Fairytale ESCAPE
Joy Couch and Zeshan (Shanny) Ahmed-Minhas married on Thursday, December 4, 2014 at Rayavadee, Krabi, Thailand
A friend introduced me to Shanny in 2010 when we were both living in London. Sure we would hit it off, she arranged for us to attend a group dinner at a local pub. Shanny and I talked until closing time, when he suggested we go on a midnight mission for more food. We walked for hours through the streets of London in sub-zero temperatures, still chatting away and not noticing the cold one bit. All very rom-com!
Location, location, location
Having spent much of my childhood in South East Asia, I regard Thailand as a true ‘happy place’. It’s the reason Shanny proposed there, and why we chose it for our wedding. Rayavadee is a five-star resort complete with a coconuttree lawn (where we exchanged vows), a private beach (where we set up a Thai-style cocktail bar for guests to enjoy while we had our portrait shoot) and a limestone cave for our sit-down reception.
Destination ‘I do’
Thailand was the perfect middle ground between Shanny’s family in Britain and mine in New Zealand. Because we had guests from seven different countries attending, we opted to send e-invites instead of traditional paper ones.
Our wedding style
Rayavadee’s ethereal natural surroundings meant it required little decoration, but I fell in love with my bead-covered lace gown the moment I saw it, and its drop waist and elegant glitz ended up leading to a ’20s theme. The beading also paid homage to Shanny’s Pakistani heritage, and the beautiful gowns that Pakistani women traditionally wear to weddings.
Golden moments
Instead of a tedious thank-you speech, we awarded gifts to guests who had contributed greatly to our day. This included ‘Grammys’ for those who sang at the ceremony, and a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for the friend who introduced us. I also arranged a surprise skit in which I shared the text messages between my close friends – and from me to Shanny – when we first met. My brother dressed up as Shanny for the skit, making an hilarious attempt at a British accent. We gave him an ‘Oscar’.
Aisle style
In keeping with our glamorous theme, my four bridesmaids and three flower girls wore cream full-length, lightly beaded dresses. The guys kept it classically suave in matching charcoal suits with white fitted shirts and black bow ties.