Megan & Ryan had such a beautiful destination wedding in Portugal that we’re honored to share here today. We love how all the pastels came together against the verdant green backdrop to provide a most beautiful spot for their day!

from the photographer: “This was a destination wedding in one of the most beautiful palaces in Sintra, Portugal – Monserrate Palace. This place is a 19th-century eclectic architectural and imaginative botanical dream and is a pearl of Portugal. All this charm attracted, Megan and Ryan, a Canadian couple who enjoyed a delightful wedding ceremony outdoors. The Gothic Palace’s warm pink facade, profusely decorated, acted as an awe-inspiring backdrop and as a vision of a hopeful future. An elegant reception dinner served in a beautiful Palace hall intensified the glamour of this fairy tale wedding.”

How did you two meet? What were your first impressions of one another? We actually met in high school, over 10 years ago through a mutual friend as we both went to different schools. We’ve been together ever since. It was so long ago that we don’t remember what our first thoughts were. But I can say for certain that the day we met, we never thought it would amount to the relationship we have now; after all we were only 16.

Tell us a funny story relating to your wedding day or relationship:  The bouquet toss was definitely a highlight especially watching back the raw video footage of it for two reasons. I actually threw it twice. The first throw of course hit the ceiling, very embarrassing at the time but now rather funny. Women started running for it to grab it off my dress train but I picked it up and threw it again. The second throw went and two women started grabbing it from one another. It was quite comical and watching the video footage makes me laugh every time.

Describe a hurdle you had to overcome in your relationship or during your wedding planning? Living in Canada, we took on a lot of pressure from family of our plans to have our wedding overseas in Portugal. Not a lot of people are familiar with Portugal like they are with other countries such as Italy or France. Portugal’s popularity is only just beginning. Some of our guests had been to Portugal, and those that had been absolutely loved it, but there were still some who needed a lot of convincing. Me being Portuguese, we visit Portugal quite often and we’ve always loved being in Portugal and so what better place for us to have our wedding; in a place that we love and in a beautiful palace, regardless of how much pressure was put on us to have our wedding in Canada. We did what we wanted for our wedding and we would never change that. After all this day is our day and should reflect what we love and want.

What part of your wedding day was/is most important to you? The cocktail party and reception. Here is where we were able to chat with our guests which for us was very important. They flew so far and so we wanted to ensure that we were able to talk with our guests. We wanted them there with us celebrating and we wanted to ensure they got time with us. This meant that we had to give up some time for photos and while we absolutely love our photos, we do wish we had more time. Nonetheless, with the limited time we had we feel that we got the best of both.

What was your favorite part about planning your wedding? Telling all of our guests how beautiful Portugal is and getting excited to show the people in our lives the country where we are the happiest versions of ourselves.

What made you choose your wedding location? We initially chose a few locations to visit in the Lisbon area. We had been to a few of these places before but never thought of them as a wedding location. The first location we went to, Monserrate Palace, was love at first sight. We both took one look at the palace from the outside, then looked at each other and said this is it. We then cancelled our plans to visit the other locations.

Photographer: Portugal Wedding Photographer  / Wedding Planner: Lisbon Wedding Planner / Venue: Monserrate Palace / Catering: Casa do Marques /  Floral: My Wedding Flowers Portugal /  Wedding Gown: Stella York, Elizabeth’s / Grooms Attire: Zegna /  MUAH: Tom Perdigao / Video: Everyheart Films
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