We have been to so many amazing wedding venues in Ireland, but the weather could not be guaranteed to do this, so we settled on Spain.”
All of the artwork for the menus, name cards, church ceremony etc, was done by Caroline’s sister who runs Hello Snowflake.
The bride tells us about her vision for the wedding, “I wanted the event to be outdoor, rustic, boho, laid back and effortless, I think we achieved all of this, although it certainly wasn’t effortless! Now the planning is all over, I finally get my evenings back!”
The tables were decked out with eucalyptus runners, white linens, and beautiful glass charger plates.
The couple’s two little girls Elena and Lucia were superstar flower girls on the day! Loving their flower crowns!
Our kind of getaway car!
What a stunning bride!
The couple tell us about their beautiful ceremony, “We were married in the 13th century church of Sant Esteve, in the small medieval town, where only 170 people live permanently. The ceremony was read in both Spanish and English, and included a lot of our friends and family, everyone commented about how special and unique this part of the day was.”
We love all the little ones crowding around Caroline and Giuseppe for the big moment - too cute!
Alas, despite getting married in Spain, in July, the weather still didn’t play ball, “It was a very humid day on the day of the wedding, it was over 30 degrees and the sun was shining all day. Just as the church ceremony ended and we went outside for a glass of champagne, a thunder storm started!”
Caroline tells us, she and Guiseppe were determined to get some photos in the beautiful town of Peratallada, “When the rain eased off we went to take some photos. My dress was absolutely filthy from walking around in the rain and my hair was soaked! However the setting was so beautiful and Roberto our photographer did such a good job with the pictures, it did not matter.”
Caroline’s gorgeous boho gown is from Aussie bridal brand, Grace Loves Lace, “The first time I saw their dresses online, I knew this was the brand I wanted. They had just opened a London showroom this year, so I booked to go over and visit for the day with one of my close friends. I settled on the Mai style, I was concerned the long sleeves would be very warm in the heat, but loved the style so overlooked that! As it rained the temperature cooled, so it was not a problem in the end, one positive outcome of the rain!”
These two got seriously invested in their venue search! “We travelled to Barcelona twice to look at wedding venues; I have seen every wedding venue within 100km north and south of Barcelona,” says Caroline. “I chose the venue because it was beautiful, but most importantly because of its proximity to Peratallada, it is a simply stunning little town, it has to be the most Instagramable town ever!”
Now that's some view - also, how chic is this outdoor lounge set-up!
Though it was still raining on and off, the couple decided against taking their reception indoors, “We held off the dinner and finally the rain stopped and we had the outdoor dinner I had always planned for! We have photos of all of our guests, helping to dry down the tables and relight the candles, so we could make the outdoor dinner work!”
While most couples planning a destination wedding hire a planner, Caroline was meticulous in sourcing the right suppliers herself, ”I researched all of the vendors for the wedding myself as I knew exactly what I wanted. I wouldn’t recommend this, unless you have a lot of patience, in hindsight a wedding planner might have helped!”
The newlyweds made the most of having both of their families in one place, “We stayed in Spain with both of our families for the week after the wedding, they had all travelled long distance to celebrate with us,” says Caroline, “We had a mini moon at the Europe Hotel in Kerry after the wedding, which is where we also got engaged, and is a simply stunning hotel in the most magnificent area of Ireland.”
The next job on Caroline’s list is to plan the couple’s honeymoon, “We are thinking about visiting Vietnam and Cambodia.” If it’s anything like their wedding, it’s going to be lush!
I'm so glad these two still managed to pull-off their dream day - thanks so much to Caroline and Giuseppe for letting us behind the scenes on your wedding - and to Keisy and Rocky Photography for capturing it so beautifully.
