Richard & Samantha’s Wedding At The East Quays
Where did you get married/why did you choose the venue?
From the moment we started planning our wedding, we were sure we wanted to get married by the sea. After getting engaged on a beach in Devon, we knew the seaside had to be a key part of our big day. We have always loved Whitstable, and visiting East Quay Venue was very exciting!
When we first stepped inside East Quay, I remember smiling from ear to ear. We both loved it, and instantly knew that this was our place. The beach side location could not have been more perfect for us, and the quirky, fun interior was everything we wanted.
There was no set theme – other than ‘Casual Seaside Fun’! I had an image of beautiful, bright flowers of every colour scattered around the room, and even more colour hanging from the ceiling! Our bright and colourful theme meant that nothing needed to match; it just had to reflect the happiness of our day.
Which flowers did you choose?
Jane at Graham Greener was incredible – and seemed to just know what we wanted, even when I wasn’t very good at articulating it! I knew I loved gerberas and gladioli, but that was as far as we’d got! I had a hand tied bouquet with a mix of flowers including germinis, freesias and gypsophilia. To match, my bridesmaids had freesias and gypsophilia, and the groomsmen had germini buttonholes.
To decorate the venue, we had vases of gladioli and lots of bottles filled with gorgeous flowers of every colour you could imagine! Germini garlands and foliage also decorated areas within the venue. I loved walking into the venue before getting married and seeing it all decorated for the first time – everywhere you turned there was something beautiful to see!
Which style was the brides dress?
My dress was a shock to everybody – especially me! I couldn’t have chosen a dress further from my initial ideas, but it was stunning! The dress was a fit and flare style, with lace detail and a cut-out back. I had a cathedral length veil with lace detail to match and gold, sparkly shoes! I really did feel like a princess!
How did you have your hair/make up and why?
I decided that no matter what, I just wanted to look like me! I did my own hair, with the front pinned back and the rest kept down. I was really lucky to have my gorgeous friend – Rosannemakeupartist.co.uk – do my make-up. Rosie was incredible and listened to everything I asked for. I wanted a natural look with my favourite lipstick to finish! It was so much fun getting ready with the girls, enjoying every part of the morning together.
Which colour did the groomsmen/bridesmaids wear?
Rich chose blue suits for him and the boys, each with colourful bow ties! Gold for Rich (which was a surprise to match my shoes!), red for Rich’s son, teal for the best men, pink for the bride’s family and blue for the groom’s family.
Continuing with the colourful theme, the bridesmaids had white dresses with a bright floral pattern. They each had different colour shoes to match just to add to the colour even more!
How did you feel the day went as a whole?
Looking back, the day truly was the best of our lives so far. From waking up in Whitstable and seeing the sun shining over East Quay in the distance, smiling and laughing non-stop for the entire day, right up until it was time to walk back to the hotel as Mr and Mrs – every single part of it was perfect.
Hearing the song I was walking down the aisle to – Kygo’s acoustic version of ‘Firestone’ – will stay with us forever, as well as our first dance(s!). We couldn’t choose between 2 songs, so we had them both! Yellow to begin with, followed by Sky Full of Stars, both by Coldplay. Sharing the dancefloor with our friends and family, singing and dancing, is a wonderful memory.
The speeches were also amazing. My bridesmaids started them off, setting the bar very high. My parents and the best men were also superb, but it is fair to say it was the groom himself who stole it – there was not a dry eye in the place by the time he’d finished!
After the speeches, we walked to the harbour for another photo opportunity. This was one of our favourite parts of the day. With the rest of Whitstable enjoying the warm summer evening, we just loved having ten minutes together!
Our guests loved the barbecue we had for our wedding breakfast, followed by a variety of delicious ice creams from Treats on a Tricycle. The wine was a real treat too – homemade and prepared by the groom’s family, with personalised labels to mark our day! Another friend of ours (and amazing cake maker!) was responsible for the masterpiece that was our cake – a mix of our engagement and wedding came together in cake form!
A day that we wish we could re-live again and again, our wedding was so wonderfully ‘us’ in so many beautiful ways. Whilst we may not be able to turn back time, we will have the photos to treasure forever, all thanks to our outstanding photographer, James Grist.
