What a Welcome

A couple of months ago I told you about a wedding I designed and produced in Spain.  It was an amazing weekend and each element was designed in a way to give guests a unique taste of the Rioja Wine Region.

While every aspect of this wedding was special, the welcome dinner that I produced at the Ysios Winery in Laguardia Spain was really spectacular yet touching in that it was the first gathering of a very special circle of family and friends who had made the long journey to celebrate this union.

Designed by Santiago Calatrava, the main building of the Ysios Winery is truly amazing.  It is hard to believe that in this remote region of Spain there are two awe inspiring structures by renown architects within eyeshot of each other.  The other is the Hotel Marques de Riscal designed by Frank Gehry.

Since wedding guests had just traveled a long distance to reach El Ciego, we arranged transportation for everyone to get from the host hotel, the Hotel Marques de Riscal, to Ysios.  This allowed everyone to have a carefree evening and really enjoy the amazing for a scenery.  The winery has a very dramatic entrance pathway through the vineyard that I thought would be great for guests to experience so we took advantage of this and dropped guests off at the end of the path so they could experience the walk to the main building.

When guests reached the winery they were invited for cocktails into the dramatic wine room.  Surrounded by countless barrels of wine in an amazing setting it was a truly wonderful way to begin the dinner.

  

Also upon entering, guests were treated to some tremendous food provided by Marisol Arriaga Catering of Logrono, Spain.  Marisol also has a restaurant in Logrono and, if you ever happen to be in the area, you have to stop for lunch or dinner.  The food is wonderful!

After cocktails guests were escorted upstairs to another beautiful room with massive windows overlooking the winery on one side and the barrel room on the other.  Due to the intimate nature of this gathering, all guests were seated at one long table.  Another benefit of the long table is that none of the guests had their back to the windows so everyone could take advantage of the view.

To decorate the room I wanted something very natural and simple.  I used white glass containers filled with olive branches to create a look that was perfect for the simple beauty of this room.  The best part is that the client had no idea what to expect and they loved it.

Overall it was a wonderful evening with the Grooms and their guests raving about the beautiful setting and amazing food.  It truly was the perfect way to begin this magical weekend.

Of course I have to thank all of the people in Spain who helped me make this happen.  Special thanks to Sylvia and the staff of Ysios Winery, Marisol Arriaga for the catering, everyone at Eventus in Logrono who put together all of the floral and decor and Ana Pedrero from the Hotel Marques de Riscal who was our communication expert in coordinating all elements of the weekend.  And I cannot forget Charles and Jennifer of Maring Visuals out of New York and their brilliant photography.

Until next time....

Cheers

A great find in Laguardia, Spain

As many of you have read in recent posts on Facebook and Twitter, I recently had the privilege of producing and designing a wedding in the wine country of Northern Spain.  The experience was so special that I will be devoting several blog posts to this destination wedding, giving you some insight into not only the wedding but into this beautiful region of Spain.

I want to start by introducing you to a great hotel and restaurant that I experienced in the medieval walled city of Laguardia.  As Laguardia was very close to the wedding venue I had several chances to visit and experience the charm of the town and the warmth of the people.  Unfortunately, it was not until the last visit that I was introduced to Hospederia de Los Parajes, a charming hotel with an amazing restaurant in the center of town.

Thanks to the recommendation of Yolanda, our wonderful Maitre d' in the wine bar of the Hotel Marques de Riscal, we made reservations for dinner at Los Parajes.  Upon arriving we were warmly greeted by the restaurant owner who proceeded to give us the grand tour of the facilities which she was rightly very proud of.  Unfortunately, she spoke only Spanish, and my high school Spanish is a bit lacking, so we enlisted the help of our amazing colleague Ana Belen Pedrero who served as the translator.  Our tour took us through not only the hotel, restaurant and a gift shop that should not be missed, but also the 15th century wine vaults that are located beneath the hotel and continue under the town square. It was fascinating!

We finished the tour with a spectacular meal in the town square as the sun was setting and the people of the town were enjoying a warm, beautiful evening.  Truly a one of a kind experience in a magical place.  

So if you ever happen to be in this area of Spain, or are planning a destination wedding, I definitely recommend Hospederia de Los Parajes as a great hotel for guests and a perfect venue for a rehearsal or welcome dinner. 

I have so much more to share and cannot wait to write the next blog about all of my experiences planning the destination wedding in Spain.

Until next time...

Cheers.