We’re seriously impressed by Laura & Tarek’s Vienna wedding, you guys. And not just because it took place at the iconic Garden Palace Liechtenstein. They’re both Lebanese, have lived all over the world (both even lived in NYC at the same time before dating), and dreamed of a Vienna destination wedding. 300 guests flew from all over for an incredible wedding weekend all inspired by a song Tarek composed during his proposal to Laura, titled “Fly Away”—and yep, he even played it during the wedding. See all the details A Very Beloved Wedding helped them bring together in just six months in the photos from Stefanie Kapra:
L + T are big dreamers, so they wove a subtle theme of clouds and the sky throughout the design to allude to their personalities. Laura designed + painted these invites, and the Jolly Edition map and Lost in Vienna guide were included in the guest welcome bags.
Laura says, It was a destination wedding, as we are both Lebanese. Our friends came from all around the world to attend our wedding! Tarek and I visited Vienna to celebrate our first year together. Vienna marked Tarek as a child. He had visited the city with his family when he was 8 years old, he got so fascinated with the remarkable palaces and hotels he recalls it to be the first time he became interested in the hotel industry. The abundance of art, music, café life, enchanted parks speaks to me as an artist. It has an opulent side yet a bohemian side that we love. When we visited it together we found it so romantic! We are both dreamers, we both had a very strong feeling about getting married there.
Instead of traditional wedding flowers, they wanted something a bit more wild and edgy and natural. They chose lunaria as a little nod to the moon theme with its disc-shape and pampas grass to add more lightness to the decor.
No shortage of places for pretty portraits around here!
For both days we chose locations that are very Viennese and Imperial and made them ours. The Welcome event took place at the Palmenhouse: greenhouse of the Habsburger, Austrian Royal Family. As it is a greenhouse we used that theme for the décor, filled with greens, plants, nature, wood, interesting food stations emulating the Viennese markets and its beautiful green areas. We added some touches of color with décor accents like pillows, tropical flowers and fans.
For the wedding event we chose the Garden Palace of the Royal family of Liechtenstein. We created contrasts between history, imperial style, with modern and young touches. It was a surprising experience for our guests, as it was elegant but edgy, perfect but imperfect, romantic but real, truly atypical and whimsical. Diverse elements of the theme where found in the lightness of the décor, furniture and flowers, the names of the tables (clouds, moons, sun) and our fun “FAB-Bar” (Fly Away Bar).
Wondering how they dreamt up this epic cake? Find the story below…
About the wedding cake…
Our wedding cake was an art performance. We called this the Klimt project. We wanted to involve some of our creative and talented guests in the design. So, the guests that where selected for this experience received a letter from us while checking in their hotel room:
“What has 6 corners, is solid as a rock, shiny as gold leaf and is sweet as honey?
Klimt was a symbolist painter, part of the Secession movement in Austria. Bold and original, he worked with gold leaf, edgy shapes and patchwork techniques. His art pieces connected the earth and the sky, breaking time as we know it.
Search for a person in black and tell them you are the selected one. Don´t forget your code phrase: “Let them eat cake”, as you will need it. Love, Laura + Tarek”
Led by a patisserie specialist, our guests worked the magic together with her during the cocktail in a hidden room and made our cake a piece of art inspired on Klimt.
Our cake was presented and served in the Sweet room, a spectacular Marie Antoinette room with beautiful furniture from the 17th century and reinterpreted Viennese desserts, such as Punsch-cakes, Lavender-cakes, Apricot-tartelettes, Poppyseed-cakes, Meringues with fresh fruits, Strawberry-cakes, peach-Rosemary desserts, Soft Bourbon-cakes, Macarons and many more.
So creative. Cheers to L + T!
Photography: Stefanie Kapra / Videography: Pascal Delé / Destination Wedding Design & Planning: A Very Beloved Wedding / Ceremony & Reception Venue: Garden Palace Liechtenstein in Vienna / Welcome Event Venue: Palmenhaus / Floral Design: Zweigstelle / Hair & Makeup: Bassam Fattouh & Laurent Decreton / Invitations: Bride, Laura / Save The Dates: Wald & Schwert / Vienna Map: Jolly Edition / Calligraphy Welcome Event Boards: A Very Beloved Wedding / Cake: Schnabulerie / Catering: Motto Catering / Music: Jazz Around Midnight & Art4Strings / Light & Sound: Concept Solutions / Getting Ready Location: Hotel Imperial in Vienna / Wedding Dress: Zuhair Murad / Bespoke Welcome Event Dress: Maison Rabih Kayrouz / Shoes: Manolo Blahnik / Welcome Event Jewelry: L’atelier Nawbar / After Party Dress: Rani Zakhem / Groom’s Suit & Shoes: Ermenegildo Zegna / Pageboys: Les Ateliers de Rififi / Flower Girls: Tartine et Chocolat
