When Jen + Robin (who live in Denver) started planning their wedding day, they soon realized they could afford to have either a wedding or a honeymoon. So, they decided to take the plunge and have an epic honeymoon with an elopement in the middle! They flew to Spain, rented a car, got married at the Rock of Gibraltar (UK) on the southern coast of Spain, and then spent a month traveling around Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Four countries in 30 days!
It took some amount of planning to pull off such a massive trip with a wedding nestled inside, but they divided up the tasks and checked them off the list one by one! Robin was in charge of most of the traveling aspect, so Jen worked hard to surprise him with handmade + handpicked details for the wedding day: her barrette and his handkerchief were made from leftover dress material, vintage umbrellas with their initials, antique Norwegian cufflinks, and a green tie pin (Robin’s favorite color!) And the umbrellas did come in handy since it rained off and on throughout the morning, which produced a rainbow while they were at the top of the Rock!
Their lunch was at the Mount – an old Naval Admiral’s house during WWII. Deeraj and Emma from La Parilla set up the table + embellished it with flowers picked at the Mount.
To quote Robin, “We can go to the courthouse, or we can have a wedding with a million people. Either way I’m happy, because I just want to get married to you.” Take comfort that whatever decisions you make will be golden, because what really matters is that your man (or woman) just wants to get married to you.
It was most important to us to keep our wedding day unique and meaningful, even though we had to fit everything into a suitcase for the trek. All of our vendors were chosen with care, as we wanted our wedding day to be simple, but most of all, special! We can’t thank everyone enough for contributing to our wedding day. Maggie Burns created the perfect dress for me with such enthusiasm for my vision and the design process. Our photographer, Andreas Holm, was an inspiration; everyone should be as passionate about their work as he is! Thanks so much to Deeraj and Emma, owners of La Parilla, for our amazing catered lunch for two. They truly made us feel as loved as old friends.
photography: Andreas Holm // venue name: Alameda Botanic Garden // bride's shoes: Seychelles // groom attire: Armani // groom's shoes: Frye // catering: La Parilla // cake: Sweet Things by Fi // bouquet: Gibral-Flora // boutonniere: Gibral-Flora // lunch venue: The Mount // umbrellas: purchased from nowvintage and roseleinrarities, embellished by Jen + friends // bride's dress(es): both handmade by the very talented Maggie Burns // bolero: knitted by Jen with Blue-faced Leicester // veil: Hems and Bustles // groom's tie: Tom Ford
I love this! I think that a honeymoon is important, so if you can’t afford a wedding and a honeymoon eloping in a beautiful place is a wonderful idea!
How beautiful! We are in the process of planning at wedding in Gibraltar and your photos and story erased any lingering doubts I might have had. Ours too, will be just the two of us, and we are hoping to do it at the Mount. I would love to get in touch with you to pick your brain!
Congrats. We are also eloping in Gibraltar this September and thought that you might want to share some ideas on how best to do it. We were really inspired by this posting and are curious how other couples are planning their wedding there.
This is so utterly romantic! And they still have beautiful wedding photos. What a fantastic idea! Congrats to the couple
Soo romantic!
It’s wonderful, I loved it!
But I just wanted to point out that Gibraltar, although it is in the Iberian Peninsula, doesn’t actually belong to Spain, but to the United Kingdom. Either way, breathtaking place to get married!
just about to say the same! =)
so very neat and such a great idea to elope in this case! love her first dress!
Love everything about this elopement/honeymoon. They had an amazing photographer. I also love to photograph elopements – less stress, more time.
I would absolutely love to shoot such a wedding! It’s so special and there’s so much room for creative shots! The photo with the little monkey in the cabin made me laugh :)
I have been following GWS for years now, and this is the first time I have ever posted a comment. Oh my goodness, what a beautiful elopement/honeymoon! Of all the posts I’ve read, their advice was my absolute favorite. My fiance is in the Army, and we are trying to plan a wedding around that. It’s been really tough just pulling together a date for a civil ceremony (which we still don’t know yet), and planning a formal reception for later. But I’ve been feeling really stressed out about the whole thing, thinking I need fulfill other people’s expectations of how our wedding should be. But it honestly does not matter to me. I almost wish someone would just tell me when and where and I will show up. I simply want to marry the love of my life, before we are to separated for 5 months.
I enjoyed Your wedding blog on Jen and Robins elopement in Spain. It looked very they had a great time. The photos are romantic and I especially enjoyed the first photo of them shot at a distance overlooking the mountains from what looks like some sort of a balcony. Thanks for sharing.
Spain is a beautiful country to marry. We invite you to our ranch.
Wow, what a unique and beautiful wedding; I love the elopement idea. And the shots with the umbrellas are fantastic!
Oh they look so full of joy! I love it when couples just do what makes them happy! Congrats guys!
Wow i adore this beautiful and adventurous story! I have actually been to Gibraltar and its the most amazing place, wonderful for an elopement. Must have been magical. The couple is obviously very creative and fun! Totally my style… We also opted to elope and travel rather than do the big traditional thing, but we went to Hawaii.
Wow that is such a romantic and magical place to have a wedding. Congratulations!
Wow, I love this story! What dreamy photos too!
At the very beginning of planning. Just want to check. As far as I know, most european countries have strict legal requirements for weddings for foreigners. Did you get married civilly in the US first?
I love these photos and they are a great source of inspiration for my upcoming potential elopement. As I realize this was a couple years ago so the chance of communication may be slim, but I would be really interested in speaking to one of you about the planning process. I’m a little at a loss as to how to start exactly so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
What a beautiful post! I love the setting and the pictures. Thank you for sharing!