Archives for January 2016

Costa Rica Engagement Session

January 29, 2016 | Leave a Comment

By the time you read this I´ll be boarding a plane for a week of holiday to Mexico!!!!!!!!! EXCITED.COM!!!!!!!!

Every year in January, when the weather gets dull and the memory of warm days and sunhine fades away we pack up our suitcase and head to somewhere warm. I´ve told you about our trip to Costa Rica last year (here and here) but I´ve yet to share this super cool surfer engagement session I shot all on film in the little surfer town of Santa Teresa. A few weeks before my trip I got in touch with Marianne from Bliss Weddings Costa Rica about organising a shoot together and as luck would have it her sister Annette was recently engaged to her surfer beau so my surfer engagement idea could come to fruition. We drove around to some hidden coves and fisherman villages and the result was a truly epic shoot I hold very dear to my heart.

Getting married in Costa Rica? CALL ME!!! 😀

Shot all on 35mm film and developed & scanned by Carmencita Film Lab

Wedding Wednesday: Antibes Destination Wedding | Kianne & Shane

January 27, 2016 | 4 Comments

My second wedding in 2015 took me to the unbelievably beautiful Cote d´Azur in the South of France to photograph the intimate elopement of Kianne and Shane. The two Californian lovebirds escaped the hustle and bustle of wedding planning to elope in Antibes, with just a handful (8 to be precise) of their dearest and nearest. Their day was full of that je-ne-sais-quoie Franch charm… and yeah…. so much beauty….!!!! Easygoing, warm and oh so French… the perfect elopement which I could´t have been happier to photograph. After they shared their vows in the beautiful La Grande Nomade D´Antibes sculpture (how unique!!!) we skipped and hopped around town, got invited on a sailing boat to sip champagne and passed by cute little shops, bakeries and places that are important to them. I personally loved how effortless it all was and how INSANELY IN LOVE my cameras were with them! 🙂 Kianne told their story and how their day went by on Style Me Pretty and in the special destination edition of BRIDES magazine and please enjoy my interpretation of the day in photographs… I still smell lavender if I think of that beautiful late spring day…

Travel Dates 2016

January 25, 2016 | Leave a Comment

I am in full blown travel planning mode! Flight tickets, hotels, transfers, weddings, shoots, vacations, girl weekends it´s all happening and I´m excited to be EN ROUTE again soon! (not that I was sitting too long in one place in the last few months either, but that´s another story) Below you´ll find my travel dates for 2016 so far, if we happen to be at the same place holla at me, I´ll have some time to take on a few portrait, engagement or family shoots at each location! See you soon?!

February – Tulum (Mexico) & London (UK)

April – Valencia (Spain) & Brussels (Belgium)

May – Budapest, Szeged (Hungary) & Ibiza

August – Budapest (Hungary)

Wedding Wednesday: Costa Brava Destination Wedding – Liza and Philippe

January 20, 2016 | Leave a Comment

Some weddings are impossible to describe… IMPOSSIBLE… especially without total cliches and words of absolute admiration. I love it when I fall in love with a bride through her first email, and Liza was just like that… love at first email, and it only got better from there. After an amazing brunch date and very long emails the wedding day has finally come and it was much better than I could have ever expected (and I expected a lot). Not only was Liza drop dead gorgeous we had such a great time photographing her getting ready that at one point I almost wasn´t able to photograph anymore from laughing too hard. SO SPECIAL. And because I cannot do it any other way… the venue was amazing, their families a bliss, the ceremony tear wrenching and their photo shoot… we did´t only shoot around the venue but we even nipped away to the magical coastal town of Calella de Palafrugell as it was their dream to shoot at the Costa Brava, the place they met at 8 years ago… and from here on, I´ll let Liza tell you a bit more about themselves and their beautiful day:

How did you choose your wedding and reception venues?

Our guests are spread around the globe (the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia), so we couldnt just invite everyone for dinner or one day event! We needed a place where we could all spend some time together , therefore, villa was a great option. The location was easy – we are sooo much in love with Spain (have been to Spain at least one time every single year since we met), particularly Costa Brava, its small beaches, Spanish food. To narrow it down, we wanted to have a wedding somewhere close to Lloret de Mar where we met. Weeks after searching we came across Mas Torroella and just literally FELL IN LOVE! The masia was just perfect in every respect – secluded, surrounded by greenery, flowers, beautifully decorated, large enough to accommodate most of our guests (plus nearby hotel). In addition, it had many facilities for our small nieces and for all the adults to ensure a great time together. It was also close to beautiful beaches of Calella de Palafrugell. Silvia (the owner) was just so fantastic too, so we made our mind very quickly.

Where did you get your dress and how did you choose it?
I never liked big wedding dresses and I wanted something I could feel light enough to dance, have fun and not to feel restricted during the day. In addition, we planned a beach photoshoot, so flowing, simple dress was something I was looking for. Where I would one day get my wedding dress was decided long time ago when my best friend from childhood, Victoria Kapriz, started studying fashion design in Italy – she said she really wanted to make the dress for me (how lucky am I??). I did my research, sourced all the fabrics, flower motifs, decorative accessories in the UK, Victoria produced the dress for me in Warsaw. Personalised dress sewed by my best friend`s hands – what could be more special?

What inspired your colour palette?
We wanted to have an intimate ceremony and a cosy, family-feel dinner surrounded by our loved one. We both love whites, rustic styles and simplicity. I love field flowers. Greenery of the villa`s surroundings, plants and flowers on the grounds added to a perfect romantic, rustic style of the wedding. We didnt have any particular theme/colour palette in mind – everything fitted together naturally.

How did you choose your hair and beauty looks?

Nothing but simple and natural look. I wear minimal make-up on a daily basis, so I didnt want to look any different on the wedding day – Philipp is used to me this way, why to change it all of a sudden for a wedding day? I have very straight hair and there is not much I can do with them – they wouldnt even curl… So just a nice blow-dry with some volume was an ideal look. It turned out exactly how I wanted and it seemed Philipp was pleased too 🙂

How did you decorate your venue?
We hired a local florist who decorated the ceremony, reception and dinner area with flowers in clear glass vases, creating a very natural look. The main colour was white, including crispy white linen, napkins, sofas, candles, etc. We also used white tulle for ceremony altar and dinner area which was beautifully flowing and fitted perfectly to the surroundings.

What were some of the challenges of organising a destination wedding?
We faced many challenges on the way, but were very lucky to have worked with such professional, caring and accommodating vendors, starting with Gabby (En Route :)) to the owner of the villa to priest, catering company, florist, etc. All of them were trying to help as much as they could, answering our endless questions, contributing to our decisions, assisting with any additional queries and all together helping to create a perfect running order of the day. Lucky enough all of them spoke perfect English which definitely eased the process, however, bringing everything together was a huge challenge, especially distantly! Secondly, the logistics of having all of our guests arriving from 5 different countries on the same day was stressful as we needed to make sure everyone knew how to find the villa/hotel (the villa is situated in the middle of nowhere!), our wedding website was definitely of a great help here! Finally, keeping a constant track of all the costs was exhausting.

What’s your top tip for anyone planning a destination wedding?

It is all about a certain connection. Truly falling in love with the venue or having some sort of a personal attachment to the area will make the whole experience even more special. Sourcing the vendors you really connect with in term of personalities and the way you communicate is very important too. For instance, it really felt like Philipp and I have known our photographer, Gabby, for ages from the first emails we have exchanged which resulted in us almost having a friend documenting the wedding – fun, easy and very relaxed, despite the fact that Philipp never met Gabby and I only met her once before! Although you might not have the chance to meet all the vendors face-to-face, but the styles of their websites, portfolios, the way they communicate with you will tell a lot about them. Choose vendors who really touch and excite you, who are similar to you. Then everything will naturally fall into place and you will have the best time of your life!

For more on their wedding you can check out THIS feature on Fly Away Bride

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Five Tips for Planning a Wedding in Barcelona from abroad

January 18, 2016 | 2 Comments

January is a busy month for wedding planning! New engagements and new resolutions, but most of all a seemingly endless to do lists to plan your dream destination wedding from abroad. It can be a daunting task so I enlisted the help of my dear friend, colleague and wedding guru Esther to share her advice on how to make the process easier… Thank you Esther for the wonderful insight!

Five tips to plan a wedding from abroad

Hi my belles, I am Esther, editor of Mediterranean wedding blog Belle & Chic.
After 4 years of running the blog and receiving hundreds of emails from brides asking for my advice regarding their destination wedding, I think I have a pretty clear picture of the do’s and don’t of organizing a wedding abroad and I am thrilled to share some of my insights here on Gabby’s blog! So here are my five tips to guarantee that your Spanish nuptials will become a blazing success and a day you’ll cherish forever.

1. Hire local vendors
Organizing a destination wedding without actually being there can be challenging, no doubt. That’s why hiring local vendors is so important. Someone like Gabby, who is familiar with the region and most wedding venues here. She is also well-connected and knows the ins and outs of the Spanish wedding industry (peculiarities included). Not only can she give you valuable advice and connect you with the right people beforehand. Her knowledge of the wedding scene here also ensures that there will be no unnecessary road bumps on the day itself, and that the collaboration with other vendors will run smoothly. (note from Gabby: to receive my super trusted vendor list you can sign up to my newsletter HERE)
I should make special mention of the value of hiring wedding planner, who can play an pivotal role in helping you organize everything from abroad. I know, lots of us think we can actually do it without a planner, but believe me, hiring one will save you a lot of time, headaches and money!

2. Make a site visit
If in any way possible, I recommend flying in once before the wedding. That gives you time to tour a few venues, connect with your main vendors in person and maybe even do an engagement shoot at the beach or somewhere beautiful. Those photos can be used on your website (see below), plus it’s the perfect way to warm up to being in front of the camera and to connect with your wedding photographer on a personal level. And being at ease with the person behind the lens will help you to look more relaxed, confident, radiant and beautiful in the photos of your big day!

3. Create a website
Destination weddings can be seen as a little bit of effort by your guests, so try and make life easy for them. The best way to answer their questions and make them feel prepared is a wedding website, where you can share some personal info about yourselves, but also solve your guest’s main problems: What are the best airports to fly into, and the best airlines to use? Where to stay (offer them a list with a variety of options)? What to expect regarding weather and dress code? Create and embed a custom google map with the venue(s), hotels and main points of interest. Most guests will arrive a day or two early, so share your knowledge about your destination with them and provide them a mini-guide with fun activities and the best restaurants… they’ll love it! (note from Gabby: this is a good place to start)

4. Let the surroundings do the talking
What do I mean by that? Well. If you’ve chosen a beautiful destination, like Barcelona or Costa Brava, to celebrate your big day, you probably love the country, the scenery, the weather. And the amazingly beautiful venues here. So don’t try and overshadow this with elaborate decorations. Your wedding will be special no matter what, simply because you have chosen a gorgeous location. So instead of copying generic ideas from Pinterest, I recommend designing the event around the venue or setting… and in most likelihood, there won’t be much “designing” to do!

5. Let go and enjoy!
Organizing weddings, whether abroad or at home, can be stressful. But only because we chose to stress over it and fall into the trap of perfectionism (I know, I am guilty of this as well). I have heard from more than one bride that the only regret they have about their destination wedding is not having enjoyed the planning process and the days right before the event enough. Mishaps are bound to happen, but sometimes it’s important to ride the waves and take things as they come. Once you’ve carefully selected your vendors and surrounded yourself with a good team, it’s time to let go and enjoy being a bride-to-be… because honestly, it is so much fun!

Lots of love and good luck with your preparations,
Esther

Photos of Esther shot on Pentax 645 & Fuji400h , dev & scan by my darling Gema at Carmencita Film Lab