The winter cold has kicked in this morning after all the merriment at the weekend and I feel like today’s wedding is well timed, a little dose of warmth and sunshine just when it’s needed to take the edge off! Last month, we had the pleasure of introducing you to Michelle and Ricky when we shared their London City Engagement Session with Ross Dean Photography. Back then, we promised to share their destination wedding in Portugal and not one to break any promises, we are delighted to feature it today! After 21 months of planning their perfect day, Ricky and Michelle were wed in the Algarve, Portugal and celebrated in a beautiful clifftop villa overlooking the ocean. ”
“We always knew that we wanted to get married abroad, the idea of a wedding in the sunshine is just too good an opportunity to be missed. The hard part was trying to find somewhere that fitted our criteria. We wanted to make sure we could legally get married in the country (neither of us realised how difficult this was!), it needed to be within a close enough proximity for close friends and family to join us and we wanted an exclusive venue.”
“After lots of research we came across the idea of the Algarve, Portugal and found our wedding planners Algarve Events. After 2 months of being engaged we flew out to Portugal and met with Ella, our wedding planner and viewed 7 venues that were on our short list. From 5 star hotels to 12 bedroom villas with their own tennis courts and vineyards, we pretty much saw it all. It was the second venue we saw that we knew was ‘the one’. A beautiful 5 bedroom villa situated on a cliff top with its own private gardens and access to a beautiful beach.”
“Just over a year before the big day, my Mum, best friend and myself went on the hunt for ‘the one’. I was so excited about the prospect of dress shopping, I never thought that I would feel anything other than happiness at trying dresses on. However, after trying about 10-15 dresses on and thinking that they all looked lovely, I just couldn’t ever imagine what the feeling would be like when I found the one. My best friend picked my dress out and I said “Ok then, I might as well give it a go”. When I stepped out from the changing room I couldn’t believe how far this dress was from everything I’d ever imagined that my wedding dress would be, but it just felt perfect. It really is true that you just know when you put it on, it made me feel like a princess but still myself.”
“After numerous shopping trips, we finally managed to sort the mens attire! I never realised how hard it would be to get a bow-tie and tie to match. All I can say is thank goodness for eBay! Fortunately we have some very talented family members. My Mum is a florist and did an amazing job at arranging all of the flowers, in conditions a lot hotter than she is used to! My new sister-in-law is an amazingly talented hairdresser and managed to achieve the most amazing hair style. It was lovely to have people close to us have such important roles in our special day.”
“The morning of the wedding was relatively calm, after having my hair put up I was wandering around the gardens with a glass of champagne in hand instructing where pom poms and butterflies should go. Before I knew it, it was time to get into my dress and send a picture of a ‘sneak peek’ to loved ones that couldn’t be there. I was so worried that I was going to cry the whole way down the aisle and look a blubbering mess. I’m someone that cries at every episode of Don’t Tell The Bride. But I couldn’t believe how I just couldn’t stop smiling. All of the stresses of the past 21 months didn’t matter any more. This is what we both wanted more than anything and it was finally happening. We choose our own vows for the ceremony as to us this was the most important part, our promises to each other. Our Bridesmaid also read a reading that we had found when we began our planning all of those months ago.”
“For the party we had a guy called Ceaser singing and playing the guitar. He was amazing! At one point we had everyone up dancing and singing. I never realised 30 people could make so much noise! Live music is definitely worth it if you haven’t got a huge amount of guests at your wedding. Everyone was complimenting him and he really did get the party started. There are many stresses that come with planning a wedding, but one piece of advice I would give to any bride to be is when it all becomes too much, just remember why you are doing it. The only people that matter on the day are you and your husband and that is the most important thing of all.”
That dude at the end there is having a great time. Talk about a party you’d like to be at! A very big congratulations to Ricky and Michelle, we are sure that you will have a long a happy life together. To our FAB sponsor Ross Dean, many thanks for sharing this destination wedding with us. Have a nice day everyone!