Beach Bride

Fiona and Sam were married on 8^th September 2017 at ManathaiKhaoLak in Thailand.

How did you meet?
We met in a local club in 2006, Sam approached me and we started chatting and straight away we really liked each other. He offered to make sure I got home in a taxi, he dropped me to my front door and we kissed, exchanged numbers and said we would meet up again.

How did the proposal happen?

We’re not particularly conventional and we tend to do things in a way which suits us. We had been together 1 month shy of 10 years when we got engaged. We spoke about getting married and we arranged a date to go shopping for a ring together in November 2016. Sam played a massive part in choosing the ring but I could tell him what I wanted. We went for a gorgeous meal and cocktails to celebrate afterwards.

Where did the wedding take place?
The wedding took place on the gorgeous beach at ManathaiKhaoLak in Thailand.

What did the bride wear?
I wore a wedding dress that had ivory lace over a very slight blush under layer. It was a fitted fishtail style with a sweet heart neckline and delicate lace straps; it had a very low sheer material back, with buttons running from the top of the neck down to the bottom of my back. The train was quite long with a scalloped lace edge finishing the hem off.

What was your theme?

We went for a mix of baby pink and cream flowers.

Describe your cake:
We had a cake which was made by the chef at ManathaiKhaoLak. It was chocolate sponge with a traditional white icing, we shared this with the hotel staff.

You wore something new, but what about something borrowed and something blue?

My seamstress who altered my dress stitched a beautiful blue ribbon on the inside of my dress for something blue. I borrowed an old Cornish Piskie from my mum for my something old and borrowed which I had tied to my bouquet.

What were the highlights?

Half an hour before we were due to get married the sun came out following a monsoon and there was a beautiful sunset so we were able to get married on the beach after all.

Your best buy?

My best buy was certainly my jewellery, £8 for my necklace and earrings.

How did the day end?

We ended the day drinking cocktails and champagne with our new friends at the pool bar. When we got back to our room there were flowers everywhere, the hotel staff had decorated it beautifully. Filled the bath with warm water with gorgeous rose petals and decorated the bed with rose petals.

What did you do once the cake had been cut?

We shared the cake with our friends and we wanted to give some to the staff for being so helpful!

Did you take your honeymoon at MANATHAI?

Yes we stayed at Manathai for a further 5 days after we tied the knot.

Would you return for a holiday?

ABSOLUTELY!! Such a wonderful resort and the staff are fantastic. MANATHAI went above and beyond at every opportunity and made our wedding and honeymoon a completely unforgettable experience.

Can you describe KhaoLak and the beaches?

KhaoLak is a beautiful place with just the right amount of everything happening. The beaches are out of this world, pristine white sand with beautiful trees and palms sat just off the beach line, paradise!!!

Is there anything you wish you’d done differently?

Getting married abroad was such a fantastic option; it took the stress away from a traditional UK wedding. I wouldn’t do a thing differently.

My advice is make sure you have a good wedding planner at your wedding venue or hotel as this made such a difference, our wedding planner was second to none.

Did you go anywhere else on your honeymoon?
As we got married in Thailand this combined as a wedding and honeymoon. We flew from London to Bangkok, spent two days there before flying to Phuket and travelling up to KhaoLak to stay for 12 days. We booked everything ourselves independently.

We hired a moped in KhaoLak for 6 days and visited waterfalls, local markets, villages, beaches and restaurants. We spent a lot of time relaxing by the beach or pool, it was paradise.