Real weddings
The ceremony started promptly at 4:29pm rather than 4:30 as 9 is a lucky number in Thailand, whereas 0 is unlucky. All important ceremonies, blessings etc tend to start at a time with more 9s than 0s in the number, and normally ending in a 9 as well. The foundation blessing ceremony for our house for example started at 9:09am. Glynn (caterer) turned out to be a bit of a godsend - he was able to put together a menu with Thai style starters, and a traditional English roast main course. He was also easily able to cater for allergy sufferers and vegetarians with no fuss and without drawing attention to them (my son is allergic to both eggs and nuts and hates eating out as he ends up eating plain sandwiches or similar so sticks out). All fresh, cooked on site and delicious! We chose Khalile Siddiqui as the photographer because we both really liked his cheerful demeanour - he really put us at ease as soon as we started chatting - as well as the lovely photos on his stand, where the couples seemed to have such natural, happy expressions rather than the forced poses you sometimes see. An added bonus was that his wife Tamsyn is a make-up artist as well as a 2nd photographer, so they made the perfect team. All the guests commented on how Khalile made them smile and feel at ease, plus they stayed late to get pictures of the reception and to change Pum’s make-up when she changed into an evening outfit. The cake was made for by Sophie Faldo, recent winner of the Great British Bake off final. She is a friend and member of a cycling team that I sponsor, and Pum also knew her as she had been to Mallorca for 2 weeks on a cycling trip with the team. Sophie has been incredibly busy since her rise to fame; it all ended up a bit last minute but she and the cake arrived during the ceremony! Choosing the bride’s car was very easy - we own a blue Ferrari California T. Pum’s brother in law drove her to the castle - he was absolutely
made up at getting to drive a Ferrari including some practice miles the day before! In the lead up to the big day, having Trenton Spear, the Hospitality and Events Coordinator, at the end of the phone proved invaluable. As Pum was forced to spend much of her time before May in Thailand it fell to me to ‘organise’ the wedding, and I became increasingly pleased that we had chosen the wedding package rather than individual, unknown suppliers. The seating plan was based on a map of Thailand - 8 tables all named after places we had visited, and the map position corresponded roughly to the position of the tables. Naturally the bridal party was on the table called Chaiyaphum! Pum’s niece Ketsara designed and printed something for each table showcasing some of the attractions of each area, such as the Red Lotus Sea for Ubon Thani, and the stone formations Mo Hin Khao for Chaiyaphum. What would I do differently? Not much to be honest. The only advice I would give would be perhaps to Google advice on planning a wedding, or obviously reading your guide, but mostly to just ensure that the person you are marrying is someone you genuinely love and adore. That way the day cannot possibly be anything but perfect. It sounds clichéd but, for me, the most memorable moment was seeing how stunning and radiant Pum looked as she walked down the aisle. My brother, standing beside me as Best Man, remembers me saying ‘Oh my God’ out loud when I caught sight of her.
WHO THEY USED: VENUE: Pendennis Castle english-heritage.org.uk/pendennisweddings BAR: Bars with Legs barswithlegs.co.uk PHOTOGRAPHY: Khalile Siddiqui Photography weddingphotographyincornwall.co.uk CATERING: Wellington Catering Company wellingtoncatering.co.uk MAKEUP: Tamsyn Siddiqui Makeup Artist cornwallweddingmake-up.co.uk MENSWEAR: Moss Bros moss.co.uk FLOWERS: George Mackay Flowers georgemackayflowers.com CAKE: Sophie Faldo Couture Cakes sophiefaldocouturecakes.com TRANSPORT: King Harry Coaches kingharrycoaches.com ACCOMMODATION: St Michael’s Resort stmichaelshotel.co.uk
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