Restaurant wedding in Tallinn

Two weeks of planning and a perfect day

Kersti and Eric Edmeades’ wedding is a true example of how the most beautiful events are born from the heart, not from long preparations. Planned in just two weeks, the restaurant wedding took place at the seaside restaurant Ocean 11 in Tallinn (now Pier 4/2), where a bright atmosphere, delicious food, and sincere emotions created an unforgettable whole.

Kersti and Eric’s journey into marriage officially and meaningfully began with an engagement on their anniversary, which you can read about here. From that moment on, everything progressed naturally. The decision to celebrate their love with an official wedding came quickly and was born from the desire to be together with their closest loved ones.

The result was a warm and modern restaurant wedding with around 70 guests in attendance.

Below, Kersti openly shares how they arrived at the decision for their wedding day, what the planning process was like, and what mattered most to them.

The couple’s reflections

Why and how did you decide to get married?

Eric unexpectedly proposed at our beautiful shared birthday celebration, in front of all our friends and family. The party was, of course, organized by Celebrate Group, so everything about that evening was perfect for us.

After that beautiful evening, we immediately knew we wouldn’t postpone the official part for too long.

How long was your wedding planning process?

We got engaged in March and initially planned the wedding for autumn of the same year. Since our family is very international, the most difficult decision was choosing which country to host the wedding in. We prioritized making sure our children could all be together.

In mid-June, we received unexpected and wonderful news—we would be able to travel to Estonia at the end of June with our youngest family member, Eric’s 9-year-old daughter. At that moment, we decided the celebration would happen now, in Estonia, with our closest loved ones and all three of our daughters present with us on that day.

So, our wedding planning process lasted exactly two weeks.

What was your wedding vision/theme? How did you bring it to life?

Our vision was to celebrate with family and our closest loved ones (which still amounted to 70 people), with a bright and heartfelt atmosphere. The most important thing for us was that everyone felt good, comfortable, and happy.

Did you have to make any major compromises in your plans?

Despite the very short notice, we felt that we didn’t actually have to make any compromises. Incredibly, within two weeks we got everything we wanted, including all the people we wished to have around us.

Tell us about your choice of venue. What were the main criteria?

The most important aspects were a bright atmosphere, delicious food, good service, and enough space.

Was it difficult to organize the wedding considering many guests were coming from abroad?

Since our guests received their invitations on July 1st—just 10 days before the celebration—unfortunately, most of our international guests couldn’t attend. We plan to host a big after-party someday with proper advance notice.

The most emotional moment at the wedding?

There were many: relaxing in the back room with my best girlfriends while guests were arriving; the music and walking from the back room to the ceremony; seeing all our close friends and my future husband waiting; the beautiful ceremony put together so personally by Peep-Ain Saar; dancing; and our daughters’ performances.

How would you describe the multi-day celebrations and additional activities?

We didn’t have too many additional activities, which was intentional. We didn’t want anyone to feel pressured into games. We wanted everyone to have fun, with just a few special moments included.

The host, Meelis Kubo, provided exactly that: light, entertaining moments with tricks; a performance by Uku Suviste; and DJ Taavi knew exactly what to play. The photobooth became especially popular, it’s a wonderful way for guests to take memories home with them immediately.

Which moments stood out the most for you and your guests?

Many people mentioned it was their favorite ceremony. We were also very happy with it, and it meant a lot to everyone that we included our daughters in the ceremony. When we exchanged rings, the girls also received rings.

What were you willing to spend the most on, and where were you willing to save?

The most important thing not to save on is the team—the people who are with you on that day. The right wedding planner and host are the foundation of everything. When these people are good and professional, the day flows smoothly and without issues.

Even if something does go wrong, it’s handled so seamlessly that neither the guests nor the couple notice.

For me, the photographer and videographer were also very important, because you can’t recreate those memories.

If you need to save budget, you can perhaps skip very extravagant food options (our catering offers varied almost twofold in price, yet we still had very delicious food with the more affordable option), alcohol doesn’t have to be the most expensive, and decorations can likely be adjusted if needed.

But the most important thing is NOT to save on the people around you that day.

What surprises did you encounter on your wedding day? Did everything go as planned?

Probably just the fact that it’s possible to create a completely perfect celebration in two weeks. All thanks to the incredible people around us. We could never have done it ourselves.

So the only surprises were positive ones!

What would you recommend to future couples planning their wedding?

Choose the right wedding planner and host. I recommend meeting them beforehand and seeing if they feel like “your people.”

Be clear about what is important and what is less important. Once that’s done, trust the process and enjoy. The only way to ruin the day is by trying to control everything yourself and getting upset when something doesn’t go exactly as planned.

This is a day to be present and simply enjoy.

Why hire a wedding planner?

Honestly, I can’t imagine how a wedding would even be possible without a good planner.

They have so many contacts, experience, and knowledge of small details you wouldn’t even think of yourself. I strongly recommend choosing a planner with long-term experience—they’ve seen everything that can go wrong and know how to make things even better.

A wedding day is not the time to rely on amateur help from friends. It’s a day when you want to feel carefree, trusting, and in the best hands.

With our extremely fast planning, what impressed me the most was:

• how many ideas and solutions they had, even for a last-minute event;
• how many small details we would have never thought of ourselves;
• how the planner brought all the pieces of the event together into one cohesive whole. Even when I had booked something myself, Celebrate Group collected all the contacts, reached out to them, ensured everyone had the necessary information and schedule, and that all needs were met. This was incredibly important for us and made a huge difference. Arriving at the wedding day knowing everything was already set up and everyone knew exactly what to do was amazing;
• a good planning team can also handle guest issues and concerns on the spot. This allows the couple to completely relax and enjoy the day.

I honestly don’t remember a single thing I worried about that evening. Only pure joy!