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From the Bride...Tom and I ‘met’ over ten years ago when we both worked at Marks and Spencer while at university. The inverted commas are intentional - we actually ignored each other for the six years we worked there! One fateful night in the local nightclub, over four years after we’d left M&S, Tom uttered the immortal words “do I know your face from somewhere?” After much eye-rolling on my part, we got talking…and the rest, as they say, is history.
We always knew we’d get married overseas. We’d been to a couple of friend’s weddings abroad over the past year and loved the chilled-out, relaxed, holiday vibe that was created the minute you get off the plane. Plus, how often do you get to go on holiday with ALL your friends and family?! So the planning literally started on that beach in Krabi, Thailand, where Tom had proposed.
Ibiza was not our first choice if truth be told – initially we had our heart set on Italy. But numerous inquiries and weeks of research left us feeling somewhat underwhelmed. It just didn’t feel like "us." One night after chatting about our frustrations, Tom showed me some pictures of a venue that took my breath away. When he said it was in Ibiza, I was probably a little sceptical (as indeed were our parents!) Was the ‘clubbing capital of the world’ really somewhere were we wanted to get married?! Plus I hadn't been there before. But it ticked all the boxes; it was a short flight away to make it easier for family and friends to travel; we were guaranteed better weather than England; accommodation and flights were plentiful, and above all – it was the perfect place to have a damn good party.
We went out to the White Isle shortly afterwards to look at venues, and I instantly fell in love with the place. It’s hard to describe exactly, but the island is astoundingly beautiful, spiritual, and multi-faceted – from the world-class clubs in the south that pull no punches, to rural untouched beauty in the north. I think we’d both envisioned getting married on the beach – but when we saw Atzaro (in the middle of the north part of the island), with its distinct ‘oriental look’, we knew it was the one.
The wedding day itself was a complete dream from start to finish. As we got married relatively late (6pm) due to the heat, I happily whiled away the day ‘preening’ with my amazing bridesmaids, while Tom chilled with his best man and ushers recreating the video from Club Tropicana in his family’s pool! The relaxed vibe carried through to the wedding, and as the sun just started to go behind the palm trees, we said our vows in front of our wonderful family and friends. It was spine-tingingly awesome!
Our wedding undoubtedly had a lot of traditional elements to it, but we were adamant from day one that we would make it personal to us – and hopefully memorable for our guests. From the music we picked to walk down the aisle to (One Day Like This by Elbow – and then back up the aisle to The Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News!) to my feathered fan in place of a bouquet, we stuck by our guns and truly did things ‘our way’. We’d also made sure that there were surprises for our guests, who’d traveled so far to be with us – from the first dance that we’d had lessons for, to the personalized menu cards with descriptions of everyone on the back, and the ‘bride's speech’– that only Tom and I knew about. We have so many magical memories of the day that it would be hard to list them all here – but the vows that we’d wrote ourselves, the amazing food we ate, and the final ‘hip hop’ hour on the dance floor at 4am were among the best!
Finally - we also have to shout out to our AMAZING suppliers who all exceeded our expectations in the lead up to, and on the day. We couldn’t have asked for a better team and we’d recommend each and every one in a heartbeat.
Venue: Agroturismo Atzaro / Wedding Planning: Boho Wedding and Events / Wedding Photography: S6 Photography / Celebrant: Hedley Paul Spargo / Wedding Dress: Kate Sherford via Dreamcatcher Bridal / Bride's Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Headband: Ivory & Co / Veil: Imogen's Imagination / Fan: Dragonwings / Groom's Suit: TM Lewin / Groom's Shoes: Kurt Geiger / Usher's Ties: TM Lewin / Bridesmaid Dresses: Monsoon / Bridesmaid Shoes: Next / Wedding Cake: Ibiza Cakes / Floral Design: El Ramo de Flores / DJ: Brian (B!) Beezwax / Singer: Jude Elliot / Stationery: The Bride / Happily Ever After Bunting: BekahDee