This post is at the same time easy and difficult to write. Easy, because I know it’s the right thing to do, but hard because I get so emotional doing it. Writing this post is like handing in my job resignation, even though I have really, thoroughly enjoyed my job, my colleagues and my position. It’s just that inside me there’s been a voice for a while, and it’s been growing louder and louder and louder, telling me this: It’s time for me to move onto new projects, challenges and opportunities.

The other evening I was out with my husband, talking about how life has turned upside down, entering a brand new phase in life where I will be juggling a new position, a baby and everyday life. I have already learnt how precious time is, and now even more than ever before, I want to make every single minute count. I have so many projects in my head that I have been wanting to work on for almost as long as I’ve had Pretty Chic Blog, and I have made the final decision: now is the time that I wrap up my blog and start focusing on new ventures.

This blog has documented quite a journey – I started off writing in Danish, collecting scraps, images, ideas from foreign sources  to bring to the Danish public (see my first post here from June 2009). Then, as I felt that the industry was maturing, I decided to turn it upside down, blogging in English and wanting to show that we in Scandinavia are able to live up to the beautiful design culture that we are known for – in weddings, too.

What will I be using my time on? Yes, I have a baby and a job and everyday life. But one thing is absolutely for sure: I can’t bear to leave the wedding world :) And I have a clear idea in my head – it’s bubbling and boiling, and I can’t wait for it to become reality. It will take a lot of work, but I know for sure it will happen. For now, I ask you all to be patient. I promise to keep you updated on this blog about my new (ad)ventures once I have something more tangible to show for them.

In the meantime, do feel free to browse the archives of Real Weddings, photoshoots, DIYs and little details that give your wedding that personal twist.

Thanks, everyone, for 3 fantastic years. Have a great summer!

Through 3 years of writing this blog, I have often found myself thinking how to define a Scandinavian wedding. We Scandinavians take so much pride in our design tradition – the modern, white, straightlined style that we see reflected in so much Scandinavian furniture and architecture… It’s easy to forget that we also have tons of design in the other end of the Scandinavian style spectre, which is in fact colourful, folkloric, patterned and fairytale-like.

You might already have seen this wedding on numerous other blogs, including 100 Layer Cake and Green Wedding Shoes, but I felt that my blog would be missing something important, if I didn’t find place for this wedding too. Copenhagen-based Brittany designed her wedding with inspiration from the place where she and Paul had their first date together – the lovely Tivoli gardens, creating a landscape of huge paper flowers and colourful banners. Absolutely magical, and the ultimate garden wedding.

Vendors:

Photography: Ali Degraff
Venue: Newport Beach LDS temple
Dress: Mum’s dress
Shoes: Matiko
Bow ties: Liberty fabric from Purl
Hair: Rebecca Maready
Invitations: The House That Lars Built (Bride’s Etsy Shop)
Flowers: The House That Lars Built (Bride’s Etsy Shop)
Letterpress: Rowley Letterpress

I finally have the pleasure to announce the winner of the Perfect Cuddly Morning Give-Away contest, and the winner is Milla Halttu with her Pinterest board in lovely, Scandinavian summer colours, cosy socks and the cutest, cuddliest puppy :) See the original Pinterest board here.

A million thank yous to Slaapaap for allowing me to run this fun contest. Milla – I hope you’ll be enjoying many, many mornings together with your new pillow for two!! :)

Sources: Pillo for two from Slaapaap | Starry socks from Malenami | Bedroom from Beach House Company | Blanket and laptop from Char and the City | Feet in duvet from Le Love | Socks on floor from Malenami | White flowers from Divaani Blog | Puppy from Char and the City | Breakfast from Iittala Store

It’s been a while since I featured engagement sessions, and with summer coming up (and foreseeing a number of proposals over your romantic vacation trips) I thought I’d advertise a bit for this concept… just in case you haven’t heard of it before. I’m happy to see though, that more and more wedding photographers in Scandinavia are offering ‘pre-wedding shoots’ as part of their packages, because I can’t recommend having them done enough. My experience is that they’re an excellent warm-up for discovering what works for you when you’re being photographed, and the resulting pictures are often just as beautiful as your wedding pictures – however, much more timeless. Many engagement sessions that we see around the web are full of props… but I love one that just uses beautiful surroundings and a pretty dress just as much.

To illustrate, here’s a lovely engagement shoot, photographed by the very talented Jennie Johansson. Here’s what Jennie has to say about the couple:

“The couple is Rebecca and Rickard and they are getting married in june 30th this year. To celebrate their love we went to the church that they will get married and had a amazing time together.

Rebecca is a girl who wants to take care of everyone around her. She is caring, kind and wish everyone well. Richard is a guy who is not afraid to offer himself to make others laugh. If you meet them one by one so you see their different personalities. But when they are together they become one. They become Rebeckard. Rebeckard is the personification of love and to see them together shows you just what love is all about. That you can spin round and round and knowing that the other does not let go. Being able to be yourself and just cuddle. Being able to joke and laugh together. It is love. It is Rebeckard. I’m so glad I got to immortalize their love and show it to others.”

I’m pretty sure that Gwyneth must have stumbled through this same website and upon this same wedding, when choosing her beautiful Tom Ford cape for the Oscars. And then when we look closer, we find the prettiest, vintage short wedding dress previously owned by a ballerina and actress, and the loveliest bracelet and hair accessory in pretty, blush colours. Of course, no stylish bride goes without an equally dashing groom by her side, in the blue and yellow double breasted suit, who played a song for her at the ceremony.

Read the story behind the wedding attire after these lovely images of the bride, the groom, and a cake with Luke Skywalker / Pippi Longstockings cake toppers.

Gudny, the photographer, explains: “Kári and Elín got married in September 2011 in Hvalfjörður in Iceland; they chose the place, as it was where they kissed for the first time on a high school trip 10 years earlier.

The ceremony took place outside, as the couple loves the Icelandic beautiful nature.

What the couple were thinking when they organized their day: 
A day to enjoy with friends and family, not too planned, beautiful ceremony, good food and a lot of fun.
 The plan was to mix together vintage and country romance.

The dress was made by the bride’s neighbour when she got married in 1965. She was an Icelandic ballerina and an actress, graduated from Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. The dress fell into the arms of the bride after her neighbor had a yard sale in the spring. It was not for sale but the bride asked for fun if she had a wedding dress for her. The woman found the dress a couple of days later in her attic, it fit perfectly and the bride got to buy it after the neighbor had assured her that happiness followed the dress as her own marriage had been filled with happiness.

As it can be very cold in Iceland in the beginning of September the bride needed something to were over the dress and found this cape in vintage store in Iceland.

The day was beautiful, the food was delicious and everyone had the best time at the party.”

Vendors:
Photographer: Gudny B. Photography
Wedding dress: Vintage, bought from the neighbour.
Cape: Vintage, Nostalgía.
Groom’s attire: Custom tailored by Gudmundur Jörundsson, a friend of the couple.
Brides shoes: Kathryn Amberleigh
Bracelet and hair accessory: Hlín Reykdal who specially designed and chose the colors for the bride.
Hair: Sandra Olgeirsdóttir, 101 Hárhönun
Makeup: Kristín Edda Óskarsdóttir with Mac Makeup
Venue: Drengur í Kjós
Catering: Veisla fra Francois Fons
Flowers: Ragnhildur Fjeldsted, Dans á rósum
Rings: Guðbjörg Kristín Ingvarsdóttir, Aurum.
All venue decorations were handmade by the bride, friends and family.

Well, you are lucky, my dear readers! My friends at Slaapaap have been so kind to offer to give away the most romantic pillow and pillowcase of them all – the “No Better Place” pillow for two – to one of you! I personally love the concept, and I love the sweet designs that they come in – but for sure, the “No Better Place” pillow is my favourite :)

So how do you win? Simply create a moodboard on Pinterest, describing the cuddliest, snuggliest, most romantic morning you can imagine. Would you be waking up to mellow jazz tunes in the morning? Would you be having waffles in bed? Would you be sharing the view of the sun rising over the Eiffel Tower out of the window?

If you don’t already have a Pinterest account, no worries – feel free to write me a comment below and I’ll send you an invite :)

Read on for the details…

To enter the giveaway, do the following:

1. Create a Pinterest board called “The Perfect Cuddly Morning”
2. Pin any image from Slaapaap’s website onto you new Pinterest board
3. Now, pin more images onto this board, which describe the perfect morning. The board should contain a total of 6-8 pins.
4. Finally, leave a comment on this post below with a link to your board so we can go check it out! Feel free to add a description of your board, in the same comment, if you like.

Please note:

• After leaving the link in the comment, you are free to keep editing the board, as long as at least one image from slaapaap.com is present. The final board must be ready by the contest deadline: Sunday the 10th of June at 8pm CET.
• The winner will be the person with the best board – the most inspiring, beautiful or atmospherical board.
• The contest is open to European residents only.
• The winner will be announced on Pretty Chic Blog on Monday, 11th of June.

As the hostess, I’m a little bummed I can’t participate in this contest, but it didn’t stop me from creating my own Pinterest board… maybe it can inspire you? Here’s my take of a dreamy, perfect, cuddly morning… in a snug tent, with the rising sun’s rays seeping through the tent opening, and the sound of sweet morning songs being played on the ukulele. Perhaps I’ll be surprised with crepes, made with love over an open fire :) (Is that feasible? I don’t know, but I sure would love it!!)

I simply love this challenge – and I’m so excited to see your perfect mornings!

I’m guest blogging over on This Little Street today – a lovely blog which features all kinds of handmade treasures, homes and recipes, all through the eyes of my friend Audrey. I decided to contribute with a DIY of my own while she’s enjoying a vacation in the south of France. The above picture shows the materials I used… check out my post right here to see what I used them for!

Oh, and if you leave a comment, I’ll love you forever :)

If you are a fashion blogger, or read fashion blogs, you most probably know the bride of today’s wedding, Maria. The Danish fashionista behind Style Intuition married her Christian last summer at a rather stunning and classically elegant affair at Sophienberg Castle (a venue which, as you may know, has a special place in my heart). A classic black and white event to keep a timeless look – peppered with mint and lots of little DIY projects.

“Since I work in the fashion industry, as a manager of a PR Agency and a fashion blogger on Style Intuition, we knew we wanted our wedding to be very timeless chic and understated so we wouldn’t look back many years from now and wonder what we were thinking back then. We chose to draw inspiration from the three cities that have had a great influence on our lives: Miami, where my now-husband invited me to when we were only friends four years ago and we started dating; New York, our favourite city in the world where we lived for two years; and finally Paris, which is a favourite vacation spot of ours for its romance and beauty.

It was amazing walking down the aisle and looking into the eyes of my fiancé knowing we were about to say our I do’s and become husband and wife! We had my father in-law give a speech before the ceremony and sing a modern psalm before we did the traditional ceremony. After the ceremony our guests congratulated us with bubbles, and we invited everyone to the reception, where we had champagne and the cake table with our three-tier wedding cake, cupcakes and macaroons and even homemade lemonade with our own labels on the bottles. We left for our wedding pictures after the cake cutting while our guests enjoyed the outdoor reception with cake, champagne, lounge music and some played a few rounds of croquet. The talented fashion photographer Flemming Leitorp who normally does fashion photography took our wedding pictures, while my best friend and one of Denmark’s top hair & makeup artists Monika Grensteen made sure not a hair was out of place in the pictures. After the dinner and various speeches and entertainment, it was time for the Danish traditional Bridal Waltz, which must be danced before midnight. We just made it with ten minutes to spare. It was an amazing moment flowing across the dance floor as newlyweds while all your beloved ones gather around you and move closer until you cannot dance anymore and have to kiss each other. Then the DJ started playing and everyone danced the night away as a happy ending to the best day in our lives.”

Thank you so much, Maria, for sharing your beautiful day with us!

I you all have a lovely day – summer has finally hit Denmark, and I am off into the sunshine!

Vendors:

Wedding Photography: Flemming Leitorp of Bryllupsglimt
Wedding Dress: Pronovias “Mali”
Bride’s Veil: Pronovias
Bride’s Shoes: Azzedine Alaïa
Bride’s Earrings: Chanel
Hair + Makeup: Monika Grensteen of Unique Look
Groom’s Suit: J.Lindeberg
Groom’s Tie: Hugo Boss
Groom’s Shoes: Prada
Mother of the Bride’s Dress: Burberry
Wedding Cake: KageKompagniet
Wedding Invitations and stationery: DIY
Custom chocolate bars: DIY
Wedding Venue: Sophienberg Castle
Florist: Orangeriet

Rutko Photographers‘ style is such a perfect match to a modern, Scandinavian wedding with clean lines and contemporary style. I love the combination of fresh and crisp detail shots and the photojournalistic moments… like the groom’s expression as he waits for his bride, a tender moment by the altar, and the feeling of release when the confetti raining down. Detail pictures, which capture the essence of the day, and the clever use of minimalism with great effect – such as the couple dancing in the courtyard, looking almost like cake toppers. Crisp, fresh and clean.

Check out the rest of their work on their website right here.

There’s such a poetic stillness to the Icelandic landscape, where nature is allowed to speak its voice, loud and clear. Many compare the out-of-this-world landscapes to feeling that they are on the moon – there’s just nothing like the magical nature and remoteness of this land. Add to that the month of February where a soft blanket of snow encompasses an intimate and oh so cosy party, with dancing until the next morning. The hushness and the warmth, all captured by Isabelle and Emmi-Sabina from 2 Brides.

Yeah, I know. I get to show the best weddings.

´

Put your dancing shoes on!

Charmaine explains: “We wanted to have a different kind of wedding compared to the norm, that’s why we chose to have it in the wintertime. We chose to get married on Iceland because we love nature and have always wanted to visit the country. We thought it would be an ideal place to combine our honeymoon there too. We’ve always wanted to see the northern lights, Icelandic horses and breath-taking landscapes. The sceneries were so graphical, with the backdrop of snow and the black mountains. We were able to experience all the above and much more. It was definitely our fairytale adventure.

For us it was important to organise our wedding well from beginning to the end. It had taken us approx. 6 months of planning, mostly researching online, emailing and a few phone calls. We wanted our wedding to be very intimate, so we chose to keep our wedding party to a small group so that we could spend quality time with everyone. We care very much about our family, relatives and close friends and are extremely blessed that they wanted to be there to share our wedding trip. We all met up for dinner the evening before the wedding day at a cosy restaurant called Carusos in Reykjavik. On the wedding day, we chose to get married at Oddi church in Hella. It was important to find an intimate, small church to match our wedding plans. We held our reception dinner at Hotel Ranga in Hella, a beautiful log cabin style hotel out in the countryside. It was important to choose a place that was surrounded by nature. Hotel Ranga gave us fantastic help organizing our wedding reception and floral arrangements. Our wedding table decorations were purple and silver with hints of red. We arranged our own wedding invitations and wedding programmes. We also made our own favours for personal touches. We had blessing lanterns after the meal. After the wedding day, our group went on a private tour of the Golden Circle tour.

It was an unforgettable experience that we will cherish forever!

We are truly grateful to Isabelle and Emmi-Sabina being able to capture our magical day!”

Thank you, Charmaine and Stefan for sharing the details from your beautiful day!

Vendors:
Photographer: Isabelle Hesselberg and Emmi-Sabina Forsberg
Wedding dress: Benjamin Roberts dress from Bellamore
Groom’s attire: Suit and shoes hired from Brudgumman , waistcoat and tie hired from Söders Högtidskläder
Wedding shoes from John Lewis
Headpiece and long gloves bought on the internet.
Hair: Arranged through Hotel Ranga
Makeup: Arranged through Hotel Ranga
Venue: Hotel Ranga, Hella
Catering: Arranged through Hotel Ranga
Cake: My mother made the first cake, the second cake was arranged by Hotel Ranga
Flowers: Arranged through Hotel Ranga
Invitations & Stationery: made personally by us
Entertainment: Arranged through Hotel Ranga

It’s my guest blogging debut – let me know what you think :) Do you have any other advice or ideas on how to make a wedding kid friendly? Would you invite kids at all to your wedding?

I’m so honoured to have a non-Scandinavian photographer sponsor this little blog – it really means the world to me. Here’s a small selection of favourites which illustrate Tamara’s versatility – from detail shots, to portraits, to shots of those unforgettable moments and emotions.

This wedding is just so happy, crisp, beautiful and light… the couple really only have eyes for each other, and I simply love how the images are just utterly, and simply, filled with love, light and happiness.

I never tire of the classic image of the wedding dress hanging in the window, sunlight streaming through the beautiful lace…

Love this next series of images of the bride arriving to the church and walking up the aisle…

I’m so in love with the bridal bouquet…!

Champagne at the botanical gardens!

I simply love these next two shots…! I think they might be my favourite…

…or maybe this one. Such great expressions in this photo :)

A beautifully decorated venue… I’m really quite in love with the flowers and the elegant, simple look at this event…

Lovely details!

From Christin, the amazing photographer who captured it all: “This beautiful couple is Thea and Espen. They got married in Oslo, 24. march 2012 and had a fantastic party at Disen Gård. These photographs give a little taste of my day with Thea and Espen. We started at the hairdresser’s, went on for make-up at her sisters place and off to the church. For our portrait session we went to the beautiful Botanical Garden in Oslo and the impressive Operahouse in Bjørvika. After capturing Thea and Espen’s beautiful love for each other we went to Disen Gård were family and friends awaited their arrival for the perfect celebration of newlywed love in the sunset. I have to say this couple only had eyes for each other and often portrayed the perfect “movie kiss”.”

Thanks so much for sharing these images with us, Christin! And congratulations to the beautiful couple, Thea and Espen :)

Vendors:
Photographer: Fotograf Christin Eide
Wedding dress: Pronovias Nerveo dress
Groom’s attire: Hugo Boss tuxedo
Hair: Kjersti Fuglset, Hårkammerset, Oslo
Makeup: Luciana Thunem, Fashionbirds
Venue: Disen Gård, Oslo
Catering: Disen Gård, Oslo
Flowers: Kari Wahl, Oslo

So happy to have you, Annevi!

The other day, I asked on Facebook and Twitter: Where would you have your wedding, if you could choose any location in the world? You had some really lovely ideas – from the beach in Japan to forest in Ireland…. I have to say, it really got my imagination flowing… I could totally hop on a plane right now!

For now though, I have the sweet, February wedding of Julie and Endre, two (gorgeous!!) Norwegian dancers in Southern Beach, Miami. Oh, the backdrop of the sea and a ceremony under the palm trees… ahhh. I could go there right now! And I love the detail with the bride opting for a loose, beachy hairstyle for the portrait shots, and the formal veil and glittery headband for the ceremony… very lovely and stylish :)

Also, be sure to read Julie’s account of what it took to create the wedding of the couple’s dreams – right after the photos!

“I bought my dress at a little bridal boutique in Coral Gables, Miami called Alegria’s Brides, and the designer is Private Label By G. I was torn between two dresses by the same designer, but when I mentioned for the staff that my ceremony was gonna be held after sun down, and they dimmed the lights in the fitting room, I knew which dress was “the one”. My veil and headpiece that I wore during the ceremony is also from that same store.

I had such a hard time finding shoes! For months I searched all kinds of stores in Oslo, Miami and online. It wasn’t until 3 days before the wedding, when we just decided to check out a little shoestore next to our hotel called Soulier that was open late that I finally found the perfect shoes! The store is located on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, and the shoes are by designer Badgley Mischka.

Endre’s suit is from Tiger Of Sweden (Oslo), his shirt is from Banana Republic (Miami), his shoes are from Aldo (Miami), and his tie is from Prego (Oslo).

We chose to get married in Miami for several reasons. At first we were thinking about the caribbean. I’ve always dreamed of getting married on the beach somewhere warm and exotic, with palm trees swaying in the breeze, and that was what Endre wanted as well. We even went on a cruise of the caribbean to check out different islands, and fell in love with Old San Juan in Puerto Rico. But when we started planning, we realised that Miami just made more sense. First of all, Endre grew up there. He lived there till he was about 6 years old, because his father worked on cruise ships. And ever since we met, we have gone there every summer, because we both love being there, it feels like a second home to us. It would also be an easier and cheaper alternative for our guests, after all, we did want our closest friends and family to be able to attend. And lastly, I have family in West Palm Beach, which is just about an hour away, who would then be able to help me plan.

When we were there last summer, we had a list of hotels that we had looked up on line that we went to to check out for venues. And we fell in love with The National Hotel. It was perfect for what we wanted! And the social catering manager there was also very helpful throughout the planning, getting me in touch with different vendors and such.

Most of my planning was handled online, through e-mails and phone calls. But in November I went back to Miami for a week to have a fitting for my dress, meet with all the vendors to sign contracts and pay deposits, have a cake tasting, and buy the last of the decorations and favors. I also had help from my cousin in WPB, who I had packages delivered to, picked up my favors and stored my decorations.

It was definitely the wedding of our dreams! And we are so grateful to Anne-Margrethe who captured it in such beautiful photos :)”

Thanks so much, Julie for sharing your day – and thanks to Anne-Margrethe, who sent the pictures along!

Vendors:
Photographer: Anne-Margrethe Malkenes Mathiesen, Studio Vest
Wedding dress: Private Label By G (Miami)
Veil and headpiece: Alegria’s Brides (Miami)
Bride’s shoes: Badgley Mischka – Xavier (Miami)
Earrings, hairpin and bracelet: Twinkle, twinkle (Miami)
Bride’s hair and make-up: Marhú Salas (Bride’s friend and bridesmaid)
Bridesmaids dresses: asos.com
Ceremony and reception: The National Hotel, Miami.
Cake: Ana Paz Cakes (Miami)
Flowers: The National Hotel (Miami)
Decor and decorations: Americanbridal.com
Steel Drummer/musician: Master Musicians (Miami)
Dj: Dj En Som Heter Marius (Friend of bride and groom)

The baby’s asleep, daddy’s at work and the morning news is droning on in the background… but inside my head, there’s sparkling fireworks and colourful confetti, as last night I discovered that this little blog was listed as one of the best wedding blogs over on the German ladies’ mag Brigitte, right next to some of my own favourites sources of inspiration. You know, those beautifully designed blogs like 100 Layer Cake, Once Wed and Green Wedding Shoes, which inspired me when I was planning my own wedding. And like, I know that the girls at the blogs I just mentioned are probably so used to this… you know, being mentioned as among the best wedding blogs for the millionth time… but for me, it’s really big :) But really, and I hope you know this: It’s because of the great inspiration that’s out there and the beautiful photographs that are submitted to me by wonderful photographers, that this has happened. It’s true that I put in a tremendous amount of work into this blog, but it’s the community around it, that makes it what it is.

So thank you, thank you, thank you :)

To celebrate, I hope you don’t mind me posting an old moodboard – it pretty much reflects my mood :)

Pastel balloons / Save the Dates, photobooth backdrop, decorated branches / Shoes with shoe clips / circus inspired ceremony

A couple of favourites of mine below… but let yourself get inspired on David’s own website.

All photography by David Schreiner

Ooh la la! A little something different for you today, as we’re hastily approaching the weekend. Can you feel the spring in the air? The love? :)

I rarely feature boudoir shoots, but this one had something different about it. In terms of boudoir shoot styles, the vintage-y (if that’s a word), pin-up inspired is one of the kinds that I love. While the gorgeous, red-haired girl in these pictures is a model, the poses and the impeccable make-up are definitely some to let yourself inspired by, as well as the glamorous location. Of course, the stunning result wouldn’t have been the same if Jennie Johansson hadn’t been the one who captured them. I can’t decide if I like colourful or the black and white photographs better – they are equally alluring and beautiful. I love the use of angles, the light and the whole idea and concept behind this shoot… It’s so well done!

Thanks to Jennie for sending these my way!

Happy weekend everyone!

Vendors:

Photographer: Fotograf Miss Jeni
Hair and Makeup: Dorion Chang at Salong Barock
Model: Tea Time
Venue: Paradvåningen

I love it, when someone takes the courage to do something a little exceptional to make their wedding stand out. Like blowing 800 balloons to create a Tim Walker-esque look to the venue. I love, how balloons are having a come-back in tasteful style – first we saw them as props in wedding and engagement photography, and now we see them more and more as elements of decor… giving a fun vibe, without it giving a children’s birthday party look. Case in point:

Therese, who both styled and photographed the event, tells us: “I made them blow 800 balloons (!) and even though they thought I was a little bit crazy in the beginning they really loved the idea in the end :) Lilié works as a singer and loves to make cupcakes and everything that’s pink and cute so the theme became pink, balloons and sweets! She actually wrote her beloved Linus a love song that she played at the church, Oh My, it was so sweet! 

Linus works in the military but was actually really good with the flower arrangements. We made a center piece made by floral oasis that we put in the middle of a candle holder. A big sweets table was presented in the centre with a lot of yummy treats! And for those who couldn’t wait until after dinner, we also presented a lot of sweets on the table.”

Pretty great ideas, don’t you think?

But for now, let’s go back to the beginning of the day, where the couple, Lilié and Linus were married at this beautiful ceremony:

Back at the venue, Krägga Herrgård, the guests were met with balloons and a rather impressive candy table. Are you drooling, like me?

I love how sweets are part of the decor in these images… the overflowing china cups and glass bowls. You simply can’t go wrong!

I love how it seems that the guests are having fun with helium here… I can only guess how fun it must have been!

Some portraits in the amazing backdrop…

Aaaaaand the cake, party and release of floating lanterns. You can really tell that this party must have been so much fun, and one which the guests will remember forever!

Thank you, Therese for sharing these images – you did an impressive job, and we’d love to see much, much more and many more, crazy ideas from you :)

And to Lilié and Linus: All the happiness of the world to you, the beautiful couple!

Vendors:
Photographer: Therese Ekblom
Venue: Krägga Herrgård
Catering: Krägga Herrgård
Wedding planner / stylist: Therese Ekblom

Brace yourselves for this wedding… you’ll wish you had been one of the 170 lucky guests who joined this beautiful couple to celebrate their love. Honestly, and I really mean it, literally: I don’t know where to start, if I were to list the details. So much thought has been put into this special event, which was captured beautifully (as always) by Anna Roström of Small Pig Art. Charlotta was so sweet and generous to share with us the details of the wedding, and I really hope you’ll take the opportunity to read her words after the pictures… You won’t be disappointed – it’s the next best thing to actually being a guest there :) So while you cosy up and enjoy the images here and in the gallery, why don’t you ask your fiancé to go pour you a glass of wine?

Simply love, love, love the groom’s expression in these pictures!

I adore it when photographers capture tender moments like these…

The emotions are almost tangible in these images…:

Are you ready with your glass of wine? Here’s Charlotta’s account of the day:

“Saturday, July 2, 2011 we got married in Onsala church at 14:00. It was a wedding in three days that we never would have thought would be so great and such a nice memory – the best day of our lives.

The preparations began in April 2010 when we booked the church, Onsala Church outside Kungsbacka and location of the wedding feast, which was Tjolöholm castle. Then came a wonderful year with lots of planning. We knew we wanted our wedding would be in pink and we wanted to give our guests something extra. For us, our families and friends are very important. So we wanted them to have a memory for life. As the guest list was quite long (over 170 guests), we knew that our challenge was to make all guests feel special and that the wedding would have a sense of personality and commitment. With this in mind, we started our preparations in November 2010.

We did all the invitations by ourselves. The invitation consisted of a pink box that was sent out to all guests. Inside the box was the invitation and a reply card. We also sent small messages to all the guests who had children. We wanted to have a child free wedding, but to write this in a charming way,  we sent out the cute little messages in pink and blue to all the children and asked if we could borrow their parents during the wedding. This proved to be very much appreciated. More than 50 guests were also invited to our rehearsal dinner the day before the wedding, and a closing brunch at the castle the day after the wedding. These guests also got to stay over at the castle during the wedding weekend.

The invitations were sent out in January 2011, after that it was a couple of great months of planning. Charlotta is very interested in fashion and for her it was the dream to wear a wedding dress by Swedish designer Lars Wallin. During spring and early summer, it was many flights to Stockholm to meet Lars Wallin. This was a great experience for Charlotta. Lars is also the designer of the blue gown that Charlotta wore on our rehearsal dinner the day before the wedding.

The wedding ring was designed by Charlotta together with a gemstone expert Stefan Ahrenbäck at Juvelstudion in Kungsbacka. It became a ring in white gold with a great princess cut diamond. It took a couple of weeks before Stefan found the perfect stone, but once he found it, it was magnificent. It had the right size and best quality. The stone had to travel all the way from India and it was fortunate that we were out in good time so it came to Sweden in time before the wedding. Since Ola’s parents unfortunately are not alive anymore, we wanted to have a memory of them at the wedding. We therefore melted down some of Ola’s mother’s wedding ring in Charlotta’s wedding ring. In this way they were with us throughout the wedding and also in our journey through life.

The month before the wedding we were quite calm and the week before the wedding we went along with 12 good friends to Marbella, Spain to relax and top up your tan before the wedding. This was a relaxing trip, which was exactly what we needed. We came home from Spain on Thursday before the wedding (the wedding was on Saturday) and only then we started getting a little nervous and butterflies in the stomach really woke to life. On Thursday, Charlotta trimmed her nails with Eva-Linn Nordh on Jennie H nail studio in Gothenburg.

Something we remember that we were nervous about was of course the weather, this is probably very common. We followed the weather forecasts from Spain and the week forecasts showed 18 degrees and pouring rain during the entire wedding weekend. This was obviously not so fun but the
sun was shining and it became a really nice day. Charlotta was and fixed her hair with Rebecka Svensson at Ikon in Gothenburg. To the impressive blue Lars Wallin-dress it had to be a tight hairstyle. Lars Wallin Charlotta´s also designed the earrings to the dress,  and matched the buckle of the dress and the jewels on her shoes. The dress is made for the shoes that Charlotta had to the dress, which is all women’s dream, namely, Manolo Blahniks Hangisi satin pumps in blue (edit: A.K.A. Carrie’s Shoes). On Friday, Ola wore a dark blue suit from Calvin Klein with blue accessories from Lars Wallin, who was in the same fabric as Charlotta´s dress.

Rehearsal dinner on Friday was held in the Manege at Tjolöholm Castle, which is a wonderful hall in white wood with very high ceilings. For appetizers we were served baked chèvre cheese on freshly baked sourdough bread and the main course was the Halibut with pommes duchesse. For dessert we were served tasty chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream and fresh raspberries. Troubadour Björn stood for entertainment throughout the evening and our fantastic photographer Anna Roström from Smallpigart was there and photographed during the evening. At eleven o’clock the bride and her
four bridesmaids, Therese, Ida, Jenny and Catharina left the party in a taxi to Gothenburg and Avalon Hotel. The groom stayed behind and kept the party running at the castle along with the other guests.

At hotel Avalon, it was booked a suite for the bridesmaids and the bride. They drank champagne and gossipped until we realized it was probably good to get a few hours’ sleep. So that the bridesmaids would feel special, all bridesmaids received pink goodie bags with gifts to use at the wedding. All bags contained hair jewelry from Hair Comes the Bride U.S. and earrings and bracelets from Karen Millen, England.

When we woke up on Saturday morning, it felt unreal. Today was our big day and that we would finally have become husband and wife felt absolutely fantastic. In the morning there was some rain while Charlotta and bridesmaids were at the hairdresser. 

Our photographer Anna met us up at the salon where we drank some champagne and had a well-deserved breakfast. The bridesmaids were also helping to dress the bride. Bridal bouquet and bridesmaids bouquets consisted of pink roses and peonies, and part of the
fabric from the wedding dress was also included in the bride’s bouquet. The groom and best man’s clothes were hired, but as a gift from the groom all three got matching cufflinks from Omega.

At eleven o’clock the bridegroom came with Per and Niklas (Best man and Man of Honor) and then it became a sea of ​emotions that erupted. The moment when Ola sees Charlotta for the first time is wonderful. Anna captured this very well on the photos. When we got to see each other it felt like the whole world stood still and that it was just the two of us in our own little bubble. This bubble of love remained throughout the whole day. There was just us right now and no one else…

When we were done at the hairdresser’s, it was time for photo shooting around in Gothenburg. The weather had cracked up and it turned out that the meteorologists were wrong all along. It became the summer’s finest days with sunshine and 30 degrees Celsius. When we went out to the church
the thermometer in the limousine showed 32 degrees and we all agreed that it was a weather miracle. On the way out to the church, we were all very nervous. It was nice that we had each other and it really felt like there was something special in the air. As we stood on the church steps and the bells began to ring, we held each other’s hands tightly, took a deep breath and when the wonderful musician Stefan Andersson started playing “För kärlekens skull” by Ted Gärdestad and we took the first step into the church and all the nervousness dropped. To walk up the aisle and see all our loved ones smile at us. And to go beside the one you love most of all on earth gave us and all our guests chills. In the church I felt as if it was just us and no one else. It was incredibly beautiful, and when Charlotta said “yes” in the church with a very firm voice, there was even a little laugh between the rows. Stefan Andersson sang two of his most famous songs, “Anywhere is Paradise” and “Bröllopsvals från Hagen”. During the ceremony also Gothernburg  Gospel Choir sang a love medley with selected of our favorite love songs. It all ended with “Kärleken är evig” by Lena Philipsson. The atmosphere in the church was at its peak and no one could sit still inside the church. Medley ended with a resounding round of applause by all the guests. It was a fantastic atmosphere and it felt as if the whole church would burst with all the love that flourished there. The church was also decorated by Camilla from Bröllopsagenturen. In each row, there were vases of pink peonies, and bridal veil. It was also ivy and pink satin ribbons hanging down on each row.

Outside the church was an old Rolls Royce to pick up the bride and groom. The trip went down to Smarholmen in Onsala for further photograph shooting. The location of the shoot was perfect and the photographer Anna had found a charming white shed, which we photographed at. Our mood was
at its peak and there was much laughter and champagne in the sun with the bridesmaids and best mans. During this time, we thought it was pretty nice to come down to the sea for a while to cool us. The heat was incredible and we all felt that it would be nice to take a refreshing dip in the sea.

While the bridal couple drove down to the sea for photo shooting the bus took all guests to the wedding party at Tjolöholm´s castle. On the bus were all guests received a pink silk bag in lace with some nuts and a bottle of champagne. The rumor was that the champagne ended like butter in the sun …

Once at the castle, the guests listen to the piano playing of Lisa Ljungberg from CMC Music. There was a reception with champagne and canapés, and now our eminent toastmasters, Emelie Thor and Niclas Jarhäll made their presentation. They were really amazing. The only thing we had told them
was that we wanted to have a spectacular and personal wedding with a show for our guests. And what a show they gave us …

At five o’clock the bride and groom arrived to the castle and it became more cheers and mingles. Six o’clock it was time to sit down in the huge party tent that the company Intent set up in front of the castle towards the sea. Camilla and her colleagues from Bröllopsagenturen had created something magical in the tent. It was like a magnificent pink fairy dream with pink flowers, candelabras, pink helium balloons from the ceiling, rosettes, fabrics, and a pink stage and once again lots of flowers.

Each guest got a little pink box as a wedding favor. In the box was a small bottle with Minttu to sip on during the evening and a lace bag of pink M&M’s. M&M´s was ordered from the U.S. and on one side of them was a photo of the couple and on the other side, it was printed “Ola and Charlotta July 2, 2011″. The gentlemen also received shoe shine with the bridal couple’s emblem on and the ladies got a purse hanger in silver. Around each gift set it was a pink ribbon with a small message ring in silver to each guest. Each message was personally addressed to each guest so that he/she would feel special – there are details that make that little extra … At the piano sat Lisa Ljungberg, playing love songs. Because it was so hot we also opened up that part of the tent facing the sea and it was a fantastic view over the sea with the castle in the foreground. Yes, what a party room it was. It almost felt unreal.

The toastmasters started with an amazing dance number that really set the bar sky-high at the wedding dinner. It was with lifting and change of clothes and it felt very much that the party now was started. Then there was an endless stream of wonderful and touching speeches. Since Ola’s
parents are not are alive anymore, it was many tears but it were tears of love, lost and joy. Many of the guests had put together their own songs they performed, a few had recorded a movie and the toastmaster’s performances throughout the evening were absolutely amazing. The cover
band Tre Drag helped the guests with the music features during the dinner and each speaker had chosen a song that they were introduced with. The music was really something that pushed up the atmosphere during dinner.

The wedding dinner was also delicious. Starter consisted of three Swedish classic dishes. Västerbotten-paj served with roe. Smoked Savo Salmon and seafood pannacotta. For main course was served veal fillet with almond potato puree, tarragon cream and a zinfandel sauce. For dessert
we had the bridal couple’s favorite, crème Brulé with blackberry sorbet. The food was cooked by the castles chef Jerker and the wine during dinner was prepared by the castle’s eminent sommelier Henrik Folkesson. Henrik was also the person who made ​sure everything was working during the
wedding day and his work was truly magnificent.

The dinner ended with a very touching speech from the groom and then it was time for the wedding waltz and cake. The cake was a pink groovy dream made ​of one of Sweden’s top pastry chefs, Maria Grave. Maria was also involved in the making of the wedding cake for Crown Princess Victoria’s
wedding.

The bridal waltz was danced inside the hall of the castle. Actually it was not a waltz we danced it was a rumba choreographed by Lars Sinclair of Sinclair’s in Gothenburg. After seven dance classes we managed the rumba and it is thanks to Lars. We can certainly recommend him to other
bridal couples. The reason it was a rumba and not a waltz was that we wanted to dance to Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind” and it could not dance to waltz. Therefore it had to be a rumba, but it was fun that it became a little different. Inside the castle hall Lisa Ljungberg play Empire State of Mind live on the piano while we were dancing. Dancing to live music made ​it really more alive.

When the waltz and the cake was done, our band Tre Drag was waiting in the tent with a big show. After a couple of songs came one of the bridal couple’s surprises for the guests on stage – the Swedish pop star Charlotte Perrelli. Charlotte performed wonderful song and great generosity. All guests’ mobile cameras were in the air and in the bar there was not a soul. Everyone was on the dance floor and Charlotte really gave us a show – what a night…

At two o’clock it was almost difficult to take in more of the evening and then we left the party. A taxi was waiting for us outside the castle, which took us to the honeymoon suite at the Avalon Hotel in Gothenburg. We recall that it was so nice to sit in the taxi. It was completely silent and we were just being with each other – nice feeling. At The Avalon Hotel waited chocolate, fruit and even more champagne. At this time we sat down and just was totally captured. We wondered what just had happened. Everything was so amazing that we thought it was a dream – a fairy tale – was it really for real? Yes probably it was….

It is difficult to give a recipe for a successful wedding but we want everyone to know that a successful wedding does not have to do with how much material things you organize, where to have the party or witch wedding dress the bride have. A wedding is a success if it is so much love in the air that it feels as there is no more roam for love and that you have friends and family who contribute to this charity. That’s why our wedding was so successful. We are confident about that.

The day after the wedding we went to the Ikon Salon again where Rebecka gave Charlotte another wedding hairstyle. This time, it became loose big blond curls. Then we went to Tjolöholm Castle for brunch in the castle dining room with our guests. During the brunch Charlotta wore a powder pink creation by designer Max Azria. Shoes and bag came from English Karen Millen. Ola wore a blue jacket from Hugo Boss and pink shirt from Eton.

The brunch consisted of a delicious buffet with all the goodies you can think of. Even the bride’s favorite – pancake tart was of course the buffet table. During the brunch we took the opportunity to give especially thanks to all the guests and organizers as well say goodbye to all guests in a proper manner. After brunch, we went back to the hotel and just took it easy the rest of the day. We had so much to talk about that we could not watch TV or read a book. It was instead a lot of room service and great discussions about great memories – now we were finally Mr. and Mrs. Törnell.

First on Tuesday after the wedding we went off on our honeymoon to the beautiful French Polynesia. We spent 8 days and nights at the fabulous Bora Bora and then we were five days on the small coral atoll island Tikehau. This was a paradise we have never before experienced, to see pictures from our honeymoon you can visit our wedding blog, http://olacharlotta.bloggproffs.se“

Dear Charlotta and Ola – thank you so, so much for sharing your beautful wedding with us. I’m left absolutely breathless at the throughtfulness and details that went behind this event. I wish you all the best!

Vendors:

Photographer: Anna Roström, Smallpigart
Wedding dress: Lars Wallin
Brides shoes: Manolo Blahnik  Jewel Satin d’Orsay
Earrings and bracelet: Agatha Paris
Hairpins: Hair Comes The Bride
Bride’s hair: Eli Sund, Ikon Hår & Hud Gothenburg.
Bridesmaids’ hair: Rebecka Svensson and Jenny Hansing also from Ikon Hår & Hud Gothenburg
Bridesmaids dresses: Göran Alfredsson from Thalia, Stockholm.
Bridesmaids jewelry: Karen Millen
Bridesmaids shoes: Guess
Makeup: Alexandra Jastre, Elisabethskolan, Gothenburg
Ceremony venue: Onsala church
Reception: Tjolöholms castle outside Kungsbacka
Cake: Maria Grave
Flowers: Blomsterkonstnären in Gothenburg
Decor and decorations: Camilla Haraldsson from Fest och Bröllopsagenturen
Singer/Guitarist at ceremony: Stefan Andersson
Choir: Gothenburg Gospel Choir
Pianist: Lisa Ljungberg 
Band: Tre Drag
Entertainment: Charlotte Perelli
Wedding dinner marquee: InTent Solutions