On Saturday 27th of August 2022, Charlie and I tied the knot after being engaged for more than 2 years. What we lived that day – and the week leading to it – were some of the most magical days of our lives.

Charlie is English and I am Spanish, so the first question was around location. Since we live in London, and are here for most of the year’s key events (Christmas, birthdays etc.), we thought it would be a nice gesture to do it in Spain. As great organisers, we created an Excel of venues that met our two requirements: It had to be a historical property and it needed to have had a refurbishment. The idea of a ruin brought to life by an architect has always been our dream, and we hope to achieve this together in the future.

We ended up choosing the first venue we visited, a ruined castle from the 12th century that played an important part in Spanish history. In 1808 during the War of Spanish Independence the castle was taken by the French who looted its lavish interiors and seriously damaged it. On top of that, it and was further devastated by fire in the 1830s and consequently abandoned until 1964. Architect José Luis Picardo led the restoration that brought the building back to life as a Parador in 1978.

Sigüenza is a delightful medieval city known for its cathedral, castle and university. It only made sense to design a dress that would reflect its architectural legacy. Alejandra Svarc made my dream come true. Two styles were embedded in her creation: Romanesque (sturdiness, semi-circular arches) and Gothic (Light and transparency). The other lines of the dress where inspired by the Cathedral’s main facade and its two prominent towers.

We got dressed at The Parador, where our families were staying and where we celebrated dinner. Charlie had a tailored-made suit from Lander Urquijo, Sumaya El Amrani was in charge of make-up and hair and Rafael Gares in charge of flowers.

Our colour is burgundy. Back in November 2019, Charlie proposed with a beautiful watch. As an architect, I don’t have many jewels and never wear rings. Watches, however, are my weakness for they fulfil the form and function principle. They are one of the few jewels that have a purpose. The strap is burgundy and, since then, all my accessories have been that colour.

The bouquet had burgundy tones and Proteas as the main flower. On the other hand, I used English Pear & Freesia from Jo Malone, a British perfumer.

The only jewels I wore besides the rings were the watch and a pair earrings from Charlie’s mum Alison, which she gifted to me.

The burgundy sandals from Spanish firm Mariela were a gift from my best friend Teresa.

Charlie got ready with his mother, father and best man. He wore Royal Air Force-inspired cufflinks borrowed from his older brother James.

We got married in a jewel of a building, the Catedral de Santa María de Sigüenza, a 12th century cathedral with Romanesque origins, Gothic elements and Renaissance ornamentation added at a later date. It took me a while to explain that our priest Jesus had a very common name in Spanish (Jesus is marrying you?).

Marriage – the beginning of a family – is a life-long commitment. For us, it has a deep meaning and we wanted to be prepared for it. We completed our marriage course at Westminster Cathedral in London and were lucky to be guided by great priests. Thank you Father Peter, Father Brian and Dean Jesus. The longer course provided the space to slowly navigate the questions and insights, and we can’t recommend this enough.

Trio ConCuerda and the fantastic soprano Elvira put the music to the ceremony and cocktail. This amazing group was trained in classical music and you could appreciate this fact – even when playing contemporary songs – by how tuned and professional they were. We had a million calls to discuss the songs so wasn’t really paying attention to the music at the cathedral. Then my mum turned to me at the religious service and said that the music was beautiful, so beautiful that she became teary and it really hit me.

Page boys (our nephew and Charlie’s cousin) wore a matching outfit from El Corte Ingles brand Coconut.

Our little red car, brought to Spain through France, provided a road trip adventure besides the wedding day. This 1970s MG Midget has been our pandemic car, our fun companion when we temporarily lived in Bath and more recently, our source of many joys and sorrows.

Cocktail and reception were hosted at the Parador de Sigüenza. The former Castle of the Bishops of Sigüenza dates back to the 5th century, it was extended by the Moors and retaken for the Christians by Bernard of Agen in 1123. In 1298, the castle was taken by the troops of Alfonso de la Cerda during the battle against Ferdinand IV of Castile, the boy king, but was defended by the bishop’s vassals.

The cocktail took place in the main courtyard of the castle, dinner in the Throne Room and the party at Dona Blanca Room. Tables were named after our favourite buildings across the world such as the Hancock Tower, Metropolis building and The Circus. I hand drew all stationery and favours.

We had a traditional Spanish-English wedding so we did the napkin entrance, best man speech and bouquets with mixed styles. Our favours though, were something personal to us and something very dear in Spanish culture: Olive oil. Charlie has become a fan of good olive oil and aperitivos.

Traditionally in Spain, the bride gifts smaller bouquets to the brides to be. My sister (not engaged) received the first one and my best friend from school Elena received another one despite her opposition to marriage. My sister-in-law Izzy who is getting married in a month and my London friend Laura who will get married next year received another one too.

After dinner, I changed to an evening dress, a lot more simple and light so I could dance the night away. Charlie chose our song, Perfect by Ed Sheeran, which is a favourite of my mum too.

We began the party with saxophonist Pedro and drummer Pino and DJ Juan kept us dancing until 4:30 am when the party finished.

All photos were captured by Victor, our wonderful photographer and his team and Standby Film captured everything on video.

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You can check all locations of Siguenza on the map below.