A Whimsical Portugal Wedding: Juana + António

Today’s sweet couple live in Belgium, but are originally from Portugal so that is where they decided to get married this past August. Juana + António are also big fans of GWS which is always a treat to hear from our readers all around the world! Jason + I are actually in Belgium today, so I thought this wedding would be perfect to share in honor of our stay in Belgium (and thanks to J + A for the Belgium tips during our stay!)

Juana + António wanted a relaxed, laid back wedding with a bit of whimsy. They picked up inspiration from all over, taking ideas from weddings in other countries, blogs and the internet. All of this allowed them to translate their personality into every detail in the wedding. From Juana, ” We loved that we heard from so many of our friends and family that they could really see our personalities revealed in so many details of the wedding.” Juana + António are currently on a “one year trip around the world” for their honeymoon, so this was also an important theme in their wedding decor. Thanks so much to Brancoprata for the lovely photos!

wedding dress hanging in doorway

heart shoes

pink peony bouquet

pink peony bouquet

groom in tux

bride and groom first look

The most important thing for us about the wedding was making it an unforgettable day. With that in mind we looked for a beautiful place as well as a great catering service. Luckily we came upon a place that offered us both the beauty and a great, sophisticated menu. This place was Pousada de Estoi. After taking care of the ‘fundamentals of the wedding’ (venue + food), we could really start focusing on the DIY projects – the things that would make this wedding a unique and personalized celebration.

bride and groom in portugal

bride and groom in portugal

bride and groom

bride and groom in portugal

pink flower bridal hairpiece

bride and groom

bride and groom

portugal wedding

We had a musical entry to our ceremony in which we danced down the aisle with our friends to the song “Marry You” from the Glee series. Later, our first dance was a classical waltz mixed in with some Lady Gaga in the middle.

amor altar sign

We also made lots of hearts with felt + pins and they were given to each of the guests to wear, as well as the inspiration for our wedding cake.

bride and groom wearing heart-shaped sunglasses

bride and groom confetti exit

bridal party in sunglasses

world map escort cards

My favorite DIY project was the wedding cake toppers. The little wooden dolls were made by one of our friends’ father and I painted them matching our wedding clothes. The funny part is that we made four sets of cake toppers as in Portugal there is the tradition that the guests should ‘rob’ them after the cake is cut and give them back next year in the same date to the bride and groom during a surprise dinner.

heart wedding cake

doily banner

bunting table numbers

amor wedding sign

bride and groom wearing masks

During the one year and a half prior to the wedding, we started collecting all sorts of things we thought that could prove useful for putting together the decoration. For example, we got the doilies in Amsterdam and the letters spelling Love in the UK. We also asked our families to help us in this quest, so this way we got jars to put candles in. When planning a wedding with a couple of DIYs projects the formula for success is to involve your family and friends to assist you while having a great time together and bounding through the process.

Thanks so much to Juana + António for sharing your lovely Portugese wedding and we hope you are having an amazing time on your trip around the world!

vendors:

photography: André Teixeira of Brancoprata // venue name: Pousada de Estoi // wedding dress: J.Crew // hairpiece: Bethany Lorelle // bride's shoes: Melissa // groom attire: Unifato // groom's shoes: Ecco // paper goods: Wedding Chicks // styling: Brancoprata and Pano pra Mangas // floral design: Suzannahs Flowers // bride's sash: Little White Dresser // bow shoe clips: Finkshop // hair and makeup: Salao Marias // photo booth props: Shutterfly via Oh Happy Day

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