AMANDINE AND RAUNO

Location:

"We live in Finland, so we chose to get married on the fortress island of Suomenlinna, off the coast of Helsinki. We were immediately taken with the originality of the reception hall. The "ruutikellari" is where soldiers stored gunpowder. A room with no windows, old bricks and underground, it was truly a magical place! We had also selected June 25, 2016, as it was Juhannus (St. John's Day), which is a very special holiday in Finland as it is the longest day of the year. So we didn't have a night, which was a complete change of scenery for our guests from France and the USA!"

Their inspiration:

"I fell in love with a dress by chance that I'd found on Pinterest and it was love at first sight. In Finland, it was impossible to find this Justin Alexander dress or this particular ankle length. So I went looking for my dress abroad and finally found it in England. I had it altered here and had the back changed to a corset. I wanted a dress that our daughter could also wear one day, and the ankle length made it easy!

When it came to choosing colors, orange was a must. My shoes were my second purchase, so the gold glitter color came from my shoes and the fuchsia was chosen by my older daughters."

Shoe design:

"As I'm not used to wearing high heels, I decided on the 6 cm heel. I was very hesitant about the colors, but the team at Dessine-moi un soulier was wonderful and attentive. They sent me free samples and that was a huge help! I wasn't able to visit the showroom as I was abroad, but that's not bad for my bank account!

Amandine's advice:

"Don't try to plan everything down to the last detail! Of course it's your day, but you need to leave a certain amount of flexibility. Don't skimp on the price of the photographer: once your wedding is over, all you'll have left to remember your day are the photos. So I advise you to pay the price. For the bride's shoes, dare to use color! You'll also be able to put them back on more easily after the wedding."