Natalia Shustova and Michael Morcos
Date of wedding: 12 April 2016
Location: The Grand Canyon, Arizona
Their story: From the way they met to the way they tied the knot; nothing was typical in Natalia and Michael’s story. Having met at a mutual friend’s Halloween party (Natalia in a black cat suit and Michael in a white mask and wings) their friends joked that in black and white, they were a perfect complement to each other.
Their first official date was lunch at Pierchic which eight hours later, turned into dinner. After travelling the world together, Michael proposed in the most Hollywood of ways.
Natalia explains: “He knows I don’t believe in diamonds, I don’t wear rings and I am not a big fan of regular, obvious things. He does know, however, how addicted I am to shoes, so the proposal was a pair of shoes. It was a very Carrie Bradshaw kind of story. Until now all my gifts are usually shoes. He knows, no matter what the occasion, shoes are always the right idea.”
After weighing up their wedding day options, the couple decided to elope to Las Vegas.
“We wanted to exchange our vows in a very special environment and it was also around the time were we were planning on going to Coachella so we began devising our trip to Las Vegas and California. Las Vegas reflects who we are, because it is a party spot with music and life and happiness all around.
“This is who we are. We like hosting people and throwing parties – we are known to our friends as being always on the go, never tired and always laughing and dancing,” explains Natalia.
After dancing the night away (in her gown) at the top Vegas nightspots, the just-married couple took their vintage car on a drive to California making pit stops at Malibu before four more days of celebrating at Coachella. The perfect end to their momentous big day.
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The Wedding
Venue/location: The reception was in a (huge) suite at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas.
Number of guests: Zero. There were no guests as it was an elopement and the bride and groom wanted to keep it as special and intimate as possible.
Theme: There was no specific theme as Natalia and Michael wanted the beauty of the landscape to do all the talking and the Grand Canyon was the perfect place.
Dress: It was love at first sight when Natalia saw her gown at the Esposa boutique in Dubai. In less than 15 minutes, Natalia whizzed through hundreds of dresses and when she saw her Oscar de la Renta she said, “this is it!”
Tiara: It was the same story with the tiara, which looked like a bouquet of gypsophila. “I’m not a rose girl, I’m from Belarus and the most special flowers are something that you can pick in the forest or field and gypsophila is probably the closest to this idea. My entire outfit took me only one visit to the Esposa boutique which probably lasted around 30 minutes in total to find everything.”
Shoes: Natalia’s shoes were a fabulous gift from Aruna Seth.
Wedding rings: Not one for diamonds, the happy couple chose Love Rings by Cartier with ‘Fairytale from the day we met’ engraved on the inside.
Flowers: With the help of a local florist, the couple custom made an arch in the middle of the Grand Canyon out of gypsophilia.
Music: Michael played the couple‘s song L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole as soon as they got in the car after the marriage ceremony.
Food: A most fabulous feast of strawberries and champagne was on the menu.
Cake: Natalia says: “I don’t believe in wedding cakes, I’m not a cake person even on my birthday. I always tell everyone to get me shoes instead of all the cakes and flowers.”
Unique touches: A sky blue 1968 Cadillac that was rented and brought from Los Angeles all the way to Las Vegas.
Honeymoon: Four days at Coachella.
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Natalia’s Top Tips
1. Make sure you study and research getting married in Las Vegas, it’s not that difficult but you have to be prepared. Find as much as possible information about the legal side of how things work as it’s a special (and quite bureaucratic) process where you have to apply to the authorities, schedule appointments and find a priest or pastor etc.
2. Find your perfect location. In Las Vegas, you can get married anywhere; on the street, on a bus, in a taxi, so make sure you pick the right place to create your special memories.
3. Just forget everything and have fun! Las Vegas is definitely a place that will make memories for years and it’s something that you’ll never forget. A wedding like mine is not for everyone, it’s for very adventurous people and it’s perfect for an elopement because Las Vegas is surrounded by the most breathtaking places where it can be just the two of you or a group of very close friends partying day and night it’s very festive city.
Little Black Bridal Book
Outfits: The bride wore Oscar de la Renta from Esposa in Dubai. The groom wore Gucci.
Photographer: katrinawallace.com.
Florist: englishgardenflorist.com.
Images: Supplied
