I stumbled across All things Beautiful on Instagram. I was so inspired and impressed by Magdalena’s artful approach towards wedding planning and curation, that I thought I’d ask her for an interview – and she said yes! During our Zoom Meet Up, we discussed her interesting background, unique process with couples, and vision for wedding photography.

Magdalena is a wedding planner from Central Europe and plans beautifully curated destination weddings all over Europe.

Interview with Magdalena from All things Beautiful

Kirstin: Hi! I’m so happy to be talking with you after seeing your work on Instagram. You’re Magdalena, the person behind All Things Beautiful – a high-end international wedding planning studio based in Central Europe. (Look at her beautiful work on Instagram). 

Let’s start with your background, and how you got into international wedding planning…

Magdalena: My background is a mosaic of diverse industries and experiences. I attended university to study cultural animation and social studies, learning how to build and operate NGOs. During that time, due to my interests in fashion and design, I was invited to join a magazine led by a well-known model-turned-photographer, marking the start of my career in journalism.

After that, I worked at the Polish National Opera House and Ballet, as classical music is another passion of mine. Then, a new opportunity arose—to work for a commercial interior design company in Hungary. What was supposed to be one month of training turned into two years of living in Budapest, where I worked on interior design projects for restaurants, cafes, and hotels, including Marriott, Hilton, and Kempinski properties across Europe.

Later, I transitioned into political PR and media sales, which involved traveling and living in various countries around the world, collaborating with Fortune 500 companies and prominent political figures. During this time, I took a year off to study fashion and visual merchandising at the renowned Istituto Marangoni Design School in Milan, Italy.

It wasn’t until COVID that I found the courage to create something of my own. All my previous experiences—my love for travel, architecture, design, complex project management, and a passion for throwing fabulous parties—came together, and that’s how All Things Beautiful was born.

Art & design inspired Luxury weddings in Europe

Kirstin: You’ve done some incredible luxury weddings in some of the most beautiful places in Europe. What’s your approach when a couple contacts you? What kinds of weddings do you love to do?

Magdalena: What a broad question! Let me start with my approach—I am definitely very visually driven, and because of that, the weddings I curate are best described as design-led. I carved my niche in the industry by focusing on architecture and design, which have been longstanding passions of mine.

I wanted to create a space for couples looking to venture outside of the conventional wedding aesthetic without losing the romantic feel of the event. I chose to curate weddings that are centered on design and architecture, without forgetting the context of the wedding—everything that happens around it.

The location, the architecture of the venue, the wedding decor—these are often the first memories to fade. This is also what I look for in a wedding photographer: the ability to capture the context. Ten, twenty, thirty years later, the venue might not even exist anymore, the wedding stationery might be lost, and of course, the flowers die soon after the wedding day. I want my couples to remember everything that made the day so special, all that we worked so hard on for a year or more.

What her process of planning a wedding looks like

Kirstin: Do couples usually have an idea of where they’d like to get married, or do they cast a wide net, especially if they are not from Europe?

Magdalena: I receive inquiries from people all over the world, and most of the time, they’re looking to get married somewhere in southern Europe. I’ve been fortunate to live in many different places—not only in Europe but also in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and South America. This experience gives me a unique perspective and valuable knowledge when sourcing venues and vendors around the world.

International destination weddings, majority in Europe – Portugal, Spain, France & Greece

Even though I offer my services across all of Europe and beyond, the majority of inquiries I receive are for Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, and Greece.

Sometimes, couples come to me with specific ideas like, “We’d like to get married on Mallorca” or “We have our eyes set on the Greek islands.” Other times, they’re more open-ended, saying, “We’re interested in Spain, Italy, and maybe Portugal.” Every couple is different, which is why my venue and destination matching process is flexible, always adapting to each couple’s unique needs.

Finding the right wedding location for her couples

Kirstin: How do you find all these amazing locations?

Magdalena:  We live in a wonderful time with the World Wide Web. As I mentioned, I am very architecture- and design-driven, and the luxury hotel and travel industry is closely tied to these fields. Because architecture and design are passions of mine, I’m naturally drawn to exploring them in both my professional and personal life.

When I have a couple I’m searching for, let’s say, in Tuscany, I already know many venues in the area, but I’m always on the lookout for new hotels that have opened. My interest in architecture, design, and the luxury tourism segment keeps me up to date with new openings. I have subscriptions to various newsletters, magazines, and websites where I source this information.

Other times, I’m simply scrolling through Instagram, TikTok, or Pinterest and spot something interesting. I’ll often come back to those ideas later when I’m working with a couple who’s looking for a venue with those particular qualities.

The wedding planning process

Kirstin: How does the whole process work with couples? You mentioned you put upwards of 400 hours into one wedding.

Magdalena: The planning process with each couple can be broken down into four main pillars.

The first pillar is consulting—presenting a carefully curated selection of venues and vendors for the couple’s consideration. Each option is filtered through key criteria: style, budget, availability, credentials, and expertise in their respective fields.

The second pillar is project management. I use a professional project management platform to keep the process organized and avoid endless email chains about every detail of the wedding. This stage focuses on working within the set budget, tracking timelines, meeting deadlines, managing vendor payments, and more.

The third pillar, and often the most exciting, is the design process. I ask my couples to create three Pinterest boards: one for general wedding inspiration, and two lifestyle boards—one for the bride and one for the groom. These lifestyle boards visually represent who they are—their favorite cars, cocktails, interior designs, fashion designers, food—anything that helps me understand their aesthetic and priorities. These boards, along with in-depth discussions, form the foundation for what ultimately becomes the wedding’s art direction.

The fourth pillar is day-of coordination and styling, bringing the vision to life across all events—welcome events, rehearsal dinners, activities, and, of course, the wedding itself.

Put all of these pillars together, and a highly persinalized process that allows couples to be as involved as they like, and as their busy schedules allow and it easily adds up to over 400 hours.

Tips for couples planning destination weddings

Kirstin: What would you say is  the biggest challenge for couples when planning a wedding, and for you as a planner?

Magdalena: I think it’s safe to say that it is different for every couple.

Some couples struggle to envision things before they see them in real life, while others face decision paralysis, wondering if they’re making the right choice. My advice to them is to trust their instincts—often, their first impulse is the best one—and to have confidence in the decisions they’ve made.

For me as a planner, every experience is unique. Just when I think I’ve seen it all, a new issue crops up—whether it’s an unusual clause in a vendor contract or an unexpected challenge on the wedding day. These surprises keep the job interesting, and the tougher the situation, the better the story becomes over time!

About wedding photography – Analog love

Kirstin: We can’t finish this interview without asking about wedding photography – would you say analog photography is the most in demand at the moment?

Magdalena: Analog photography is definitely making a comeback and having a big moment right now. There’s something magical about it—whether it’s the grain, the unpredictable nature of film, or simply the nostalgia it evokes. Couples these days want something more from their wedding photo coverage – not just beautiful photos, but for the images to capture the feeling, to tell a story and analog photography is a wonderful way to do that.

Havig said that, most couples seem to prefer a blend of digital and analog photography. Typically, photographers shoot with both formats, using digital cameras alongside a smaller analog camera, like a Fuji, to capture those timeless film moments.

Kirstin: Thank you so much for your time! This has been really inspiring.

Magdalena: Thank you! It’s been my pleasure.

If you’re looking for a beautifully curated luxe wedding in Europe, make sure to reach out to Magdalena soon enough. As she only takes on a very limited of weddings, she is booked out well in advance. You can inquire for her services here.

Photocredit: La Dichosa