This Couple Hosted a Pool Party Following Their Elegant Wedding in Mallorca, Spain

Charlotte and Nick are Australian and currently reside in London, but Mallorca, Spain, was the ideal spot for the couple to celebrate their wedding. A laid-back vibe, inspired by Spanish fiesta, is what the couple imagined for their nuptials and the duo even included a post-wedding pool party to help bring their vision to life. "We chose Spain and in particular the Balearics as the location for our wedding as we love the laid back and rustic Spanish style—both architecturally and in terms of food and drink. Nick spent his summer holidays as a child going to Spain and so it holds special memories and familiarity," shares Charlotte. "The Spanish have a way of hosting outsiders in the most charming way and very simple surroundings can feel warm and familiar especially when lovingly made, exceptionally tasty Spanish food is provided. We had no specific theme for our wedding—asking guests to dress in summer cocktail attire with no formal requirement for jackets or ties—and all credit for the style and color palette for the wedding must go to our amazing planners, Mille Papillon. We enjoyed our stunning wedding day with our 120 guests at a finca in Mallorca. It was everything we could have dreamed of. As we were dragging Australians and Brits to Mallorca, we wanted to ensure that we spent quality time with each person. Therefore, we made the easy decision to bring all 120 guests back to the finca the following day and hosted a pool party!" 

When it came to decor and achieving their dream aesthetic, the couple relied heavily on local artisans and letting the locale inform their design direction. "Spain has a booming creative industry, and there is no shortage of impressive local designers and products. We absolutely loved the neutral, natural tones used throughout as it matched our taste completely as well as the venue, a 16th-century finca north of Palma, Mallorca. The decor for the wedding was understated yet flaunted such impressive attention to detail—from the table settings, to the lights, to the flowers meticulously placed around the venue. It was simply beautiful everywhere. We invested in a neon sign which now hangs proudly in our London apartment!" 

Beyond drawing on the locale to inform their wedding, it was also important to Charlotte and Nick that their wedding feel unique to them as a couple. "We felt like our wedding totally encapsulated us as a couple and was full of moments that meant that the day was undeniably ours," says Charlotte. "Untraditionally, both of Charlotte’s parents walked her down the aisle, leading her to the celebrant, her younger brother, Louis. Louis provided the guests with heart-warmingly hilarious anecdotes about us. We wrote our own set of vows separately for the ceremony. The words we spoke to each other matched the other's vows completely (there was a strong theme of food intertwined throughout!) We felt that having Louis marry us and writing our vows totally personalized our wedding ceremony and guests felt that they’d been given greater insight into our relationship." Charlotte and Nick didn't only personalize their wedding ceremony, the reception was also all about them and getting to spend uninterrupted time with guests. "For us, it was important for the wedding to be filled with long, uninterrupted moments of our guests interacting, so we decided against punctuating and pausing these moments with wedding cakes and first dances. By the time we all hit the dance floor, everyone was great mates! We are both social butterflies and a wedding day was never going to be enough time with our nearest and dearest. Hosting a pool party was an obvious decision for us once we saw the pool the finca offered and the day was epic! We had friends DJing all day from a landing overlooking the pool and the Cutting Edge came back and catered the party with endless sangria and paella. Again, the party just couldn’t stop there. The day after the pool party, 40 of our friends caught planes and boats to join us in Ibiza to celebrate our Buddymoon for 5 nights!" 

Given that Charlotte and Nick chose to tie the knot in a country known for impeccable cuisine, it's no surprise their wedding menu was top notch. "One of the foundations of our relationship is our mutual love of food and so the moments surrounding the dinner were the most special to us. One of the main reasons we chose Finca Es Cabas for our venue was the incredibly beautiful internal courtyard where a candlelit intimate dinner could be held. Our wedding planners had suggested different catering options and we were drawn to The Cutting Edge Mallorca whose style is rustic sharing plates that speak volumes for Spanish ingredients and cuisine. We were adamant to have sharing plates instead of individual courses for guests to suit the long table settings and to evoke a family and intimate feel. Delicious plates including Dorada a la Mallorquina (fillet of sea bream with roasted almonds, cherry tomatoes, sultanas, spinach and herbs), beef fillet with rosemary garlic and Honey glaze, crispy summer slaw packed with oranges and mint from nearby town Soller, of course, Padron peppers and locally sourced grilled prawns. The time surrounding the meal where we were able to slowly speak with all of our guests while everyone was laughing and celebrating together around these enormous long tables full to the brim with good food and wine was the most special moment of all. We also enlisted The Cutting Edge to make the most amazing seafood, veggie and vegan paellas to be served throughout the pool party the following day. We couldn’t have been happier with our choice of catering and the quality of food and drink given to our guests," recalls Charlotte. 

Looking back on the wedding, Charlotte shares that, "as cliché as it sounds, the entirety of the day was filled with special moments, and so it’s difficult to pin point one. Of course, the relaxed ceremony in front of all the people we hold dear which was lead by our fantastic celebrant and brother will be one of the most special and memorable moments. We loved when our speeches were done, we looked around the magnificent venue and saw all our guests from different parts of the world getting along, almost arm-in-arm, laughing and having a great time. The wedding was as much about our guests as it was about us. It was our chance to celebrate with everyone who has shaped our relationship." 

As for advice for current to-be-weds, the couple has this to share: "Don’t over-plan your wedding and don’t feel as though you have to fill every single moment of the day. The energy of the day is organically driven by who is present, so focus on the things that mean a lot to you and the connections you have with your friends and family. For us that was the food, music, photographer, our vows and speeches and a party atmosphere at the end. Our photographer was incredible. Echoes and Wild Hearts is not your typical/conventional wedding photographer. He did everything we could have possibly wanted. He captured all the emotions, the laughs, the wonderfully quirky scenes, our family and friends in action, and the most incredible bride and groom shots! And he did all of this discreetly throughout the day, without taking us away from our guests for very long at all. Our amazing wedding planners, Mille Papillion, took care of the rest. The most special part of your wedding is the fact that the closest people in your life are all in one place to celebrate with you. Certain things that might seem important to you during the planning process, like agonizing over the wine and cutlery selections, are a distraction. Let the experts do what they do best!"