Jen and Anton planned a pastel garden wedding at Quinta De Sao Tadeu before realising they couldn’t let their legal ceremony in Scotland go by without marking it. They pitched a tent in Jen’s parents’ backyard and the party commenced
Photo: Nicole Parrack Creative
Jen Burns and Anton Chalk, now Mr and Mrs Chalk
26th August 2023 (legal ceremony in Scotland) and 23rd September 2023 (wedding in Portugal)
Home venue | bride’s parents’ garden
Abroad venue | Quinta de São Tadeu, Portugal
Photography | Nicole Parrack Creative (home) and Portugal Wedding Photographer (abroad)
"Anton and I have been together since we were teenagers. Getting married wasn’t a massive priority for us, so I was genuinely surprised when, after 10 years together, he popped the question!
We were going out for dinner on a long weekend down south and it turned out he’d booked out the full restaurant and had it decorated with loads of flowers. It was so special.
Our first decision was to get married abroad. My family have been visiting Portugal for over 30 years and it was the first place Anton and I went on holiday together, so it holds a special place in our hearts.
We stumbled across our venue in Sintra (near Lisbon) by accident, whilst in a taxi en route to a different one in the area. The driver told us who to contact and we reached out over Instagram to arrange a visit.
When we got there, it was pouring with rain, but we both knew it was the one as soon as we left. We wanted to get married outside in a garden and have a big house where we could stay with our family and bridal party and Quinta de São Tadeu ticked all the boxes. We had 80 guests in total join us in Portugal.
Our home wedding was planned quite last-minute, only about six weeks before.
We needed to have a legal ceremony in Scotland, so it started out as just a chance to make the marriage official, but it morphed into a big party! It was just immediate family members and the bridal/groom party for that one, about 40 people.
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Anton and I are a really good team. I took on more of the home wedding planning and he sorted the final few weeks of organising the one abroad. I think splitting the load is key when it comes to wedding planning. Arranging the home wedding felt really fun and pressure-free – I relished the chance to get creative.
We knew instantly we wanted the home leg to be in my parents’ garden which has incredible views down the Clyde. Our Portugal wedding was going to be colourful, so I wanted to keep the tones of the garden at home simple.
I imagined it as similar to those ‘backyard’-style American weddings you see in the movies. I knew I wanted gingham table covers, so I started from there and hired a stretch tent to lend a cosy, homespun feel.
We wanted the whole day to be joyful with good food (phoned-in pizzas!), good drink (cocktails!) and music. The kids in our family weren’t going to be at our Sintra wedding, so we made it a fun day for them with a bouncy castle and soft play.
We walked down the aisle together – something that we weren’t planning to do in Portugal – led by our gorgeous wee dog Winnie. We kept our humanist ceremony simple and focused on our families, as we wanted to acknowledge how important they’d been in our journey.
We tried to include all our nieces and nephews in the ceremony, with some of them doing a little poem, and others helping us fill our sand jar. I laughed a lot at the questions and answers the celebrant had asked each of us without the other person knowing the responses.
We said our personal vows to one another at our wedding in Portugal and had our family do readings. I loved it so much. It was much more emotional than I had expected. In terms of photography, we had Portugal Wedding Photographer capture our Sintra wedding.
The images of the ‘first touch’ we did are incredible (below). Just before the ceremony, we couldn’t see each other, but had a wee moment where we held hands and spoke to each other around a corner. Anton was nervous (which I didn’t expect) and he said doing a first touch calmed his nerves!
Photos: Portugal Wedding Photographer
Anton’s sister booked photographer Nicole Parrack Creative for our legal ceremony in Scotland as an early wedding gift to us. We thought about my dad taking some photos, but I am so glad Nicole was available to do it professionally.
The photos are gorgeous and I’ll treasure them forever. I particularly love the ones of our dog Winnie leading us down the aisle, me and Anton in the ball pit and my bridesmaids jumping on the bouncy castle!
I only got my dress for the home wedding the day before the event. I found it quite tricky to find a short bridal dress that didn’t feel overly formal. For the Portugal wedding, I wanted two looks, but kept the base dress the same.
My Eleganza Sposa gown had a big detachable skirt that I wore during the day. For the evening, I took it off and replaced it with a bow so I could dance more easily.
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Anton wore a tux that he designed through Slater Menswear's made-to-order service. He had our initials stitched on the sleeve of his shirt, which I thought was such a sweet touch.
I was surprised at how much planning our wedding made me reflect on our relationship. It was so lovely to really sit and think about our journey, what makes us ‘us’, and how we convey all that through each big day."
Top tip: “For a destination wedding, a good wedding planner with local contacts is a must,” says Jen. “Visit your location a few times, scope out the area and get to know it. We created a guide full of recommendations for our guests and put it on a big WhatsApp group to save us having to message people individually when questions came up.”
Home wedding suppliers
Venue Bride’s parents’ garden
Stretch tent Stretch Tents Scotland
Photography Nicole Parrack Creative
Celebrant Wendy Dallas, Fuze Ceremonies
Bride’s dress Reformation
Veil and shoes Quiz Clothing
Makeup Sophie White MUA
Hair Emma Kane Hair
Flower girl dresses Next
Groomswear Reiss
Rings Mr Harold & Son
Cake Glasgow Cakes
Catering Bangin’ Pizza
Cocktail bar Pure Bartending
Flowers Liz Wallwork (family friend)
Drinks reception music Maria McAveety
Soft play Dizzy Ducklings
Portugal wedding suppliers
Venue and planner Quinta de São Tadeu
Photography Portugal Wedding Photographer
Filmmaker Delight Films
Celebrant Sam Gardner Celebrant
Bride’s dress Eleganza Sposa
Makeup Katie Malin Makeup Artist
Hair Tania de Sousa Hairstylist
Groomswear Slater Menswear
Bridesmaid dresses A mix of Coast, Ghost, Forever Unique and Zara
Furniture hire BC Planning & Rentals
Stationery In Love Weddings Portugal
Music Your Jukebox Portugal
Scotland wedding photos by Nicole Parrack Creative
Portugal wedding photos by Portugal Wedding Photographer
