A day filled with love at Balingsholm Manor

Euphoria and sheer joy sum up this fantastic wedding day

Who are you?

We’re a couple living in Kungsholmen, Stockholm, where we really love the mix of city life and nature – we adore being so close to the water. We live in a flat that we really love being in, and where we enjoy inviting friends and family round. We’re both really keen on sport, especially football, and enjoy going to matches, concerts and lovely dinners out on the town. Oscars has a strong passion for renewable energy and devotes his time to business development in this field. Malin works in education and, alongside this, has a keen interest in fashion and interior design.

What rings did you choose?

For our wedding, we chose rings from VANBRUUN. Oscar wanted a slimmer, rounded gold band, and Malin wanted a ring set with stones all round that would complement her engagement ring. We received such a warm welcome in their showroom and were able to try on several different designs.

The planning

What was your vision for the wedding?

We wanted to create a wedding bubble with family, relatives and friends. Our vision was to find a venue where we could stay for the whole weekend, covering everything from the ceremony, dinner and reception to overnight accommodation and brunch the following day. We wanted to settle on one place and just be there, and we wanted to stay close to Stockholm. We were also very keen to have an outdoor wedding ceremony.

What was your favourite memory of the day?

We’re very much in agreement on this. The whole weekend was fantastic and you feel a sense of pure bliss throughout, in every part of it. But the best thing about the day was those moments when it was just the two of us. That flutter of excitement in the car when we first drove in that morning and knew what lay ahead of us. We’re so incredibly glad we chose to have a ‘first look’, which also gave us a moment just to ourselves, when it really started to feel like ‘this is happening’. The best moment was probably just after the ceremony, when we were left alone inside the manor house, taking in the fact that we’d just said ‘I do’, whilst we could hear all the guests laughing and toasting outside. An unbeatable feeling!

Did you organise any activities for the guests?

We chose to have the ceremony in the late afternoon, so we didn’t feel the need for any specific activities. We had live music during the reception so everyone could have a bit of a dance before dinner, and a photo station with a Polaroid camera where guests could leave messages from the day, which we read when we got home from our honeymoon. We focused more on making sure the dinner was fun and lively – and our best man and maid of honour certainly delivered!

How would you best describe your wedding?

Words are almost not enough? We had a wonderful day with fantastic weather and the warmth of high summer. There was a festive atmosphere and love in the air all day, and all the guests brought incredible energy with them. It was the best day of our lives! We were moved, surprised, so incredibly happy and eternally grateful for everything we got to experience. There were plenty of toasts, lots of hugs, heaps of love, loads of laughter, dancing, sing-alongs and it was just so, so much fun.

More about the day

Malin describes: We were there from the morning with our bridal party. The bridesmaids and I had been given access to our own room where we could get ready together with Jennifer. It was lovely with a view over the water, and we could feel the temperature rising outside the open windows as the morning went on. Oscar held a wedding rehearsal with the bridesmaids and groomsmen, and after lunch we were to get completely ready for the first look. Even though we’d only been apart for a few hours, it was SO lovely to finally be together again. Oscar went first to an apple orchard next to the manor house, and once everything was ready, I went over with the photographer Malin and our videographer. He looked so handsome standing there waiting in his tuxedo! We had a lovely time during the ‘first look’ and I love the photos from it. We took photos both in the apple orchard and around the manor house. We had a photoshoot with the bridal party at the back, facing the water, and it was such a lovely moment. We laughed a lot! Which was such a relief because I had absolutely no control over my nerves.

Phew! After the photos, we stepped aside as all the guests began to arrive, check into their rooms and take their places at the ceremony venue. Before the ceremony, our toast couple introduced themselves and also introduced everyone present, including the officiant, the photographer, the videographer and the soloist. That was important to us. And if I’d been nervous before, it was nothing compared to how the nerves took over when we heard our best man and maid of honour had started speaking. It became so clear that NOW was the time. We slipped round to the other side of the manor house and got ourselves ready, and one by one our lovely friends in the bridal party walked out through the double doors to the sound of Olivia’s singing. When it was Oscar’s and my turn to walk out, I was both crying and laughing at the same time – what an incredibly powerful and strange feeling to walk out to our own wedding ceremony. I was so grateful to everyone who was there; I was so grateful that the day had finally arrived and that we were actually doing this!

We’d left the dinner entirely in the hands of our toast couple, and it was the best decision ever – they delivered an absolutely incredible dinner! They’ve received so many compliments from the guests afterwards, and we can’t put into words just how grateful we are. They’d prepared videos, sing-alongs, a dance break, an auction where they’d managed to sneak items from our home, and much more. They’d put together such lovely introductions for all the speeches and really brought a truly uplifting energy to the evening. There’s so much work that goes into a great wedding dinner, and they did it absolutely brilliantly! I was completely moved throughout the whole dinner. All the wonderful people in our lives gathered in one place. And on top of that, the lovely speeches from family, relatives and friends! How on earth can we ever thank them for everything?

Even Oscar surprised us with a speech to our families and to me, and I don’t think I’ve ever had to fight so hard not to completely break down in some sort of overdose of love. I wish so much that we could experience it all over again. After dinner, it was free time for everyone. The bar was open, we had a dance floor with a DJ, and the evening sun was so lovely outside for those who wanted to hang out at the back by the lake. We went round with shot trays and sausages and bread were served – and the party just didn’t want to end. What a blast!

Dress code

What did you all wear?

Malin knew early on that she wanted to have time for a change of outfit on her wedding day, so she wore a long wedding dress by Eva Lendel, bought at Milagro in Stockholm, for the ceremony, and changed into a shorter dress by Malina Bridal – the ‘Liana’ style – for the dinner and reception. The difficult decision was whether or not to wear a veil, but with a simpler wedding dress, the veil from Malina Bridal felt like the detail that made the whole look just right. Oscar, too, knew early on that he wanted a black tuxedo and a classic look. Oscar wore a bespoke Italian tuxedo bought from Menswear in Östermalm, Stockholm, paired with a tuxedo shirt from Tiger of Sweden. He completed the look with black patent leather shoes and gold machete-shaped cufflinks from Skultuna. Find your wedding dress, Find your suit

Did the guests have a dress code?

We chose a dress code of dark suits. It felt appropriate for the venue and we thought it was fun for the guests to have the chance to dress up.

Top tips for a wedding?

Three tips that spring to mind!

01. Plan your wedding exactly as you want it

If it feels right in your gut – go for it! If something feels wrong or not quite right, scrap it. You should plan for a day exactly as you want it; that way, you’ll have the best day ever.

02. We loved the first look!

If you’re torn between having it or not, go for it. It was so incredibly lovely to get a sense of each other’s feelings ahead of everything and share that moment together. You’ll feel so lovely and get so incredibly excited for the rest of the day. It even calmed our nerves a little. An unbeatable combination! We really didn’t want to miss out on the reception to go off and take photos after the ceremony, but at the same time we really wanted all the photos, and that’s where the first look is the best solution.

03. Choose your toastmasters carefully

What sort of dinner do you want? What sort of atmosphere do you want around you? Choose people who you think will create the atmosphere you’re after. Our fantastic toastmasters delivered the best dinner ever and we’re so grateful for the memories we’ve gained thanks to them.

To read more about Malin and Oscar’s top tips, click here

Which team of suppliers did you have at your wedding?

Florist: Madeleine at Add a Flower was absolutely wonderful – so attentive and helpful throughout the process of choosing flowers for the wedding. I knew I wanted a clean, simple bridal bouquet with peonies, but we went back and forth about absolutely everything else. Madeleine created such beautiful bouquets for me and the bridesmaids, as well as absolutely magical floral arches which we used both during the ceremony and had behind us during the dinner. On Sunday, the guests were able to take bouquets from the arches home with them, which was very much appreciated.

Make-up artist: I booked Jennifer Kråik almost straight after we’d booked Balingsholm. She’s a fantastic make-up artist whom I’d been following for a while. We felt completely at ease from the very start, and I had a trial make-up session about a month before the wedding, which only confirmed that feeling. On the day, she did both the make-up and hair for me, Oscar and the bridesmaids. Everyone was absolutely delighted. The make-up lasted through both laughter and tears, and Jennifer brought a sense of calm and enthusiasm! The sweetest thing was that she’d filmed a bit with my mobile without me realising, so that was the first footage we could watch the day after.

Soloist: We can’t praise Olivia Scherrer enough. It was by chance that I found her in a wedding group, and as we grew up in the same town, I know exactly how incredibly talented she is at both singing and playing. I got in touch straight away and it felt so right. She sang during both the ceremony and the reception, performing everything from ‘How Long Will I Love You’ to an ABBA medley! Find your musicians

Chairs for the ceremony: We hired from Westmans and are absolutely delighted! Renting lovely chairs for the ceremony really made all the difference to the overall look. No hassle at all and they were quick to reply. Find your accessories

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