A Modern, Romantic Wedding at Mallorca’s Neuendorf House

Punctuated by sleek architectural lines and intriguing coral hues, Mallorca’s rugged island terrain collides with The Neuendorf House, a minimalist masterpiece that spills with reverie for a modernly romantic wedding.

The towering bold-colored walls made for a hypnotic backdrop at Markus and Amohela’s serene wedding. A thousand white roses appeared to grow from the grass, lining the garden aisle for the couple’s elegant ceremony. Meeting the altar with potent shadows, rose-hued plinths with more blooms stood tall accented by the warm sunlight. The couple said their vows before moving to the courtyard for a reception dinner surrounded by the daringly high walls amidst the starlit sky.

The wedding was poetically captured by photographers Dos Más en la Mesa.

Our Story

Names / Amohela & Marco Vandeput

Location / The Neuendorf House, Palma de Mallorca

Wedding Date / June 1st, 2023

Guest Numbers / 42

How We Met

We met in the summer of 2019 in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. At the time, I was living in Cape Town and studying my honors Degree, while Marco was frequently going in and out of the city for work purposes. Marco and I were complete strangers until one afternoon, a friend of mine convinced me to go for a drink at a beachside café with a couple of her work colleagues and that’s where everything began. Marco ended up being one of the “work colleagues” and we were inseparable from that day on. It was the beginning of our beautiful love story.

Our Engagement Story

In 2021, after roughly being together for 2 years – Marco decided that he was ready to ask for my hand in marriage. It felt natural to have one another in our lives and getting engaged as the next step in our journey.  

Before the actual proposal took place, Marco knew that he had to plan a proposal that was special and something that I would never forget. He knew that Cape Town was my favourite city in South Africa, and it made sense to propose to me in the city where we first met. Marco planned the proposal to take place on November 9th, 2021. After taking me on a late lunch date we got back to our accommodation, Marco asked me to follow him to the beach so that we could take a walk and watch the sunset. He convinced me that it would be a beautiful and romantic.

We made our way to the pathway that led to the beach. When we got to the pathway, he asked me to close my eyes and hold his hand while he led me down the staircase leading to the beach. Once we got down to the beach, Marco had set up a red rose arrangement in the shape of a heart with candles all around with a “will you marry me sign”. He got on one knee and went on to give his proposal speech, which I couldn’t even comprehend as I was in utter shock and tears. Marco noticed that I was in complete awe and decided to just cut to the chase and shouted,

“Will you marry me?” to which I replied “yes!”

What we love most about each other…

What we love most about each other is the fact that even though we are different people, we are also very similar in many ways. We are both compassionate, affectionate, and sincere. We share the same love for food and travelling, and we enjoy each other’s company. In our relationship, we don’t only get along as a couple, but are also genuinely best friends and could spend the whole night chatting to one another until the early hours of the morning.

“I knew our wedding was going to be very intimate, so I wanted a wedding venue in Mallorca that was exclusive with very minimal décor but looked extremely elegant.”

The Setting

Wedding Location

Our wedding was in Spain. Never in a million years did I think that would have been the location of my wedding bearing in mind that a destination wedding wasn’t the first idea that came to mind. However, I’m so glad it did. The funny story of it all is that guests started thinking Marco had a Spanish nationality but he’s actually originally from Belgium.

I wanted a private villa that had strong modern architecture, with high walls, and the most beautiful scenery. I knew our wedding was going to be very intimate, so I wanted a wedding venue in Mallorca that was exclusive with very minimal décor but looked extremely elegant. We wanted the villa to be the center of attention, the attraction of it all. My wedding planner found Neuendorf House for us and I was in complete shock when I laid my eyes on this property. Honestly, it was perfect.

Neuendorf House is in the Southern part of Mallorca. The architects behind the masterpiece of art are John Pawson and Claudio Silvestrin. The team did such an amazing job they just had to be mentioned. Architecturally, there is rawness, simplicity and calmness all in the house, which makes it unreal. The ceremony took place in the garden, the house has a long pathway of steps leading to the most beautiful outdoor courtyard, which we decided to make our ceremony space. Our reception took place in the courtyard. The nature and harmony that the architects of Neuendorf House achieved was just out of this world, which made me proud to capture on my special day.

Aesthetic

I told my wedding planner make it look like a wedding that would be seen in a magazine! I wanted everything to be so elegant, minimal, soft, and extremely effortless – really going for less is more. Alice and I made sure to pay close attention to detail with every little concept and design that was important to me. Even though a wedding like mine was on a smaller scale, it’s all the small things that make a smaller wedding perfect and feel personal.

Preparation

My whole family stayed at Neuendorf House for the week. The morning of the wedding I got ready with my mother, mother-in-law, and 4 of my “bridal squad girls” as I didn’t have any bridesmaids. I remember waking up thinking “today is the special day” but for the most part of it, I woke up extremely calm and collected. Ross, who is the founder of Private Chef Mallorca came in with his team and set up the most beautiful table and made brunch for all the ladies. Everything that morning felt right. I felt relaxed as everything was taken care of and everyone took care of us.

Photography

Dos Más en la Mesa were the photographers I ended up choosing for my wedding. The elements of their shooting style are defined as poetry, emotion with a twist of fashion and that’s exactly how I imagined the aesthetic of my wedding images to look like. I wanted a photographer that could capture the clean, minimal, editorial, and sophisticated elements but still be able to capture the emotion and memories of the whole day. Dos Más en la Mesa did such a great job at capturing different moments and senses of pureness, elegance, rawness, love and laughter.

Videography

We got Alex Dioscorides to be our videographer. The style we wanted of videography was the recollection of pure moments of the day but also making the venue a focus point. We wanted to look back on the videography and be able to view a story and relive all the emotions and memories we all created together.

Style Notes

Ceremony Décor

Alice created a bespoke design that used the existing pathway at Neuendorf House as our aisle. The pathway felt like a runway leading up to the altar for our fashion forward wedding. More than a thousand roses lined the aisle and were seemingly growing from the ground for a modern aesthetic. As we had an intimate group of guests we decided to do singular aisle chairs that blurred the lines between fashion show and wedding. Using chairs that complimented the neutral colours of the venue, provided a premium touch.

Reception Décor

We used long tables to create clean lines that worked with the modern architecture of the venue. We used crisp white linen along the tables with lines of tealights, clear vessels and peeled roses. Glass chargers complimented the bespoke stationary with handwritten calligraphy that provided softness alongside sustainable bamboo silk bows which were personally my favourite touch. Guests entered the space at daytime and the transformation between day and dinner provided by candlelight created an intimate atmosphere as we dined under the stars.

“Architecturally, there is rawness, simplicity and calmness all in the house, which makes it unreal. The ceremony took place in the garden, the house has a long pathway of steps leading to the most beautiful outdoor courtyard, which we decided to make our ceremony space.”

Wedding Planner & Stylist

Alice provided a full planning and design service, and I was drawn to her fashion forward aesthetic after discovering her via Instagram after researching for months. We instantly hit it off!

We had told Alice about our dream to get married in a modernist venue and Alice found Neuendorf and we knew it was our venue instantly. Not having been to the venue ourselves until the week of our wedding, Alice carefully managed site visits to scope out the space and meet suppliers prior to the big day. Alice researched and discovered local suppliers that had a shared vision for our day and made sure that they were coordinated with precision and a strong drive to deliver a unique event.

Flowers

I wanted something minimal but insanely beautiful with the flowers. I wanted the flowers to be an addition but not be too overbearing for the venue. Alice and the La Federica team worked closely together and decided to use single stem roses in a singular colour to create this modern wedding aesthetic that was featured in the ceremony and dinner setting. For my bridal bouquet, I wanted something romantic and simple. Candlelight was a big priority for our wedding and we filled the dinner space with candles to create warmth as the sun set.

Stationery

We opted for a bespoke website that had the colour palette of Neuendorf House. The website was sent out to guests with itineraries and travel information which guests could always refer back to on their trip. Wedding stationery was designed in-house by Alice and featured bespoke calligraphy details throughout.

A favourite part of the stationery was a sustainable fabric table plan that was hung from a black minimalist frame that blew in the wind to create a billowing drape effect.

Food & Beverages

We opted for a local menu inspired by local ingredients with a minimalist aesthetic that matched the rest of the wedding. Marco and I brained stormed ideas of creating a menu together, and then involved Organi Chefs on what was best for us to have during that specific season as we were also open to looking on having a Spanish experience.

We decided we would serve fresh lemonade and cava as guests arrived as a welcome drink. This always sets the mood for guests. We then had a cocktail hour after the ceremony where we decided guests could help themselves to the open bar that served local Mallorca drinks, cocktails, cava and drinks that were familiar to South Africans. While guests enjoyed the open bar, the caterers went around serving finger food before dinner which consisted of an Iberic ham cutter, prawn rolls, catch of the day ceviche, steak tartare and seasonal gazpacho shots.

When dinner came around I made sure that each guest’s dietary requirements were taken care of. It was extremely important for me that all guests felt catered to. Apart from the ceremony, dinner felt like the most spectacular moment for me. We were surrounded by candlelit, laughter and warmth. We started dinner with speeches from family and friends and headed to start our wine pairing dinner which consisted of monkfish and prawn suquet, Pedro Ximenez’ slow cooked organic beef, local potato cream, and seasonal vegetables. Dessert was a classical lemon merengue.

Cake

We chose a 3-tier white stylistic orange cake design. We wanted to go for something fresh and summery for the filling which ended up being white chocolate, buttercream, and orange jam.

Fashion & Beauty Notes

Bride’s Dress & Shoes

My dress was ordered from Vonvé Bridal Couture. I wanted a dress that was satin, glove fitted, timeless and elegant. The bridal team and I ended up adding some drama by choosing a lace designed veil which was Spanish inspired and a cape skirt I wore for the ceremony which I could attach and detach. For the shoes I decided on going for the iconic brand Manolo Blahnik. There was simply no other brand that was going to do it for me. I wanted a classic mule with beautiful detailing and opted for comfort most importantly throughout the day.

Wedding Rings, Jewelry & Accessories

I knew exactly what I wanted to get for Marco, although we didn’t have conversations about it. Making it suit his style, I wanted Marcos’ ring to be a classical and timeless 18K gold band with a continuation of an engraved message he wrote for me in my ring. Before we got engaged, I started saving different styles of rings and I came across a unique style which I really fell in love with. Marco designed my ring which was an upside-down pear-shaped centre stone with a halo which ended up being the ring I saved. My wedding band was an 18K platinum band that just fell in sync with my engagement ring.

Hair & Makeup

There was only one vision that came to mind with hair and make-up. That was achieving the sleek look. I flew my glam team from London which was properly the best decision and investment I made. I had a sleek back low bun with a middle parting because I didn’t want my hair to the focus of my look. The glam team and I worked closely to achieve a more timeless, elegant but an elevated look at the same time for both hair and make-up. My make-up artist decided to go for a more nude, growly vision for the special day as they decided it would be more of a natural look.

The Details

Transport

My family and I stayed at Neuendorf House for the week but for the wedding day we arranged shuttles with VIP Mallorca. While we were in the planning process, I started noticing how the taxi and no uber situation wasn’t going to work out and would impact our wedding day. We decided to have control over the situation which made things much more time efficient and easier for us and our guests.

Honeymoon

We went to Paris for two nights but mostly spent most of our honeymoon in Zakynthos, Greece. It was peak season around the time we went on honeymoon, and we were really opting for a beautiful island in Greece but at the same time an island that was less busy and where we could still have our peace of mind after all the planning we have done for the wedding. It was our first international trip together which was extremely special to us and one we will always hold close to our hearts and remember.

“Marco and I curated our own playlist for each part of our wedding. Coming from South Africa we love music, and it was important to us to have that part of home with us during our wedding.”

Wedding Songs

Marco and I curated our own playlist for each part of our wedding. Coming from South Africa we love music, and it was important to us to have that part of home with us during our wedding. I walked up the isle to a song by Kanye West featuring Kenny G called “use this gospel” which was chosen by Marco. He said to me, “You need to walk down the aisle to this song.” It was so fitting as we already had a saxophone artist and we wanted something instrumental originally.

After the ceremony our song of choice to walk down the aisle was “Marry You” by Bruno Mars. This song was so perfect for the mood, it lifted the guests’ spirits and started the celebrations on a high note.

Entertainment

The style of music chosen for our playlists were created and divided according to the mood and segment of the wedding. For guests arrivals we wanted something calm, so we choose R&B/Soul, electronic and instrumental. During the cocktail hour we had the saxophone artist playing a continuation of the R&B genre. We had live singers from Panela Entertainment during dinner which was so romantic with all the candlelight décor. One of our guests then DJ’ed for us for the rest of the night as we danced away with our closest friends and family.

Celebrant

Jonas from Distinctive Mallorca was our celebrant. I loved him, he was incredibly sweet and charismatic. We had a few calls with him before the wedding but apart from that he told our love story so well and handled the ceremony with so much love, integrity and grace which was so special to us.

Our Advice

A memorable moment…

Our wedding was extremely private as we just invited close friends and family and sharing our union with such a small group of people who have significantly added to our lives is a moment we will never forget. Having the opportunity to host the wedding in a completely different country where we all came together from South Africa was extremely special. Seeing our guests make the most of it by traveling around Europe with an experience we were able to create for them, was so special to witness.

During the week of our wedding, we got to share moments with friends and family at Neuendorf House and Mallorca where we had planned an itinerary for different days. Apart from all the fun, I would honestly say the biggest memorable moment for me was writing our own vows and saying our vows, promises and commitments to each other. It is a moment you will never replace and one you will always cherish.

One thing I wish I knew before I started my wedding plans…

Take everything one step at a time. It all becomes so overwhelming when trying to have control over everything. Celebrate the small wins during the process instead of stressing over them. Most importantly set the mood during the planning process with your partner because nobody else is going to do it for you.

If you have the opportunity, don’t limit yourself to just having a big wedding to please family and friends. Go for what you and your partner really want to do. Remember it’s “your” special day and no one else’s. Have the small or big destination wedding on your own terms and erase your fears and limitations because its 100% worth every moment and you will create memories that you cherish forever.

Sources of inspiration…

Instagram and Pinterest were my friends for a year and a half. Before planning, I knew how I wanted everything to look aesthetically and creatively. I just needed to make sure I would draw inspiration for my team that was working on the wedding with me so they could understand the vison better and be able to execute it. I started looking at other creatives such as Bianco Antico, Dos Santas and magazines such as The Lane. Apart from drawing inspiration I had to still be creative and think differently. I wanted something different that nobody had ever seen before. This is such a crazy moment for me now because everything feels like it’s such a full circle moment.

Our Contacts

Wedding Venue / Neuendorf House

Wedding Stylist & Planner / Amohela Vandeput & Alice Wilkes

Photography / Dos Más en la Mesa

Videography / Alex Dioscorides

Bride’s Dress / Vonve Bridal Couture

Bride’s Shoes / Manolo Blahnik

Groom’s Attire / Tailor Mesa

Wedding Rings / The Diamond Guy & Cartier

Hair / Eugenze

Makeup / Christel K Beauty

Stationery / Alice Wilkes

Florist / La Federica Studio

Cake / Organi Chefs

Catering / Organi Chefs

Celebrant / Distinctive Ceremonies Mallorca

Entertainment / Panela Productions

Organic Silk Ribbons / Mia Sylvia