A Sri Lankan Beach Wedding

I never wanted a big white wedding. The cost alone just filled me with horror. But when we announced our engagement, the world went mad!! Suddenly the guest list spiralled out of control with people we hadn’t seen in years or in some cases even heard of, but had to invite because they would be upset if we didn’t! Mention a wedding to potential suppliers, service providers or venues & the cost instantly triple’s. Then there was the arguments about having the day we wanted & pleasing everyone else at the same time & that isn’t a good start to married life!

Whilst at work one day I decided enough was enough. In my lunch hour I slipped out to the local travel agents & asked for a brochure on wedding packages abroad. I had always had a dream of getting married abroad, on a beach. A small & intimate affair. I was handed a brouchure for Kuoni & one for Sandals Resorts in the Caribbean. At home that evening I presented the idea to my fiance. He looked through the brochures & read the packages I had pin pointed as possible & immediately said ‘let’s do it’.

My parents has always known of my wish to get married abroad & were fully supportive. We decided on Sri Lanka & the Mount Lavinia Hotel just outside the capital Columbo. The wedding package was fantastic with just about everything we could want included - room upgrades, flowers, hair & makeup, photographs, video & even an elephant ride! Kuoni also offered package deals if we combined our honeymoon aswell, so we choose a week in the beautiful Maldive Islands.

Unfortunately we couldn’t take family with us as the budget was too tight & my father-in-law’s health meant he could fly the distance. Instead my husband’s best friend & his girlfriend came with us. We decided that on our return we would hold a big party for all our family friends, which actually turned into a double celebration as it was my sister’s 21st birthday that weekend & we held a barbecue for her at my parents house the day after.

Although I wanted a small intimate wedding with no fuss, it didn’t mean I was about to do a Pamela Anderson & get married in a white bikini! I still wanted a posh frock & new shoes! After work one evening I visited a local bridal store which was part of a national chain. I walked & preceeded to tell them I was looking for a simple wedding dress as I was getting married abroad. They looked at me with an air of comtepmt & disgust & led me to a rail of hideous bridesmaid dresses. That was the end of their so called customer service & I left. The next shop I visited was far more helpful. The owner had visited Sri Lanka & was full of advice & tips, sadly she didn’t have anything I liked. Disappointed with the choices available to me, I realised that my only option of getting the dress I wanted was to get it made for me. My mother was an excellent seamstress & she stepped into the breach. My dress was a beautiful satin & lace empire line creation with beautiful ribbon & beaded embroidery. I addded some embroidered satin shoes & a stunning gold tiara with pearls & crystals.

Upon reading about Sri Lanka we learned about the gold trade there & the stunning Ceylon sapphires. It was decided that I would get my engagement ring made there. Whilst in Sri Lanka we had a day trip to the city of Kandy & the gold center there. I got to design my own ring - a single Ceylon sapphire of 1.25 carats set in 22 carat gold. It arrived at the hotel the day before the wedding!

The wedding was wonderful & provided some memorable comedy moments! As we were saying our vows a train went past sounding its horn & no-one could hear us! We had to say them again & quickly before it went back the other way! When we watched the wedding video back one shot panned upto to two enormous crow’s sitting in a tree. I think the intention was that they would look like lovebirds but instead they looked like a kind of apocalyptic omen! That aside the day was lovely, we were given the president’s suite for the night & five course meal in the beachside restaurant with a fireworks display afterwards.

At home preperations for the party were in full swing with my mother, mother-in-law & grandmother making table decorations & individual cupcakes inplace of a formal wedding cake. The day before the party my mother & I went out & bought lots of fresh flowers & made some beautiful flower arrangements. Which we decorated the venue, a local pub with a function room which opened out on terraced gardens, with. The venue did us proud with a fabulous buffet which included some asian style finger food which we specifically requested.

I would recommend a destination wedding to anyone, there was no stress, no fuss & from getting on the plane at Heathrow to saying goodbye to our guests after the party the whole experience was magical, & I got to wear my beautiful wedding dress twice!