The Natural Beauty of Morocco

When you think of Morocco, you undoubtedly think of the wide deserts, the quirky camels ridden by men in traditional attire, the busy souks, an oasis here and there with some palm trees, and maybe even the beautiful beaches and the wide blue ocean.

But what you don’t know is the natural beauty of Morocco. I’m so thrilled to share this high-end contemporary and inspirational wedding shoot created by Yana of The Wedding Boutique and photographed by Stefanie Kapra. She and all the amazing wedding professionals in Marrakech came together to highlight the beautiful plants and florals of a landscape that’s incredibly luscious and green; and complimented it with Morroco’s stunning architecture.

“The color-palette remained very neutral, with only white flowers and lots of green, a warm but neutral wedding dress with gorgeous yet subtle detailing, and the natural beauty of the two locations we were fortunate enough to shoot at as background.”

The morning location, Riad Yasmine, is one of the most famous riads  (a traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden or courtyard) in Marrakech on Instagram. In real life, the location definitely lives up to its online image! It’s so beautiful and green we couldn’t even have imagined it existed. The afternoon location, Dar Ayniwen was just as impressive although in a very different way. Where Riad Yasmine is white and green, Dar Ayniwen has the typical red stone that you see almost everywhere in Marrakech. It has a huge garden with a pond and swimming pool, lots of flowers and plants, and the owner’s private collection of exotic birds hidden throughout the gardens.

For the flowers, we were lucky enough to have Le Kiosque à Fleur to provide us with a range of flowers we could use to build our flower centerpiece. She also designed our wedding bouquet, and we are so pleased with how it turned out.

We purchased some of the styling elements, including the nuts and dates, inside the medina. We wanted to use elements that were local and we wanted to be able to have a keepsake to remember this beautiful day.

The wedding dress was completely custom-made for our beautiful bride by a Dutch wedding dress designer, Iek’s Bruidsjurken. I collected it from her shop myself, even though it’s a long drive, and flew it with me to Marrakech and back.

We used Rosemary and Gypsophila to dress the lanterns for the ceremony. The smell of rosemary was divine and incorporating it into the ceremony decorations definitely gave it a nice touch. For the ceremony chairs, and the couple’s chairs, we used Delphinium.

We also included some of our personal elements in the table decorations. The scarf, candles, cutlery, and napkin rings all came from my personal collection so whenever I use them again, I am reminded of this day. We even left the scarf and candles, and the entire table centerpiece, behind for the guests at Dar Ayniwen to enjoy as they were preparing to have dinner when we wrapped up. Finally, for the table centerpiece we built the base with lots of greens including Myrthus, Eucalyptus, and Mini Ivy. Interwoven amidst the greens, we then used a myriad of flowers including Delphinium, Eustoma, Gypsophila, Statice, and Ammi Visnaga to create the tower. 

Planning & Styling The Wedding Boutique | Film Photographer Stefanie Kapra Photography | Venue (morning) Riad Yasmine | Venue (afternoon) Dar Ayniwen | Floral Designer Le Kiosque à Fleurs Marrakech | Stationery Ana Luiza | Cake & traditional sweets Amandine Marrakech | Wedding Gown (custom) Iek’s Bruidsjurken | Models Anass and Souhaila & MUAH Marrakech Models