In the heart of Sweden’s picturesque southern coastline, where rolling waves meet rugged cliffs, two souls from diverse corners of the world embarked on a journey of love that would lead them to the enchanting Smygehuk Lighthouse. Julia and Tommy, an international couple with Swedish, Swiss, Thai, and Chinese roots, chose this stunning location as the backdrop for their unforgettable wedding day.
Their love story transcended borders and cultures, a testament to the power of love that knows no boundaries. Friends and family from around the globe gathered to witness and celebrate this union, turning this day into a beautiful tapestry of diverse backgrounds and shared love.
As we delve deeper into Julia and Tommy’s enchanting wedding journey, we invite you to join us in reliving the magic of this multicultural celebration of love and found its true home in the heart of Sweden.
Where did you get married?
Smygehuk Lighthouse in Trelleborg, Sweden
Why did you choose to get married at Smygehuk Lighthouse?
Although we are a very international couple with Swedish, Swiss, Thai and Chinese roots, we decided to get married in Sweden. Julia grew up there and the beautiful nature along Sweden’s most southern coastline is just breathtaking. We found the prettiest lighthouse housing a bed and breakfast that was just perfect for the outdoor ceremony.
What was the most memorable part of your wedding day?
We loved seeing friends and family from all over the world joining to celebrate this special day with us. Our ceremony was really memorable: We incorporated Thai wedding traditions involving beautiful flower garlands, the accepting of the five precepts and a water blessing ritual called Rod Nam Sang into our program. We had two officiants, my stepfather’s cousin and the abbot of a nearby Thai temple leading through the ceremony. When Tommy read his vows in Swedish, I was really touched, and totally surprised.
Julia, paint us a picture. What was the theme, style, colors, and overall vibe of your wedding day?
As the wedding took place near the ocean, the sea became a central theme. Many guests were visiting Sweden for the first time so we also wanted to show them a small part of Swedish culture.
The lighthouse as well as our cocktail and dinner location, a beautiful vintage restaurant on the beach, both played a central role in the final concept.
Somehow the yellow white striped beach umbrellas of the era came to my mind, and that is how the final concept was born: “1950s Swedish riviera vibes“ with shades of blue, white, and yellow. We played that theme across all areas, from the dress code, the decor with oysters, the dinner incorporating vegetables growing on the beach, to the signage and stationery. We even created our custom font that we used for the program and signs.
The lighthouse became our wedding icon as we loved what it stands for in relationships: Always there and guiding you through calm and stormy waters.
What was your favorite part of planning your wedding?
I loved being creative and thinking about the concept and look and feel. I also liked searching for vendors who could help us bring the concept to life. I started with a moodboard early on, which I used as a guide for everything. Seeing the moodboard and the concept come alive was so amazing. I also loved creating the website with wedsites.
What was the best investment you made for your wedding?
- Invest in the small details that will set your wedding apart from others. Guests will notice them!
- Spend money on a great photographer.
- With more than 20 children attending, we decided to invest in childcare and a fun children’s program with beach-themed activities. This gave us valuable “adults” time during the cocktail and dinner and the kids had lots of fun.
- We organized a traditional Swedish crayfish party before the wedding. Guests were asked to show up in ocean-themed costumes. It was a total icebreaker as many guests were meeting for the first time. The pre-wedding program gave us more time to spend with our guests.
Is there anything you would have done differently?
As a recent mom with a demanding marketing job I hardly had any time to plan the wedding, so I decided to get help with the execution. The logical step was to hire a wedding planner who was based in Sweden and knew local suppliers. She turned out to be unexperienced with out of the box weddings and had a totally different level of quality which created even more work and loads of stress. As our original cocktail and dinner location canceled on us just a couple of months before the wedding, we were in dire need of help. However we ended up doing most of the work ourselves and found an even better location than originally planned.
Despite on site meetings and pages of detailed briefings, the wedding planner was clueless on the wedding day. She even showed up in wrinkled and stained clothes. I wish I would have ended it mid-way and not wait until disaster hit. Thanks to my previous event management experience and with the help from family and friends, we prevented several mishaps. My big learning is to be brave about stopping agreements with suppliers if you realize that they don’t do what they promised or somehow fail to live up to expectations. It‘s your wedding and you need the right people on board.
What was your favorite part of using WedSites for your wedding?
I loved the fact that I was able to personalize the templates and that is was so easy to use. I knew exactly how I wanted the wedding website to look like and WedSites made that possible. After trying several providers, it was clear that Wedsites was the one ticking all the boxes. We ended up using the rsvp feature too.
WedSites was also great to use on the go on mobile too and there where many moments where we quickly needed to adjust something. The customer service was excellent. I received answers in no time and felt that the team was genuinely interested in my feedback.
Julia and Tommy’s custom designed wedding website
Wedding planning is notoriously stressful. Now that you’ve gone through the process, do you have any advice or words of wisdom for couples who are currently in the midst of planning theirs?
- Know what you want and don’t want, and align on that early on with your partner
- Decide who does what
- Start early, at least 1.5 years before the wedding
- Create a mood board, it will help you stay focused and maintain a coherent concept
- Choose the right partners and suppliers who are truly keen on supporting you, understand what you want, and don’t just see you as one of many wedding couples.
- Have a set budget, but create reserves for splurging
- Don’t forget the small details, they really make a difference
- Go on a honeymoon straight after the wedding. You will be so exhausted after all the activities.
The amazing team of vendors involved with this wedding
Ceremony Venue: Smygehuk Lighthouse
Cocktail and Dinner Venue: Restaurant Pärlan
Photographer: Malin Lindner
Caterer: Matstudio Kungsmarken
Cake Baker: Sockerdrömmar
Ice Cream: Folkets Pops
Decor: Julia Chang
Entertainment: The Apricots
Florist: Yvig
Makeup Artist: Jessica Farrar
Wedding Dress: Made with Love
First Dance Dress: Qipology
Wedding Invitation: Virginia Brown
Rentals: Petras Porslin
Rentals: Tältmästarna
Wedding Planner: Julia Chang
Photobooth: Smilebox
Confetti: Flutterdarlings
Wedding Website: WedSites
