I was introduced to Emily & Charlie via my boyfriend Josh, shortly after our somewhat reluctant return home from six weeks in Barbados (but that’s another story!). Emily & Charlie, who met on the bus on their first day of university, were looking to get married at Cobblers Cove and knew we had just recently stayed at the hotel. For those of you reading who don’t know the island: think West coast sunsets and Rhianna. For those of you who don’t know Cobblers Cove: imagine a pink and white Caribbean palace designed with Instagram in mind.
We choose to get married at…
Our planning process began in a wet and grey locked down UK over WhatsApp. The couple knew the island well, which is always a great start. As Emily told me at the time: “Barbados is a special place to Charlie and I as we would go on holiday there throughout the years, we always said we would get married there.” If you are thinking of having a destination wedding, I would highly recommend picking somewhere you are both familiar with. It makes sense to your guests and you will already have an idea of the type of venue and day you are looking for.
When it came to initial design ideas the hotel is covered top to bottom in pink and white stripes which made the mood board very easy! However, not everything was plain sailing. Planning during COVID and in a different time zone has its difficulties, especially with restricted travel and the ever changing rules and restrictions.
The hardest part of planning was…
This was the hardest part of the process for Emily and Charlie too, who said when we looked back on the event: “the hardest part of planning was getting married in an abroad location, lots of Teams calls with the hotel and visiting the venue (when they legally could) helped a lot. Direct contact with suppliers such as entertainment, flowers and photographer was necessary as we could keep on top of things and get updates … patience and lots of moaning to Tom was the way to get over that!”
The most enjoyable moments of planning were…
Of course as the planner, that’s what I am there for and once the logistics were in place we got on to the fun tasks of working out the schedule, design and picking the menu which was a highlight for Emily too, “the best part of planning was not having to plan and leaving it to Tom. Although I enjoyed the details the most with the napkins, bows menus etc. – that’s when it all started coming together and I could see the vision”. Emily and I worked with Mount Street Printers on the menus pulling the hotel logo and colour scheme into the design, all neatly wrapped in pink velvet initialled bows from Gigi & Olive.
I knew I found ‘The One’ when…
However Emily’s search for ‘the dress’ wasn’t quite the group outing as imagined. “I went with my bridesmaids and tried on so many styles and didn’t like any, I decided to book an appointment alone with my local Bridal shop on my high street and it was the first dress I tried and just knew that was the one! I FaceTimed my family and shared pictures and they agreed”.
The groom on the other hand had a very last minute wardrobe malfunction. “His suit got lost in transit, so with a last minute panic drive to Suit Supply in London and after trying on 101 suits the last one he put on was it…hallelujah,” Emily says.
With their bags packed and my suitcase full of wedding stationary, we headed to Barbados. Family arrived from around the world and the celebrations commenced with a barefoot and sunset beach dinner with long tables surrounded by bonfire flames.
The wedding day arrived and so did the rain. We had planned for everything but a full day of rain in the Caribbean was not on that list and the wedding was entirely outside. With a quick reshuffle of the hotel and a lot of please and thank yous, Emily and Charlie were married with the ocean behind them and pink and white striped roof over them. A steel drum and saxophone provided the music, with a boat full of Champagne on ice and delicious menu and wedding cake provided by the hotel.
Wedding highlights…
Their wedding highlights? “Cristal and lobster …delicious. The best part of our day was dancing the night away and then swimming in the sea!”
“Having someone that you trust on the day is key and that is already one step ahead of you. You don’t want to be worrying if the tables are laid correctly whilst getting yourself and bridal party ready or if the band has arrived! Having that person there removes all of the stress so you can enjoy the day and know it will all be taken care of,” Emily very sweetly says.
The couple are currently spending a honeymoon month in Spain with their dogs!
List of Suppliers...
Venue: Cobblers Cove @cobblerscovehotel
Stationary: Mount Street Printers @mountstreetprinters
Bows: Gigi & Olive @gigiandolive_
Suit: Suit Supply @suitsupply
Planner: Tom Couch @tomcouch
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