Pass us a cocktail, please, it’s Wedding Wednesday and we’re off to sunny Marbella, Spain, to vicariously attend the fabulous, party-vibe wedding of Tamara and Craig!
We love a good Jewish destination wedding, particularly one with such avid attention to detail, and such a STUNNER of a chuppah with a breathtaking view behind it! Would you believe the ceremony took place in a totally made over car park?? We could barely believe it either!
Tamara and Craig really made the most of their incredible location, with a pre-wedding pool party (yes!) and an overall party atmosphere with incredible production: stage sound, a giant screen, lighting, smoke machines, indoor fireworks and LED wrist bands, as well as Magic Mirror selfies! So much fun!
Bride Tamara looked eye-poppingly amazing in her subtly glittering Pronovias gown and trademark Valentino heels – total bridal chic goals!
And the ceremony boasted Moni Tivony from STG Vendor, Totem as chazan, and guests partied all night to sounds by 14-piece band and DJ, Club Live. Tamara even went with the flow and got up to say a few impromptu words.
Of course, such a fabulous wedding had to involve an incredible Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor. Fabulous photographer Jeremy Standley was on hand to capture the magic, along with Reynard Productions, who provided the heartfelt wedding video below.
Oh and if you’re planning a destination wedding of your own, you must tune into tonight’s Facebook Live at 8pm GMT – it’s a Destination Wedding Q&A special!
We’ll leave you in Tamara’s capable hands now for the full report – we hope you love it as much as we do!
A destination venue
Tamara, the bride: We got married at Finca La Concepcion in Marbella Spain. We chose Spain, as we wanted to make a whole weekend away for everyone, and we love the sun.
We used the best wedding planner in Marbella — Scott from Sunshine Weddings. The second we saw the venue, we fell in love. It was perfect, but it was also a blank canvas, and we knew exactly how we would style it.
We also had a pre-wedding pool party at Avanto Beach Club.
A party atmosphere
We used Sunshine Weddings who are just amazing (as well as it being my new brother in law’s company). We knew we wanted it to be a real party and we decided to focus on it being just that.
With so many people flying over for the weekend, we wanted to make sure we gave people a weekend they would remember.
We kept our color scheme tasteful. We decorated our chuppah with white and green flowers and, as guests went through to reception and dinner area, we added some pink. I didn’t want to be to over the top, as we had an amazing lighting system and being outdoors anyway, we were surrounded by trees and flowers.
We projected our pre-wedding logo, which we used to sign off on all our wedding-related emails, onto a big screen.
An all-purpose wedding website
Instead of invites, we used our website, www.tamaracraig.com. This had details for the pool party, wedding and pictures of our engagement. The beauty of the website is it evolved throughout the process, starting with pictures of our engagement along with the save the date, then the RSVP, then selecting exactly what food you want, then final updates for pre-wedding parties and the actual wedding.
After the wedding, we let all our guests share their photos and videos within it. The website is a great tool to relive the memories for the future.
Pre-wedding pampering
Nicola McGeorge did my makeup. She is the best in the business, I had to go with her. We spoke every few days for months and months leading up to the wedding, and she gave me loads of great tips.
She sent me to get monthly Environ facials and recommended loads of great products. She was incredible on the day as well. She stayed for hours retouching my makeup throughout the night.
Maite Bart from Glamorous Hair did my hair. She is also known as being one of the best and did a great job.
A subtly sparkling Pronovias dress
My dress was by Pronovias. I knew I wanted something to sparkle subtly in the sun, so I went for a champagne-colored dress.
I tried on so many dresses, but the second I put this dress on, it just felt right. It was strapless and I was desperate for them to make me detachable straps, which I wore for the ceremony and removed after.
A bespoke headpiece
I had a headpiece made by Elena Wetherall, designer at Fancy Bowtique Bridal Couture. It was champagne and rose gold and it was absolutely beautiful.
She listened to exactly what I wanted, made me a bespoke piece and sent it to me in a matter of weeks. She kept me updated with her progress and sent me loads of pictures, so I was able to make changes as she went along.
I didn’t want to wear much jewelry, so I wore simple diamond studs and my engagement ring.
Valentino shoes
My shoes were white Valentinos. The best shoes in the world. They are so comfy and I think they look amazing. I love Valentino, so it was just an excuse to buy another pair.
The handsome groom
Craig wore Richard James. My husband is usually the guy that’s so over the top. He loves a wacky suit, but he decided on his wedding day to dress simple and elegant in a similar suit he wore on our first date. A blue three-piece suit, white shirt, baby blue tie.
He wore brown beautiful shoes by Crockett & Jones. His outfit was simple and smart. (I think he didn’t want to take the attention away from me)
My husband is the best. He really got involved and planned so much — more than me, I think . Hes the creative one, along with Scott Sunshine Weddings.
Bridesmaids in nude Dessy dresses
I had three bridesmaids. Two adults — my best friends. They wore Dessy dresses. They were all slightly different as I am not one for matching, but I did ask them to wear the same color. I wanted a nude/pinky colour. Again, I wanted it to be subtle, and for them to look elegant and beautiful, which they did.
My younger bridesmaid was my niece (my husband’s sister’s daughter). She wore a white dress we bought from Monsoon. She needs a special mention because she was the best bridesmaid/flower girl I could have asked for. She’s only 11 and she’s calls me ‘Twinsie’, because we are so similar. I absolutely love her and I am so happy she is now officially my family.
A simple and elegant chuppah
We went for a simple, elegant and beautiful chuppah. Slightly rustic, looking over the hills of Marbella.
A transformed ceremony space
For the ceremony, we imported white sand. The ceremony took place in a car park, although you would never know this, as the sand, flowers and chuppah changed it and made it beautiful.
We chose this part of the venue to get married in because of the amazing views looking over the hills. Without the sand, it would not have looked half as special. For me, it was the most stunning part of the wedding.
We also had Moni Tivony sing all the blessings. His voice is incredible, and that, along with the beautiful backdrop, was amazing!
An incredible chazan and band
Craig walked down to the tune of Hero by Enrique Iglesias — sung by the amazing Moni (our chazan for the night). I walked down the aisle to Endless Love by Lionel Richie, sung by Marlon from Club Live. Moni then sung all our prayers — I have videos, he took everyone’s breath away. I have never heard anyone sing like that. He was incredible.
Our first dance was to Sweet Love by Anita Baker. Our band, Club Live, sung this. They started slow and ended it with a rap and the jungle version, which got everyone dancing with us. We have the music (I listen to it all the time on the tube to work). They are the best band. Months later we are still getting compliments about them and how no one has ever heard anyone as good as them.
Simply stunning flowers
We chose Karen from Deseos Florist for our flowers. I a wanted simple white/cream roses bouquet — stunning! She made our chuppah and the whole ceremony stunning — she took my breath away.
Our table centerpieces were white, green and blush flowers, and she also made the tables with mirrors and candles.
For our place settings, we had rose gold/bronze mirrors with guests’ names engraved. My husband and I are obsessed with rose gold, so we had to get that in somewhere, and Karen helped us. She put flowers all over the venue and everyone commented on how beautiful they were.
Karen and I Skyped and spoke so much before the wedding. She is the best in the business!
Our fabulous photographer
Our photographer was the one and only Jeremy Standley. He knew exactly what we wanted. Lots of action and arty pictures — not too many formal pictures.
I didn’t want to miss too much of the wedding having pictures taken, so he kept it super quick.
When we met him prior to the wedding, he put us at ease. He was calm and relaxed on the day — never in my face and he kept things running smoothly.
A 14-piece band, DJ and Magic Mirror
Club Live is the most insanely amazing wedding band. They had everyone dancing all night. We could have been in a club! They are a 14-piece band plus DJ. I think they made our wedding.
We had a grand piano at the center of the dance floor, which they used. They also worked very closely with Scott at Sunshine Weddings to get the best production: stage sound, giant screen, lighting, smoke machines, indoor fireworks and LED wrist bands. The best!!
We also had Magic Mirror pics — this was a mirror guests could take selfies and write us messages on — we have so many funny pictures.
Moni also sung at our reception. He made everyone cry with his voice, and gave us the dream ceremony.
An impromptu speech
I didn’t really plan to do a speech, but halfway through the night, I heard the band calling me up so I said a few words…
Five-star catering
We used Costa Catering — wow! The canapà©s, the food, the service was like a five-star London restaurant. The chef even walked around to everyone’s table to see if they enjoyed it. I barely had time to eat anything at the actual wedding, but luckily I ate EVERYTHING at the food tasting they provided, which was so so much fun.
On the day, I did manage to eat dessert, though, and a few of their homemade chocolates.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
My only advice would be: it’s your day. Make sure the week before, you relax, enjoy time with your husband to be and don’t make too many plans. We went to Spain a week before, but stayed about 30 minutes away from everyone so we could spend time together.
Make sure you are organized in terms of timing about who’s having the hair and makeup done on the day.
Finally — take a step back on the night and take it all in, as it really does go so quickly.
Tamara & Craig’s little white book
Photography – Jeremy Standley
Videography – Reynard Productions
Wedding planner – Sunshine Weddings
Venue – Finca La Conception
Bride’s dress – Pronovias
Bride’s shoes – Valentino
Bride’s accessories – Fancy Bowtique Bridal Couture
Groom’s attire – Richard James and Crockett & Jones
Bridesmaids – Dessy and Monsoon
Makeup – Nicola McGeorge
Flowers – Deseos Florist
Catering – Costa Catering
Chazan – Moni Tivony
Band – Club Live
Production – Chez Vous Events
Pool party venue – Avanto Beach Club
Thanks Karen! Such a great day, not too shabby for a carpark x
Another blockbuster as always Jeremy!
Thank you for your kind words for Costa Catering and congratulations for such an amazing wedding!
Javier Salas, owner chef at Costa Catering.