SURPRISE JEWELS
Chris and I met at work in 2013. My brother in law owns a design consultancy in Nottingham and Chris came to work for him a year before I started. On the 30th of December 2015, we were both visiting my parents in the Philippines. Chris decided to play a game on the beach, whoever found the prettiest shell won! I found one that looked like a winner, a beautiful clam that Chris proceeded to open with a teaspoon, (which he unsuspiciously had in his pocket!) and inside the clam was a ring. My first thought was that we had found treasure! Until Chris got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. I was so stunned he had to ask me twice!
green garden and the terrace we immediately felt it was the one. We knew if we loved how it looked in the rain then it would certainly look spectacular in the sunshine. We weren’t wrong! A LIGHT GRECIAN STYLE
My wedding dress had to be made of light, airy fabric. First of all, because it would be hot, and second, I had to fit it in a wedding box and travel with it as hand carry luggage on the plane. I didn’t want to risk it getting lost in check-in luggage! I have always loved Grecian style dresses, with long flowing chiffon fabric, so I immediately had a clear idea in my head of what I wanted, this made it considerably easier to choose!
RAINY DAY, LUCKY DAY…
After spending one day in 3 shops, I found the one! It was a beautiful Justin Alexander dress in ivory, with no bling, just some delicate ruching on the bodice. I immediately fell in love with it because it looked classic and simple. Likewise my make-up on the wedding day was simple and not too heavy. Lorraine, my hair and make-up artist was the best, the waterproof make-up she applied did not budge in the heat!
Sunshine Weddings showed us several venues, and when we arrived at Tikitano, it was pouring down with rain! We walked along the soggy grass and as soon as we saw the sea views, the
The colour theme we had picked was aqua and peach, typical beach wedding colours, not too bright, more relaxed tones. I chose Grecian style dresses with light airy fabrics for the bridesmaids, in a
WARMTH AND SUNSHINE, PLEASE!
We both wanted somewhere that was warm, with guaranteed sunshine, and not too far for family and friends to travel. We love the Spanish culture and food plus there is Spanish blood in the past generations of our family.
light aqua colour. For the The wedding ceremony was performed by the quirkiest man in all of Malaga! We were so lucky to have been recommended Padre Peter, whose eccentric charm and jokes made everyone laugh and feel comfortable during the ceremony. Our guests commented that he looked like Shakespeare with his curled moustache and ruff! It was a non-religious ceremony, more of a blessing really, because at this point Chris and I were already officially married. We had done all the legal stuff in the registry office back in the UK two weeks before we flew to Spain. So at this point we could all relax and concentrate on the celebrations!
Real Weddings
We had a very talented Spanish guitarist, called Nano. He entertained our guests when they arrived at the venue. He also played a Spanish love song as I walked down the aisle and a celebratory flamenco as we made our exit as a couple, he was amazing!
We also had a wonderful DJ recommended to us by Sunshine weddings, DJ KMiss. Our first dance was to Newton Faulkner’s “All I Got” and ended the night with Elton John’s “Your Song”. DJ KMiss played a good mix of dance tunes, even my dad, who had just turned 80, was up there dancing before anybody else! Our cake wasn’t the typical vanilla buttercream cake, we were celebrating in Spain so I told Chris (I pretty much decided for him) that we should have an orange sponge with chocolate ganache cake. Again, Sunshine Wedding recommended Omaya from Cake Couture Marbella, and she made us a beautiful seashell inspired cake (echoing our engagement by the sea!) and it was 5 tiers of scrumptiousness! Regarding the special touches, Chris and I knew it was going to be hot before and during the ceremony so we bought some white fans for people to use and to keep.
SPANISH TOUCHES
The menu was provided by our venue, Tikitano. We had quite a few guests with various dietary requirements! Halyna from Tikitano was so very patient and accommodating to every request we made regarding the menu. On top of the main menu, we had vegetarian, vegan, crudivegano, gluten-free, seafood-free, tomatofree and nut-free meals!
We also had a polaroid guest book for our friends and family to leave messages in. It’s so nice to go through it now and see the messages with a photo of their smiling faces next to it! We also bought a hamper full of white flip flops (assorted sizes) with a sign that read “Shake Away Those Dancing Blues And Put On These Boogie Shoes!” We know it can be uncomfortable for the ladies to dance in heels after a long day walking in them, surprisingly even the men started wearing them on the dance floor! For the kids we brought along a “Fun Box”, which had an assortment of bubbles and bouncy balls that light up and flash. IN LOVE WITH CANDID SNAPSHOTS
We chose David Toms Photography at the very beginning, (another Sunshine weddings recommendation) but due to unfortunate circumstances, we CONFETI 75