Can you imagine a more romantic setting for an elopement than a mountain top surrounded by the Adriatic Sea? Neither can we! And neither could Stacey and Ernest who were wed last September at the top of Hvar’s Mount Sveti Nikola.

Wanting a wedding that would just be about the two of them, the couple, who hail from Calgary, Alberta, flew all the way to Croatia, and, with their photographer Petar Jurica and their officiant in tow, trekked up the side of the island’s tallest mountain in order to say their vows and start their life together – now, how perfectly dreamy is that?

Stacey, 33 & Ernest, 33 

Hvar, Croatia

Wedding Date: September 3, 2013

Number of Guests: 0

Wedding Ceremony Location: On the top of a mountain at Sv. Nikola, the highest peak of Hvar.

Wedding Reception Location: Pharia Restaurant in Stari Grad, Croatia (it was just the two of us having dinner in a beautiful courtyard surrounded by stone walls. Afterwards we went to a crepe vendor on the street for dessert.)

Why did you have an intimate wedding?

We decided that the wedding was just about us, no one else.

What are some the challenges that you faced planning an intimate wedding?

Realizing that I needed a wedding planner two weeks prior to the trip! We found one and she was fantastic and organized everything for us. She chose the location, flowers, and arranged for transportation.

Was it difficult to pare down the guest list?

No, we decided from the beginning that it would just be the two of us.

Did you have any ‘issues’ with the small guest list from friends and family? If so, how did you address them?

No, a few people were disappointed but we held firm in our decision.

What were the highlights of the ceremony?

We spent our wedding day together. We went for coffee, to the beach, then got ready together and finally before I put my wedding dress on, Ernest went downstairs to wait for the wedding commissionaire and photographer so he wouldn’t see my dress. We travelled in separate cars to the ceremony location and I arrived first. I hitched up my dress and clung to loose boulders as I made my way up the mountain. At the top, I stood alone, surrounded by the Adriatic sea below me and the bluest sky I’ve ever seen above me, while my dress flowed in the wind. There I waited for my soon to be husband to climb the mountain and reach me. The romance of the moment was breathtaking and unforgettable. It was like we were the only two people in the world and all I could feel was love for the man standing in front of me. The wedding commissionaire asked us to close our eyes and take in the moment, the sounds, the smells, and the feeling. I will keep that moment with me for the rest of my life.

What were the highlights of the reception?

Champagne and crepes!

What was the best thing about having an intimate wedding?

It was so easy, stress-free, and low maintenance. We had no expectations of our wedding day, no idealistic dreams, and as a result, our special day fully surpassed anything that I could have imagined.

What advice do you have for couples who are considering an intimate wedding?

This is a very personal decision, and you have to make the choice that is right for you. Our families and friends respected our decision, we knew it was what we wanted and there were never questions or regrets from our perspective. Your wedding day and your marriage is about you and your husband; so ask yourself, “how do you want to celebrate the beginning of the rest of your life” and then be true to your answer.

Vendors:

Photography: Petar Jurica 

Wedding Planner: Adriatic Weddings

A deliberately simple wedding doesn’t have to mean a boring wedding; case in point, Jessie and Fabien’s backyard ceremony and art gallery reception where the couple kept the guest list small, and the details minimal, but meaningful. With florals to die for, a quirky sense of style, and lots and lots of pie, their wedding day, which was planned in only three months, was delightful, simple, – and anything but boring!

A huge thank you to Buffy Goodman for sharing their lovely wedding day with us.

 

Jessie, 25 & Fabien, 34 

Edmonton, Alberta

Wedding Date: September 21, 2013

Number of Guests: 40

Wedding Cost: $13,000

Wedding Ceremony Location: Friend’s backyard in Edmonton

Wedding Reception Location: Latitude 53 Contemporary Art Gallery

 

Be inspired by Moroccan glamour with bright, rich tones and bohemian rustic touches. Introduce some exoticism into your wedding with jewel -tone hues in your decor, authentic cuisine and geometric shapes. This will no doubt leave your guests feeling that they have been transported to a dreamy faraway location. What’s so great about this look is that you can incorporate it into a range of venues and locations. An outdoor tent is an ideal space to show off this trend.

An abundant and colorful centerpiece of flowers will add the vibrancy that you need for your tables. Go for dinnerware sets that are reminiscent of Moroccan decorative art. Lanterns are one of the essential lighting options to really capture this trend. White lanterns on the table are a fresh inclusion to soften the brightness of the flowers.

Orange is never an easy color to pull off, but we love a challenge, and we couldn’t resist trying to incorporate Celosia Orange –one of Pantone’s 2014 colors for Spring – into some wedding day color palettes. Even if orange isn’t your favorite color, we think you’re going to love them!

Since orange can easily overwhelm the eye and take over a color scheme, the key to adding orange to your wedding day is to use it deliberately and sparingly. Pairing it with a dark, bold color like purple, adds a fresh, unexpected, and contrasting pop of color to the palette.

You might think that the clashing colors would make this color palette all wrong, but that’s exactly what makes it right. It takes serious guts and a great sense of style to make this work, but if you can pull it off, we think it’s worth it!

Like the palette above, pairing reds, yellows and oranges together might seem like a wacky idea, but we think it’s a bold and beautiful color combination. Add in a little ombré effect and you’ll be right on trend!

Lots of white helps to balance out this colour scheme and allows the orange to be a dramatic touch of color without overwhelming the more neutral colors.

Blue and orange are complementary colors, so pairing them together in your color scheme is an excellent choice. Here, navy blue adds a sophisticated and classic touch to the palette while the orange adds a little contemporary flair.

Photo one: yasminefloraldesign; Photo two: designmom.com; Photo three: 100layercake.com; Photo four: potterandbutler.com; Photo five: weddingchicks.com

Making your own wedding centerpieces will not only give you the opportunity to get creative, your budget will also thank you for it!

DIY wedding centerpieces let you show off your personal style and your guests will appreciate the work that you’ve put into them. We’ve rounded up 25 of our faves!

A metal watering can with freshly picked wildflowers is an easy centerpiece that you can arrange yourself. Stunning for an outdoor wedding, don’t you think?

•