Pura Utz’s Rebecca Francker wed in Rørvig with sunflowers, an old Fiat and plenty of beads

According to Danish brand Pura Utz, it takes two women, three working days, tens of thousands of glass beads, and a whole lot of know-how to make just one of the brand's signature beaded pouches. This is exactly what Pura Utz's team in Guatemala (more than 50 women empowered by fair, full-time incomes and investment in their talent) did to surprise brand manager Rebecca Francker on her wedding day with a custom pouch – not to mention two gleaming bouquets of hand-beaded sunflowers.

It's a testament to Pura Utz's close ties with its workers in Central America. In fact, Francker had just been on a work trip to Guatemala before her then-girlfriend Taylor Gleason met her in New York and proposed. "Taylor had planned to propose during the trip," Francker says, "but was undecided on the moment or location. One evening after we had dinner in Brooklyn, we walked down to the waterfront to see the Manhattan skyline. It was just the two of us alone on the beach and something we will never forget."

Tracing back the threads of their five-year relationship brings us to Francker's native Denmark. More specifically, a basketball court in Copenhagen. Gleason had come from the States to play professionally in the same team as Francker. The pair spent months as team-mates and best friends, but just as the season ended and she prepared to go back to America, they quickly realised there was something special there. "Luckily for me, I convinced her to continue her career in Copenhagen," Francker says. "We instantly moved in and began our lives together."