The proposal
I proposed to Gemma, in Koh Samui.
We were sat on the beach, the sun was setting and music was playing in the background. It was perfect.
Where you got ready/got married/had your reception/why you chose these locations
Our hair and make-up artists set up in room 2 and we all moved around, as and when we were called in. It came very close to Gemma and I seeing each other though as we were only ever in the next room and people kept leaving the adjoining door open..
We got married in the summer house. The weather couldn’t have been anymore perfect. The backdrop of the sea is absolutely beautiful.
What you wore, where you bought your outfits – hair, make-up and accessories (including bridal party if you like)
We both bought our dresses from the same shop – Bliss Bridal of Bolton – a week apart. Despite not seeing the others dress, they were both so similar! Our make-up artist was Penny Pascoe – make-up by Penny – and our hair stylist was Lisa Vercoe.
Both had been previously recommended as they had been to the Fort several times before. They were both so lovely and knew exactly what we all wanted. We had 7 bridesmaids and 2 Mother of the Brides, so they had their work cut out. Everybody looked so beautiful and they managed to get everything done with at least an hour to spare. They were amazing!
How did you style your day?
We’re both very simplistic with our tastes and decided on a rustic theme. We had wooden centre pieces with candles, globe lighting and hessian wrapped glass jars, with gypsophilia in them. They looked perfect. The spot lights, supplied by the fort really worked with everything too.
Did you have bouquets/flower decorations?
We used a company called Florabella and went with a pale pink and cream arrangement. This worked really well with the bridesmaid dresses, as they were of a similar colour. We had roses / carnations and the stems were wrapped in hessian.
Who took your photos?
Our photographer was Joshua Leo Dorfman photography and he’s based in Manchester. He was so creative and worked like a Trojan. He did his research of the venue and had so many ideas of where to go for the perfect photo. We went down to the private beach, where he asked one of my bridesmaids to run behind us, with a smoke grenade to create a perfect film / photograph. It was such a funny moment, he was great to work with
Did you have a wedding cake?
Gemma’s sister in law made our cake. It was very simplistic, white icing with pink flowers down the 3 tiers and rainbow colours inside. It was lovely.
Who were your food and drink suppliers?
We chose Kerra’s catering and she was absolutely amazing! She’d also been to the fort before so knew what she was doing. We went for a ‘posh fish and chip’ theme, followed by afternoon tea. It was absolutely delicious! Their front of house staff were fantastic.
We set up a table outside where we had arranged kilners of cocktails for the guests to enjoy, pre / post wedding. We bought all of our own drink and their staff ran the bar for us. Great job all round