Vera and Damián were married in their own attic flat in Barcelona. Vera’s dad officiated the ceremony and they decorated the space themselves with things they already had, and items bought from flea markets. This was a truly DIY wedding with the focus on the ceremony and the meaning it held for them and their families.
“We wanted to have a very small wedding, very cosy and intimate, surrounded by our dearest friends and family”, wrote the bride. “The idea was to celebrate and to have a great party. We looked into venues but everything was geared towards huge gatherings and large amounts of money, which we didn’t feel comfortable with. We decided to celebrate our wedding at home, on our terrace. It was unique in the sense that it was extremely relaxed, the idea was to have fun.”
“Our parents all met for the first time just three days before the wedding”, she continued. “My parents live in Canada and Damián’s in Argentina. Everyone got along magnificently, of course, but it was a bit nerve-wrecking beforehand.”
“We created almost every decorative element for our wedding. We bought cream-coloured fabric and rigged the canopy for the terrace. We also made the ceremony backdrop and all the bunting. In general, we tried to rely on our skills and our friends’ skills to ensure a truly homemade wedding. My Mom made the crochet doilies. We even painted the action figures ourselves.”
“My favourite part of the wedding was them ceremony”, she said. “It was incredibly special. My Dad did a wonderful job officiating, our vows were funny and heart-wrenching, everyone was in giggles and tears. It was perfect. Damián also said he loved the ceremony the most but he also loved the band and having a good dance with everyone.”
“Our biggest expense was the catering. We had a lunch and an evening meal for our guests, plus loads of drinks from the neighbourhood bodega. More than a third of our budget was swallowed by food and drinks! However we saved money by having the wedding at our own house and by making all the decorations ourselves. We also asked friends to help out with the wedding itself instead of receiving gifts.”
“I think the only thing we would do differently would be to have less food!” the bride concluded. “It was really hot during the day and there was quite a bit of food leftover that was simply thrown away, which was a pity! Our advice to other couples would just be to sit down and enjoy time with your guests. I had read numerous bits of advice insisting on having a good time and I did!”
“We love that we had a small wedding. There were just 35 people during the day and 10 more in the evening. Anything over 50 people is just too much. We also strongly recommend sticking to your guns and not inviting people out of obligation. This applies to family members and friends. We only invited people that are part of our daily life, it was perfect and intimate.”
