Katja & Fabian

This might just be the perfect antidote to the mini heat wave we're currently experiencing in the UK. We're off to snowy Bavaria, for the cosiest of weddings in an Alpine cafe with gorgeous Katja and Fabian, a couple who are clearly head over heels for each other. Katja wears a Truvelle gown with the prettiest sequinned bodice, it's perfect for a Winter wedding and looks so beautiful against the white pine backdrop. Their first look is just so sweet too, I can't stop looking at the pair twirling around in the snow, it's a magical scene. Images come from Soul Season Photography, whose images I've been swooning over all day. And Stefanie shoots internationally, so if you fall for her style, do get in touch.

The Bride

Katja The Bride: I knew I didn’t want one of those shiny white dresses. On Instagram I discovered Victoria Rüsche, a bridal boutique in Cologne, and the designer Truvelle from Canada. I fell in love with the dress right away. She has a very special boutique and the dress emphasised my favourite body parts, waist and arms. Also, I loved the pastel tones of the dress. I immediately felt comfortable and like in a costume. The necklace by “By Boe” I’ve had for a while and thought it was very appropriate for the day as it consists of two rings that interlock like the two of us, which are firmly connected together.

The Groom

Fabian had already had very good experiences with the suits of Tiger of Sweden and the shoes of Hudson. The cuts are perfect and very ruffled, so that one also remains true to its style on the special day and feels very comfortable. We were looking for a tie that suited my dress in many shops and did not find it, so that in the end, a very chic tailor helped us.

The Venue

We were worried - we had looked at a lot of venues to find the right one. In the end it was a single one. After a skiing holiday, the idea came up to marry in the snow in the winter, because we are enthusiastic about winter sports and wanted to have something different from all the summer weddings. I saw the cafe in a blog and after a visit, we both immediately realised that it was just the right one. We did not want to see anything else. It has something quite cozy with a fireplace but at the same time very modern and minimalistic. The staff were super friendly from the first minute. I can only recommend to choose a location with people with chemistry. We were asked by guests if the staff were our friends because we seemed so familiar. This is insanely important.

The Decor

Since it was a winter wedding, we wanted delicate blue/grey tones. This goes from the Save The Date card to the thank you card. We were very lucky with my sister Maria being a very creative and talented calligrapher and artist (wort:pracht). She designed wonderful invitation cards for us in a grey/blue tone matching the season on handmade paper. We had a rough idea and she did it perfectly. She did a great job already causing anticipation about the mountains in our invitations. In addition there was a hand-drawn map with all the important information. It was really fun to coordinate every little thing with her. Each envelope was lovingly hand-written by her. You should definitely work on all the paper goods from start to finish with one person. She adapted the invitations, also the name badges on beautiful grey paper as well as the menu cards with cute little snowflakes. The beauty was that it snowed on our day uninterruptedly. She even designed our engraving for the rings in calligraphy for the goldsmith. So the style goes through the entire stationery and that was of course also recognised by our guests. We have been told by so many guests that they are the most beautiful invitations they have ever seen. With wortpracht creative studio, you will receive a handmade service with love, in which Maria supports you with a lot of creativity and as much room for your own ideas. For the flower decoration we chose my beloved eucalyptus and the roses and small flowers matching my dress. Otherwise, there was plenty of wood matching the location.

The Ceremony

It meant a lot to me that my father had walked me down the aisle and “handed me over” to Fabian with touching words. Both had tears in their eyes. The son of my cousin played on the piano 'All of Me' by John Legend. The officiant made it very personal and took our history into consideration. In the end, we all sang together because it’s very connecting.

The Entertainment

Actually, the unplanned incidents were the funniest and most entertaining. The day before the wedding it started snowing heavily, so it snowed all night and day. It was quite an adventure to get the ceremony and we weren’t sure if we and everyone else would make it on time. (We all did.) For the photo shoot we had picked some spots the day before that we couldn’t reach anymore because there was snow up to our waists, so we had to become quite creative to even get to the beautiful spots. The guys started stamping down the snow to make a path. They looked like they were doing some kind of bush dance. ☺ Then the shuttle that was going to take the guests to the venue got stuck in the snow, so they had to hike all the way through the snow all dressed up. A nice surprise was the long sparklers at the end of the day.

The Food

We did not want a greasy buttered cake, but a light and fruity one. The confectioner has turned our wish for a naked cake perfectly and conjured delicious fruits despite the cold season. During the meal, it was important to us to offer regional Bavarian cuisine, which is generally very heavy. So we also offered salads and fish with vegetables.

The Photography

We are great fans of Stefanie, who we knew from my sister. Her pictures capture so many emotions and we love how she plays with the focus and the blurry background. Above all, the pictures are so natural, as if we did not know we were being photographed. What we particularly liked was that she invested a lot of time beforehand, to get to know us and the location. She took a look at the most beautiful spots the day before and we did a pre-wedding shooting the day before, which has created additional trust and the easiness you can see in the pictures.