Sofia and Anders

Oh, do I have the most magical winter wedding for you this afternoon! All the way from Sweden! Not only does it have snow as a backdrop and a romantic love story – but it also involves a castle. If that isn’t a fairytale I don’t know what is! Plus I think this afternoon’s wedding is a pretty big thumbs up to any bride planning to marry in the snow – I couldn’t think of a more magical time of year!

Sofia explains how she met her husband Anders. “The bride was fed up with being single. The groom had just moved to town and wanted to meet new people. They both went online, she found him, they went on a date. It started with a long walk, ended with a bath (hot summers night) from some cliffs. They met for a second date, held hands and never let go…”

Photos today are by Swedish and Spanish photographer Emma Sandstrom, who has truly captured the magic of the day with her images. Clean, crisp images full of love emotion and all the fairytale nature of the day!

Sofia’s fondest memories are of her family. “My mother came and visited the bridal party at the hairdresser and before she came I said “I’ll bet my mother will start to cry when she sees me..” And she did!

The hairdresser that did the hair and make up was such a sweetheart! Tingsgården in Eskilstuna is the place to be! The hairdresser has  a 50’s theme in the salon with cool old stuff and very unique style!”

Sofia wore a Pronovias Troya gown with shoes from Donna Girl. The bridesmaids wore orange gowns and the floral arrangements for the day were styled by Decoflor.

Sofia and Anders decided to do a “first look” and saw each other before the ceremony.

We absolutely LOVE snow, and by getting married in Sweden during winter, there is a chance that you’ll get snow on your wedding day. The week before the wedding, all the snow had been melting! Four days before the wedding I was devastated! The day before the wedding I woke up to a HUGH snowstorm going on outside my window! The morning of the wedding, the snow was laying thick on the ground and as I was driving to the wedding, I couldn’t have been more happy!

Anders proposed to me on a skiing trip, so it’s understandable that we wanted our snow!

Sofia says “That the snow decided to come back, the last week before the wedding. We designed the whole wedding around snow and snowflakes, so it was lucky for us that we got real snow to go with the wedding!”

The wedding was held at Sundbyholms Castle.  Sofia says “The venue is a beautiful castle, located in Eskilstuna (1.5 hours from Stockholm.) Both the wedding and the reception were held at the Castle, and all our guests stayed at a hotel owned by the castle, so they could stay and party all night long! We also had a brunch the day after the wedding!”

The ceremony was held in the cellar of the castle which was filled with lots of candles and lanterns. The couple’s music choices for the ceremony were beautiful. Sofia says “We chose to walk in to “Annie’s Song”, a special edition of ‘Hallelujah’ with Swedish lyrics, a well known Swedish love song called ‘Kärleken förde oss samman’ (love made us come together) – performed by bridesmaid,  and ‘Everything’ (Michael buble) performed by friends of the bride and groom.”

The guests were able to take in the beauty of Mother Nature after the ceremony. Sofia recalls “After the ceremony, all the guests went outside where they fired a salute for us with a canon.”

The couple hired a magician during cocktail hour who entertained guests.

DIY played a part in the day. Sofia explains “We did almost everything ourselves. It was important for us that the decorations turned out the way we wanted so why not do them ourselves! We did the program to the ceremony, the invitation and the menu for the dinner. On all the paperwork, I made 187 snowflakes, hand painted with orange glitter! The bridesmaids helped us with decorating the tables.”

Sofia recalls “To start the dinner with something fun, the bridal party had prepared a movie, where they were dancing and singing to “Don’t Stop me Now” by Queen! That was a great way of starting the dinner and everybody had a great time, both recording the video and watching it on the day of the wedding!”

The reception was filled with much joy. “In Sweden there is a tradition that says that if the bride or groom leaves the table (to go to the bathroom or else) during the dinner, all the girls (if the bride leaves the table) or the boys (if the groom leaves) get to run up and kiss the one that has been left at the table.”

The couple rounded off their fairytale day with their first dance. Sofia says “We danced to Swedish song Like a Fairytale” a slow waltz, perfect for a bride with two left feet…”

For the cake, the newlyweds cut “The venues special wedding cake. Passion fruit, lemon mousse covered with white chocolate.” recalls Sofia.

Congratulations Sofia and Anders! Thank you for allowing us to share your wedding day on Polka Dot Bride! Thank you also to Emma Sandstrom for sharing today’s imagery!

Photos by Emma Sandstorm