A long, long time ago a young couple contacted me to help them plan their wedding in Marbella, Spain. Having spent time living in Marbella, then travelling over to the other side of the world their hearts stayed in Spain and they knew they would get married here.
But the pandemic halted their plans, two became three with the arrival of their gorgeously cute daughter and as travel bans lifted and life became easier we finally and bravely set a new date!
Venues changed too, we had new sparkly ones, others had sadly closed and my couple fell in love with Casa de la Era conveniently located just above Marbella near La Canada shopping centre, although you would never dream you are so close to the town as the venue is surrounded with fruit and olive trees and beautiful mountain vistas. You also overlook the Mediterranean as Casa de la Era is above Marbella.
Casa de la Era has become a popular Marbella wedding venue having opened its doors as the world started getting back to normal and you can see why.
I was excited to do a wedding here as by nature I like a change, to explore the potential of venues and Casa de la Era ticked many boxes.
It is a stunning venue that can comfortably cater for a wedding of 100 guests or more for a stand up cocktail style reception. The venue isn't currently tied to any catering company so you can choose which catering style you would like. Do note there isn't any access for a food truck style event as I was asked this question last week.
Getting ready at the Casa de la Era and the Wyndham Resort.
Accommodation in Marbella during the height of the summer can be expensive so Eoin and Emily decided to use the Wyndham resort as their wedding base for the majority of their wedding guests and a few opted to stay in Marbella.
Emily and her bridal party arrived at Casa de la Era the morning of their wedding to get wedding ready. Eoin and his grooms party stayed at the Wyndham resort.
24 seater mini buses were organised to bring the grooms party and the wedding guests to the Casa de la Era.
We used mini buses as there isn't room for larger coaches to navigate Casa de la Era and it worked perfectly. So much so the venue asked me afterwards for the transport contact details.
There is accommodation in the gorgeous villa at Casa de la Era consisting of 4 bedrooms, lounge, kitchen and bathrooms so at an additional cost Emily and Eoin were able to use these facilities and stay the night of their wedding.
I adore these getting ready photos, we kept dashing in for a bit of air con relief and the joy in the room as everyone was getting ready was infectious. Emily and her bridesmaids looked stunning.
As the wedding was on a Monday with no events that weekend we were able to get a head start which was just as well as the set up Friday managed to destroy some of the venues features! It is all fixed now thank goodness but a bit of a disaster with the shading company. Another one for the book!
The shading over the ceremony and a 'sky of stars' aka fairy lights over the dining area had to be set up first on the Friday to allow the furniture and catering set ups to run smoothly.
If you have larger installations do check the venue is available for 3 days and expect to be charged accordingly. In this case we weren't charged more as they didn't have any other bookings so we were allowed access to start early and take down the day after the wedding.
The beautiful Emily now wedding ready and her stunning bouquet was created by Roberto Silvosa.
I am always in awe of the brilliant suppliers working in extremely hot weather who have mastered their skills down to a fine art. From the celebrant to the entertainment, catering and florals everything was perfectly executed.
We had provided extra shade for any electrical equipment on site and for the suppliers who were working in the heat, the entertainment and celebrant plus of course the guests.
This is an important consideration to take into account as often expensive equipment can be damaged such as sound systems, dancefloors, laptops and cameras. I personally have had a laptop burn in the sun in January!
Wedding Ceremony at Casa de la Era
It was one of those searingly hot July days as mentioned previously so guests were welcomed with cold drinks and took refuge in the gorgeous shaded cocktail area. Everyone was relaxing and then I got the message that the grooms party had turned back as they had forgotten the rings!!
During 16 years of doing weddings having forgotten the rings was a first for me!
Hushed whispers milled around and eventually I had to tell Emily we were running behind, she had already predicted Eoin would forget the rings and everyone was just enjoying the heat dying down as they mingled.
Back on track 40 minutes later it was such a joy to see Emily and Eoin finally exchange their vows (complete with rings!).
A beautiful service by Patricia Millon accompanied by the amazing voice of Lucy Faye. We loved Eoin's special entrance with his grandmother who was also the ring bearer and thankfully took charge of them!
How emotional is this image, after so many years of waiting, their wedding day finally happened.
I honestly felt as if I had known Emily and Eoin for years as we chatted during the lockdowns and had lots of sighs and giggles so when I met them in real life it was like meeting old friends.
We loved the bridesmaids and mother of the bride all rocking the green hues for their dresses.
Following a beautiful and emotional ceremony, the cocktail hour commenced and guests enjoyed drinks and creative canapés prepared by Gusto.
We had a 'take a shot, take a seat' set up from Lemonface, and I designed a table seating plan and other signs.
Formal line up photos were taken and the atmosphere was excited, relaxed and jovial as everyone mingled and chatted.
The Wedding Reception at Casa de la Era.
With 4 long tables we set up the top table and then 3 rows so everyone could see the top table.
The table names were countries relevant to the couple, Spain (of course!), Ireland, Wales and Australia. If you love this design you can see the whole White Wedding Floral Collection here.
The fabulous Gusto catering team set to work first laying the tables and then the florals and candles went on creating the most beautiful tablescapes by Roberto Silvosa.
The Entrance of the Bridal Party
Often a forgotten thing to do but such fun if well thought out and it couldn't be more hyped if we didn't have the amazing Moni Tivony whooping up the party! Another amazing moment during Emily and Eoin's wedding day, it was so much fun.
Guests enjoyed a fabulous dinner and the drinks were flowing, the party was already well and truly underway with brilliant entertainment. I think here you can see everyone on their chairs, whooping and celebrating!
It was decided there would be no wedding cake but instead guests were treated to baby Guinness shots (Baileys & Kaluha) to toast the speeches.
Plenty of dancing carried on and the bar opened. Everyone being entertained by Who Killed the DJ.
It was a fantastic night and made all the years of waiting so worth it!
I loved getting this message after the wedding as we are on a high too!
'Hey Laura - hope you're well.
Yes we are still on such a high from the wedding, it blew our expectations out of the water with the day and thank you for planning our dream wedding.'
A huge congratulations to Eoin, Emily, Molly and their friends and families.
With thanks to the following suppliers whom we can never thank enough for being so reliable and professional.
If you are planning your wedding in Spain I have created a free ebook with everything you need to consider and you can download your copy here.