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Choose venues for their flow
During the planning process, Carter and Taylor made two trips to Portugal: one for a gut-check visit to the venues, on which they’d already put down deposits, and one for menu tastings and other final vendor conversations. They did book the Penha Longa Resort, the place that had made their planner think of Sintra in the first place, and held all of their events within the property.
While the convenience and historical significance of the venues were paramount, the spaces offered additional benefits. “They were beautiful—that much is a given,” says Taylor. “But the layout of the spaces could not have worked better for the vision we had of ushering people throughout the afternoon and evening, keeping them surprised and entertained.”
Their welcome dinner was held at the charming pink mansion, Casa Dos Penedos, while the wedding day was held around a monastery. The ceremony itself—which was officiated by a friend—was set within the crumbling, 16th-century, stone-walled Nuncio Gardens, built near the monastery and featuring ivy-covered stone walls, archways, and a shallow reservoir at the center. A cocktail hour following in the monastery courtyard and dinner in the Sala Dos Arcos, a dramatic space with a ceiling comprised entirely of archways. Dancing occurred in the Salão Nobre, a soaring salon with wall-to-wall carvings and a stunning carved-wood fireplace.
Keep the aesthetic simple
While their wedding venues were stunning in their ornate details, from the peacocks painted on the ceiling of the Casa Dos Penedos to the blue and white tiles along the courtyard, the couple wanted to go slightly cleaner and more masculine with the wedding decor they’d be bringing in. “The brief was Ralph Lauren, late ‘90s, equestrian,” says Carter.
“We didn’t want to compete with the setting and the property itself,” says Taylor. “We wanted that to be more of a flourish in the last five to 10% of the design, and really let the spaces breathe.”
