You started off as friends, tell us how things went from there
We met when we were in high school, he didn’t go to the same school as me, but we had friends in common and the same interest, so we started hanging out. Quickly we became best friends and used to talk all the time. We felt like we've known each other forever. We let things flow and our friendship bloomed into a lovely relationship.
He proposed to me on our 4-year dating anniversary. His initial plan was to take me to the beach, prepare me a really nice surprise picnic and propose to me at sunset (the cliché) but... it rained on that day so that ruined his plan. Because he really wanted the proposal to be on that specific day he didn’t give up and planned something different. We had lunch at our favourite pizzeria and then he took me to the cinema, as we both love going to the movies together and did it every month (many times a month) since we started dating. The room was empty, so we had the place just for ourselves (lucky us). After that he drove me to his place. When we got there, our family was there. He covered my eyes and our song started playing and he led me to his room. When he told me to open my eyes, I saw a giant stuffed panda bear (panda is our cute lame couple nickname for each other), a rose bouquet, a ring and a handmade sign saying: "Will you marry me?". I'm a simple woman, so this was more than perfect for me, I was so happy instantly said yes. As a last surprise he had prepared a lovely seafood dinner for all of us.
How did you chose your stunning dress?
The dress I chose is Teal from the Victoria Jane Collection from Ronald Joyce.
I visited 5 wedding dress shops and tried around 10 dresses. As I looked into different types of dresses I knew right away that I wanted to get married in a mermaid dress. I was so initially disappointed I couldn’t find anything I fell in love with, but when I tried on Teal, I just felt a click, I was sure it was the right one for me. It fitted my body shape so well and I got so many compliments on the wedding day!
I put on some simple pearl earrings, a pair of Badgley Mischka flats and a floral bridal clip in my half up-do. Nothing else, I think that less in more. The dress was really detailed, and I wanted it to be the main focus on my look.
What were the highlights of your wedding day?
We got married at Quinta do Monte in Castro Marim, Algarve, Portugal in the summer.
We both wrote each other original funny vows and I loved hearing him read his to me. Also, my husband sang to me at the wedding! I was not expecting it. He hired a band and sang me a song (he even changed up the lyrics to fit the occasion making it super funny). His dad and his uncles also played a song for us after not playing to together since they were teenagers. When we entered the reception dinner room we were running and jumping around in-between tables, hi-fiving all our guests while "welcome to the jungle” by Guns & Roses was playing!
Our theme was music so our seating place was made around that theme. Each table was named after a different musical genre. I made my own seating plan chart with some vintage old door, the table name cards, the welcome board, the wedding programmes and many other things.
What would be your advice to brides to be?
Plan things with time so you don't feel stressed as the wedding day approaches! And most importantly breathe, there's always (ALWAYS) something not going to happen the way you have planned it but that's life, one day you will look back and laugh at it. Flaws are what make life interesting.
Photo credits: Filipe Santiago
