Mary & Rob

The excitement on the adorable flowers girl's face (also the bride and grooms eldest daughter) in the opening picture above literally sums up the love and emotion this blush pink Marbella wedding entails. From tears, to smiles and everything in between, all the precious moments have been documented to perfection by Kino Ortega for this family to treasure. The soft colour palette is divine, and echos the golden sandy beach, and mesmerising summer haze. Plus bride Mary's embellished Yaki Ravid wedding dress not only looks stunning, but also catches the light beautifully, making her look even more dazzling. Tissues, and pinning fingers at the ready. Enjoy.

Wedding

Mary the Bride: We got married on 14/10/17 which was also our eldest daughter, Evie’s 9th birthday, so it was important that we shared this day with her. We also have a younger daughter who is 2 years old. We wanted to get married at a place that held special memories for our family; a place that we love and that we visit every year, and now with even happier memories. We got married at 5pm in front of 80 of our closest friends and family. It was a truly beautiful evening. Tara Lorimer was our wedding planner and coordinator. She was amazing, she had fantastic ideas and vision and made everything run so smoothly.

Brides

For the old British custom “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” I wore.. OLD: my grandmother’s (who is 95) bracelet given to her on her 16th birthday NEW: my Yaki Ravid wedding dress BORROWED: pearl earrings from Rob’s mother BLUE: a blue ribbon that my mum had sewn into her dress

The Venue

Vows: on the beach Reception: El Chiringuito, Puente Romano

Colour Scheme/Decor

Blush pink, white and cream Evie’s birthday table - bright flowers and balloons

Flowers

My wedding flowers were by Zoe Strutton. The bridal bouquet consisted of blush pink and white roses. My bridesmaids/flower girls had smaller bouquets with the same flowers. Mimi our youngest daughter held a flower wand. We chose round tables as they’re more sociable for guests to chat. The tables had pink, blush and white flower arrangements in the middle surrounded by candles. I wanted the venue to look beautiful and romantic. The flowers that were used for the ceremony on the beach were then bought into the reception. There is a feature tree in middle of El Chiringuito (where we had our wedding reception) with a big table surrounding it. We decided to make this Evie’s birthday table so it was decorated with bright coloured flowers, banners and balloons and of course her birthday cake.

Bridesmaid Fashion

As my friends all have different body shapes, I decided to let them choose their own dresses, but keeping the same colour of blush pink. I gave them a budget of £300 each. Im so happy that I decided to do this as they all felt comfortable in dresses that they’d chosen. The shade of blush didn’t match, but it worked and made my bridesmaid scheme more authentic. Flower girls all wore long white traditional dresses with a pink/blush sash handmade for them by Gilly Gray in London. All the men in our wedding party wore boutonnières a blush rose, but there was no dress code. We wanted a very relaxed feel to our wedding.

Ceremony

As the service was a blessing we asked Rob’s father to write and hold the ceremony. He made it very personal to us. Evie and our two eldest nephews read a short reading. Evie also wrote her own wedding speech and spoke after Rob’s which was very moving.

Entertainment

We had live music performed by a local band called Gitane before and after the ceremony. Russell Soden a local DJ who got the party started after the cake was cut. We danced our first dance “where is the love” by the Black Eyed Peas. It’s always been my very favourite song, and there was a lot of love in that room!!

Food

We served champagne and wine for our guests on arrival. After the service champagne and wine was served again and the following selection of canapés:

• Avocado with King prawns in cone.
• Iberian Pata Negra Ham.
• Blackberry Gazpacho Shots with fresh apple.
• beetroot marinated salmon with white sesame on a stick.
• Tuna or Salmon Tartar on regaña.

Guests were then invited to sit after and after the speeches the following meal was served:

Starter Western King Prawn Skewer with Spicy Mango & watercress Or Beef Carpaccio with Parmesan Shavings & Rocket Veggie option - Avocado and Watercress with Elderberry Balsamic Vinegar Intermediate course Sorbet Orange & Mint Main Beef Tenderloin with Potato Mousseline, Green Beans & Red Wine Sauce Or Sea Bass with Green Asparagus Risotto Veggie Option - Green Asparagus Risotto with 18k Gold Flakes Dessert Dark Chocolate Mousse with Marinated Andalucian Oranges

As it was Evie’s birthday we decided to have a birthday cake instead of a wedding cake and we decided that she could choose the cake. She chose a cake made of bright doughnuts. After the dinner we sang happy birthday to Evie and she blew out the candles on her “doughnut cake”. All the guests were given sparklers. We then had a “open bar” for 3 hours. We had a marshmallow BBQ and midnight snacks of pork rolls, mini burgers and French fries.

Photographer

Kino Ortega. We asked Kino to take and capture natural, unposed, candid photos. We felt really comfortable with him while he was working and 2 months later we were astonished when we saw the photos. He really did a very good job!