Mr + Mrs Sanchez
25th August 2019 | Sefton Park Palm House, Liverpool
Instagram: @kemiijaola | Photos: The Smiths and Co
Kemi and Mariano had an elegant monochrome wedding with emerald green tones to tie in with the lush flora at their glasshouse venue and just a little hint of gold. We love everything about this wedding; the patterned bridesmaids dresses, the chic black shoes to match the invitations, the white balloons and the magical fireworks. The beautiful bride tells us all about their special day...
How did you meet?
We met on Valentine’s day in Tiger Tiger . In our defence we were students at Leeds University and it was the place to be. Mariano proposed in our favourite Italian restaurant, it was very discreet and a complete surprise. Our birthdays are just a few days apart so I thought we were just going to celebrate that. He was being really awkward and wouldn’t hug me properly, I found out after that he didn’t want me to feel the ring box.
Where did you find all of your inspiration?
I used Instagram a lot, but most of our inspiration was us and what we liked and who we are as individuals and as a couple.
Tell us about the dress...
I went looking a few times with different sets of people, going with my mum was the most special. I wanted something very simple and I found my perfect dress while browsing online, but it took forever to be available in the bridal boutiques, I even thought about just buying it without seeing it, but the boutique owner encouraged me not to (which I think is great advice). Finally it arrived and it was perfect, just what I wanted, once I’d bought it, it made everything seem real.
I’m Nigerian so we changed into traditional attire in the evening. I found an amazing designer in who did such an amazing job of making my dream dress, when I went for my final fitting I didn’t want to take it off and she let me just stand in it for 15 minutes while she started her next appointment.
Tell us all about your wedding theme...
Our venue was a beautiful glass house, filled with tropical flowers, I just wanted to keep this very simple so most things were white, emerald green (to match with the plants and also my engagement ring is an emerald), and hints of gold.
Wedding must-have: Good music. Mariano and I really love music and having live music was something we both wanted. We had a gospel choir during the ceremony and a live band and DJ in the evening. Both were spectacular and I’m so glad we went ahead with having live music.
Tell us about the ceremony...
Our ceremony was Humanist, with a gospel choir so lots of singing. My brother did a reading of an excerpt from the Songs of Solomon and Mariano’s Mum read a beautiful poem in Spanish called Te quiero by Mario Benedetti.
What was your favourite part of the day?
I loved it all. Getting ready was so much fun, the wedding car arrived late and to keep me calm and distracted my best friend and maid of honour had me singing Celine Dion songs at the top of our voices and we carried on during the ride to the wedding it was mad but fun. The ceremony was amazing, it was everything we wanted, full of singing and fun, our officiant did such a great job of telling our story and making the ceremony personal and the choir was amazing. It went so quickly, the spaces were really great to and dancing with my new husband and all our friends and family afterwards. The day went so fast but those are the highlights for me, I couldn’t pick one.
Is there anything you wish you'd done differently?
Nothing, the day was perfect.
Who was your favourite wedding supplier?
They are all fantastic, from the caterers who put up with our constant changes and managed the whole day, to my florist who incorporated balloons inner table setting (I love balloons a lot) to the MJ, the designer of my evening dress and bridesmaids dresses, everyone was fantastic. My favourite to deal with was Pat who provided and sang in the Gospel choir. He was such a laugh and so professional and reassuring. I also loved Ben our officiant, talking to him was like couples therapy and he really got to know us as a couple.
Tell us about your wedding favours...
Mariano is Argentinian so we included his favourite sweets from Argentina and I included Chin Chin, a Nigerian street snack.
Advice for future brides...
Plan as much as you can and make sure everyone knows what is in your head. Then on the day just let go and don’t worry if things don’t go quite to plan, it’s in those moments you will find the stories you tell. For example right before cutting the cake I got a piece of our dessert stuck in my hair, instead of being the graceful bride I imagined, I was walking up to cut the cake laughing while using wet wipes to get the dessert out. It makes me laugh and shake my head while thinking of it.
Were there any surprises on the day?
My brother presented us with our wedding gift and painting he had made to represent us as a couple. It was wonderful.
Tell us about the cake...
We went for a very simple semi naked cake frosted din white and decorated with some flowers to match my bouquet. We had three tiers, one vanilla, one coffee and one chocolate, they all tasted amazing.
Tell us about the food...
Our food was provided by caterers working with the venue, but they made such an effort to help us personalise their set menu and added plantain (a Nigerian must have) to our main. In the evening we have a fantastic food van providing gourmet burgers.
Best Wedding Splurge: I surprised Mariano with fireworks at the end of the night. It was a magical way to end the day.
Watch Kemi + Mariano's wedding video below.
Venue: Sefton Park Palm HousePhotography + Videography: The Smiths and CoOfficiant: Ben Jewell (Humanists UK)Choir: Joyful SoundzFlowers: Lula FlowershopCake: Lauras Bakery LiverpoolIcecream: Hyacinth icecream-vanWhite Dress: Justina Alexander at Bride by SwarbricksEvening Dress: MJ creationsBridesmaid Dresses: MJ CreationsMake Up: So Coco RougeHair: Janet BolanleEvening Band: Kikosi musicEvening Food: Lemon Grove CateringFireworks: The UK Firework Company
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