The wedding we have for you today is actually Amelia from Unique and Chic Weddings‘ own wedding, so we knew from the get-go that it was going to be pretty! Unique and Chic Weddings are wedding planners based in Portugal and planning this day was extra special since it was one of their own. Amelia is from England and Paulo is Portuguese, and another thing I love about this celebration is the fact that Amelia’s father cycled… yes, CYCLED from the north of England to southern Portugal to be with his daughter on her wedding day. What an amazing achievement! Amelia has lots more to tell us about planning her big day below, and we love these vibrant images by Blush Photography.

“At Unique and Chic Weddings we co-ordinate and plan weddings, provide hair and make-up, arrange extras like artists, ice cream stands and popcorn carts and help couples create a personalized celebration in Portugal. Of course this meant my business partner Jane and I were well prepared for this one!

Paulo and I wanted our Algarve wedding to be unique, relaxed, happy and colourful. It was important to us that all the guests felt involved in the wedding which is why we chose to include so many personal touches. We chose a villa as both the ceremony and reception venue as it gave us a lot of freedom to create our vision. We fell in love with Casa Beachcomber as soon as we saw it as the gardens are so spacious and beautiful- there are nine bedrooms so plenty of room for the family to stay, and there’s even a pool and a jacuzzi- it was heavenly.”

“On the wedding day we chose to have a wish tree (from our collection) so guests could write their good wishes for us, and a fingerprint tree which we now have on the wall of our home as a lasting reminder of the wonderful people that joined us for our day. Another of the special touches was a garland of paper birds I made, each bird had the name of a friend or loved one, even those who couldn’t be with us on the day, and those watching from above.

In our decor collection at Unique and Chic Weddings we also have a burlap and lace aisle runner, which I handpainted with the words “I will love you every step of the way”. For the seating we chose to use hay bales, which we covered with colourful blankets and the altar was an antique door we bought and built a frame for. The finished look was really beautiful.”

“Paulo is Portuguese and I’m English so we wanted to bring the two languages together. We met and fell in love in Portugal so chose to speak our personal (funny) vows in Portuguese, my bridesmen (we strayed from tradition there too) held up the translation in English. We chose Rebecca from Portugal Wedding Ceremonies because she had so many lovely ideas, one of the additions we included was the “warming of the rings” where each guest holds the rings and blesses it with their love before they go on to our fingers for life. We also had a rose ceremony in which roses are exchanged as the first gift as man and wife- it was so romantic there were lots of happy tears all round!

We chose to book the villa for a week leading up to the special day, so that our friends and family could join us in the wedding planning. Two of our lovely friends made us a colourful wedding cake, another friend bought local flowers and put the bouquets together, and so many friends helped create the heart garlands that were tied to the tree branches around the gardens, and the card hearts that lined the aisle.

There was no doubt in our minds as to which photographer to choose- I know Nickie’s work well and knew she’d be perfect for our relaxed wedding. We couldn’t be happier with the photos and felt she really captured the love and happiness of the day.”

“One of my sisters and two of my closest friends sang the ceremony songs (which were all romantic, happy and chosen by the two of us), and my talented stepfather played the guitar along side them. Paulo has three children and of course we wanted them to be involved in the ceremony, his son was his Best Man, his oldest daughter was a bridesmaid along with one of my sisters, and his youngest daughter was our flower girl. 

My father walked me up the aisle which I was so happy about. He’s a vegan hippie and doesn’t agree with polluting the planet which is why he has never been on an aeroplane to visit us here previously. Of course he didn’t want to miss his daughter’s wedding so he cycled from Lancashire in the North of England! Amazing.”

“For entertainment we booked The Madcats as our wedding band. We saw them on one of our very first dates and they’ve been special to us ever since, they are a unique bunch of people and their talent blows you away. Our guests loved them. 

We work with a caricature artist at Unique and Chic so of course wanted him there, he was a huge hit. My younger brother is a flair barman (trained in the Algarve) and as well as taking care of the bar for the day, he performed a flair show which everyone loved. My business partner Jane also arranged the amazing ice cream cart for us as a surprise from her and the rest of my girl friends.”

“So many people have told us it was the best wedding they’ve ever been to, this was partly down to the setting, partly down to the unique touches, and of course down to a whole lot of love all round! The Algarve is such a wonderful place to get married- it’s so beautiful with amazing weather, and of course we know so many amazing suppliers out here, our wedding week was perfect and if we turned back time we wouldn’t change a thing!”

Thanks so much to Amelia for sharing her wedding with us, and if you’re thinking about having your destination celebration in Portugal I’d definitely recommend checking out Unique and Chic Weddings!

Planning & Decor: Unique and Chic Weddings | Photography: Blush Photography | Venue: Casa Beachcomber | Decor: Makeup & Hair: Algarve Unique and Chic Make-up | Celebrant: Portugal Wedding Ceremonies | Wedding Gown: Raimon Bundo | Ties & Boutonnieres: EW McCall | Flower Girl Dress: Kims Designs

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