Practically Royal Classic Budapest Cathedral Wedding

If you have an affinity for opulent ballrooms, ancient cathedrals, princess ballgowns & classic tradition – this Budapest wedding is for you!

Hailing from Sweden, Felicia & Fredrik had no doubt where they wanted to celebrate their wedding day. Having spent many summers in Hungary, and aware of the gorgeous grand venues the city offered, the jet-setting couple chose Budapest as the destination from the moment they were engaged in the gorgeous ancient city.

“In my dreams, my wedding would be classic and fabulous with many beautiful elements. The feeling of getting married as a real princess has been a dream since my childhood, and now we finally have the opportunity to let an old dream come true.” – Bride Felicia.

Our Love Story

We met at a concert in Sweden during the summer of 2012. The weird thing was that we had many mutual friends but had never met each other before. But suddenly, to the tones of Avicii, our eyes met and it just said, “click”.

 The proposal: We were visiting Budapest over a weekend to have a nice getaway from Stockholm and to look at some apartments which were out for sale. On the 24th of February Fredrik had booked a table for two at The Fisherman’s Bastion Restaurant (Halászbástya Étterem). The “official” idea was that we would eat there to see if it was a good location for a  conference trip for Felicia’s dad and colleagues.

During the way up the Buda mountain, to the view of the beautiful Mattias church, Felicia said: “If you ever will propose to me then this is where we will get married, just so you know…” After that, Fredrik tricked Felicia out on the balcony at the Fisherman’s Bastion and went down on one knee along with the beautiful view of Donau in the background. Then, since the location was already decided, the planning began.

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The Wedding Dress & Style

The inspiration for the wedding dress came, among other things, from Kate Middleton’s and Grace Kelly’s beautiful dresses and  ceremonies and it was important to keep many neutral colors.

The wedding bouquet consisted of lily of the valley with some mixing of other small white flowers of the season.  The bridesmaids, groom and best men got white flowers with simple green leaves in it – all for a classic touch as possible. To add some color, the bridesmaids wore powder pink and taupe-colored dresses. The table setting was classic with silver cutlery, gold details, white tablecloths and beautiful crystal glasses.

The Destination

We have always had a fondness for beautiful and unique destinations and felt that this would obviously be reflected in our wedding. With Felicia’s Hungarian roots (her father is Hungarian) we had seen during summers in Budapest what fantastic and unique premises there were in the city, which is not as common in Sweden and Stockholm. We felt that we wanted to show our wedding guests a little of Hungary’s beautiful cultural heritage.

The Venues

As soon as we got the green light from the pastor of the Mattias Church, the search for the right venue and everything around it began. Through research on the internet, we accidentally came across Ervin Szabo Library’s beautiful palace rooms, also known as the Wenckheim palace, and felt it was just right. The venue, which is today best known as the Budapest City Library, was built in 1887 and was previously a palace for Count Frigyes Wenckheim and is featuring fantastic opulence after a full reconstruction. Adorned with Neo-Baroque and Neo-Renaissance features, the ballrooms add a touch of class to events.

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The Photography

To maintain the classic feel throughout, we were looking for a wedding photographer who could shoot with a timeless feel and after much research, we found Julian, which was exactly what we were looking for. His photos were amazing and he managed to catch all the beautiful details from the wedding and its venues and we have enlarged some of the photos at home today. Many of them feel like picked from an old movie with its dramatic motifs.

In the search for a videographer, we were looking for someone who could make a “trailer” or movie and not just a typical wedding slideshow. Through a friend, we came into contact with Marcis Seners who is a filmmaker and cinematographer and who did exactly the kind of 3-minute movie we were looking for. His way of filming and cutting had the right “drama” and feel compared to what we were looking for. We were very pleased with the result! See for yourself below!

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Favorite Moments

We are both into small, personal details and love to see our friends and family have a good time. The saxophonist, who made a surprise appearance during the dinner with accompaniment from the DJ and some confetti bombs, was a fun  element that is very much “us”.

One of our favorite moments, apart from all the beautiful speeches and the wedding day itself, was when all our guests surprised us with a “Harlem shake”. It’s something we will always remember, except for the wedding of course (take a look at the final seconds of the video).

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Advice to Other Couples

Firstly, we really enjoyed planning our wedding in its smallest details, but an overseas wedding requires a lot of work, more than having a wedding at home in your own country, and above all a lot of coordination between the suppliers so that everything flows smoothly.

In retrospect, we think it would have been a little easier to have a  coordinator or wedding planner who had the overall responsibility for the days when a lot fell on us and made us not always able to relax when we wanted to. But it is also a matter of personality. We like to do it ourselves and in our own way and had a hard time letting it go to someone else – but if you can, and of course if you have the budget for it, take help from a professional!

The Honeymoon

Since we love adventures, but also wanted to unwind after a year of planning and then a hilarious celebration, we chose to combine the honeymoon with adventure and relax. The combination of travel type and going directly after the wedding is something we really recommend. Then you have time for adventure when you still have your heart rate up after the  wedding and can finish off by relaxing and reflecting on the big day.

First, it was off to Kenya for 10 days where we visited Samburu in the northern part of Kenya and stayed at the magical Sasaab Lodge. After that, we went on to Masai Mara in the southern part of the country with accommodation at the fantastic Sand River Masai Mara, located in the middle of the  reserve which meant that you lived as close as you could with nature.

Last on the Kenya trip came Nairobi and a stay at the beautiful Giraffe Manor. For those who have not heard of this  fantastic place, you live in an old English colonial villa where they today run a reserve for giraffes that for some reason have been injured and/or rescued in nature. The animals are taken to the reserve and treated to slowly re-acclimatize to the wilderness again.

Every morning, breakfast was held in a beautiful hall where the windows were open and curious giraffes came to taste pellets. The small number of people staying in the villa could then have some small interaction with the animals. What an experience!

As the tenth day came to a close, the journey continued to complete relaxation on beautiful Kanuhura in the Maldives. And what should we say – the Maldives are always the Maldives, blue water, white beaches and absolutely amazing…you will not be disappointed.