Tell us a little about yourselves!
We are both 33 years old, living in Madrid and born in Galicia. We both work in fashion and creativity owning a Fashion Consulting Agency based in Madrid called MURPH. We own a brown dog with a pretty bad temper and flowers and the sea are both our passions.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
We planned to get married in Portugal, we visited with Román’s parents many vineyards and hotels around Lisbon and Troia. We found a spot and we booked the weekend; a month later, before it was announced we just had a walk around the Toja Island and there was a beautiful sunny day (not common for Galicia for this date). We saw the Gran Hotel de la Toja and suddenly it was clear.
All the details were planned between both of us. In some areas related to the ceremony and the hotel, Mayte, the hotel wedding planner helped us with the details.
Ceremony Space: Román's parents were married 43 years ago in the same chapel, a very small church covered in white scallop shells, unique in the world.
The entire wedding was held in the same hotel, so as not to miss a minute of enjoying friends and company. We both left the hotel and reached the ceremony site by foot. Román walked his mother down the aisle with a piano version of Mystery of Love sounded in the back. Lucía walked by her own, decided to enter alone and decisively accompanied by a Cornfield-chase version of Interstellar for the first part of the path and an acoustic version of Como un G by Rosalía to arrive at the altar. All the songs were covered on piano by our friend and composer Nico Casal.
We did not want to do a religious ceremony but we wanted to include it at some point as a tribute and tradition, so we decided to do the ceremony in front of the church so that it would be part of the environment along with the flowers and friends.
How many guests did you have?
We invited about 150 people, including family and friends. We wanted very close people with whom we could feel very free. We are both very expressive people and have surrounded ourselves with wonderful people. Even friends who live in the United States and Europe did not want to miss the party and did not hesitate to be part of this day. It is a cliché to say that the wedding is the happiest day of your life, it is until that date. It is the only date when you have everyone you love around you enjoying friendship and love. We are sure it was the happiest day of our lives up to that moment. We have many “happiest days of our lives” to come.
What was your budget?
We didn't set any limit on the figure, we had more or less all the numbers in our heads. We have been together for many years and many years imagining what we wanted to do. Naturally, what we originally imagined became something completely different. We decided to do everything in the same hotel to focus all the services and all the moments of the wedding under the responsibility of a single person. Mayte was by our side at all times, responding to everything we needed.
Tell us about your outfits.
Lucía: My dress was finally a Vera Wang. It wasn't my initial idea, I wanted something a little more romantic and lighter. Months before the wedding, our agency was working on a project with Pronovias and we did a photo-shooting with that same dress. The model wore it very differently than how I saw it later in the store, with the short skirt and floor-length rhinestones. When it was time to try on models, I only saw a glimpse of the dress, from a distance, hanging. I tried it on and the rest of the ideas I had in my head disappeared. It was that dress, its vintage cut and the rhinestones reminded me of Toja, it had personality, sleeves and a cut that fit my body very well. Above all, it was a dress with a lot of drama, something I can't escape.
Obviously the drama needs a long veil, falling over the face to which I added the same headdress that my mother wore at her wedding. The eighties touch with pearls and fabric flowers combined perfectly.
Román: Inspired by an archival Dior suit, the suit was custom-made by Borja, a well known tailor in Madrid. It was a challenge for him and also a new project, very different from the rest of the wedding suits. With a “flap” that crossed the jacket almost to the back and the slightly wider pants.
Shoes: Lucía: I was clear about the shoes from the beginning, they would be Nodaleto. Although the chosen model changed, I decided on some very tall and very comfortable silver ones. I didn't take them off until the wedding was over.
Román: In addition to the suit, the shoes had to have a lot of personality. I found some Eytys that redrawn the classic silhouette of the Castilians with a brutalist touch. With a square heel and overflowing at the back.
We both thought about changing our wardrobe for the party but we liked our suits so much that we didn't want to change, in fact we saw them months after the wedding and we really wanted to wear them again.
Engagement Ring: It was one of the most beautiful experiences. I bought the ring at an auction after searching all the jewelry stores in Madrid. There were very nice options but they all lacked drama, they lacked Lucía. When I saw the ring in Ansorena I thought I had to get it no matter what. It was my first auction and hopefully there were only three other people bidding on it and it may win with my last bid. It is a yellow gold ring with a flower setting from the beginning of the century with a central dark blue sapphire and diamonds around it.
Wedding Rings: Before the wedding, we both got a red tattoo on our fingers as a wedding ring, we didn't want to wait any longer to wear it. On the day of the wedding we exchanged simple wedding rings, with a rounded finish and very light. We made both at a jewelry store that is a close friend of Lucía's family, using gold from both families, mismatched earrings from our grandmothers, pendants from when we were little, and some old rings from Román's parents. Now in addition to our rings, we carry with us a little of our families.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
We both work in our own agency, we organize shootings, events and campaigns daily, so we took it as another project. It is very important to spend time on all the details, ask friends who have gotten married and not leave anything up in the air with the suppliers. Every week we dedicate a morning to having a coffee and making a status of the project. We can't help it, it's how we are. We assigned tasks so that each one could take care of their area of expertise. Our advice is to inform yourself and ask a lot, any doubt has to be resolved no matter how small it may be.
For the wedding ceremony we wanted something very ours and that would transmit to all the guests the affection, love, friendship and intensity of a day that is so important to us. Our friend Marta, was in charge of welcoming all the guests and introducing the speeches of our friends. On the family side, our sisters Carmen and Ángela were in charge of telling anecdotes about all this time growing up together. Alba on Lucía's part and Max on Román's part represented the friends who accompanied us during our youth and who today, although they live many hours away by plane, are as close as if we were neighbors. On their part, Adri and Almu made a joint speech plenty of humor.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
Flowers were essential, we wanted flowers everywhere. We also wanted the hotel, the sea and nature to be part of the ceremony; so much, that during the cocktail many guests did not hesitate to take off their shoes and get into the water.
We met Elena from Médula Flor in winter and told her the vision we had for the flower assembly. We wanted them to be the protagonists, that there were only flowers. We liked the idea of naturalistic landscaping, making it look like flowers were growing around us naturally. Furthermore, all the flowers had more than one use. Elena and her team created an altar that embraced us during the ceremony, then they moved the entire structure to the large dining room where they surrounded the piano with flowers.
We also placed some vases with conceptual arrangements supported on huge plaster columns, in the center of the pier for the cocktail party. The next day, the guests who stayed at the hotel were able to take the flowers, many of which we still have even today, pressed into books.
Stationery: We are both dedicated to creativity and fashion, from the first moment we were very clear about the creative direction of the wedding. We chose a vintage touch combined with minimalism. The wedding invitations were the most complicated of all, we designed a fabric patch, embroidered with the ceremony information in a pastel blue attached to a card. On the island of La Toja, shells are very important, so we decided that the paper would have a pearl finish to pay homage to the island. We also added a 70s-style drawing of the hotel to put on the back.
Makeup (Bride): I spent the morning with my girlfriends, we had breakfast on the terrace and we lost track of time. When the photographers arrived we had to hurry up! They made my hair and makeup so simple and natural. I realized that I wanted to see the photos in a couple of years and recognize myself, I didn't want to appear anything other than my everyday self.
Catering + Beverages: Food at Galician weddings is usually very important since the product is of the best quality. Normally wedding meals tend to last for hours but we didn't want to waste the time of dancing and partying. We decided to shorten the traditional menu and make it a little more our own.
Cake: Although we would have loved to cut the cake with a sword, we decided to change it for a simple dessert of cheesecake with mango ice cream. We didn't want to be left without a show so we set up two champagne towers so that everyone could toast again. For the party, we hired a cart from Bico de Xeado, some artisanal and natural ice creams from the area for an open bar of cheesecake ice cream, mango, chocolate, etc.
Entertainment: We found an amazing Cuban-style music trio for appetizer time. It was the best welcome for the guests who arrived at the pier a little hot from the ceremony. At first the guests were a little shy but they ended up singing and dancing around the band.
A touch of Toja Island: On Toja Island, there has always been a group of artisan women who make jewelry and small pieces with shells from the area, they are called Colareiras. Every year we pay them a visit to buy the latest earrings, necklaces and ornaments. We wanted everyone to take a part of the island with them, so we hired a colareira to make earrings, necklaces and decorations for the boys' suits.
Any tips for couples getting married?
The wedding has to be a reflection of the personality of each person and both of them. Many times we want to please our families and incorporate something that does not convince us. You have to be true to yourself, you are only getting married for the first time once in your life!
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Photographer: Petit de la Crème Photo & Design Definitely the wisest decision we took. Gentle, professional and kind. They are one of a kind; if we get married a second time we will totally count on them.
Photographer: Petit de la Crème @petitdelacreme | Planning: Murph @murph.eu | Flora:
Médula Flor @_medula_ | Ceremony + Reception Location: Gran Hotel de la Toja @granhotellatoja | Celebrant: friend of the couple Marta Aguilar | Ice Cream: Bico de Xeado @bicodexeado | Stationery:
@gucci | Shoes: Nodaleto (Lucía) @nodaleto & Eytys (Román) @eytys | Románs Eearring: Laura Armengol @laur.armengol