An Artist & Designer’s Art-Driven Spanish Wedding at a 16th-Century Cortijo, Drenched in Citrus and Calla Lilies

For Rafa and Rubén, both artists and creatives, the wedding was never about creating a conventional celebration — it was about turning their shared vision into a world of its own. At a 16th-century property just outside Málaga, the raw architecture and distinctive albero-yellow walls became a canvas for an atmospheric design filled with abundant flowers, candles, sculptural chairs, and billowing fabrics. Their artistic sensibilities shaped every detail, bringing together architecture, objects, color, music, and Andalusian references in a way that felt considered yet completely natural. The grooms’ bespoke suits, crafted in a traditional Spanish tailoring workshop, brought timeless elegance to the visual story. From the stationery they designed themselves to the furniture, floral arrangements, and carefully choreographed moments, nothing felt arbitrary. Guided by their concept, "Beyond Time and Place," the celebration became an expressive meeting point between art, place, family, and emotion — intimate, theatrical, and full of love.

Our Love Story

The Day We Met

It all began with a swimsuit campaign. Rafa’s brother had a swimwear label and was looking for a couple to photograph for a new collection, so Rafa posted a callout on Instagram. I answered, hoping to take part with my sister. Rafa agreed, and we arranged to meet for the shoot in El Retiro Park, in the heart of Madrid. I arrived before my sister—as always, she was running late—which meant that Rafa and I met for the first time completely on our own.

We started talking, and in that very first conversation, something immediately clicked. I remember thinking that Rafa was everything I had been looking for, even though I had no idea where that first encounter would lead. My sister eventually arrived, and we went on to shoot the collection together. We still have the photographs from that day, but today they mean much more than a simple fashion shoot. They are a record of the very beginning—the first day we met, captured before either of us knew we were looking at the start of our story.

The Proposal

Rafa was born in Málaga, and although I had considered proposing somewhere during one of the trips we took that year, I eventually knew there was nowhere more meaningful than the beach where he had spent summers with his family as a child. We spent the final days of the year together in Málaga, and every day I carried the ring with me, waiting for the right moment. I kept imagining I would ask him during one of our walks along that familiar stretch of coastline, but somehow the moment never quite felt right. Until the day before New Year’s Eve. Finally, it happened there—on the beach that had been part of Rafa’s childhood long before it became part of our story. 

The Engagement Ring

Rafa has always been a great admirer of the Spanish jewelry brand Simuero, so when I began thinking about the ring, I already knew where I wanted to look. One day, they announced on Instagram that they were bringing a pop-up to Madrid, and I immediately knew I had to go. I brought one of Rafa’s closest friends, Marta, along to help me choose. It felt particularly special to have someone who knew him so well there with me, quietly helping to find something that would feel completely like him.

Our Wedding

The Vision

Rafa has always loved creating concepts, and for our wedding, he came up with one that felt deeply connected to who we are, our story, and the atmosphere we wanted to create for our guests: "Beyond Time and Place." The idea became a guiding thread throughout the celebration. We wanted to give our guests a first glimpse into this idea from the very beginning. Even the wedding invitation, created by El Tintero, carried a subtle clue to the concept. The envelope itself was designed as the first chapter of the experience, hinting at what was to come and allowing our guests to sense, before even opening it, that this would be a celebration that existed somewhere beyond time and place.

We knew from the beginning that we wanted the wedding to take place in Málaga. It is a city that is deeply connected to our story, particularly to Rafa, and it felt like the natural setting for a celebration that was so personal to us. We also wanted the day to reflect the creative worlds we have built individually. Rafa is an artist, while I founded Garado Studios, a design studio creating objects inspired by architecture. Bringing these two perspectives together became an important part of the wedding—not as a theme, but as a reflection of who we are. We wanted the celebration to feel considered, artistic, and personal, with every detail contributing to an atmosphere that felt unmistakably ours.

Our Team of Vendors

The organization was led by La Boda de Nicoletta, who helped us shape the different pieces of the day, while Lira Producciones brought the production to life. Blumental was behind the floral design, creating an atmosphere filled with calla lilies and abundant flowers that carried a very personal meaning for our family. Quilicuá took care of the catering, while the stationery was largely designed by us, with El Tintero creating the wedding invitations that introduced our guests to the visual language of the day from the very beginning.

Photography was entrusted to Cupida Studio, while Ruth Carpintero captured the wedding on film. Looking back, what made the team so special was not simply what each vendor did individually, but how everything came together. Every person contributed to creating a celebration that felt coherent, deeply personal, and, most importantly, like us.

The Location

We knew that, with such a strong narrative and so many ideas behind the wedding, we needed a place that would give us room to create. Rather than choosing a venue that already came with its own visual language, we were looking for something raw—somewhere that could become a blank canvas for our imagination. We found Cortijo La Zafra, just outside Málaga, and it felt immediately right. The cortijo dates back to the 16th century, which amazed us. The cortijo’s albero yellow, so characteristic of southern Spain, also became one of our main sources of inspiration.

The Ceremony

The ceremony began with guests arriving at the cortijo and being welcomed with glasses of Tío Pepe served in catavinos, immediately setting an Andalusian tone. A playful moment followed as the couple’s four nephews appeared at a small window above the entrance, waving to the guests before the doors opened and they showered them with flower petals. A candlelit path lined with carnations and abundant flowers led to the ceremony area, where suspended fabrics moved gently in the breeze and a sculptural arrangement of chairs framed the altar. The chairs held a particularly meaningful place in the celebration: Rubén often describes them as symbols of rest, safety, and belonging—"To me, that’s Rafa."

As the ceremony unfolded, music by Judeline and Yerai Cortés created an intimate, almost dreamlike atmosphere. Nina, Rafa’s sister, read a poem written by Rafa, while both grooms were later joined by their family members, carrying calla lilies—a flower deeply connected to Rafa’s late mother, who wore them on her own wedding day. Rafa’s brother and Rubén’s sister shared heartfelt speeches about their relationship and its beginnings, including their first meeting in Retiro Park. The ceremony culminated in their vows, followed by "Can’t Take My Eyes Off You" as the two grooms walked back down the aisle, surrounded by applause, smiles, and the people closest to them.

The Reception

The reception took place in the cortijo’s main courtyard, where three long tables transformed the space into an intimate setting for dinner. We chose blue tablecloths and filled the tables with calla lilies, a flower with a particularly personal meaning for Rafa: they were his mother’s favorite flower. Although she is no longer with us, having them throughout the dinner felt like a quiet way of keeping her present. The lighting and furniture, provided by Spanish brand SKLUM, completed the setting, with the central table becoming the heart of the evening.

Dinner began with anything but a conventional entrance. As everyone took their seats, a remix we love of "Hung Up" and "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" started playing. The reaction was immediate. Guests were completely caught off guard, chairs began to move, and within seconds, people were dancing as if the dinner had already turned into a party. Chairs have a special place in Rafa’s artistic practice, as he often paints them as part of his work, so seeing our guests literally lifting them and dancing with them felt particularly fitting.

We sat together at the central table with our families and witnesses, surrounded by the people closest to us, while the energy around us continued to build. To close the dinner, flamenco singer Alejandro Estrada, accompanied by a group of palmeros, took to a stage specially prepared for the performance. Their live flamenco brought the evening back to its Andalusian roots, creating an unexpected and deeply emotional finale to the dinner before the celebrations continued into the night.

The Special Touches

We both chose fragrances from the Isolée group for the day, with Rubén wearing EX NIHILO and Rafa choosing NEROLI ORANGERIE (Matière Première). We are both big fans of Spanish singer Guitarricadelafuente, so it felt natural to bring his music into such an important moment. We chose one of his songs for our first dance, making the beginning of the celebration on the dance floor feel especially personal.

Our Favorite Moment

For Rubén, the most memorable moment was hearing the wedding speeches. Rafa’s brother and Rubén’s sister both spoke, and hearing them share their words, memories, and perspectives on our relationship was incredibly emotional. For Rafa, his favorite moment came much later in the evening. After dinner and dessert, a group of flamenco singers took over the space, with palmeros and the voice of Alejandro Estrada. What began as a performance gradually turned into something completely spontaneous: a dance floor where both of our families came together and started dancing side by side.

Our Style

The Grooms’ Looks

We both chose bespoke suits, made especially for us in a traditional Spanish tailoring workshop with decades of experience. We wanted our looks to feel timeless and personal, while also reflecting the craftsmanship and character of Spanish tailoring.

Our Advice

For the Planning Process

Our biggest piece of advice would be to make sure that everything you do throughout the planning process speaks to you as a couple. From the venue and the flowers to the stationery, music, and food, every decision should feel connected to who you are, your story, and the things you love. It can be easy to get carried away with trends or with what a wedding is "supposed" to look like, but we believe the most memorable celebrations are the ones that could only belong to that particular couple. We tried to make every detail feel personal to us, so that when our guests experienced the day, they could also feel a little bit of who we are.

For On The Day

Be present, enjoy every moment, and remember to take a few minutes together to simply take it all in. We knew the day would be filled with conversations, hugs, and encounters with people we hadn’t seen in a long time, so we had a little strategy in place: our friend Carlos had one very important mission—to find us and bring us back together whenever we got too dispersed among small conversations with our guests. We also chose to take most of our photographs before the guests arrived. It gave us a little time to ourselves, to walk through the space, experience all the details together, and simply enjoy the anticipation before the celebration began.

For Post-Wedding

We made a point of thanking all our vendors. So much work happens behind the scenes to bring a wedding like this to life, and taking the time to acknowledge the people who made it possible felt important to us. We also wanted to keep a physical piece of the celebration, so we created a memory box with everything we could save from the day: menus, poems, stationery, small details from the décor, and other little pieces. It has become our own archive of the wedding. The day after, we also organized a private lunch with our closest family, where we could sit together, talk about the wedding, and relive some of the moments we had experienced. After all the anticipation and intensity of the day itself, having that slower, more intimate moment together was a beautiful way to bring the celebration to a close.