After saying “YES” on holiday in Thailand, these Brisbane-based cuties decided to continue their love affair with the special spot and say “I do” there as well. Ana Lui captured every paradise-perfect moment that was infused with a modern, minimalist design and her pics are our saving grace this Tuesday morning. See more in our Vault right this way!
From Ana Lui Photography… Bec and Ben are both based in Brisbane, the capital city of QLD, Australia. Bec works for an International Publisher in a Content Management and Global Operations role, and Ben is working in a Business Development role for a new start-up. They had met back in 2011 through mutual friends – it was a chance meeting, with both of them deciding to tag along with their friends for a quick drink at the Limes Hotel. They got engaged in April 2014 while holidaying in Phuket, Thailand. While enjoying a two week holiday at The Pullman Arcadia, Ben proposed about half way through the trip. He had arranged for champagne to be delivered to the Sunset Deck and the new happy couple watched the sunset and enjoyed some bubbles. Right then and there they knew they wanted a destination wedding.
“We wanted to spend quality time with our guests, while everyone was in holiday mode. We had been the year before, and had fallen in love with Thailand. We toyed around with Europe and America, but decided to stick with Asia due to its proximity to Australia,” says Bec.
They turned to Danielle of White + White for help, an incredible wedding planner and expert based in Brisbane, in conjunction with Isla and Smith based in the UK.
“After reading a few wedding blogs, everyone recommended using a wedding planner for destination weddings, and with hectic jobs, I didn’t need any further convincing! It was the best decision we’ve ever made – for us, it made the entire process a dream and we could have never have achieved what the ladies pulled together. I had to continually pinch myself on the night, it was breath-taking. Danielle and Lisa were brilliant to work with, and are the masters of the industry,” says Bec.
I always dreamed of shooting a wedding in Thailand so when Lisa from Isla and Smith emailed me asking if I want to shoot Bec’s and Ben’s elopement I jumped up with excitement and after a brief chat with the bride to be we booked the flights and packed our camera bags. I am based in Ibiza but up for traveling any day! I am so happy to have been there with Bec and Ben, and also to work alongside super talented and crazy organized Danielle and Lisa!
When I was shooting Bec getting ready I couldn’t wait for her to put her stunning dress on! Her dress was designed by Gwendolynne Burkin of Gwendolynne based in Melbourne.
Bec says she has been looking for a perfect wedding gown and simply fell in love with Gwendolynne designs. “She was amazing to work with, so much passion and so much care. The team were so professional and scheduled around work travel to make my life easier. It was such a beautiful and detailed dress, took months of stitching and hand beading, but it was easy to wear and looked spectacular,” Bec recalls.
The wedding venue was dressed with native Thai flowers such as orchids and lush greenery, and Danielle and Lisa (the Event Planners) used them in abundance in the ceremony and reception. They focused on clean, minimalist colour palette to compliment the venue. Traditionally, the style of flowers in Thailand are tightly arranged with lots of ribbon, but Bec decided to strip everything back to have a much more relaxed, effortless vision, with hand tied orchid stems and hanging orchids in watercolour shades. The result was breathtaking! The girls also created a bespoke tablescape design, by incorporating clear glass wine bottles with tapered candles, lush greenery and stylish letterpress menus with silver foiling to announce the abundance of (incredible) food that was coming.
Danielle sourced Ben Jay, an English-born DJ based in Phuket, and booked local fire dancers who did the show just before midnight.
“We had planned a week of events for our guests, so built a website to keep everyone in the loop as details were finalized. We used the website to house accommodation and flight options, as well as information about Thailand and what to expect. We gave everyone as year’s notice (via a ‘save the date’) to give people plenty of time to save and prepare; and to keep people’s interest, we sent everyone a series of postcards to invite them to the different activities,” says Bec.
Everything was simply perfect. Venue, food, decorations, dress and the vibe with all the guests were super relaxed and having fun! It was an incredible experience to photograph their wedding day as well as the boat trip around the bay of Phuket. I shot hybrid – both digital and film – and I’m very happy with the results.
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Photography: Ana Lui Photography | Event Planning: Isla And Smith Wedding Design | Event Planning: White+white Weddings And Events | Wedding Dress: Gwendolynne | Hair + Makeup: Twidale | Venue: Sala Phuket | Film Processing: Carmencita Film Lab