Portugal
LISBON
17th-CENTURY PALACE
E&S chose Palácio de Xabregas as the destination for their wedding, a beautiful 17th-century palace in the heart of Lisbon, Portugal, filled with history and stunning Portuguese tiles. Our Bride & Groom hosted 157 guests on their wedding day from all over the world but primarily from Scotland and Zimbabwe.
The bride's heritage is Zimbabwean and the groom's is Scottish so we wanted to include nods to both cultures and traditions throughout the day. They had a family friend who played the bagpipes as the guests arrived. For the bride's walk down the aisle, her family members laid scarves and pashminas along the ground for our bride to walk on as in Zimbabwean culture she is considered too precious to touch the ground. Also, E&S along with their bridal party participated in a Zimbabwean tradition called ‘steps’, in which they danced into the dinner hall as our newlyweds were introduced. None of their guests were expecting this and absolutely loved it.
For the decoration we focussed on navy, burnt oranges and gold tones to complement the venue interiors of terracotta walls and blue and white tiles. We worked with the florist to create textured, autumnal florals throughout the broken arch display for the ceremony, bridal bouquets and beautiful table centrepieces. Blue taper candles coordinated with the tile print on the table numbers, while the candle holders, centrepiece dishes, and chairs added that golden touch. For the ‘on the day’ stationery we focussed on the traditional blue and white tiles so this design was used throughout including on the confetti bags, welcome sign, table plan and napkin wraps.
For the food a three course meal was served but, rather than a dessert course, a huge buffet of Portuguese sweet treats was on offer which of course included the famous Pastel De Nata’s (Portuguese custard tarts).
The bride and her father shared the first dance of the night. Following this the newlyweds took the floor for their first dance, until a minor mishap happened. As the song started, a guest accidentally spilt a whole glass of wine into a power socket causing a power cut. Whilst the Wonderlust team rushed to fix the problem, our bride’s sister saved the day by starting to sing 'Lean on Me' by Bill Withers a cappella. The whole room joined in, using mobile phones to light the dance floor, creating an unexpected magical moment that our team will never forget. Soon after, the power was up and running again but it goes to show how far a bit of creativity can go.
Destination Wedding Planner
Venue & Catering
Photographer
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Floral Design
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@entretrancas @vanessachabert_makeuphair
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@thecouturegallery @davidsbridal