Carl and Donna's Dubai Wedding – The Ritz Carlton, JBR

I met Donna just before the summer and I loved her from day one. I remember on one occasion which was just after I found out I was pregnant, we met at Lime Tree Cafe in Jumeirah and she parked up just before I did. She walked up to say hello and said, ‘I hope you don’t mind, but I’m with my child’. (She brought her son with her) I replied with “I’m also with child’ and patted my tummy”.  It was rather funny, and I thought I was quite clever as it was such a quick come back and a funny way to share my good news. I don’t know way it makes me smile but it does.
Anyway, back to Carl and Donna… they got married on the 29th October 2015 at The Ritz Carlton, JBR, Dubai. It was an elegant wedding with a soft grown up colour pallet of greys, whites and greens. They married at Jebel Ali Christchurch at 12 noon which followed with cocktails and dinner at The Ritz Carlton, JBR.  When two families come together with kids, it’s always important to make sure the kids are involved… it’s not only two people uniting in marriage, it’s two families coming together too. Believe me, there was a lot of love at this wedding…

So the details…
The Planning process… We considered marrying in the UK and other overseas locations. Eventually decided it would be easier to arrange our wedding in Dubai where we are based. We visited several hotels and found that the Ritz Carlton offered the best reception space and location. Once secured we proceeded with other arrangements. Attended several Dubai wedding shows. Applied for wedding licence at British Consulate.

Budget – did you follow a budget or go with the flow?  We had an original estimate in mind but this was exceeded pretty early in the planning so we went with the flow!

Where did you find your wedding dress? I was lucky enough to win a competition held by House of Moirai which I entered at the Polo Club bridal exhibition.
Best Boys & Bridesmaids – Megan, Darcy, Flynn, Connor & Lawson.

Groom’s attire… Carl’s suit comprised of a double-breasted hounds tooth waistcoat, with matching hounds tooth trousers and blue blazer. This was designed by House of Moirai. As a lovely touch of detail by Barbaranne, the back of Carl’s waistcoat, unbeknown to him, was made from material from my wedding dress.

Entertainment – how did you entertain your guests? Entertainment was provided by Nightmusic in the form of Ruby Mae singing for the first part of the evening and Andy Swift, as DJ, covering the rest of the evening and night.

The Decor & styling… {Words by Joelle} If you’re a Dubai resident or a bride-to-be on a wedding venue hunt, you may already know that the lawn by the beach at The Ritz, JBR is rather big. It’s the perfect venue for a wedding of 200 but for a smaller crowd we had to make sure the wedding didn’t get swallowed up by the big space. Lighting was my main concern. I didn’t want to bring in trussing, nor did I want Donna to spend so much on something that’s not even that pretty. (Believe me, trussing is not pretty) String lights would of looked great, but for reason I was never convinced they would work for this wedding, it just didn’t feel right. Then one day I discovered Iluma Lamps… I literally squealed with excitement and sent Donna a text straight away. Luckily she loved the idea so I got on email and contacted Amy at Iluma Lamps. Our problem was solved! We kept our colours simple by using creams, grey and white. It was a gorgeous wedding, and the lights were a highlight for me. We manged to keep the cost down by using simple greens and a few white flowers on the tables. We also used white show plates and I helped Donna customise her wedding favors, which were little packets of seeds she bought from a charity in the UK.

Moments to remember forever… Funniest moment was Carl’s ring not fitting his finger. Lawson sleeping through the wedding service. Having all our friends and family from all over the world together to celebrate our marriage.

Advice for other couples… Don’t stress about planning too far in advance – most hotels only take bookings 6 months in advance, and it really all comes together 2 months prior to wedding.

Lovely Vendors
Wedding Dress: House of Moirai
Photography: Goldfish Photography
Styling & Decor: Lovely Styling
Lighting/Lamps: Iluma Lamps
Flowers: Firenze Flora
Stationery: Nice Ribbon Aetlier
Invitations: Paperless Post
Gift Registry: MyList.ae
Limo: Connection Chauffeur Limo UAE
Music: Nightmusic
Venue: The Ritz-Carlton, JBR Dubai
Hair: Ted Morgan Hair
Church: Christ Church Jebel Ali
It was an absolute pleasure to work with Donna, and if I could do it all again I would.