Ita and Michael didn’t have a very good experience with the wedding planner for their destination wedding. Most destination wedding packages in this region include a wedding planner fee, so always double check before you sign a contract with the venue. Find out what is included in the package and what you need to source yourself, and make sure everything is in black and white. Venues are usually more surprising before you make your deposit.
Their wedding planning hiccup aside, as this couple discovered, a destination beach wedding can be lots of fun. Thanks, Chris Spira, for sharing this with us. We can’t wait to see more of your work in Asia over the next few months!
Ita: “We had previously attended beach weddings that were really fun. Since half of our friends live in China and half in the States, we thought it would be good to select a destination that everyone could travel to. Koh Samui is a great place for destination weddings and they have a very good selection of villas. Although we did not want a wedding planner, the villa we selected forced us to hire their partner wedding planner company as part of the package. Unfortunately, this is common in Koh Samui and a bit of a scam. Other than that the entire day was great.
“We still did most of the work ourselves, especially all of the wedding decorations. It took me a year to research and design the wedding. My inspiration came from different elements such as the beach, different colours and places that we had travelled to around the world.
“We had white and purple orchids from Thailand, as well as floral bouquets, tiki torches, flowers along the aisle, wood ball decorations along the altar and seashells on the tables. There were dried nut/flower packs hanging from chairs, handmade wooden signposts and a welcome sign, and candles that spelled out “Michael & Ita”. Most of these things were bought from Chatuchak market in Bangkok. For our guests, we had colourful sunglasses, parasols, hand fans, sarongs and mosquito repellent.
“I like simplicity, I’ve never liked very fancy or very luxurious elements such as lace or embellishments on my gowns. Designs by Rosa Clara are much more what I like. It was a beach wedding so I didn’t wear heels. Instead, my bridesmaids and I wore barefoot sandals.
“Chris Spira Photography did a wonderful job. Her photos are fantastic. We studied salsa for six months before the wedding and had our salsa teachers choreograph a dance for us. Two of our friends are DJs and we wanted them to DJ our wedding, but the wedding planner forced us to hire a local DJ. So we ended up providing him with all the music we wanted him to play.”
ITA & MICHAEL {Thailand}
Photography by Chris Spira Photography / Venue Koh Samui / Bridal Gown by Rosa Clara / Groom’s Attire by Tailor-made / Belts by Fullum & Holt of Montreal / Bridesmaids’ Dresses by Tailor-made in Shanghai / Catering by SoulFood Mahanakorn, Bangkok (Owned by groom)