Maiah and Alex’s Dream Wedding in Interlaken Written by: bride and groom

Switzerland is one of the most beautiful countries in the world and it’s very hard to beat the Alps! We both wanted a destination wedding in a beautiful place that could also offer an incredible outdoor experience for our guests who were traveling from all over the world to attend. We decided on Interlaken in Switzerland due to its location, close to several large airports and easily accessed by public transport, its spectacular scenery and the adventure opportunities it provides. In addition, we were looking for a destination with traditions and culture and loved the icons associated with Switzerland such as the alphorn, yodeling, Swiss chocolate, cowbells, watches, hiking and fondue! We also were in search of a place where we felt we could work easily with vendors etc to make our dreams come true and Switzerland is known for its efficiency, its cleanliness and its safety.

Welcome Dinner

In choosing the Hotel Victoria Jungfrau, we were looking for a hotel that could provide elegance and sophistication but also something very different to any venue in the United States. The hotel is also situated in the center of Interlaken and it was extremely accessible to all our guests, some of whom were staying at the hotel but also for those who chose other accommodations in the town.

It is hard to select just one aspect of the wedding which was the most memorable so we will name a few. We loved every minute of our wedding weekend.. and having friends and family with us for 4-5 days of celebration was a memorable moment in itself. Our rehearsal dinner and welcome party was held at Oberhofen castle, a gorgeous medieval castle surrounded by meticulously kept gardens on the shores of Lake Thun. One of the highlights of the wedding was our arrival by boat to the castle after a tour on the lake while all our guests were able to watch from the castle. Other memorable highlights included my first dance with my father who is in a wheelchair (we rocked it!), seeing each other during the First Look prior to the ceremony, paragliding with wedding guests the day after the wedding, the fact that so many friends from all around the world came to celebrate with us, entering the grand ballroom and seeing the jaw dropping beauty of the reception room for the first time, dancing in the streets of Interlaken to music by Celine Dion at 4 am after the wedding reception, bride and groom crowd surfing to amazing music by DJ Guz and Cyrille and his whistles and drums during the party and the moment when Maiah’s dad was crying with joy before walking her down the aisle.

All of the vendors were absolutely amazing… true artists in every sense of the word. Living in the United States and thinking of planning a wedding in another country is daunting and challenging. However, we were very fortunate to work with Gianna Grieco and her team at The W. Day. Gianna was chosen from several candidates because she immediately stood out from the rest from the moment we met her via Zoom and we felt confident she could make it happen. We quickly learnt she is everything you want and need in a wedding planner… she is lovely, creative and friendly with an “I can make your dreams come true” attitude… nothing is too difficult or troublesome AND she is efficient and very professional. Gianna gave us several recommendations for each vendor category and we chose which vendor we would like to work with based upon seeing their craftsmanship on line and/or through interviews. We made perfect choices!

Artistic direction, planning, and styling: @the_w_day

The photographer and videographer, Kuenzli Photography and Trefle Studio Films were amazing. They far exceeded our expectations in every way. They captured every aspect of our rehearsal dinner (held at Oberhofen castle, we arrived by boat) wedding ceremony and preparations, cocktail hour and wedding reception without being intrusive. They totally understood what we wanted and delivered.
Photographer @kuenzli.photography
Videographer @trefle_studio_films
Backstage Videographer @579production

Andrada, of Andrada Müller Floral Designs is incredibly talented and through her floral artistry, turned the ballroom and one of the salons (where the wedding ceremony was held) into a fairytale setting, absolutely exquisite. It was so fun to watch our guests’ faces when they entered both rooms… totally in awe of the beauty.
Floral Designer @andradamuller.floraldesign

Hair and makeup artistry by Les Primpenells and Cpothier Design completed the perfect look we wanted for the bride and wedding party, and again these vendors were wonderful to work with and very skilled in their profession
Hairdressing @les.pimprenelles
Makeup artist @cpothiermakeup

Rental @options_ch and @urp_location
Music @dj_guz and @cyrillechambard
Gown by @pronovias and overskirt designed by @galialahav