Gabby & Gareth | Super-stylish and relaxed Jewish wedding at Katathani Beach Resort, Phuket, Thailand

This afternoon we are off to Thailand! I’m not exaggerating when I say that this wedding totally and utterly takes my breath away. The incredible natural scenery, the use of light, the feeling of warmth and joy that radiates from Hilary Cam’s delicious imagery… it’s all so very  stylish yet wonderfully informal.

Gabby’s bridal style and her mermaid-esque colour palette of turquoise,navy, purple and lime green are a dream, and there are lots of lovely personal touches to be inspired by too. My favourite is that at each table the couple placed an extra two chairs so that they could actually sit and eat or drink up close and personal with everyone of their guests. I’ve not heard of that before and I think it’s a really lovely idea.

Gabby and Gareth met  over 13 years ago at a house party in Sydney, Australia. She was on holiday from South Africa and they both new as soon as they set eyes on each other that they had met their match. Gabby says. “Gareth always tells me as soon as he saw me walk through the door he knew I was the one. I went back to South Africa and we kept in contact until I eventually immigrated a year later.”

Why not pour yourself a cup of Asian tea and savour this gorgeous W-day… oh and if you’re a destination bride-to-be, make sure you take in Gabby’s excellent device right at the end.


A ‘HOLIDAY’ VENUE AND A SENSE OF RELAXATION
Our wedding was at the Katathani Beach Resort in Phuket Thailand. We chose this destination for a few reasons. One being we both are originally from South Africa and still have lots of family and friends there. We also have family and friends in the UK, US and Israel. We wanted to be able to not only share our magical day with them but thought it would be an amazing opportunity to get people together who haven’t seen each other in years and have a holiday at the same time.

We wanted it to be relaxed like the beautiful surroundings and in terms of a colour scheme I took inspiration from my bridesmaids dresses (turquoise,navy, purple and lime green)

INVITATIONS
I loved our invitations! Gareth and I spent many hours creating a travel guide/map/wedding invite all wrapped up in a cosmetic bag filled with an eye mask, lip balm, bags tags with the guests name and a disposable toothbrush and toothpaste. Everything you need for your plane trip over. We wanted to get everyone excited about the holiday they were about to embark on.

THE DRESS
My dress was from Carla Zampatti. It was not what I had imagined when I started looking for dresses but as soon as I tried it on I knew it was the one, it fitted me perfectly and had so much of my personality in it. A little bit sporty with a relaxed but elegant feel. I actually made the train removable too, so when Gareth and I went up for our first dance it turned into a cocktail dress!


HAIR + MAKE UP
My hair was half down for the ceremony. I wanted a very soft look and feel. My makeup was inspired by my headpiece I wanted to have a little gold and blue but also with a natural feel. My hair was done by the most wonderful lady at the hotel who then after the ceremony came to find me to pin my hair up so I wouldn’t be hot when I was dancing. My makeup artist was also amazing and travelled all the way from Sydney to help make me look beautiful!

ACCESSORIES
I had a cathedral length veil which was a plain but under it sat a headpiece. I had so much fun designing it – I love my jewellery as every girl does and knew I wanted a statement piece.

SHOES
My shoes were gold strappy  Jimmy Choo‘s to match my gold cuffs and headpiece. They were pretty high but of course came off soon after the ceremony, What I love about them is I can wear them again and again and every time I do I remember walking up to my future husband in them…

THE  HANDSOME GROOM
Gareth wore navy and white. He looked so crisp and smart. I love navy and he looked so gorgeous in it, we knew it would be the colour he would have to wear. He had a little bit of stubble which gave him a bit of a rugged look. When I first saw him I could not control the tears, it was such a magical moment.

THE CEREMONY
I loved the ceremony from start to finish there were so many magical moments. I covered the top of the chuppah with chiffon fabric the same colours as the bridesmaids dresses, which looked so beautiful in the wind. We put out sunglasses( lime, purple, navy and turquoise), mosquito bands and bubbles for the guests. I think one of my favourite parts was when I was walking around Gareth and my veil kept getting caught. My sister ended up walking around with me to hold my veil, it was so funny. He knew he was marrying my family too! My flower bouquet had small gold photo frame’s with a picture of my mother and grandmother, so they were there to walk me down the aisle.


BRIDESMAIDS
I had five bridesmaids. They all looked stunning! There dresses were sleeveless and very layered. My maid of honour ( my sister) wore navy to match the groom but also I wanted her to have her own style. I gave them each a gold cuff similar to mine and my sister I gave a necklace with matching stones to my headpiece.

FAVOURS
Aside from the favours at the ceremony my sister made each of the kids there a special box of goodies, with a disposable camera, colouring book and activities that she designed all themed around the wedding, pencils, bubbles and all sorts of fun things for them to do. When our guests arrived at the hotel they were given a beach bag with a beach mat, thongs and an itinerary for the week.

SEATING CHART
I loved our seating chart, we made a mini deck chair which we brought over with us. The heading read “ no strangers enter only friends who haven’t met yet”. The seating was also a little unusual. At each table we had an extra two chairs so Gareth and I could actually sit and eat or drink with our guests.  Each table had two extra people of the seating chart which matched the table of people Minnie and Mickey, Romeo and Juliet, Porta and Ellen and so on.

OUR AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHER
Hilary Cam was the first call I made when I got engaged, I knew he would have to be the one to capture my special day. His photos always have an emotive and magical feel. I knew he would capture every special moment.

OUR ‘CAKE’ STORY!
The cake came from the hotel, it wasn’t anything special but for us we didn’t really want any of the traditional adornments, it was more about having a party and getting to spend time with loved ones. What did end up happening which was so much fun. We decided not to cut the cake. There was so much food and it was such a warm night we thought it was a waste. What I did not know my dad had arranged with the hotel to bring it to breakfast the next morning so we got to cut the cake with our immediate family and even better they gave us a samurai sword to do it. We then sent a piece to the guests rooms.

ADVICE TO OTHER BRIDES
My advice would be if you are having an international wedding, even if you are super organised expect that you will spend the days before the wedding running around. Get friends on board to help with errands and set aside times in the day to relax on your own or with your hubby to be. Every ones always says just relax, but in my opinion its human nature especially as the bride to want everything to be perfect, take it in your stride and try not to sweat the small stuff.

GABBY  + GARETH’S  LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography —  Hilary Cam
Venue —  Katathani Beach Resort
Bride’s dress —  Carla Zampatti
Bride’s shoes —  Jimmy Choo