A 3-day party on the Spanish Costa del Sol

Who are you? 

Jonathan and Lovisa Laurits. We live in Jönköping with our son Ralph, who is one and a half years old. Lovisa works as a graphic designer and marketing consultant. Jonathan works as an international sales representative at Röshults.

How long have you been together?

We’ve been together for over eight years. We’ve been through it all – from an intense and fun time at university, to a long-distance relationship whilst living on different continents, to living abroad together, and finally the biggest thing of all – having our son Ralph, who changed everything!

The proposal

How and where did the proposal take place?  

Getting married was a joint decision; after a long dinner where we talked about life, we realised it would just be the two of us forever. At that point, a wedding felt like the obvious next step!

Was a wedding something you’d dreamed of before the proposal?

Of course, you’ve always had dreams about weddings, but a pink princess wedding was probably never the goal. A wedding abroad felt like the obvious choice for us as soon as the topic came up, as we have strong ties to Spain. Lovisa has, admittedly, had a wedding board on Pinterest for a long time.

What rings did you choose?

Lovisa’s engagement ring is a gold solitaire ring. We inherited the wedding ring from Lovisa’s mum; we decided to melt it down and make a new one from the same gold and diamonds – a gold ring with eleven diamonds, nine from her mum and two from us. Jonathan chose a plain gold engagement ring.

The planning

What was your vision for the wedding?

The first thing we decided was that we wanted to get married in Spain. We knew early on that the wedding would take place at Cortijo de Paco Romo in Nerja, which is owned and run by Jonathan’s family. Spain has always been close to our hearts and it’s a place where we’ve spent a lot of time together. Partly because we lived in Málaga for a while, and partly because Jonathan’s parents live in Nerja, which has meant many holidays on the Costa del Sol.

As Lovisa works in design and styling, she’s always dreamt of organising her own wedding, from the invitations and printed materials right through to the decorations and flowers. It was, of course, brilliant fun to actually get to do it all, but tricky when there are so many lovely options! Lovisa had a clear vision of what the wedding should look like! We wanted to keep the wedding relatively small as we were abroad; our focus was on celebrating with friends and our closest family. We didn’t want a ‘barefoot on the beach’ wedding, so it was important for us to create the right atmosphere at the wedding so that it felt like us.

The pre-party took place the day before the wedding by the pool and the poolside kitchen. Here, we baked our own pizzas in a wood-fired pizza oven from Röshults. We also served draught beer and sangria, which was a key suggestion from Jonathan! This gave all our friends and family a chance to get to know each other before the big day. The atmosphere was fantastic; everyone was so happy and full of anticipation. Our toastmasters introduced themselves during the evening and organised a mingle bingo!

The wedding day began with the girls and lads getting ready separately. We saw each other for the first time during a ‘first look’ up on the roof terrace before it was time for the photo shoot with Sofia from Noor Studio. The lovely Sofia had been with us since the day before and, as well as the wedding photoshoot, she captured every moment over the course of the three days.

The ceremony took place at 3.00 pm on the terrace at the front of the house, overlooking Nerja and the sea. It was an incredibly beautiful and intimate moment. During the ceremony, Klara, the violinist, played; Jonathan walked in to ‘Concerning Hobbits’ alongside his mum, whilst Ralph and Lovisa walked in to ‘Yellow’ by Coldplay alongside their dad, both playing the violin. Lovisa’s mum and Jonathan’s dad also sang and played together, which meant a great deal to us. Our son Ralph was the ring bearer and, somewhat reluctantly, handed over the box containing the wedding ring on time.

After the ceremony, we moved on to a reception and wedding cake by the pool. They were a great success, and many guests were delighted to have a cup of coffee in the afternoon! The cake was raspberry and blueberry flavoured with a lemon buttercream. After the cake, we turned the music up a notch and served Aperol Spritz. We’d also organised a few activities, such as a guest book with a Polaroid camera and a photo wall.

The wedding dinner began at 6 pm; we’d decorated the back garden with fairy lights and decorations to create a lovely dinner atmosphere. Our fantastic toastmasters guided us through the evening, which consisted of many courses and many speeches; they delivered with such energy and had put in a great deal of time to make our evening the best it could be for us and our guests! It was by far the best part of the wedding weekend; the atmosphere truly exceeded our expectations and everyone had such a lovely time – they really felt like part of our family. We feel so grateful for all the lovely speeches from friends and family; we’re so happy to have so many wonderful people around us!

After dinner, we carried on with an open bar and a dance floor in the main hall. We had our first dance together before Lovisa slipped away to change her dress.

Lovisa: Here, the bridesmaids and I had a big surprise in store – before I slipped into the short dress, I also cut my hair… short!! Jonathan has always loved it when I have slightly shorter hair, so it felt like a fun surprise. Plus, one of my best friends is a hairdresser, so that helped. We danced the whole night away; it was very hot and lots of people ended up in the pool before the evening was over.

What was on the wedding menu? 

Our wedding menu consisted of several different Asian-inspired dishes. We both love food – it’s a big part of our lives – so we put a lot of thought into the wedding dinner. The dinner began with a cheese and charcuterie platter, which we’d spent many months sampling and testing to find the very best. We tried LOTS of cheeses and plenty of olives to get it just right.

We love sharing, so sharing food was a natural choice. First, three light dishes were served: Vietnamese summer rolls, wontons and an Asian salmon tartare. These were followed by slow-cooked pork with hoisin sauce and crispy duck, served with a noodle salad and fried rice. The dinner finished with smashed pavlova with lemon curd and fresh berries. Yes, everyone was absolutely stuffed! Haha, it was quite a lot of food, but it was all so delicious. This was truly a dinner that reflected Jonathan and Lovisa – we were so pleased with the food. Everything apart from the cheese and charcuterie platter was prepared by the wonderful Ceri at Dulce De Lena.

Outfits

What did you wear? 

Jonathan wore a beige linen suit from Studio 73 with a white shirt. He paired this with brown leather shoes, sage-green braces and a sage-green bow tie. Cufflinks from Skultuna.

Lovisa wore a wedding dress from Ivory and Grace. I chose a simple dress but with a train; I had to have something that would work even if it got up to 30 degrees! A long veil from the same brand with a few discreet little white pearls scattered across it. Beige shoes with a bow, from Flattered. Earrings from Enamel Copenhagen. A necklace borrowed from my grandmother. Our son Ralph wore a white shirt with a small bow tie and beige trousers from Newbie.

What did the bridesmaids and groomsmen wear? 

The groomsmen wore light beige linen suits and matched the groom with sage-green bow ties. The bridesmaids wore two different dresses but in the same sage-green colour that matched the rest of the bridal party.

Was there a dress code for the guests? 

Light-coloured suits (light colours), although it might be a bit warm!

Anything else you’d like to share? 

It was very hot! It was about 28 degrees when we came down after the ceremony! We made sure to provide all the guests with small bottles of water and fans during the ceremony, and it stayed hot even afterwards! It’s always difficult to control the weather, of course; unfortunately we didn’t get much sun in the afternoon, but in our case it was quite pleasant – otherwise it would have been very hot!

Tips

Top tips for a wedding?

01. Have fun! Stop and enjoy the day – it goes by so quickly, but you’ll be creating memories to last a lifetime! Make sure you take in everything you’ve planned and created together, and enjoy the fact that everyone is there celebrating with you!

02. Set out a plan and a mood board to work from, and stick to it right to the end. There’s sooo much inspiration and so many details you could include, but it’s easy to get overwhelmed and lose your focus; even if they’re lovely or fun ideas, you might have to let them go – kill your darlings!

Best tip for the planning stage? 

Make the planning a date night – we spent several evenings with a lovely cheese and charcuterie platter and a glass of red wine each, sitting and planning different parts of the wedding. They became part of the whole experience; the run-up to the wedding is a wonderful time, so try to enjoy it and don’t stress too much! But also – stick to a budget! It’s easy to get carried away and lose track of how much things cost.

The best tip for the big day? 

A tip we were given beforehand: the wedding day goes by so quickly, so don’t forget to make time for each other. We chose to do part of the photo shoot alone with the photographer; it turned into a really lovely moment together where we could forget about everything else and just focus on each other. Back at the villa, it was absolute chaos getting everything sorted so it would all be ready for the ceremony to begin, so it was quite nice to slip away for a while!

Is there anything you wish you’d done differently? 

Perhaps having a coordinator on site on the wedding day itself – even though there are plenty of people there who want to help, there are so many things to keep track of and so many questions! It got a bit stressful at times, although everything worked out in the end!

We’d ordered kebab rolls for all the guests as a late-night snack, but there was a mix-up with the delivery and no kebab rolls turned up! But we didn’t realise that until late at night! Haha, but everyone was so full from dinner that I don’t think anyone missed them more than Jonathan!

Top tip for newlyweds after the wedding? 

Take time to look back; arrange a date and go through the wedding photos every now and then. This will be a memory we’ll cherish forever.

Vendors

We’re sooo happy with all our suppliers, who delivered professionally and exceeded our expectations! So many fantastic people who helped us create an unforgettable day!

Wedding venue: Cortijo de Paco Romo, Nerja

Printed materials: Lovisa Laurits

Catering & cake: Dulce de Lena

Flowers: Imna at Floristeria Mari, Nerja @marifloristas

Chairs: Hired from Masque Palets

Pizza oven: Röshults

Hair and make-up: Elin Svensson, @elinfrisorr

Engagement rings: Guldsmedjan Snarberg

Wedding ring: Guldverkstan in Habo

Wedding dress: Ivory and Grace

Wedding suit: Studio 73

Wedding shoes: Flattered

Ralph’s shirt and trousers: Newbie

Photographer: Sofia Beijer, Noor Studio

·Entertainment (violin during the ceremony): Klara Gomboc, La violinista