If we could make sure that couples take away any one message from reading Smashing The Glass, it would be this: have your wedding your way. We go on about it a lot, but it’s simply the most important thing – and that’s exactly what Lisa and Joey did with their super-glam Jewish destination wedding in Marbella.
Since childhood, bride Lisa had dreamed of having a real princess dress, and she turned that dream into a reality with a dress so big it needed its own seat on the plane! We definitely approve of those priorities. Lisa pulled the regal look together with perfectly pitched hair and makeup and a beautiful bouquet in her wedding colors of pastel pinks.
There’s no beating a chuppah with a sea view, and Los Monteros Spa and Golf Resort provided the perfect backdrop for the pair’s moving Jewish ceremony.
Planning a destination wedding can have its challenges, but fortunately wedding planner, Sunshine Weddings Spain, was on hand to ensure the planning went smoothly, and to introduce the couple to fabulous vendors, such as much-loved incredibly talented STG Recommended vendor, photographer Jeremy Standley.
Live music brought the party to life, with performances from a violinist, saxophonist and drummer keeping the energy high after the Israeli dancing.
We’ll pass you over to Lisa for her highly animated and engaging wedding writeup – please give her a warm, Smashing The Glass welcome
How we met
Lisa, the bride: Joey and I met nearly 10 years ago… I know, ‘wow’, right?! Soon, we will have been with each other longer than without! We met through friends and haven’t looked back since… apart from to reminisce about how we met and hit it off!
We are definitely two peas in a pod, even to the point where our answers are exactly the same in our Mr and Mrs questions! We definitely could not be without each other and are so excited to spend the rest of our lives together!
A perfect beach destination venue
From the moment I said yes in October 2015, the conversations started flowing about where the big day should be held. Since I was a child, all I had dreamt about was getting married by, or on, a beach, so trying to persuade Joey of my way of thinking when he had never even been to Marbella… well let’s just say I had to seriously bring out my influential skills!
The ceremony took place at La Cabane, the famous beach club that belongs to the stunning 5* hotel Los Monteros Spa and Golf Resort in the heart of Marbella, Spain. It took five seconds for us decide that this venue was for us; all they had to do was open the beach club doors and we knew this setting was perfect for our dream wedding not to mention the fabulous sunshine.
A wedding fit for a princess
Being the typical girl that I am, our wedding would be incomplete without a little bit of pastel purple and, of course, pastel pink! We were quite laid back when it came to having a particular theme or style, as it was our venue that made the wedding, rather than having to dress it up.
With the sea right behind us at every angle, all we needed were fairy lights, flowers and giant letters of our initials to make sure none of our guests forgot our names… although the unlimited alcohol may have contributed to any forgetfulness!
Sunshine Weddings Spain, our fabulous wedding planners ensured the entire evening went smoothly, and even made sure they gathered up our wedding stationery so we had something to take back with us as a memory!
We were extremely blessed that everything went as planned, and hopefully all our guests had the most amazing time. The mojito bar and unlimited alcohol was definitely a bonus! I think one thing that does define our wedding is that my wedding dress had to have its own seat on the plane – it was just that big! However, I would not have changed that for the world and still, to this date, love my dress!
Our family were all involved in the wedding and both our parents could not have been happier to watch their children marry!
Blinged-up invitations
Our invitation designs were spectacular, all thanks to U Name It. U Name It were able to create exactly what we wanted. They incorporated elegance and beauty with, of course, a touch of bling!
Not only did U Name It create our invitations but they designed our entire wedding stationery suite, and we could not have been happier. Joey and I made the all the decisions together, which made the planning even more special.
Flawless hair and makeup
Thanks to Princess Brides in Marbella, my hair could not have been more perfect. I am very blessed to have a face shape where I can wear my hair up or down and feel equally as confident, but for me it was important that my hair did not cover any part of my dress or my collarbones, to give the dress the elegance I thought it needed.
Plus an over-heated bride in the heat of Marbella is not sexy! I also did not want to look too unnatural and, thanks to my incredible makeup artist, I felt exactly how I wanted to feel, natural albeit enhanced!
A real princess dress
It is extremely easy these days to get caught up in the current trends of wedding dresses. I am the first to admit that, as soon as I know of someone who is getting married, I am straight on those social media outlets to see ‘the’ dress.
For my day, I ditched any trends and went with what I felt reflected my personality. I am naturally an indecisive person, so its no surprise that I had actually ordered a wedding dress before I found ‘the one’.
After re-visiting the store when I got the phone call to say my dress had arrived, I happened to catch ‘the one’ in passing and was desperate to try it on.
With a train so long it almost looked bigger than me in one picture, and a bodice that hugged me to give me that perfect waist, I couldn’t have been more happier in it from the day my amazing mummy and I picked it together!
The perfect hair accessories
My hair couldn’t be without an accessory; it was just a case of finding the right one. £145 later my flowered diamantà© hair accessory that hugged my hair design on the day could not have been more perfect. My veil, simple yet elegant, gave my overall princess look the finishing touch!
The handsome groom
It is an odd concept that the bride can chose the groom’s suit with him, yet the groom cannot go anywhere near the wedding dress!
Even after seeing Joey all suited and booted at home, seeing him on the day felt completely different. His Italian grey suit look absolutely perfect and he could not have looked more dapper.
Committed bridesmaids
Well. what can I say about my bridesmaids? From a beautifully planned engagement tea to an exciting hangover-worthy hen, organising the Israeli dancing, being a photographer on our Friday night gathering, to making my mummy look even more beautiful of the day with her nails and makeup; my girls could not have done enough for me! They all blended with the theme of the wedding, all looking stunning on the day with pastel lilac bridesmaid dresses!
A chuppah with a view
The chuppah design was quite an easy choice for us. As messy as they are, pink lilies had to be part of the wedding. Luckily for us, the backdrop of the sea allowed the view to be stunning and the flowers on top of the cabane and the flowered pedestals were enough to complete the picture.
A moving Jewish ceremony
My favourite part of the ceremony had to be the actual signing of the ketubah; the moment where all the words from the ceremony are bound together. Our Rabbi delivered an amazing ceremony and the words he spoke empowered us to ensure we have a wonderful marriage and life together!
A quirky first dance
What would a wedding be without a little Elvis Presley? Both Joey and I thought that Can’t Help Falling in Love with You was the appropriate song for me to walk in to.
Joey and his parents, the bridesmaids and ushers all walked into Randy Newman’s You’ve Got a Friend In Me; very appropriate!
Our first dance was a little more quirky than the norm. We decided to find a song where the lyrics were simple, yet meaningful to us as a couple, so we chose Toulouse’s version of I Will Follow You. I remember the first time I heard it, I was filled with emotion and goosebumps and couldn’t wait to rush home for Joey to hear it. Naturally he loved it!
Phenomenal floristry
Our flowers were everything we wanted! My bouquet consisted of pink peonies with pink and white roses wrapped with gypsophila; simple yet effective. The bridesmaids’ flowers consisted of three pink peonies wrapped in gypsophila so they matched my bouquet.
The idea I had built up in my mind was brought to life by my florist, and as one of our wedding photos demonstrates, I could not have been happier when she walked in the room! The buttonholes were a simple yet classy pink rose all matching with the fabulous grey suits the men wore.
Our fabulous photographer…
Having a wedding abroad does have its slight challenges as it’s not like you can just drive down the road and meet with a vendor, so therefore picking the right photographer and videographer was crucial.
Our wedding planners sent us links to different photographers and we decided to meet with Jeremy Standley as the work shown on his blog caught our eye immediately.
He had captured all the amazing moments that are important at weddings and it was clear that his work beautifully demonstrated the ‘in the moment’ photography we were looking for. We could not have been happier with the final result!
…and videographer
Just as with our photographer, Jeremy, it was very important we found the right videographer. I happened to source our videographer, Michel Maraver, online. It took me all of a three-minute trailer of someone else’s video to know I wanted him to capture our special day! When he showed us a full video… well lets just say it even got the groom welling up!
Bringing the party to life
From experience, live music always brings an event to life! We decided to have a violinist play the songs that were close to our hearts and that gave us the entrance we wanted.
Later for the ‘after party’, we decided to have a saxophonist and I can genuinely say that this was the best decision and best suggestion made by my incredible mummy.
We then decided to take it even further and agreed a drummer would make even more of an atmosphere and it absolutely did. We all partied and had the most incredible night of our lives.
Advice to brides and grooms planning their wedding
Future brides, my advice would be to always take a minute to enjoy your surroundings. It’s very easy to get caught up in the worries and ‘what ifs’ but, from experience, none of your guests will notice if something doesn’t go to plan and the most important thing is that you marry the man you love, surrounded by your family and friends!
Lisa & Joey’s little white book
Photography – Jeremy Standley
Videography – Michel Maraver
Wedding planner – Sunshine Weddings Spain
Venue – Los Monteros Spa and Golf Resort
Bride’s shoes – Kurt Geiger
Bridesmaids –For Her And For Him
Hair + Makeup – Princess Brides
Florist – Virginia Florista
Invitations – U Name It
Saxophonist – Demian Arroyo
Violinist – Show 4 U
Such a pleasure to document the super cool wedding of Lisa and Joey. Thanks Karen, always chuffed to be featured. x
And we’re always deeply honored and thrilled to showcase your incredible work. Bring on the next Jeremy Standley wedding on STG!