Natalia and Marek’s wedding was a truly international affair with guests flying to Poland from as far as Monaco, Norway, New Zealand and England. The newlyweds' story is one of converging cultures too. When they met in a bar in Ireland they discovered that despite being hundreds of miles from their native Poland, their roots were in fact very close with both families hailing from neighbouring towns.
They exchanged numbers and soon moved to London together. A couple of years later the couple took a trip to Paris and Marek proposed to Natalia as they watched fireworks over the Eiffel Tower on Bastille Day. Marek’s Parisian proposal meant more to Natalia than just the obvious romantic associations. The bride had spent her childhood in the south of France so it held extra special significance for her. They were married on June 3, 2012 in a national park in Raclawice not far from Krakow, Poland. The couple chose a 500-year-old wooden church as the venue. Steeped in history and closely associated with the bride’s mother’s family, it was the perfect place to bring together a melting pot of nationalities and cultures.
One of the couple’s dearest friends, James, caused quite a stir on the day as he showed off his Scottish heritage by wearing a kilt – something Natalia described as “a once in a lifetime sight out in Chocholowy Dwor”. It was a very personal ceremony with Natalia’s uncle having written a song dedicated to the newly married couple which took Frank Sinatra’s My Way as background music.
After the ceremony the celebrations took place at a quintessential Polish manor house in the national park. Guests were treated to a five course extravaganza which was followed by a wedding cake that was very personal to the couple: replicating the same decorations they’d had at their London civil ceremony, two cute bunnies adorned the cake as Marek’s surname (Zajac) translates as bunny in English. The couple, whose friends and family refer to as Mr and Mrs Bunny, have moved to France to start their married life together.
