Hi everyone, Contra here again! I can’t tell you how excited I’ve been to share the rest of this fabulously stylish and unique wedding extravaganza with you all. Hopping around in my seat at work all day. Literally.
I’m not going to blabber on because the gorgeous photos taken by Lawson photography really speak for themselves and Rachel, who might just be the smiliest Bride in history, is here to spill the beans on how they created a wedding with their personality stamped all over it.
Once it finally dawned on us that as we had got engaged, people were likely to be expecting us to get married, we suddenly realised we had no idea what we were looking for. Fortunately we agreed on a couple of things; that we wanted a huge party, we wanted something a bit different & weren’t going to take the whole thing too seriously. After looking at a few magazines, I was weary of the unnecessary things that most brides seem to find so important. We duly trawled around some beautiful parts of the English countryside; they were lovely, but we wanted something a bit out of the ordinary and anyway, most were in national parks, or conservation areas, meaning it was lights out, music off at midnight – no good for us, we wanted to party all night!
So disheartened we gave up for a while until one night, feeling rash after a bottle of wine, I suggested getting married in Marrakech, a city we have loved for years. It clicked immediately, so I got on the internet. Fortunately the first person I rang was Rosena of Boutique Souk and it was pretty plain sailing from then on. I went to scout locations with my bridesmaid Sarah before Christmas, then showed Juls the shortlist in Jan (he’s very amenable!) – day trips to Marrakech felt very glamorous! Once we’d decided on a fab villa, the wonderful Villa Al-Assala, which slept 20 & had all that fabulous Moroccan character which I love, we had to tell the parents of our planned escapade – it went down much better than expected; I think they had accepted I’d do something unusual!
We were tough on our guest list as the villa could only cater for 40, but that suited us fine as we really only wanted our closest friends and family there with us. As we had to have a registry office ceremony before going over to morocco, it was nice to have the grandparents there who couldn’t make the trip abroad.
My dress was a trial for me, I couldn’t justify spending £2000 on something I’d wear for a day (and also I was pretty sure I’d end up in the pool in it!!) I also needed something light as it was likely to be 30’C in Marrakech, so I found a dress by Dessy that would do the trick, won’t even mention the dress shop as they were rubbish!! I had ideas of getting some fab expensive shoes, but in the end couldn’t find what I was after & ended up with a £20 pair off ebay, which I love!! Accessories were simple & from a wonderful craft market in Manchester, recommended by my sister – who also found our brilliant photographers, Lawson Photography, whom she used at her wedding in Oct – she has very good taste!!
The boys were in linen suits from John Lewis with brightly coloured ties & waistcoats, they looked great & my bridesmaids found lovely purple & fuschia dresses from LK Bennett which matched the boys ties.
Planning the décor was great fun – we wanted fuschias, oranges, yellows & purples, the brighter the better & Rosena was delighted when I gave her the brief as most weddings they do over there tend to be white. Morocco is the most vibrant, colourful country, & I wanted to take advantage of that, no creams or pale colours here! So Boutique Souk went to town with the flamboyant colours – the table, flowers, wedding awning & carpets were all vivid, and I told the guests to be as colourful as they liked! I even had a large fuschia flower attached to my dress – a last minute thing after probably drinking my champagne too quickly!!! Rosena introduced us to Reverend Gooch who took the service for us, which we wrote ourselves, mixing traditional & humanist themes.
Are you not all joining me in complete awe of this wedding? The jewel tones and fantastic theming around Marrakech’s vibrant personality as a destination, creates a really unique stamp on the day. And do not fear RMW readers, it’s not over yet – the best is yet to come! Pop back tomorrow for the heart-stoppingly beautiful reception and more than a faint possibility of a ‘Bride in the pool’ shot….
Yours Truly
Contra xoxo
Rachel, your wedding is an absolute joy to look at, and what’s even more refreshing is your attitude to shoes, the dress, your last-minute accessories…you are the proof that months agonising over hairstyles does not the perfect Bride make! And this is officially the first time since my own wedding I’ve had photo envy… what a wonderful wedding. Congratulations!
Love love love it!
I have to say thanks to Contra for adding this. Having been to Marrakech with my hubby to be for our first ever holiday together, I have always had a soft spot for it. Team that with this bee-yoo-tiful wedding which coincidentally has a similar colour theme to my own (mine is a vintage meets indian summer theme) and I am in wedding heaven! xx
…it just gets better and better….
Absolutely Fabulous! Totally loving the pink flower on your dress! Was it real?
Everything about your wedding is stunning! The colours, the atmosphere (which you can just feel from looking at the pictures)….and of course the bride!
I too love the dress and shoe attitude!
Congratulations!