Hello lovelies, thank you so much for stopping by Love My Dress this morning. We’ve been running a reduced blog post schedule last week and will be doing again this week as several of our team are away on our jollies – but we’ve carefully chosen weddings we feel deserve a full day of love (just wait until you see tomorrow’s sassy and glamorous affair, as we share the wedding of dress designer Charlotte Balbier – you will die over the detail!!). Today however, we’re taking you an an adventure on a beach in Goa, courtesy of the brilliant photographer Tom Ravenshear. Prepare yourself for a gorgeous day full of colour, sunshine, fun and love.
Ben and Susie tied the knot on 11th April this year at La Plage, Ashvem Beach in Goa, followed by evening celebrations that were held at The Artists House, Yab Yum Resort.
“I think the main inspiration for our wedding day was the location itself – we wanted it to be colouful and vibrant whilst maintaining a chic simplicity, embracing a little bit of the bohemian atmosphere of Ashvem and a few traditional elements of Indian weddings, such as the Dhol players, flowers and henna.”
Photography Copyright (c) 2014, Tom Ravenshear
I visited Goa, some years ago now, it must have been around 1996 or 1997. I remember driving from the airport to the hotel (you soon discover when driving or being driven anywhere in Goa that motorists ‘due care and attention’ simply doesn’t apply!) and wondering what on earth I’d let myself in for! My initial culture shock was soon replaced by wonder and awe at the beauty of the Goa coastline and the friendliness of its people. It’s a place I’d love to return to in the not-too distant future.
Ben and Susie also fell in love with Goa after having holidayed there.
“We went on holiday to Goa a few years ago and fell in love with the wild and vast Ashvem beach and the beautiful restaurant La Plage and Yab Yum Resort. The atmosphere and location of La Plage is idyillic and the food is really gorgeous.”
“Ben and I met at LCC University of the Arts London in 2002 where we studied Film together, but we didn’t get together until after University. In the Summer of 2008, after having not seen each other for two years, we bumped into each other at a mutual friends party and it started from there! Our friend, whose party it was, Alex performed our wedding ceremony for us.
We planned most of our wedding ourselves and with much help from friends and family. We did have help from Manjit at Weddings and Dreams in Panjim with organising the ceremony, henna party and some logistics. Morgan, Serge and Florence at La Plage helped a lot too.
The food and atmosphere at La Plage were incredible and the staff were so accommodating and enthusiastic about the wedding. It felt like a really great team effort.”
“Our friend Kirsty Otos designed, made and sourced all of the decorations for our wedding with some help from my mum. Kirsty and I discussed decor ideas quite a lot through Pinterest and we decided to keep the colours quite simple, sticking to white paper decorations and decorations made from old book pages accented with the themed colours of marigold orange and teal. The decorations and the flower torans worked really well together.”
“Our friend introduced us to a local florist in Goa called Steven Diaz. We love the traditional Indian torans of mariogld, mango leaf and jasmine because they are such a vibrant intense orange/yellow and the fragrant smell is beautiful. Steven did a wonderful job transforming the already stunning La Plage into our wedding venue.
We had petals scattered on the tables along with small vases of orange and white gerberas and the flower girls had baskets filled with marigold and gerbera petals which they handed out to all the guests to use as confetti. Weddings and Dreams arranged the decorating of the Gazebo, my bouquet and the flower girls baskets.”
Susie’s beautiful dress with the vowel back feature was by designer I’d not heard of before but will be keeping a keen eye on from here on, Catriona Garforth.
“Catriona and I have been good friends for 12 years now – her dresses are beautiful and she made the whole process of designing the wedding dress so personal and exciting. I knew I wanted a dress which was fitted and slinky, with a dramatic back. Catriona and I discussed so many ideas but were influenced by 1930’s style. We were both so happy with the final design that she has included it as part of her new collection which is launching this September.
My favourite things about the dress were the combination of intricate detail in the chantilly lace work and the sweeping glamour of the silk satin fabric. I loved the swooping back detail and the long train. It felt so luxurious but I was also really comfortable all day.”
“Ben designed his own suit – the fabric was sourced by Catriona Garforth in the UK and tailored in Mumbai by Gabbana. He also wore a Liberty Print shirt from Simon Carter in Crystal Palace, a bow tie and pocket square from Mrs Bow Tie and his shoes were from Rivieras.”
“Our favours were orange or white paper fans for the women from hand-fan.co.uk, and sunglasses from Amazon for the men.”
“Our photographer was Tom Ravenshear. Tom’s photography is stunning. As both Ben and I work in film this was probably one of the most important aspects for us. His photography stood out from all the rest, he manages to capture a combination of beautifully considered shots and photos that really capture the moment.
Tom embraces the environment and interprets the character that is unique to your wedding, capturing the true essence of the day. He is also just a really lovely person and we enjoyed having him at our wedding!”
“I did my own make-up and my friend Farinaz Nikbakht did my hair after an in depth tutorial from make-up artist Wakana Yoshihara in London.”
Susie wore a selection of jewellery and accessories that included pearl bracelets that belonged to her Grandma (that Susie restrung especially for her wedding), a gold diamond ring that was her Grandma’s engagement ring, a pair of Art-Deco gold earrings from Comfort Station in London and her engagement ring was a 1920’s Art-Deco solitaire from Berganza.
“My dad, Andy Willett gave me away – we were accompanied by the sound of Nina Simone’s ‘My baby just cares for me’.
Our friend Alex Lopera who married us wrote the ceremony himself. We wrote our own vows and had two readings; ‘Touched by an Angel’, by Maya Angelou and ‘Sonnet XVII’ by Pablo Neruda. We asked our friends who were performing the readings to choose their poems so that it was a more personal message from them.”
An extract from ‘Touched by an Angel’, by Maya Angelou”
Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.
An extract from ‘Sonnet XVII’ by Pablo Neruda:
I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
“My ring was from Rennie & Co. in Hatton Garden. It was the ‘North Star’ ring by designer Danielle Jones. Danielle is a school friend of mine – she advised Ben when he was choosing my engagement ring and immediately suggested the North Star when we started looking for wedding bands due to it’s art deco inspired inticate detailing. It matches my engagement ring perfectly, but most of all it’s lovely to have a ring designed by one of my closest friends.
Ben’s ring was Jenny Jones Jewellery in Manchester. Ben wanted quite a simple wedding band. I have been shopping at Jenny Jones for years and the service is so warm and friendly. They have a large selection of men’s wedding bands to choose from which is quite unusual.”
“Our friend introduced us to a local florist in Goa called Steven Diaz. We love the traditional Indian torans of mariogld, mango leaf and jasmine because they are such a vibrant intense orange/yellow and the fragrant smell is beautiful. Steven did a wonderful job transforming the already stunning La Plage into our wedding venue.
We had petals scatterd on the tables along with small vases of orange and white gerberas and the flower girls had baskets filled with marigold and gerbera petals which they handed out to all the guests to use as confetti. Weddings and Dreams arranged the decorating of the Gazebo, my bouquet and the flower girls baskets.”
“We also had a friend take polaroids for some extra little memories, we hung these up in the venue and evryone enjoyed looking at them.”
“Our first dance was to Bob Dylan’s ‘Man in me’. We are both great fans of The Big Lebowski and we like the sentiment behind the lyrics.”
“I loved getting ready and putting my dress on the morning of the wedding then walking down the stairs to show my dad, but, I think the most memorable part, for both of us, was the performance that our toastmasters, Annika and Alex, arranged with our friends to tell ‘The story of Ben and Susie’.
Three of our friends Matt, Kit and Prano provided musical accompaniment on the Ukulele, dhol and maracas whilst Annika and Alex narrated our story and provided lines which Ben and I had to perform. Every so often friends around the room would jump up with a little dialogue insert to add to the narrative and the whole thing came to a climax with Ben performing an impromptu dance as only he can do. It was a complete surprise for both of us and so well executed, it really made us feel so lucky to have such amazing friends and family.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom…
“The major issue for our wedding was that the election dates changed in Goa, making it a dry day. If you’re thinking of getting married in India, I’d advise that you take it into account that anything can happen!
Nothing that I’m sure every couple haven’t been told before and it’s easy to say now, but try to put the stress into perspective. You’ll regret it later if you don’t because it all goes so quickly. Your friends and family are there to celebrate with you, they don’t care if your bouquet isn’t perfect!”
What an incredible wedding, the kind I so wish I’d have been a guest at. Goa has such a magical allure – and this wedding has convinced me I must return there soon.
Huge congratulations to Ben and Susie and many many thanks to photographer Tom Ravenshear for once again sharing his magnificent wedding photography on Love My Dress.
The allure of warmer, foreign climes is a winner for many brides and grooms – might you be one of them? I’d love to hear what your plans are if you’re choosing to marry overseas. You can be inspired by exploring these destination weddings if you like.
Have a really lovely day today, be you at work or play.
Love Annabel xx
Photographer – Tom Ravenshear
Ceremony planners – Weddings And Dreams
Venue – La Plage, Ashvem Beach + The Artists House, Yab Yum Resort, both Goa
Brides Dress – Catriona Garforth (via Edinburgh flagship store)
Brides Shoes – Carvela sandals
Accessories – 1930’s Vintage gold brooch sourced by Catriona Garforth
Groom’s Suit – designed by the groom, fabric via Catriona Garforth (tailored in Mumbai) + Liberty print shirt via Simon Carter
Groom’s bow tie + pocket square – Mrs Bow Tie + shoes via Rivieras
Flowergirl Dresses – Monsoon
Florist – Steven Diaz (local florist recommended by Weddings And Dreams
Entertainment – Mr Printer band (arranged by a friend) + traditional Dhol players
Rings – Rennie & Co. in Hatton Garden + Jenny Jones Jewellery
Favours – Sunglasses (Amazon) + fans (hand-fan.co.uk)
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Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
So loving her dress.. love the open back. 🙂 oxox