James and Shannon's 'Modern Boho' Stunning Wedding in Thailand by Wedding Boutique Phuket

I have the most stunning wedding to share with you today, what a treat! Shannon and James live in Dubai, so decided that Thailand was the perfect choice for their destination wedding and what a good decision it was! They enlisted the help of Wedding Boutique Phuket who went to work creating one of the finest looking weddings I have seen in a long time. I love the way they have mixed the traditional boho touches with modern black accents. ‘Post-industrial and modern decors‘ work perfectly against the light and natural textures and boho touches. I just adore this wedding, there is so much inspiration here and so many amazing details. Pure wedding perfection.

It was truly the best day of our lives. Being able to celebrate with our loved ones in such a stunning location was a dream come true!

Shannon and James were married on 1^st November 2022 at Rosewood Phuket in Thailand. ‘Thailand has been out go-to holiday destination as a couple and choosing Thailand was such an easy choice. It was an easy location for our friends and family to travel to from all parts of the world – Dubai, England, South Africa, Australia and Mauritius. We had around 60 guests and it took just over a year to plan.’

How they met
We have both lived in Dubai since we were at school and had mutual friends. We met a classic Dubai way – at a brunch! We have now been together for 10 years! Time flies when you’re with your best friend!

The proposal
We got engaged in Thailand as well! We were in Koh Samui during the Christmas holidays with James’ parents and on Christmas eve of 2019, James and I went for a dinner with just the two of us. I was surprised with a private beach set-up and James popped the question! It was beautiful.

How did you allocate your budget?
We focused on aspects of the wedding that felt right to us. Some of the more traditional aspects didn’t feel as necessary for us but we ultimately wanted to have a big celebration with our loved ones. Illaire and her team were also great at helping us understand what was worth spending money and what wasn’t based on our vision.

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
I would probably say we splurged most on having an open bar for our guests. It was important to us that our guests didn’t pay for their drinks as they had all travelled around the world to be there for our special day.

How did you choose your photographer?
With it being a destination wedding, we relied on our wedding planner. She sent over a bunch of local photographers’ portfolios with their photography styles and we chose based on the style of photography that best suited our wedding theme.

The dress
My dress was by the designer Made with Love Bridal and I bought it from a gorgeous bridal shop in Dubai called Ginger & Poppy Bridal. I actually got my shoes from Next! They were stunning gold block heels and my jewellery was given to me for the day from my mum.

The suit and bridesmaids
My husband got his suit made in Dubai by a local tailor. Since my bridesmaids all lived in different countries (America, UK & Dubai), I got the girl’s dresses from ASOS. The design was simple, but I wanted a style that not only suited everyone, but that all my girls felt comfortable in.

Theme or colour scheme
Boho style with colours: champagne, ivory, brown, black.

Flowers
White orchids, ivory and champagne nude roses, white anthurium, bleached ruscus, natural and black pampas grass, dried palm leaves, and black sprayed leaves.

Decoration
Boho style with post-industrial and modern decors. Black elegant chairs and lanterns. Gold terrarium boxes, wooden charger plates and a stunning wooden structure over the head table decorated with bulb lights and floral arrangement. A fantastic neon wall with shots used as “take a shot and take a seat” seating chart. The masterpiece was the bride bouquet, a rattan taco-pocket with pampas grass used as a fan.

Food
Oh my gosh – the food!!! People still talk about our food to this day! I personally has a pumpkin ravioli was to die for!

Wedding cake
We went with a classic Red Velvet. We didn’t want a big focus on the cake, because by this time, everyone was in party mode so we kept it simple.

Entertainment
We had a DJ at our wedding – my husband and our group of close friends love house music, so this felt like the best fit for us! We also had an awesome photo station set up with props and a 360 camera which made for such fun videos of us and our guests enjoying the day!

Who supplied the stationery?
Wedding Boutique Phuket, our wedding planner agency.

Where did you go on your honeymoon
Our wedding was in Thailand – it doesn’t get much more beautiful than that! We haven’t necessarily had a “traditional” honeymoon because we are lucky enough to live in Dubai which is a central place to travel to and from. So since our wedding, we have travelled to quite a few places – Mauritius, Bali and London to name a few.

Personal touches
One of my favourite parts of the wedding was our signature “His & Hers” cocktails that were named after our dogs. We had a Mad Max (for the guys) and a Moody Molly (for the girls). We had our dogs’ photos illustrated on the menus and it was just such a cute was to incorporate our fur babies.

Special moments
One moment I will never forget was walking out to my husband and seeing all our favourite people gathered in one place. It’s not often that you get everyone in the same room – let alone all on holiday together in Thailand! It’s honestly hard to pick because the whole day was absolutely magical. If I could relive the day over and over again, I would!!

Advice for other couples
Get a wedding planner! It made the whole process so smooth and really removed any and all stress we could have had about the day. After choosing our style and the details with the planner, all we had to do was show up and have the best day. And that’s exactly what we did! I would also say to people not to sweat the small stuff. Ultimately, you’re there to celebrate with you nearest and dearest and the focus should be on that.

Biggest surprise
Walking out and seeing the setup and décor. Over the months, we picked the details we wanted, but seeing it all come to life was so exciting. We were lucky enough to have had a planner who we had complete trust and faith in, so we really didn’t have to do anything other than arrive and enjoy. So seeing ours and our wedding planner’s vision come to life was lovely. I was blown away about the small details that were put into the décor.