This was my second Isles of Scillys wedding but my first over on the Island of St. Martins, and wow what a stunning place. You know it’s going to be a good wedding when you need to charter your own private speedboat so you get head over to bridal prep as I was staying on St Marys. I’ve photographed a Chinese tea ceremony once before and its such a lovely way to photograph given/receiving of tea to symbolize loyalty, love, and the expectation of a happily married life.
Here are a few words from Maui & Nicks Isles of Scillys wedding.
How did you first meet?
We met on the internet. After a first phone call lasting over 2 hours, we realised we might have something in common!
Please describe the proposal
We were celebrating a special birthday on Maui when Nick proposed. His plans to propose on a volcano peak were scuppered by the federal government shutdown blocking access then a second attempt under a waterfall was sabotaged by me by walking away at the crucial moment! He finally proposed in a lava field. I’ll never forget it.
The dress – where did you find it, and what was it like? Who did you take with you dress shopping and how did you find the whole experience?
I hate shopping! I had two outings with the two most stylish people I know but the second outing with my younger sister was the winner. I couldn’t have managed a third outing! My sister was a star; she guided me through a few choices along with an amazing assistant and lots of giggles.
We had only 6months to organise the whole wedding and most salons balked at providing a dress within that timeline so we bought the dress at a bridal fair. It was a simple lace top with three-quarter sleeves and a plunging neckline with a ball gown skirt. Not at all the dress, I thought I would end up with but Nick loved it and that’s all that matters.
what were the reasons for choosing your venue for your Isles of Scillys wedding?
We had always wanted to visit the Isles of Scilly and this seemed the perfect excuse! We looked online and an island venue was perfect for us. In fact, we booked it sight unseen based on a few photos and online reviews!
When planning your wedding, did you have any help or did you do it mostly yourselves? What were the most important aspects for you (eg. the photographer, the food, the decor…)?
We organised the wedding entirely ourselves, thanks for the internet! Our only objective was to make it as personal to us and our families as possible and to keep everything as local as possible. That meant using local people with amazing skills. Everything was made so easy by all the locals we worked with. Sadly our photographer had to drop out at the last minute through no fault of his own.
Paul was on our original shortlist of photographers and amazingly was available with only 5 days notice! He is an absolute hero and we love our photos.
What was your wedding inspiration? (think decor, overall theme and feel of the day, etc)
The wedding colours were drawn from the natural colours of Scilly; blue skies and water, green succulents and foliage, Scilly pinks and agapanthus. We wanted it all about family and friends and to keep the atmosphere as relaxed as possible. To keep some of my Chinese heritage in the proceedings, we had a wedding tea ceremony to start the day followed by the civil ceremony in the afternoon. Everyone traveled so far (some with dreadful seasickness!), we made it a two-day affair with a brunch BBQ the following day. The hardest moment was waving goodbye to all our guests as they boarded the boat home.
Describe some of your favorite wedding details and how you came up with them.
Our friends Ben and Sam were not only our witnesses but Ben (Saltpig Curing Company) created the charcuterie for our canapés. Instead of table numbers, we used names of islands we had been to and kept the island theme of the wedding going. We wanted a talking point for guests at the tables so we scattered photos of our time spent with our friends over the tables.
Nick put together an amazing video of our lives including some excruciatingly funny adolescent photos. Last but by no means least, our dog Coco was Best Dog. Dressed in his matching suit, he presented the rings with great energy and stole focus all day. He’s our ever-loving boy and we couldn’t imagine getting married without him.
Bride: What advice would you give to future brides for their wedding day?
Relax and don’t stress over the details. I was running 1/2h late because I didn’t wear a watch (and we stopped prep for snacks!) We forgot to take our register signing photos (thanks to the Registrar for bringing us back to do them!). We forgot to take my bouquet for our photos. We forgot to use our confetti and we didn’t have time to take our sunset photos.
The weather playing havoc with our guests’ travel plans. We still had an amazing day and it will be over in a flash so enjoy every moment. Your photos will be a great reminder of your special day and will capture moments you might have missed at the time so don’t do without a great photographer!
Groom: What advice would you give to future grooms for their wedding day?
Same advice. Enjoy it and don’t forget to take some time out. After our ceremony, we went to our room and opened a bottle of champagne. You set the pace of the day so don’t rush it. It’s over before you know it.
Any advice for those planning their wedding now?
Don’t forget who the wedding is for. Keep it about the two of you and everyone will enjoy it. Listen to your supplier’s advice. They know what they’re doing and have done it loads of times before and know what works. We used a wedding app to track suppliers, deposit due dates and our budget. Lifesaver!
What’s your top tip for saving money?
We kept all our suppliers local to the venue which kept costs down. Flowers were also kept local so no expensive freight costs.
… and which elements of your wedding are you glad you spent more on?
The venue was worth every penny. Great staff that was like old friends by the end of our stay. The food was great and boat charters smoothed the guest arrivals and departures. Nick’s suit was bespoke and is gorgeous.
What’s the best thing about being married?
Spending the rest of your life with your best friend, confidant, advisor, sparring partner and love of your life.
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If you planning an Isles of Scillys wedding then please do not hesitate to contact me for a quote or to view more photographs head over to my blog.
Suppliers: Wedding Venue: The Karma Hotel | Dress: Berketex | Makeup & Hair: Natty from Scilly Hair & Beauty | Bridesmaid dress: Asos | Grooms suit: King & Allen | Flowers: Steph Haggerty of Island Bride Flowers | Wedding Cake: Becky’s Scilly Cakes
All weddings from now on should include at least one dog!… Superb wedding photography Paul!… How cute is that dog?..:-)
Totally agree haha
What a beautiful wedding – such a great vibe about every image. Great work. I bet the couple love this as I am sure it brings back so many memories!
Beautiful work Paul! makes me want a dog now though haha
Stunning images Paul. You tell a great story through image!
What a happy bunch of people. Always wanted to visit the place too – Great work Paul!
So many happy moments – top work Paul
THOSE SHOES!!!! Awesome work throughout dude. This looked a super fun wedding.
they are pretty cool, the bride’s sister hand-painted them.
Love the dog and the shoes! Also awesome location and captured beautifully Paul.
Cheers dude
Thank mate, the bride’s sister hand-painted the shoes.
Lovely work as always Paul, keep it up!
Particularly love the beach ones!
Cheers mate, only 24miles away from Cornwall but really has a Meditteranean feel on the beaches.