Archives for August 2015

Lucy Bennett of The Boutique Wedding Co. was aiming for a look that was elegant with a bohemian feel to it, when she created today’s Spanish hilltop love shoot photographed by Eloy Muñoz and Aleksandra Foit from Eloy Muñoz Photography. It was important to her to maintain the natural elements of the venue, decor and local environment.

In addition to helping John with the flowers, Lucy also worked on producing lots of unique pieces for the shoot. She made all of the rustic looking cakes and for the cake table they used a beautiful old Spanish dresser. The cakes were displayed on elegant cut glass cake stands and the hand iced cupcakes, a buttercream icing coincided with the lavender herb color theme. Lucy accessorized the cake table with a vintage mirror sign, some antique heritage pieces from her grandparents and loose flowers. The idea was to keep it clean, simple, elegant and rustic.

Lucy’s Inspiration

I´ve been travelling to Southern Spain ever since my Dad moved here in 1994. He settled on the Costa De La Luz and when I first visited I really felt like I had found paradise, far from the busy tourist industry of the Costa del Sol. Little did I know that high above the Costa Del Sol in the Montes de Malaga is also a little piece of paradise, authentic Spain, served up stylishly with so much taste and passion and hidden away to keep it sacred. El Carligto a renovated old Spanish farm house and its sister property The Hunting Lodge, perched high on a Loma (its own Spanish Hill Top), sitting just below one of the highest peaks in the Malaga Mountains, with stunning views across to the Mediterranean sea are the ultimate luxury hideaways. On our first visit, we arrived along a mountain track with the aqua blue Lake Vinuela to our right and the Mediterranean Sea on the horizon and instantly knew we had to work with this amazing property! Excited to be planning our first wedding there this year, we wanted to share this amazing Venue with the world!

How it all came about

I had been in discussions with Eloy and Aleksandra from Eloy Muñoz Photography about creating a Wedding Shoot that would encompass a traditional Spanish mountain backdrop with a boutique element, so I approached Mark and Alan the owners of El Carligto and The Hunting Lodge about creating a wedding inspiration shoot, inspired by the authenticity of their Home /Venue and Location and they loved the idea…Spanish Hill Top Love´ was born.

For ´Spanish Hill Top Love´ the overall theme was organic modern bohemia. A chic bohemic bride in an rustic boutique location. The backdrop of the property and landscape was our main focus, we didn’t want to over complicate the shoot or take away from the beauty of what was already there. Additionally, I like to work with the native plants of Andalucia, so I decided that Lavender would be the star of this shoot to coincide with our colour theme of Lavender Herb, one of 2015´s top wedding colours!

Working with the elements of the Venue and the local environment were key. We shot between the two amazing houses. With some beautiful inside and outside spaces and a fabulous view of the moody mountains as a backdrop. I was keen to incorporate the superb styling of the houses, which is all based on traditional local styles with a very Boutique Look, for example the Cow Hide furniture and original 200 year old solid wood doors!

Florals

John the florist and Dominic his partner and I collected the Florals from the countryside and a few specials blooms bought in. John our amazing florist of JW Design, created a look that was elegant but a touch of organic and wild looking. The bouquet, Floral crown and beautiful garland were created from Olive leaf, Eucalyptus, bay leaf, Lavender flower and leaf, rosemary, with a touch of larger blooms such as ranuculars and roses in ivory with lavender interspersed. He is a perfectionist and spent three days creating the organic floral and foliage garland, the perfectly delicate floral crown and gorgeous bouquet.

The Pintable’s

The gorgeous pintable’s and invitations were created by Lou Rodrigues from Beyond Vintage UK. In keeping with our organic theme she created a watercolour olive and Lavender wreath look that was carried throughout the different paper elements. The lavender elements was carried throughout the whole shoot, from cake decorations to place settings, the pintable’s of course and all of the florals had a touch of Lavender! What I love most is that the pintable’s look and feel handmade, organic and so personal to our shoot.

Model and Hair and Make-Up

Our Bride for the day was Maria from DE Management, a beautiful Spanish girl with a totally unique look. 5 ft. 10 inches with blonde hair and soft brown eyes! Her gorgeous long hair and perfect skin worked perfectly for the modern bohemian look we wanted to achieve. Our Makeup artist from Arteness Make-up school kept the look natural, styling her hair with loose curls for the first part of the shoot and later a long side plait to compliment the Floral Crown. Maria had a calm, Smokey look that I really liked in contrasted well with the moody backdrop of the Rainy March day! Unusual for Spain but it can happen!

Dress and Accessories

Another crafty moment took over me when I tailored the dress, originally from Bailly Bijoux (a local brand) for the shoot by cutting away huge amounts of fabric and creating a low cut front and backless look. This showcased perfectly the amazing Bohemian jewellery collection from Meriko London (based here in Spain too!). Don´t miss the super cute ear cuffs! and Long drop necklaces and bracelets!

Our Photographers

I worked closely with Aleksandra and Eloy from Eloy Muñoz Photography to pull the shoot together, sourcing all of the wonderful local contributors and of course they worked hard to capture the day in a unique way that offers an alternative perspective on a wedding in Spain! Eloy and Aleksandra are International Award Wedding Photographers, based here in Malaga. They are extremely talented and creative, offering an alternative to the everyday wedding photography we see. They specialise in Landscape and Underwater Trash the Dress shoots, but for today we stayed out of the water and captured ´Spanish Hill Top Love´ perfectly.

Our Venue

The Location of this venue is the draw. Perched high on its own hill top with stunning views across to the Mediterranean, sat below a huge mountain, it doesn´t really get more dramatic than that. The properties, an old farm and an old Hunting lodge…Circa 1800´s, have been renovated and restored with style, taste and authenticity. This has to be one of the most unique and stylish properties that offers weddings in Andalucia. Mark and Alan from El Carligto were our hosts for the day, they were the warmest of hosts keeping us fuelled on wonderful food (Culinary expertise is a signature of the property) and of course gorgeous Spanish wine! They have openly shared their wonderful home with us for the day! I totally recommend El Carligto and The Hunting lodge for a fabulously unique boutique wedding in Spain or even just a week long getaway from the stresses and strains of city life! It is a truly a special place; tranquil, luxurious and absolutely authentic Spain! With THE most stunning views in Southern Spain!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Styling and Design: Lucy Bennett of The Boutique Wedding Co. // Photographers: Eloy Muñoz and Aleksandra Foit from Eloy Muñoz Photography // Venue: Mark and Alan from El Carligto and The Hunting Lodge // Florals: John William JW Designs // Hair and Make UP: Arteness School of hair and Make Up // Maria Our Model: DE Management // Jewellery and Accessories: Meri at Meriko London // Invitations and Pintable’s: Lou Rodrigues- Beyond Vintage