Our absolute favourite thing about destination weddings is that, without fail, they provide epic, awe-inspiring scenery, and today’s beautiful destination celebration in Marbella, Spain, is certainly no exception.
Lizzi and Mark met through a family connection and quickly fell in love. Set in Spain as the perfect backdrop for their big day, the couple enlisted incredible Smashing Supplier, optimum weddings by The Weddings Company to help them to liaise with their suppliers overseas and make their dream day happen. It goes without saying that Lizzi and Mark were overjoyed with the results.
The ceremony took place overlooking the sea with mountains in the distance — the postcard-ready picture was framed by the couple’s stunning Chuppah, with its beautiful floral arrangements. What more could anyone want?
There’s a lot to love about Lizzi and Mark’s big day, but we simply have to mention the phenomenal vibes of the Israeli dancing — as you can see from the pictures, the party was definitely buzzing, and nobody held back!
Fireworks filled the sky as the pair cut their cake, creating a Hollywood-perfect romantic moment to remember forever.
The wedding was shot by Your Wedding Moments.
How we met
Lizzi, the bride: Funnily enough, we met at my brother’s wedding in Israel in 2014. I thought I knew all of his friends, but turns out… I didn’t. Not his one Northern friend from Leeds. We met, there was an instant chemistry, he then moved down to London, and the rest is history.
A dreamy destination venue in Marbella, Spain
We got married in Spain, in Marbella, at a gorgeous venue called La Cabane at Los Monteros Golf and Spa Hotel. We picked Spain because it was our dream to get married overlooking a beach and nature, with blue sky, sun and mountains.
We love Spain: the Mediterranean laid-back culture, late nights, big squares, wine and tapas. In terms of the venue, we wanted a fully kosher wedding. There are only three venues in Marbella that can 100% accommodate this.
Once we decided on Spain, we met our wedding planner, Dyana from optimum weddings by The Weddings Company. Dyana took us to the three difference venues. La Cabane was without a doubt our favorite, a stunning location right on the beach. It was perfect!
An ivory, pale pink and gold colour scheme
For our colour scheme, we went with ivory, light pink and gold. We used a wedding planner, yes. Dyana and her amazing assistant, Sara, from optimum weddings by The Weddings Company were incredible and looked after every detail from start to finish.
From the day we met them choosing venues through all the preparation, negotiations and meetings with the suppliers, Dyana and Sara were there for every aspect. Even after the wedding, they have been helping us to finalize certain elements around photos and albums. They are the dream team.
Perfect Perspex invitations and menus
Our invitations were actually a bit different and unique. We were recommended a great guy called Darren Gale in Elstree, London. He designed very cool Perspex invitations for us which fitted in with the ivory, light pink and gold theme. He also made us matching Perspex menus for the tables at the wedding.
Natural makeup and pretty plaits
I wanted my makeup to look as natural as possible. Dyana, our wedding planner, introduced me to her gorgeous makeup artist, Nicola McGeorge, who does a lot of her brides.
Nicola is originally from London and she has one of the best reputations in Marbella. She used to be the editor of Confetti Magazine and she is so knowledgeable on all things makeup. I had a trial with Nicola a few months before the wedding and I loved her straight away.
My hairdresser was also Dyana’s recommendation, Alex Harrocks. There are no words for how much I love Alex and how much she made everything about the getting ready part of the day, so fun and relaxed.
I was very fussy when it came to my hair. I had a few hair trials with Alex on different trips to Spain. I knew that, in the heat, I wanted my hair off my face, but it felt a bit nerve wracking as I normally have my hair down and on my face.
I loved the style I ended up going for — hair pulled back in plaits off my face. Alex got it perfect! Mark and I did a beach shoot a few days after the wedding and it was amazing to recreate the hair and have champagne with Alex again.
A customised Enzoani gown
The dress was bought from JS Couture in Marylebone, London. The designer was Enzoani. I went to so many wedding dress shops and tried on so many dresses. I knew it would be very hot in July in Spain, so I wanted something with a soft tulle and flowy, especially to keep with the beach theme.
The owner of JS Couture, Jessie, was so hands on and incredible. She did a lot of alterations to the dress, and added a lot of fine details, Swarovski crystals, pickups to the tulle and so on.
A family heirloom eternity ring and Italian heels
I wore a long veil to the ground for the Chuppah, also from JS Couture. Jessie added crystals and detail so that it matched the dress.
In terms of jewellery, I kept it simple. I wore a special pair of earrings from my parents. I wore my grandma’s eternity ring. I bought some hairpieces from a wedding dress shop in Spain.
My shoes were gold, high stilettos. They were by an amazing Italian designer called Dino Dessiati, and I found them while shopping in Tel Aviv. I had bought shoes from this designer the year before also and I loved them because the leather is so soft and comfortable. I wore my shoes all day and night and, given how high they were, they did not fail me. I danced the night away!
The handsome groom
Mark’s suit was made by Savile Row tailor, Scabal. It was a navy suit and owing to his quirky personality, the inside lining reflected a comic illustration scene. It was very cool!
Mismatched bridesmaids in pale pink
I had three little bridesmaids and three adult bridesmaids, including my sister who was my maid-of-honour.
The little bridesmaids wore matching light pink dresses, in keeping with the color scheme. I bought them all bracelets and hair pieces. They each had a basket of petals which they threw as we walked down the aisle.
My three older bridesmaids chose their own dresses. They also wore light pink in keeping with the colour scheme.
Our chuppah
As the Chuppah was on the beach, we went for a simple design. We decorated one of the Cabanas at La Cabane with flowers.
A spiritual Jewish ceremony overlooking the sea
The main thing about the wedding that made it special to us was the fact that the ceremony overlooked the sea and we could see mountains in the distance. Under the Chuppah, the nature in front of us made it feel extra spiritual.
We flew out Rabbi Moshe Mayerfeld and his wife, Liat, from London. I have been close to Rabbi Mayerfeld since I did Aish trips when I was 17, so it was amazing and very special to have him conduct the ceremony.
We also flew out Mark’s Chazzan from Leeds, Alby Sebastian Chait, and his wife, Gila. Alby has an incredible voice and it was an honour to have him sing for us.
Alby gave us an amazing idea for the smashing of our glass. He recommended Ahava glass. Mark bought the glass from there, it comes in a little bag which Mark had to stamp on to smash. It’s since been turned into an incredible glass ornament which is the best memory of our Chuppah!
Traditional Jewish songs and a sentimental first dance choice
During the Chuppah, we obviously had traditional Jewish songs which our Chazzan sung.
For the reception, our first dance was High by the Lighthouse Family. Mark and I spent a couple of weeks on a road trip around California after we got engaged. We had the Lighthouse Family on constantly, so it was a bit of a no brainer! Plus, the words “we are going to be forever you and me” obviously resonated well!
An abundance of ivory peonies
The florist was also our wedding planner, Dyana’s, recommendation, Virginia Florista, in Marbella, Spain. To be honest, before my wedding, I was never one of those girls who had thought of every wedding detail or who had a clear vision of what I wanted flower wise. I put a lot trust into the florist in Spain.
My main request was that my bridal bouquet was made up of lots of ivory peonies as I love those!
Entertainment
We had a live band called The Legal Aliens for the early part of the wedding and until 1am. They were awesome, our wedding planner’s recommendation again.
We then flew out a highly recommended DJ, Aryell Moussaioff, to do the later part of the wedding from 1am onwards. We chose Ari because he DJs at all the best nightclubs in Tel Aviv and London. He totally understood the music we would love, English and Israeli — he was the best!
As well as our amazing band and DJ, fireworks going off in the sky whilst we cut our cake was one of our highlights!
Kosher catering
The overall catering was done by the catering within the Los Monteros Hotel and all the koshering was overseen by Rabbi Marcos Cohen of Spain Kosher Services.
They also catered our welcome party on the Friday night and made incredible paellas (non seafood versions of course!).
Finally, they made our cake, which we cut as fireworks went off.
A groom’s party of 16
Mark had 14 ushers and two best men. This meant a lot of Northern guys from Leeds who all made the atmosphere and ruach of the wedding insane.
Personalised fan favours
We had personalised fans, which we ordered from Create Your Own Fan on Etsy. These were very needed for the Chuppah in the heat!
We had flip flops for the party, plus mini bottles of Sangria to represent Spain. We also had a bags of sweets for the party and 2am snacks (burgers, hot dogs etc!) of course.
Advice to brides and grooms currently planning their wedding
It was quite hard at times dealing with some of the Spanish suppliers. Mediterranean culture is very different and they can be quite slow to respond. They often say ‘no’ before they say ‘yes’, but our amazing wedding planners from optimum Weddings by The Weddings Company looked after all of that!
Lizzi & Mark’s little white book
Wedding planner – optimum weddings by The Weddings Company
Photographer and videographer – Your Wedding Moments
Wedding venue – La Cabane at Los Monteros Hotel
Bride’s dress – Enzoani purchased from JS Couture
Bride’s accessories – Swarovski
Groom’s suit – Scabal
Hair – Alex Harrocks
Make-up – Nicola McGeorge
Flowers – Virginia Florista
Band — The Legal Aliens
DJ — Aryell Moussaioff
Invitation – Invitation London
Catering – Los Monteros Hotel and Spain Kosher Services
Glass – Ahava glass
Favours – Create Your Own Fan
