Design + Extras

REAL BIJOU BRIDE- DASHA’S ELEGANT RUSSIAN WEDDING

After all the fantastic workshops at SNAP Photography Festival I have a new respect for the art of Wedding photography. Today’s elegant Russian Wedding of Dasha and Kostya was captured by Alina Valitova who has such a timelessly romantic photography style.

I wonder how many of you can relate to this bride’s story “When me and my future husband met, I knew he had had some bad relationships which meant he didn’t have high hopes to find a true, real love. I knew I’d make him believe in this L-word. Two years later he, in such a cute manner, proposed to me and we began preparing for the Big Day straightaway.” Adorable.

WEDDING STYLE

Although the day has a real timeless elegance Dasha and Kostya “didn’t want the wedding to be pompous. We wanted it to be something simple, cozy and easy-going. However, even the simplest wedding requires so much work. I knew I had to find a person to help me organise everything and that person was Julia at July Event. She was the most responsible girl I’ve ever met and helped me make my ideas come alive.”

Finding the right venue for their celebrations wasn’t so easy. “We’d almost lost hope of finding somewhere when we visited Mary Jane Bar. A two-storey restaurant on the bank of the Moscow River with a backyard, rooftop terrace with blooming grape vines and really delicious food. The interior of the restaurant looks more like a loft with red bricks and high ceilings. I loved it. The contrast of something rough and delicate was perfect.”

THE DETAILS

Those easy-going wishes continued with every detail from the alternative guest book to brown paper wrapped plant favors. You’ll notice a theme of plants, flowers and rustic brown paper touches.

“We found a company that provided decorating services called Twig me. I explained what we wanted the venue to be green with grass and flowers as well as shining with many lights. So we had a lawn on the terrace and on the windowsills. Flowers were everywhere, lightbulbs were hanging under the ceiling and it was really beautiful!”

BRIDAL STYLE

The wedding dress took a long time for Dasha to find but when she did stumble across this Casablanca dress it was love at first sight. Accessorised with Christian Louboutin nude pumps.

The elegant up do and natural look make up were created by the talented hands of stylist Natalia Silver. “Natalia is like sunshine to me, I love not just what she does but how she does it too!”

FILM

It is so important to find the right photographer to capture your Wedding day and Dasha sums up why perfectly. “Days come and go and your memories tend to fade away so a photographer is the one to let your memories live forever. I knew I wanted Alina to capture our wedding just as soon as I saw her Instagram. I didn’t have to think twice. Bright, emotional and at the same time tender, her photography style was exactly what I wanted.”

WORDS OF WISDOM

Over to the beautiful Dasha “We are happy we made friends with real professionals and great people at the same time. Honestly, it was not about the dress, the shoes, the music or the flowers. It was about the people who surrounded us that day, the atmosphere they created, their glowing smiles and sparkling eyes, their hugs and words. It was all about them.”