May 27, 2018

Our Wedding // Prague, Czech Republic

MAY 27, 2014

When we got engaged and started looking at venues in Dallas, we couldn't find a location that felt right. One day while tirelessly searching the internet for wedding ideas, I came across a wedding agency in Prague, Czech Republic that planned everything and, bonus, it's a legally recognized marriage certificate in the states. I immediately called Matt to share my exciting discovery and he was completely on board.

Eloping was actually an extremely tough decision to make because we knew most of our family and friends wouldn't be able to make it for many reasons. We thought long and hard and ultimately decided to do it because it just felt so...US.

WEDDING DAY

My best friend was able to attend, which was such a beautiful blessing. The day of the wedding, we had planned to have brunch at the rooftop terrace in the Aria Hotel but Mother Nature had other plans.

The sky fell out around noon with Texas size hail. I was a little concerned that the weather would ruin the ceremony since it was partially outdoors but 30 minutes before the ceremony, the clouds parted and the sun greeted us. I couldn't believe it!

THE CEREMONY

The day before our wedding, I got sick and by sick I mean violently ill. You see, this was only my second international trip and, at the time, I didn't realize I get dehydrated when we travel internationally - the flying, the walking, the wine. It all added up to misery.

We met with our wedding planner and she took us to the courthouse to get our marriage license (very cool BTW!). We got a Czech and English version. We then met with our officiant and by this point, I thought I was dying. Who knew I just needed to drink some water!

Our officiant went over the details and asked if we would like to provide him with vows or special words. To be honest, I couldn't wait to get out of there and get in bed. I told him no and rushed through the rest of the meeting.

After sleeping for 6 hours and drinking some water, I felt much better. While laying in bed, I wrote a little something for the officiant to share at the ceremony. I emailed him and got a response that he had already written everything so it couldn't be added. Sounds harsh but I chalked it up to the Czech culture and didn't get upset about it.

Oh how I was surprised. The officiant did manage to fit my words into his dialog and it brought tears to Matt's eyes. :)

THE RECEPTION

Since we only had 13 guests, our coordinator recommended renting out hOST Restaurant in the Mala Strana area. It was perfect. It's tiny and tucked away in a narrow stairwell but it has some amazing views! We had the whole restaurant to ourselves with a seated dinner and personal bartender. There was a retractable roof that was certainly opened up to take in the views of beautiful Prague.

I WOULD DO IT ALL AGAIN IN A HEARTBEAT

The wedding agency was wonderful, the ceremony garden was heavenly, the restaurant was so enjoyable, and all of our guests had the best time. There's nothing more we could ask for!

We loved Prague so much we traveled back in 2016 so we could photograph the stunning city for the print shop. I have a feeling we'll visit again.