Destination Wedding in Portugal with Pastel Hues

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We’re always so impressed when couples manage to put together a wedding from half way around the world. Even more so when it’s as personalised and thoughtful as this one.

Tim & Heather are a couple from Australia and the UK respectively, who live in Hong Kong and got married with a gorgeous destination wedding in Portugal. So, as you can imagine, it was an international affair!

The couple chose husband and wife duo, Ryan & Kaylea aka Married Morenos Photography to capture their Algarve bash, complete with a fun pre-wedding photo session for the girls, some slight drama with a cool vintage car, and a serious selection of cocktails.

Pairing pretty decor with stubby coolers, and elegant attire with flip flops for dancing, get lots of inspiration for your own overseas celebration, from Heather & Tim’s beautiful big day.

Our Love Story

Tim had commissioned a popular Australian artist – Aaron Favaloro – to sketch a drawing of Tim and I. Together they transformed one of our favorite photos of Tim and I into a quirky painting of me looking quite glamorous, and Tim in his Hong Kong rugby kit!

When I came home from work to our apartment, Tim had music playing, and told me he had a gift for me. Tim then gave me the painting, and whilst I was distracted by this, I turned to find Tim on one knee with the most incredible ring sparkling up at me.

I just remember grabbing Tim in a huge hug with plenty of tears flowing, until Tim asked whether that meant it was a yes… Of course it was! I couldn’t have been happier!

We then had the fun task of tracking down our family members across the world to share the good news with them.

Plenty bubbles were shared in celebration across Australia, the UK and here in Hong Kong with our closest friends. It was truly one of the most special nights of my life.

Tim and I headed to Portugal the following week, so were able to celebrate with my family then. It took us a few months to come down from our high!

Our Wedding

Being that Portugal holds such a special place in our hearts and is such a beautiful country, we wanted to share this beauty with our guests and feel that both the church and the venue captured the essence of Portugal perfectly!

Once we had added our personal touches, it took it to another level, and we were just blown away with how incredible it looked on the day!

The venue is set in the hills of Santa Barbara, in Faro, Portugal and we felt was the perfect oasis for such a special occasion.

The very pale mint was the main colour used throughout the wedding stationary, bridal party gifts, and even the wedding favours. This has always been one of my favorite colours, and feel it helped us achieve the romantic theme we were hoping for.

I loved the greys that were brought through in the foliage and berries of the flowers along with the other pastels, and loved how the touches of burlap complemented these and showcased the country theme.

Keeping with the pastel theme, the bridesmaids were in pale lilac dresses, teamed with rose gold heels and accessories. The groomsmen wore dark blue suits and pale lilac ties to complement the girls.

The Decor & Details

As Tim and I live in HK, but are originally from Australia and the UK respectively, our families and friends truly are spread across the world.

We had a world map on which we pin-pointed some of the locations we had been, this also carried through as the table names.

On the tables we had personalized cocktails that served as the name-cards for the guests. Each table had a cocktail that reflected their country. This was accompanied by a cookie in the design of a Portuguese tile which we were thrilled with!

My mum has a great eye for design and also got a little over-excited on the decorations front – much to the venue’s delight – Mum purchased boxes full of beautiful glass lanterns and trinkets for the trees which looked spectacular during the day when the sun caught them, as well by candlelight!

We had a lot of personalized items for the favours such as the stubby holders at the cocktails, flip flops for the girls to dance the night away! Homemade chutney by the Groom’s Mum – brought all the way from Australia – to go alongside the cheese.

Favourite Moments

Whilst it was equally a hiccup of the day, the classic car was definitely a special detail for me. It broke down before even making it off of the Villa’s drive on the way to the Church, and the Father of the Bride had to get out and give it a push in his wedding suit!

Two favourite moments stand out for us, the throwing of the rose petals as we left the church as husband and wife, surrounded by our closest family and friends, full of love and laughter!

The second was the cutting of the cake, which was set in a beautiful courtyard with delicate decorations in the tree, and lit up by sparklers which each of the guests were enthusiastically waving in time with one of our favourite songs – Somewhere over the Rainbow. It truly did feel magical!

Tim and I were keen to have a male/female combo so that on the day we could have one photographer with each sides of the bridal party to capture all of the special moments.

Kaylea and Ryan both went above and beyond on the day to ensure that everything ran smoothly and that Tim and I were able to relax and enjoy ourselves. Some things we noted included blowing the page boys nose, handing out rose petals to the guests, fetching the bridesmaids bouquets for them – on top of capturing our special day so perfectly!