So Sorry I’m only emailing you now!! Finally back to normal after our beautiful honeymoon. Hope all is well with you?

Just want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for giving us the wedding of our dreams! I know I’ve said it to you before but I knew from the first email you sent me that you were the wedding planner forus! You always go over and above the call of duty and do such a fantastic job and use a brilliant crew of people.

We had such a wonderful few days. Everyone was amazed by Solymar and the drinks reception in the Champagne Bar. The Wedding Day was like nothing they’ve been to before and everyone wanted to stay longer!And those that could stay around for the pool party had a ball and loved the BBQ! Most of them are planning on going back next year for our one year anniversary!Heidi as I knew did such a lovely job with the flowers! My bouquet was stunning and we loved our flower covered pagoda.

Paul’s pictures are absolutely stunning! Delighted with them! Now we have the daunting task of cutting them down but I want all the pics in the album! Would recommend him for every Wedding!!

Casa Vital looked fantastic and Åge did a great job! Everyone thought Altea was the most beautiful place and wanted to spend more time wandering around. So glad you brought us down to show us the view from Åge’s on our first visit which meant we could have such a unique ceremony setting :)

Jo did a brill job with the hair and the bridesmaids were delighted! They looked gorgeous!

But most of all giant hugs and kisses to the best wedding planner in the world!! You completely took all the stress of the wedding away from me because I knew you would do the best job possible!

Thank you again! Lots of love,

Lise & Mark

Hello Marcella,

My apologies for getting in touch sooner, it has just been mental since we got back from Spain and my dream wedding which I will never forget. We have had stag parties, a hen night and my niece first holy communion all in a week and a half. So married life has been brilliant so far, I cant believe it was 2 weeks already on Saturday... So I will say all my thank yous now when I have a wee minute.

Firstly I cannot Thank You Marcella enough, without your help it would have been so stressful and such an amount of work especially when Warren and I never got over to you once. I am so grateful and happy that we decided to go with Our dream Wedding in Spain and felt immediately that you were the wedding planner for us. I would highly recommend any couple to place all their trust in you, as they will not be let down. In fact you will exceed all their expections as you did with myself and Warren. It was so lovely to be greeted by a friendly face when we got their and at once things where set out, appointments made and tours of all our venues before the big day.

My wedding day could not have gone smoother and it really was the happiest of our lives. You were brilliant at organizing everyone and everything. A lot of our guests made the comment of how professional you were and really nice to deal with. Of course I could not sing your praises any higher than I was already doing and our guest could not get over the fact that we had never met you before and the fact we had never visited Caple. Again I told then that it was all down to you and how well you had got to know us and all through email and 1 or 2 phone calls. BRILLIANT is all I can say. Just a final wee thanks to you for making Our day so special and I did not have to think of anything only enjoy yourself and make the most of it- very sound advice that you reminded me of that morning.

I know you have a wonderful team around you, but I would like you to pass on my thanks to all involved. So I will just mention them individually. Firstly Sergio and the hotel, well the wow factor was certainly present and we where delighted when Sergio immediately came out to greet us. He is just a gas character and made us feel very welcome. All of our guests are still talking about the hotel and the apartments and what a wonderful venue it was. They especially liked the Champagne Bar. It was also great to get the suite on the morning to get ready in style. Thanks to Gemma for looking after the room bookings and my lovely wedding dress.

Now on the Day, Maira and Jo what a great duo. Firstly our hair and make up trial they were so nice and very professional. My hair and make up on the day was perfect and they really did make me look a million dollars. My make up was still perfect at 6am the next day. The girls really did do a fantastic job on both mothers and on my bridesmaid Derval. People nearly didn't recognize her.

Lesley our photographer was just deadly all day. I cant say enough good things about her. Immediately she started at 11am and never stopped until well after mid night. The first day we met her for the pre-weeding shoot we just clicked immediately. Lesley understood that myself and warren were definitely not used to posing in front of a camera and was able to coordinate our awkward limbs. I must say by the middle of our wedding day we were posing like naturals for Lesley and we had great craic and fun all day with her. A massive thanks to Lesley as she presented us with our prints of our wedding day afew days later and also a beautiful case with all in cd format. Lesley was only meant to print 30 for us but she ended up giving us nearly all the shots of the day. I cant thank her enough for this, it was such a lovely gift and they way they were laid out in different montages and backgrounds behind the photos... AMAZING
Again all my guests commented on the good job she did, so you can tell Lesley I will be back for my Demi Moore shot !!

Heidi - well my God my flowers were just fabulous, sure I nearly started crying again when I saw them for the first time. This was a particularly hard job for you to capture the idea that I had in my head as we never met once, only on the day when you dropped in my bouquet. Everyone again said how beautiful they were and the church was just gorgeous. Even the lanterns were so ambient.

Vanessa and my delicious and wonderful Wonky cake. It was such a pity i never got to meet the artist because that is exactly what Vanessa is.. I nearly dropped when I saw it first when walking into the banquet hall for our reception as this was the first I had seen of it. I think everyone heard the little squeal from me as I laid eyes on it. Again all my family and guest said it was amazing and it tasted as good as it looked. So thank you so much Vanessa and I think the hotel are holding on to it for photos and demonstrations to other couples of what is on offer.

I cannot forget the lovely man that married us, Father John. A big thank you for putting me and Warren at ease straight away and for the wonderful service you give us. We will always have fond memories as the Church part was really special and important to us.

This bring me on to our lovely church music and I dont think there was a dry eye in the church. It was just so special and again more great comments from all our guests. Thanks to Sophie and Pasion Double .

I think that is it Marcella, sorry it is probably the longest email you have ever got but just wanted to say Thanks to all for being part of our special day.. Did I say the Red convertible was just class too and the driver was lovely...

All the best now and always

Sharon and Warren XXX

We just wanted to thank you for everything you did for us from the moment we met you. I can honestly say with hand on heart that I wasn't at all stressed or worried about our day knowing it was all in your capable hands. I can relate to brides that have said they day flies by because I can't believe how fast it went, from the morning getting ready to the ceremony itself to the dinner & reception. I am sad its over now!!

I want you to pass on our sincere appreciation to all your suppliers.....
Jo - what a lady, an incredible professional full of love and laughter, she would put anyone at ease. She has a friend for life with my sister Aishling!!!!!
Maria - All I can say is I put all my trust in her, I know she felt a little overwhelmed with the amount of information my gang thought they knew about make up but I just let her do her thing and looking back now she got it spot on.
Fr. John & Fr. Juan - they delivered a memorable and beautiful mass that we will keep in our hearts for the rest of our lives. Fr. Juan nearly had me in A&E when he was looking through our files but how nice of him to say how beautiful I looked.
Passion Doble & Sophies - For all our guests and ourselves they were one of the best parts of the day. I think they had everyone in tears with the beautiful music they performed in the church, they really were exactly what I wanted and gave me goose pimples going up the isle. They are fantastic artists.
Spanish Guitarists & Fan Fair - well I think these guys started off the day so well and prepared guests for what was to come. I was as cool as a cucumber until I got out of the car at the church & the lads started playing, I couldn't control my emtions and ended up walking up the isle like a blubbering idiot!!!! The spanish guitartists at the hotel were a great for getting people talking and mingling. Great fun.
Coach Transfer - I hear there was great banter on the bus going to and from the church, I can't say thank you enough for him making the pit stop at Benidorm to pick up some of our guests.
Heidi - All I can say is WOW WOW WOW, she didn't half disappoint. Everyone was raving about our flowers and centre pieces, she did an AMAZING job and I even managed to bring my own bouquet home to treasure forever. The colours and arrangement was exactly how I had imagined it and she went over and beyond to deliver.
Vanessa - Well I think everyone will talk about that cake for a very long time. I am sooooo happy I decided to go with something quirky as I believe a beautiful tradional cake will soon be forgotten. Ken couldn't believe his surprise and it was worth all the secrets. The cake was brilliant to look at but nicer to eat, I managed to get some cake back to Ireland aswell!!!!!
Strikland - they were amazing, I was worried the atmosphere wouldn't be like a wedding at home with so little guests but those guys are tru professionals, they just got the party started and it never stopped!!! Would go see them gig the next time we are over.
DJ - For the life of me I can't remember his name which upsets me because he really was a character, I enjoyed him so much and if any of your brides want a recommendation I couldn't fault him. He played everything and even sang - great character, a great find.
Paul & Yolanda - well what can I say about these guys. They made our day. We can't wait to see their shots and get our hands on our book. They are both so professional but they treated us like friends. No-one felt uncomfortable around them and they were not intrusive of our day at all. I can't say enough nice things about them they are one in a million (well two I suppose!!!!) and they will both remain in our hearts for a very long time.
Emma & staff - everything about the day went so well, the drinks flowed & the wine never stopped!!! The food was cooked to perfection and I cannot fault one aspect of the day. I know we were hoping to eat outside but believe me when I say there was nothing better than having the reception drinks outside and moving the party inside. I really appreciate how much Emma, the waiting staff, drinks staff and the Maitre D did for us, first class service.

And finally to you Marcella, our dream wedding planner. I think you were the key that brought our whole day together. You were amazing and I can't speak highly enough of you. All our guests are still talking about you and how brilliant you were on the day. You are a true diamond, a professional and to me a great friend. I felt so at ease knowing you were looking after us, so much so I believe I gave up contacting you as the wedding drew close!!! We will never forget you Marcella and want to send all our friends and family to you to arrange their weddings!!!! Although then ours wouldn't be the "wedding of the year" as one guest commented - poor Kate Midleton eh, little did she know a small Cork wedding in Altea would out do hers!!!!! If you ever want to use us as reference or would like us to write a testimonial for your website all you need to do is ask, I believe we are forever in debt to you for making our dreams come true.

So with all that said, I can't wait to come back and visit Altea and you and Emma again. I miss you all so much and its been no more than a week since we left the shores!!!!

Keep in touch
Gemma & Ken Ince xoxox

Hi all,

I know how hard it is at the beginning when trying to plan your wedding and you don't know where to start!! It is hard to figure out who to trust on net when you have never met any of the people in these companies - so I decided to go with the reviews on weddings online.ie. Marcella had rave reviews so I contacted her. From the first email she was professional to the last!

Advice: go with whatever Marcella says!! I know its hard to entrust such an important day in someone elses hands but I wish I had gone with Marcella more easily. She will not let you down. I have no affiliation with Marcella and will gain nothing by writing this. This forum was invaluable to me when I was planning my wedding so its payback time! All the reviews speak for themselves.

Marcella charges a reasonable rate and we thought she did such an amazing job we gave extra money. I am sure there are a lot of couples who do this as you will be absolutely blown away by the service Marcella gives. She leaves no stone unturned!! Sounds terrible to say but Marcella has something perhaps not all wedding planners have - class! She has very elegant classy taste. ZERO tack!! Marcella has a great sense of style, colours, what works etc! You know your in good hands with her and she knows exactly what you need. She expects a lot of her team and they deliver. I most especially reccommend her photographer Lesley. Lesley is talented and puts you at ease in front of the camera. I was a very nervous bride and Lesley was so nice to me and calmed me.Also the local pipers at church were a great idea as well as 1950's convertible red buick!!!

It is HOT HOT HOT in Spain in July and we had a heat wave!!! It didn't bother me but just be prepared! I wore a light weight short vintage 50's dress. It was so comfortable on the day with the heat. Also a parasol helped plus it loooks nice in the photos!

If you need any help or advice feel free to contact me or request me as a friend on facebook ( Maria Murphy)to see our wedding pics. Also we designed this website to help our guests. Feel free to use any of the info in it. http://www.momentville.com/mariaandbilly

Marcella has gotten two weddings from our wedding - people at ours recommending to their friends and people who saw our pictures on facebook. Our guests had a great time and are still talking about it. Altea is an amazing destination and you can really push the boat out for your guests. Most of our guests commented on how reasonable Villa Gadea was to stay in for a 5 star hotel and how inexpensive food and drinks were in the old town of Altea. I think this meant a lot to people cause they really had given up a lot just to celebrate our wedding!! e.g annual leave, babysitters, nannies, flights etc We were also able to host a free bar and tapas party the night after the wedding for a fraction of the cost it would cost here in Ireland. You will probably not save any money on the wedding day but your money seems to go alot further! e.g 5 star hotel, fabulous setting, beach, sunshine, need I say more!!!!

Hope this helps xxx

As posted on www.weddingonline.ie by Maria & Billy

Our wedding was in the beautiful Costa Blanca Region in a little town called Altea. We had the most fantastic day that i have dreamed about for a long time and i just want to share it with you all.

We arrived in Alicante airport on Friday 23rd Sept. All our family and friends were coming on the Sunday/Monday so it was just us and 1 of my aunts and uncles. I was so excited. After having a manic week at home of ironing shirts/collecting dresses/packing it was so exciting to be eventually on the plane with my hubby to be! When we first arrived it was raining - I couldn’t believe it. Obviously me being pessimistic feared the worst but it was only spits and the weather right up and including our special day was just bliss. Blue skies and temperatures soaring near 30 every day. We soon settled in to sun, sea and bliss. We were staying in the town of Calpe just 15 mins away from Altea town. The reason for this was that it was just a bit livelier for our wild guests!! Calpe is beautiful but a lot more built up with a gorgeous beach/shops/restaurant and also includes a beautiful old town.

We met up with our wedding planner Marcella on the Saturday. She excited us even more. We were sitting in the gorgeous Sol Y Mar hotel in Calpe looking out over the beach having a chilled out drink. Marcella calmly went through the whole process of the day from start to finish. She couldn’t have made me any calmer. I am a total stress ball so it takes someone to make me this relaxed! She went through from when the hairdresser and beautician arriving to my room the morning of the wedding, to the flowers, timings of bus etc. At this stage of it everything was arranged anyway as I had been in constant contact with Marcella and she had all the best suppliers so it was just a few last minute preps at this stage. She stood us up and made us practice our vows - it was so lovely and made it all feel so real. Any questions I had she had the answer at the tip of her tongue - of course she has probably heard everything 1000 times before! There was no stone she left unturned. She also went through the exact routine of the ceremony and we went to the hotel were we were having the reception to go through our table plans etc and iron all little details out. That evening myself and hubby to be were relieved that all was in order.

For the next few days we just relaxed by the gorgeous pool at the hotel and greeted all our guests that arrived. All our guests apart from a few stayed in the Sol Y Mar Calpe with a lot staying in their apartments. My guests could not get over the apartments. They were huge and so so modern. Everyone was delighted and no bad reports at all. Of course I had all these really nice cocktail bars and restaurants picked out in the town, but to my despair, there was an Irish pub right beside the hotel and this is where my party pretty much retired for the whole week!! I didn’t mind at all though as the atmosphere was just great. The barmen went to so many lengths for us putting banners up the day before and day after the wedding. They were delighted just to get the business. I have to admit in the day or 2 before the wedding I did, through my own fault, get fairly stressed and emotional. When I look back now I am not sure why or what about, but I was a bride, and well I just wanted everything to be so perfect!

The night before the wedding we had a few sociable altogether in the Irish pub. Of course I was keeping to tradition and my Mum and Dad made sure I was out of there by midnight. It was great fun. My sister (bridesmaid) stayed with me that night. Didn’t sleep a wink and woke up at one stage and thought it was lashing rain. But no when we did get up it was a picture perfect day. I agreed with my hubby that I would be back in my room for 10.00 am as he as staying in the hotel too. So I went to breakfast with all my family. Then back to the room to start the preparations! The hairdresser and beautician arrived at the hotel shortly after. I was pacing the apartment while all the girls and mums got their bits done. Jo our hairdresser had brought extra girls with her for the guests to get their hairs done in a separate apartment - it was excellent to have this service that we had everything come to us in the hotel and didn’t have to rush around to them! One of best friends who were moving to Australia that day gave me a surprise phone call to wish me good luck and of course that set me off! But Marcella was up shortly after to give me a hug and calm me down in hand with a bottle of Cava! Yum! So after the girls and Mums were done my prep work started for hair and makeup. I felt like an age and didn’t know quite how I would look after it was all completed but I have to say that I was gob smacked at the results they were able to achieve but for me, my bridesmaids and my Mum. My Mum wouldn’t be used to all this treatment so she was delighted. My hair was exactly how I wanted and she added in extensions to give it that volume. I was delighted with my make up also - both of them did trials on before also.

In between all this commotion - Heidi the flower lady had arrived up with my flowers - which were absolutely gorgeous - every little detail was just amazing. Then the photographer arrived later and started picturing little details like my dress, the rings, my little flower girl etc. At about 2.45 I could hear this big bus taking off down on the street and had suddenly realized it was my hubby to be and all my guests taking off for the church! I was too busy thinking about myself!!! Marcella had planned to take them all up to the village where the church was, which was La Nucia in Altea Hills. Up there she had organized that the little pub across from the church was reserved for the guests to have a chilled out drink before the ceremony at 4pm! They loved it!! They also had little Spanish drummer boys playing while walking down the cobbled streets!

So I was all ready to go - it was a bit of a tight squeeze in the end for time and well my poor mum and bridesmaids got the brunt of it when they were trying to lace up my dress telling them to hurry up!! In the end I actually ended up being a bit early and the car had to wait up the hill before going in. I loved my car - I was unsure about whether to spend money on this but in the end went for the old Rolls Royce - it was everything I ever dreamed of and was so special going up with Daddy in it. The chauffer was the nicest man ever and made us feel so relaxed. The views were so amazing on the way up the mountain with the breeze in our hair. When we got to the church the little drummer boys kicked off again to let the guys in the church know I was there! I felt so special, this whole build up was for us!! My ma was there outside to give me a hug before going in. As I walked up the grand steps to the church I soaked it all in. Marcella was standing there to give me a hug and fix my dress as I had such a long trail and was all pleated so needed to sit just right. She guided the bridesmaids and us exactly when to walk. It just felt amazing - walking down with my dad to Songbird by Eva Cassidy sang by the gorgeous Sophie - again supplied by Marcella. When I got to the top I was just shaking. But he was just as nervous too. He put his arm round me and held my hand the whole time. I just couldn’t believe our time was here. Lighting the candles was a bit of a disaster! I could not hold my hand still that my Dad had to come up and help me!! The music was just divine throughout and it was just so nice to hear all the songs we had chosen sang so beautifully. So we got hitched, had a big smooch and were so happy!! My favourite part was walking back down the aisle as the guests were blowing out bubbles and clapping. Then when were outside all celebrating Marcella let off these bangers and everyone was so excited!! It was great. We took a bunch of pics of course as the steps outside the church were just divine. Everyone ventured back to the pub for one in the meantime. We took off in the car before everyone to get some pics in Altea town. The photographers - Schillings Photography were the nicest couple ever. She kept telling me how beautiful I was and they were so easy with us. The great thing was that I didn’t feel that hot in my dress at all and we had to climb some hills!! We then ventured up the Villa Gadea were everyone was waiting for us. They were enjoying the cocktail reception outside when we were introduced. Everyone kept saying to us how they could not get over how beautiful the place was. It was superb - looking out over the Sea with the gorgeous gardens of the hotel. Everything I could have wished for. That was when I was glad that we stayed somewhere else from where we were having the reception from as it leaves an element of surprise there.

Around 7.30 pm we sat down for our meal. Everyone enjoyed and the wine was flowing. We then had the speeches after which was great fun. Then the party began. The DJ came on first so we could do our first dance. We danced to "It Feel Like Home to Me" from the Notebook and My Sisters Keeper. It was amazing and Marcella let off steamers and smoke. Everyone else joined in for a few more slow ones and then the Band started - Stickland plus an Irish girl called Niamh. They were just fantastic - they even played Irish songs, such as Irish Rover, Galway girl. The craic was just flowing - i even produced some Irish dancing!

At 12pm we had to move in doors to the banquet room although we would have just loved to have stayed outside but rules are rules. The DJ started and we danced and laughed to the wee hours. We did the whole removal of garter, cutting of cake and throwing of bouquet. Marcella knew when to call for everything. DJ Darrell was great, he played all requests and kept the party upbeat although many were smokers and sat outside!

Eventually at 3am we started to dwindle. Myself and my new hubby were staying in the Villa Gadea and everyone else was going back to Calpe.It was lovely to have the honeymoon suite there. Marcella had the room organized lovely with my bouquets on the bed with flower petals everywhere. We had strawberries and chocolate (yum) and Cava and had our own Jacuzzi outside. It was bliss.

So that was my experience in a nutshell! I really had the most amazing day. Without our wedding planner Marcella we could not have done it. But she and her suppliers could not have made it any easier for us. For any of you picturing and wishing for a dream wedding in Spain I would urge you all to follow your dream as I got everything out of my day that I ever wanted. The only regret I have is that I stressed for no reason at all! So just relax and enjoy it all. Marcella if you are reading this thank you so much for being such a wonderful person and listening to me for the last year to ensure my day went perfect. xx

As posted on www.weddingonline.ie