Get with the Program.

Our clients are often surprised by the start time of our ceremonies – for those used to getting to the church for midday or 2pm, our guest arrival at 4:30 could seem like the day is over before it begins!  But there is method to the madness – in fact, our program structure has evolved over the years, taking various elements into account to make the winning formula for a tropical beach wedding.

 

First and most importantly of all – the hot, hot heat.  It’s hard to imagine from home what the heat and humidity is like here and it is not to be underestimated.  Consider that your guests will come smartly dressed, and that they’ll be out in the sun from the minute they get off the air-conditioned minibus… it’s a celebration, so there’ll be plenty of booze thrown in too.  Your guests (and our staff) would be like a group of wilting daisies before long if they were to arrive at 2pm!  Starting later in the afternoon means the sun is lower and less intense and the temperature is a more bearable.  

If people turn to wilting daisies in the sun, what about the daisies themselves?!  We have seen that setting up in the full heat of the day can be a disaster.  No bride wants to walk onto a beach decorated with limp, droopy flowers – our later start means everything stays fresh and looking fabulous.

Photography is such a major factor for couples that it plays a big part in the timing of the day.  As much as the sun is hot, it is also dazzlingly bright and this is problematic for photographers.  Too much light means over-exposed photos, so the 5pm ceremony start is necessary.  There are 4 hours of photography included in our packages, and we don’t believe in forcing our clients to spend extra so we’ll do our best to keep all major events within this coverage time.  A 5pm ceremony means sufficient time for a photo session before sunset.  As standard, we schedule the fire lantern release, first dance and cake cutting before dinner so that these key moments are captured on camera.  Of course, if you prefer for these things to take place after dinner you have the freedom to move them but remember to think about the photography – additional hours are an option if you do want to (literally) buy yourselves more time!  

If you choose to splash out on fireworks, these will be launched before dinner.  There are strict regulations on fireworks on Lipa Noi beach and we have special agreements with our neighboring resorts and local residents, whom we would never want to upset. 

Sunset is earlier in the later part of the year, so we will schedule our November and December weddings to begin an hour earlier, so there’s still enough time to fit everything in before light is lost. 

If you are having a Buddhist blessing, this will take place at 4pm.  Normally, in a Thai wedding, the monks’ blessing is early in the morning – however, as this would mean an excruciatingly long day for you and also because the monks must be back at the temple before sunset, we have ours just before the beach ceremony.  Due to the heat at that time, the Buddhist blessing takes place under the wooden sala and not on the beach.  

For all of our weddings at Faraway Villa, midnight is home time – again because of our agreement with the locals.  People often ask where they can go afterwards to continue the party but in our experience, the sun and sea air, the fun and food, the drink and the dancing will have people snoozing on the minibus before they even get back to the resort!

Creating Colours with Beautiful Blooms

Having been in this business for several years, we know only too well what a huge part flowers play in a wedding – they are the decorative focal point,  dictating the colour theme and the overall “look” of the event.  Unfortunately, being located on a tropical island does have its drawbacks and we’re faced with various restrictions that mean we can’t simply say “yes” to every request, however much we’d like to.

Local Flowers – Part of the Package

Most of the flowers we get from within Thailand are from the mainland, meaning absolutely everything is imported – even what we refer to as “local flowers”.  Our supplier, based in Bangkok source their flowers from farms all around the country… and this is where we encounter our first problem.  The flowers we order on one day can be quite different to those we order a different day.  Let’s use an orange rose for an example – on Monday the “orange roses” might arrive and be soft, pale and peachy.  On Thursday, the “orange roses” we receive are bright, vibrant and carroty!  As you can imagine, it’s a big headache for us – the last thing we want to do is promise our clients something that we cannot guarantee.  For this reason we are always as honest as we can be – we just can’t promise to get that dream palette totally spot on, or exactly matched to the shade and tone of your bridesmaids dresses.  

To get around this, first of all we need your understanding – please know we’ll always do our best!  You will be better set for success if you can try to go for more general colours – red, yellow, purple are all easy enough, it’s when we start talking about peach, lavender, cerise that we start to worry.  Introducing more colours into the palette is also a safer approach as you are not totally dependent on getting shades spot on – for example, lots of different purple and pink flowers are more likely to compliment each other than one shade of purple and one shade of pink.  Likewise, a multi-coloured selection means that 2 clashing colours won’t offend – some of our favourite themes have been the ones with lots of different colours and flower types.   Another great example is coral, we get LOTS of requests for this theme and each time we have to explain that we can only creat a coral “look” by using a mixture of pink and orange flowers.  White fillers will always help to soften any palette and give the effect of blending colours together.  

To check out the flowers that come as part of our packages and get an idea about the palettes you could create see our Local Thai Flowers Board on Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/farawayweddings/local-thai-flowers-~-wwwweddingsinthailandcom/

Special Flowers – At Your Request

We don’t actively encourage our clients to choose special flowers as your budget is a large part of our concern, but we can import specialty flowers and flowers not native to Thailand at additional cost.  So if there are flowers that you simply love and want to have there on your day, then let us know and we can find a price on request.  For special flowers, we always advise for use only in bouquets, boutonnieres and centerpieces, and not on display stands or the ceremony arch/canopy.  This is simply to keep your costs down as an enormous number of flowers are needed for the general decoration.  

You can see some of the popular choices for special flowers here: http://www.pinterest.com/farawayweddings/special-flowers-~-wwwweddingsinthailandcom/

Orchids – common Thai orchids come in various shades of purple, white and green.  There is a “pink” orchid, although this is a very purply pink so we choose to avoid it for a pink theme.  These are avaialable all year round though may vary in size and colour intensity.  Some orchids we classify as “Special Flowers” – the Phalaenopsis, Vanda, Cymbidium and Cattleya varieties are popular choices but cost a little extra as they require skillful farming.  They are also only available at certain times of the year, so check with your wedding planner before getting set on having them.

Lotus – Available all year round in pink or white and look fabulous either closed or open with folded leaves.

Roses – Local and imported roses are available all year round in red, pink, white, yellow and orange.  Thai roses are smaller and colours are cruder; the import roses being fuller, larger and more subtle in shade. 

  

Frangipanis – these are the one exception to all other flowers.  Frangipani flowers are not farmed so can’t be ordered in bulk.  If these flowers are needed, our staff hand-pick them on the morning of the wedding.  Frangipanis – or “leelawadees”, as they are called in Thailand – are very sensitive to the wind and rain, so after a storm it can be impossible to find flowers still on the tree.  They also do not last well in the sun and start to turn brown quickly.  For these reasons, we can’t use frangipanis for general decoration or centrepieces.  If you would like them in your bouquet or boutonniere then we always do our best to deliver, but a back-up plan should always be in place in case of a downpour in the night.  

Tropical Flowers - We believe in THAI BEACH WEDDINGS and would always encourage our clients to embrace the “Thai” and the “Beach” by going for local, tropical flowers with a vibrant colour theme to match.  Sexy pink, Birds-of-Paradise, Torch Ginger… even the names sound exotic and adventurous!  They are always available, they are not expensive and you certainly wouldn’t get them at a wedding at home. 

A note on Blues – Quite simply, Blue is very difficult for us.  We will not use flowers which have been dyed as we don’t feel the results are up to scratch and there’s a risk of staining THE DRESS – which is a BIG no-no!  The only blue flower that we can source is the blue hydrangea and these are currently (a pretty pricey) 300 THB a stem.

DIY colour theme – With all the above in mind, you may be left thinking that your ideal colour theme is unachievable.  However, there’s various things you can do to make your theme work:

·         Bridesmaids and Groomsmen – inject your signature colours through dresses, shoes, ties, pocket-squares or shirts.

·         Guests – have you considered a dress code?!

·         Ribbon – can be used for chair decorations, you can use 2 or 3 colours to make a mix.

·         Linens – savvy brides have brought their own coloured napkins, table runners and chair  sashes to incorporate colours into the reception area

·         Stationery – although we provide printed drink and dinner menus, some clients have opted to have their own printed to match their wedding theme

·         Cocktails – search for recipes that create a drink to match the setting.