There are only a few things that are more beautiful than weddings by the sea. For Louanna’s and Haithem’s wedding in Bodrum, Turkey we brought out moody tones of the ocean by highlighting complimentary shades of blue. Louanna’s and Haithem’s story began on a yacht in Dubai, and they chose to celebrate their wedding close to the water on the Bodrum Peninsula at Cennet Koyu (Paradise Bay) Turkey.
They planned their winter wedding in Dubai but had to move it up to a summer wedding in May, in the gorgeous Bodrum, Turkey. The wedding was to happen in a contemporary and chic setting of the Mandarin Oriental, in Bodrum Turkey . So we decided to keep the invite strikingly simple with a pop of watery turquoise. Louanna fell in love with a Prêt à Papier Signature wedding map we did for one of our #pretapapier couples online and wanted us to design one especially for her to highlight why they chose this beautifully apt location, which is known as a ‘bridge between East and West’ to celebrate their wedding. It was this Mediterranean escape and a perfect meeting ground somewhere in the middle so that friends and family from both sides would be able to be a part of their special day.
Their suite was completed with a beautiful pale blue envelope to mirror the azure tones of their waterside wedding venue and the bridesmaids dresses perfectly. We also designed a custom monogram with the couples initials ‘H L”, that again mimicked the waves of the ocean and the light and airy mood of their wedding. The couple hand-stamped the envelopes with a custom monogrammed rubber stamp before sending them out to their guests. We love how everything came together so beautifully. Louanna’s wedding dress was one of the most beautiful wedding dresses we have ever seen and it was custom-made for her my the grooms family. How wonderful is that?
Their Prêt à Papier story
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The dress
Getting a custom-made dress is one of the luxuries of a wedding day and a dream of any little girl. And when she is lucky enough to have this dress made by her Groom-to be’s family, it cant get any better than that. Louanna’s couture custom made creation was designed and made by Hazar Fashion, Louanna’s mother-in-law’s company. She shared some of the stages of the making and the dress fitting of her stunning gown.
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#PretaPapier Bride Louanna’s advice for planning a wedding in a short time.
“My whole wedding was planned in 4 months! Myself and Haitham had been engaged for 1 year and we were originally planning to have the wedding in Dubai in November. After realizing that it would be easier for my side of the family to meet half way we booked the wedding in Bodrum, Turkey in May.
I have never been the type of girl to fantasize about my wedding day and the thought of planning this big day was very overwhelming. Looking back, I am glad I decided to plan the wedding in such a short space of time. I didn’t have so much time to dwell on every details and decisions were made quickly. I think if I had given myself over a year to plan I would have driven myself crazy! We planned for a small wedding with our closest friends and family and held it at the Mandarin Oriental. Our guests arrived a few days before and we planned some activities leading up to the wedding day. The day was absolutely perfect and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
- Book venues before the high season
- Don’t dwell on every detail or you will be overwhelmed.
- Enjoy every moment of your wedding day – you spend the months leading up to it thinking of nothing else, and suddenly, it is over so fast.
- Get yourself a very good bridesmaid to help with the planning – My now sister-in law was my right-hand-woman and the wedding wouldn’t have been half as perfect without her.
