11

Nov

2015

Nicole and Kate’s Beach Side Wedding in Whitstable By Sofia Plana Photography

We are half way through the week already and do I have a gorgeous wedding to share with you! Today we are off to Whitstable for the wedding of Nicole and Kate. Both the ceremony and the reception take place at Beacon House which is just the most gorgeous and quaint venue. The ceremony was followed by a blessing by one of the couples friends who is a shaman and it really adds a personal touch to the celebrations. With amazing beach side views and the most delicious looking food, this wedding is just perfect. Big thanks to Sofia Plana Photography for the lovely images.

‘It was a celebration of love. The night before was one of the worst storms of the year and then in the morning the sun came out’

whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography

Nicole and Kate were married on 25th July 2015 at Beacon House, Whitstable. ‘We decided to get married where we did It’s by the sea, informal, beautiful and we could arrange all the details ourselves. We had 50 guests and it took 6 months to organise.’

whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography

How they met
We met 4 years ago at a Buddhist talk.

The Proposal
Kate proposed to Nicole, very simply, away in the New Forest on our anniversary

whistable beach wedding with dresses hanging same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding signs same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding make up application same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding make up same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding shoes sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding flowers same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding bride getting ready same sex wedding sofia plana photography

How did you allocate your budget
The location was the main expense and accommodation for family (Nicole is from Malta), food and wine, flowers and dresses, the usual!

Where did you splurge and where did you save
We splurged on our wedding rings, bouquets and some special wine we love. Friends helped us with decorations, collecting jam jars, designing and printing the menus and order or ceremony

How did you choose your photographer
Kate met Sofia at the Kingston wedding fair. We are not wedding fair types so it was luck!

whistable beach wedding itenary same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding holding hands sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding exchange of rings same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding with emotional bride sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding cuddling sofia plana photography

The Dresses
Stella McCartney and BHLDN (Anthroplogie), LK Bennett

Flowers
Wild flowers from a farm in Kent and bouquets from Zita Elze in Kew.

Decoration
Candles, jars, fairy lights, wild flowers, mismatched chairs, long wooden tables, the sea

whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding blessing sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding with petals on the floor sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography

Food
Oysters, BBQ marinated chicken and pork, seaweed wrapped fish, wedding couscous, nori new potatoes, seaweed salad, roast aubergine salad with saffron yoghurt. Followed by local lavender ice cream and shortbread. Cheese and orange wine.

Wedding Cake
Our friend Dawn Burnett made the cake, 3 layers, 2 fruit and 1 sponge – the decoration by Zita Elze of flowers. It was incredible.

Entertainment
Polly Money, we had watched her at a festival and asked if she ever did weddings. She doesn’t as a rule but seeing as we asked so nicely!

whistable beach wedding with sea food same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding drinks sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding with beach view same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding details sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding food sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding food same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding food same sex wedding sofia plana photography

The Stationery
Russet and Gray for the invitations

Personal or Handmade Touches
Or things that you did yourself? Paper lanterns we lit on the beach. We included a postcard with the menu that was a print of a painting by Kate’s grandad of Whitstable in the 60s. We also put a crystal at each place.
We were very lucky to be blessed our friend John who is a shaman after the main ceremony. And a friend brought a polaroid camera so that we could have instant shots during the day for people to then write messages in our guestbook next to.

whistable beach wedding speeches at same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding speeches same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding entertainment same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography

Special Moments
It’s hard to say as the day was full of special moments, seeing each other in our dresses, speaking our own vows, turning around to see our friends and family, the tears of joy, the carpet of orange petals, the sunset and the lanterns.

Advice to other couples
We didn’t realise how little we would be able to do ourselves on the actual day. If you are organising lots of the details yourselves we would recommend involving friends as early as possible in the planning so that they can execute all your ideas on the day. But we were thrilled that we had a wedding that truly captured our essence and who we are together.

Biggest surprise
The sunshine

whistable beach wedding same sex wedding cake cutting sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding sofia plana photography whistable beach wedding same sex wedding lanterns sofia plana photography

 

Supplier Shout Outs

Photography – www.sofiaplana.com
Caterer – www.linkedin.com/pub/seb-munsch/50/57a/47
Florist – www.bloominggreenflowers.co.uk
Musician – www.pollymoney.com
Invitations – www.notonthehighstreet.com/russetandgray
Bouquets – www.notonthehighstreet.com/russetandgray

For more information on Sofia’s work please go to:

www.sofiaplana.com / www.runningbarefoot.sofiaplanaphotography.com[email protected] / 07863723874
I: sofiaplana / FACEBOOK

Why not visit our Supplier Directory

Comments

Please leave your comment

We reserve the right to remove any comment that we feel is distasteful, rude, hurtful or inappropriate, so please be nice. Remember the weddings featured on this blog are real people and their weddings mean a lot to them. Please be mindful of this and other people's feelings. If youhave a problem with any of the content please contact me directly.

Thank you xx

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.