They have known each other since they were four, started dating at 18 and decided to get married during a conversation in their living room. Three months later, they were celebrating their wedding at Cartuja de Ara Christi, with no speeches or first dance, but with dinner under a full moon, hundreds of red carnations and one non-negotiable priority: the food had to be extraordinary.
Photos: @estiliart
Nando Márquez was in class B; Gemma Bielsa was in class A. They met when they were four years old, grew up as part of the same group of friends and started dating at 18. Many years later, the decision to get married came without a ring, a proposal on one knee or a carefully chosen sunset.
“Do you think we should get married?” Gemma asked one afternoon at home.
Nando said yes.
Three months later, they were celebrating their wedding at Cartuja de Ara Christi by Gourmet Catering & Eventos.
Organising everything so quickly was not a matter of improvisation. They simply knew what mattered to them. They did not want grand entrances, one speech after another, a first dance or a succession of moments designed to follow the conventional wedding script.
They wanted to sit down with their families and friends, open good bottles of wine, eat exceptionally well and dance for hours.
A red carnation and an August night
The original idea was to create a large traditional summer verbena, making the most of the final nights of the season. Although the concept eventually evolved towards a more refined aesthetic, it left behind the element that would ultimately define the entire wedding: the red carnation.
The flower first appeared on the invitation and then made its way through the stationery, the church and the decoration at the Cartuja. And very little else was needed.
In the open cloister, the tables were dressed with white tablecloths, silver tableware, candles and red flowers. The arches, illuminated in amber tones by Audioprobe, framed a setting that was both simple and striking.
That night, there was also a full moon.
The result had something cinematic about it: the historic stone of the Cartuja, the late-August sky, the warm candlelight and the carnations breaking through the neutral palette of the tables.
A setting created with just a few elements, chosen with enough intention that nothing else was needed.
A wedding dress created in record time and a very special bouquet
Miguel Angel, from Lechienerrant, was responsible for bringing Gemma’s dream dress to life in just three months.
She wanted a clean, minimalist design with a flowing skirt that would add movement and lightness. Her inspiration came from a photograph a close friend had sent her of actress Alicia Vikander at the Cannes Film Festival.
They chose Italian fabrics, resulting in a structured satin-crêpe bodice balanced by a light skirt in natural silk muslin.
The veil became the defining element of the look. Miguel Angel insisted on using illusion tulle, recalling the brides of the 1980s. Gemma loved the final result.
She completed her bridal look with a bouquet created by her friend Patri from Floristeria Sayas, combining different white flowers at varying heights in a cascading arrangement. The bouquet was tied with a blue embroidered ribbon, another gift from friends.
A wedding designed around the table
If the carnation defined the visual identity of the wedding, gastronomy set its rhythm.
For Nando, who has a real appreciation for good food, the menu and wine selection were absolute priorities. That is why the proposal from Gourmet Catering & Eventos was never treated simply as something between the cocktail reception and the party. It was a central part of the celebration.
The menu tasting became a celebration in itself. Gemma and Nando brought together their parents, siblings and partners: ten people around one table, tasting dishes, drinking and letting the conversation run on as they decided what they would serve their guests.
Only one choice required almost no discussion: salt-baked beef tenderloin with mashed potato and crispy leek, Nando’s father’s favourite dish.
Before that came a tuna tartare with mango salmorejo, yuzu roe and tomato ice cream, which would become one of the most memorable dishes of the evening.
Something similar happened during the cocktail reception with a langoustine and pork belly appetiser that was added almost at the last minute.
Alongside it, a Tuscan-inspired table brought together cheeses, cocas, gildas, torreznos and nuts. An abundant, Mediterranean proposal designed to be enjoyed without formality.
Because at this wedding, dinner was not the interval between two important moments.
It was one of them.
The luxury of staying at the table
The moment Gemma remembers most fondly was not a spectacular entrance or a scene created for photographs.
It was something much simpler: sitting at the table.
Sitting in the cloister, beneath the moon, watching her friends and family eat, drink and laugh. No need to get up for a first dance. No scheduled speeches or timeline constantly interrupting the conversations.
In front of her was the tuna tartare with tomato ice cream that would become her favourite dish. Around her, a dinner unfolding without hurry and a service accompanying the evening without drawing attention to itself.
The kind of service that, when it truly works, seems to disappear.
That was precisely where the sophistication lay: allowing everything to happen naturally.
Caribbean music and gifts that reflected who they are
After dinner came the party, although the music had started much earlier.
Los del Sur brought Caribbean rhythms to the cocktail reception and soon had several generations dancing. Later came Lía, a Cuban cigar roller who prepared cigars live and ended up handing them out during dessert to the rhythm of the music.
The gifts also moved away from the usual formulas.
The women found colourful flamenco shawls on their chairs, which Gemma had bought in Seville and many wore throughout dinner. For the men, the couple chose small prints of classic cyclists created by Miguel Soro using his acrylic and collage technique.
It was a particularly personal reference.
Cycling is part of both their lives: Nando runs GSPORT, the cycling apparel brand and factory based in Xàtiva, where Gemma heads the marketing department.
Three months to organise everything
The wedding planning was entrusted to Ana Crespo from La Llama&co, who is married to one of Gemma’s first cousins and shares an almost sister-like relationship with her.
When Friday, 28 August became available at Cartuja de Ara Christi, they stopped looking.
They already knew the venue and had attended other weddings there, but they wanted to experience it differently, moving dinner into the open cloister.
From that point on, coordination between La Llama&co, the Cartuja team and Gourmet Catering & Eventos made it possible to bring the entire celebration together in just three months.
Nando and Gemma describe their wedding in three words: natural, elegant and fun.
Perhaps one of their best decisions was understanding that none of those things required filling the evening with constant stimulation.
White tablecloths, silver, candles and carnations were enough.
A band that could get both younger and older generations dancing.
A beautifully served table that nobody was in a hurry to leave.
And a decision, made one afternoon in their living room, not to do anything simply because that was what a wedding was “supposed” to include.
Perhaps that is one of the most contemporary forms of luxury.
CREDITS
Ceremony: Church Of Santa Maria Sagunto
Conclusion : Cartuja de Ara Chrisi
Cuisine: Gourmet Catering & Events
Photo : Origina i Art
Video : Javier Ceres
Dress : Lechienerrant
Shoes : Lola Cruz
Makeup and hairstyle: Vego Bobbi Brown, combed his mother (a hairdresser retired)
Wedding planner: Ana Flame&co
Decración : Florist Skirts and Furniture for Events and Style
Bouquet bride : Flower Skirts
Sound/ DJ : Audioprobe
Suit of the groom : Blackcape