Finca Monasterio was the setting for Emily and Alex’s personalized non-religious wedding ceremony in Spain, which was full of love, laughter and lots of happy tears. Read on to learn more about it.
I first met Emily and Alex back in 2019 when they came over for a venue visit of Finca Monasterio with their wedding planners Optimum Weddings. I also had the bonus of meeting their parents too, who had come over with them. I always love meeting parents!
Being a wedding planner herself Emily had lots of ideas about how she wanted her wedding and having had some experiences of celebrant-led weddings through her clients they had a good idea of what they wanted for their ceremony.
They said:
“We love the fact you provide a questionnaire for us to complete, and that we can get guidance and ideas with our vows. We have briefly discussed writing our own but were put off by not knowing where to start! Your approach to this sounds great. The biggest thing (which I know every couple must say) is that we want our ceremony to feel applicable to us, something relaxed but of course very special….also something that our guests haven’t heard 100 times before, so a personally written ceremony would suit us well.”
And that’s exactly what I delivered and it was so much fun to do because Emily and Alex were so much fun to work with.
The venue
Alex and Emily absolutely adored Finca Monasterio and their extensive gardens, surrounded by nature were the perfect setting for their intimate and heartfelt wedding ceremony. The Malaga Minister team is so lucky to get to work at Finca Monasterio and we’re so thrilled to carry out celebrant-led wedding ceremonies there, year in, year out.
As the guests were seated, I got Alex to take his place with me at the front, his best man and his two nephews who were his ushers. I’m not going to lie, but the August heat was hot hot hot! So we all did our best to find some shade as we waited for Emily and her bridal party to make their way down for the ceremony. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait too long! And can I just say, huge applause for Emily and Alex for making their ceremony an unplugged one, meaning no phones or cameras, just eyes and ears. I loved announcing this message before the ceremony got underway! It really makes a difference when guests are 100% present in the moment and not fiddling with devices.
Ceremony highlights
As I already mentioned, Emily and Alex were so keen to inject themselves and their personalities into their wedding ceremony at Finca Monasterio and they really nailed their own brief.
After Emily and her dad had entered, accompanied by stunning singing by Zoe Louise, I started off by welcoming all of their guests and really giving everyone a moment to appreciate just how special this day truly was. The fact that the wedding was not only just taking place during a pandemic but that there had already been numerous date changes to get to that point. Alex and Emily really had been on such an emotional rollercoaster to get to their wedding day, so that in itself neede acknowledging.
Both of Alex’s sisters did readings during the ceremony, which they read so confidently and beautifully ( I know they were a bit nervous beforehand but I told them they would smash it and they really did!).
I also told the story of how Emily and Alex met and also how Alex proposed to Emily too. It was such a funny story and it was so nice for their friends and family to have an insight into this part of their life, especially those who perhaps had never heard the full story before.
A romantic hand-tying
For their hand-tying ceremony, Emily and Alex supplied a beautiful ribbon, which added to the occasion. I do love taking couples through this experience of holding their hands together during the ceremony and having that wonderful connection during such a powerful moment of the wedding ceremony. (Learn more about hand-tyings and hand-fastings here)
The wedding vows
I am so pleased that Emily and Alex preserved and used all the resources and guidance that I made available to them for writing their personal wedding vows, because they really were amazing. And I loved that they used one of the techniques that I suggested where they said their vows alternately. They wrote six short paragraphs each, a mixture of funny and more serious ones, and then took turns to read each paragraph. This is such a lovely way to do your vows as a couple, and its also super handy if one or both of you are a little shy, because doing them together helps to make you feel more confident. I also loved that they wrote their vows down in two pretty vow booklets which always are a nice way to present vows (rather than on your mobile phone!). They both read them so brilliantly and confidently and managed to break through the lumps in their throats to get their words out. They might have avoided the tears but no-one else did! It really was such a special moment.
And after wrapping up the ceremony, Emily and Alex made their way through to Finca Monasterio’s cool (cool in all senses!) courtyard where they could get some relief from the sun and mingling and chat with their friends and family.
Do I have the best job in the world? Yes, I do. Do we get the best coupes ever? Yes we do! Thank you so much Emily and Alex. You were an absolute dream to work with.
If you’re interested in me or anyone of the Malaga Minister team leading a fabulous, heartfelt, fun wedding ceremony at Finca Monasterio or any other venue, then get in touch, right away. Fill in the contact form below. We can’t wait to hear from you. You can meet the team here too.
The Wedding Crew
Planning: @optimum_weddings
Photographer: Cecelina Tornberg @cecelinatornberg
Celebrant: @malagaminister
Videographer: @reeceivesonvideography
Stationer: @pingle_pie
Flowers: @uniquebyrobertosilvosa
Hair: @alexbridal
Make up: @nicolamcgeorge
Dress: @annabridal / @suzanneneville
Band: @droptopsduo // @chemicalmambo
Sax: @guillesaxo
Singer: @zoelouisemusic
Venue: @fincamonasterio
Shoes: @loefflerrandall