Caroline and Robin got married in Korzkiew Castle
Here are a few words from our Bride to inspire all the brides-to-be!:) Karolina, thank you for sharing this story with us!
I felt lucky to have fallen for a man who wanted to get married in Poland, my birthplace. But for many months I resisted his whims and continued working out the early details of our beach wedding in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Robin eventually convinced me that, while many of our family members and close friends would not be able to make the long trek to Europe, a celebration in Poland would be more true to who we are. With nine months to spare, we embarked on the process of planning a series of festivities (a welcome party, a wedding, a day-after party and a post-wedding “buddymoon” to Prague and Munich). To this day I cannot understand why we did not engage a wedding planner, a travel planner, or any sort of planner for that matter. In hindsight, I would strongly encourage anyone considering cross-continental nuptials to enlist some kind of professional help. We chose, instead, to put ourselves, my patient Mom, and our vendors through the chaos of finalizing all details and personally negotiating all contracts via email. We booked our wedding venue before either of us had ever seen it in person and chose multiple party menus without ever tasting a single dish, keeping our fingers crossed that because of all of the love and sleepless nights we poured into the planning, everything would work out for the best in the end.
As the day approached, our “to-do list” seemed daunting still, with many loose ends and one very major task – to hire a wedding photographer. While I had reached out to several photographers in Krakow, I randomly stumbled across the blog of WhiteSmoke Studio in the process. Dorota and Michal’s photos were so much more natural than anything else I had seen. Where others’ work often came across as staged or forced, it was as if moments had truly stopped in time in their photos. This honest quality to their work convinced us that they were the right photographers for us. In the weeks after we signed our contract, Dorota’s thoughtful and helpful follow-up emails solidified for us that engaging WhiteSmoke Studio was the best decision we had made yet.
As I type this summary, I look back at our photographs to retrieve our wedding day from my memory. It was the most perfect, sunny day. The air, unusually warm for the end of September, wreaked havoc on my already over-tousled hair. I recall the beautiful words spoken by Robin’s brother-in-law and my sister during the ceremony and the many tears – Robin’s tears, my tears, our parents’ tears. I can practically feel my heel getting stuck in the ground and losing my footing as we said our vows. Those memories are all so vivid because of Dorota and Michal’s ability to capture them in snapshots, all while seemingly never being present to take them (Robin and I still talk about how we barely noticed Dorota and Michal the entire evening). My only regret is that we did not get to know them better in advance and take them up on an offer to photograph our other festivities that week. That is just how much we love our photos. Like many couples before us, we cannot wait to have another pretext to work with the “Dragons.”
Getting ready, ceremony and reception: Korzkiew Castle, Cracow
Flowers and decorations: Pracownia Dekoratorska Janusz Rojek
Catering: Jurek Catering-Serwis
DJ: Grupa Partner
Bride:
Wedding gown and veil: Marchesa Bridal
Second dress: Anthropologie
Shoes: Kate Spade
Groom:
Tuxedo and shirt: Bonobos
Tie: Zara
Shoes: Via Spiga
