Inside: A Chic Beach Wedding In Barbados The Wedding Edition

The Story

Christie and Charlie reveal the secrets to their dreamlike destination wedding, from an elegant soirée at Sandy Lane to a tropical ceremony on the beach.

We started off as friends while at school, but we didn’t start dating until many years later. Charlie moved away to study at Durham and in London whilst I stayed in our hometown, Henley-On-Thames. Then, one Christmas, Charlie returned to visit his family and asked if I was around to catch up. Fast-forward seven years, we bought our first home, enjoyed lots of holidays together, adopted a fur baby and then Charlie proposed!

He asked the question in Tulum, Mexico, on a private treetop above the jungle, where the view was something out of this world. It was the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen – a 2.3ct round-cut diamond with a platinum band. After sharing the news, we walked along the beach and found a stunning beach location coincidently called the ‘LUV Bar’. We enjoyed a few glasses of champagne and watched the sun go down. I will never forget that day; it was so magical – we can’t wait to go back!

Venue

We picked Barbados because of its stunning beaches, crystal clear sea, fine dining, and delicious rum punches, making it the perfect choice for a winter sun wedding. It also holds so many special memories for us and our families, as well as a deep sentimental value for Charlie, as it held a very special place in the heart of his late father, who, sadly, passed away just a few months before the big day.

We hosted a sunset soirée at Sandy Lane Beach Club to kick-start the celebrations; choosing this location was natural for us, as we have been visiting there every year – Charlie’s family have had a family home on the Sandy Lane Estate for over twenty years.

Our guests were greeted with steel pan drums, refreshing rum cocktails and a stunning sunset view. To add an element of surprise, we ended the night with a fire show which everyone loved!

The following day, we treated our guests to a private catamaran trip along the West Coast of Barbados. We saw shipwrecks, swam with turtles, danced to a DJ, and enjoyed plenty of rum punches!

On our wedding day, we spent most of our time on the beach. We had always dreamed of exchanging vows with our feet in the sand and hearing the ocean waves in the background. We moved to the sunset deck right next to the sea for dinner, the backdrop was everything we had dreamt of!

Bridal Party

The bridesmaids looked stunning in their long satin dresses from Rewritten. The champagne hue perfectly complemented the beach setting (or, as my bridesmaids said, a champagne wedding!). The quality of the dresses was incredible, I could not recommend Rewritten enough. I was so happy to hear that the bridesmaids felt amazing in them.

As for their gifts, I gave them a few of my favourite beauty products from 111 Skin, Chantecaille and Sol de Janeiro, in addition to matching nightgowns, handmade bracelets, and pearl earrings to wear on the day.

Our page boys, Cassius and Archie, looked smart in their matching Ralph Lauren shirts and cream shorts, and our flower girl, Grace, looked sweet in her Rocket & Angel dress. I ordered an extra champagne satin belt from Rewritten to ensure Grace matched the bridesmaids. We also gave her a delicate gypsophila crown that matched the flowers in my hair.

For the groomsmen, we kept it simple with white linen shirts and cream chinos paired with matching leather brown belts.

Fashion

I wore a stunning dress by Marchesa Notte, covered in delicate 3D flowers. I paired it with a matching veil that draped to the floor and flowed beautifully against the breeze.

We embraced the laid-back Caribbean vibe during the ceremony and loved being barefoot. Later in the evening, I changed into a party dress by Nadine Merabi and styled it with a gorgeous pair of handmade Martina midi heels by Freya Rose and the matching Athena mother-of-pearl bag.

Jewellery

I wore round-cut diamond earrings, which were a wedding gift from Charlie. In addition, my father and grandfather gave me a special surprise and gifted me my late grandmother’s engagement ring, a special heirloom I got to wear on the day. Wearing her ring made it seem like she was present with me throughout the day. It was such a thoughtful gift I love so much, I haven’t taken it off since. Charlie wore a signet ring embossed with his family crest and a Rolex watch passed down from his late father. Every piece we wore carried a story, which makes it so special.

Tablescape

I enjoyed planning my wedding, but there was one aspect I especially loved organising – the tablescape! I wanted it to be simple and chic, with a romantic and beachy vibe.

We embraced the outside setting and decorated the tables with copious amounts of candles to give our guests that magical candlelight ambience.

Each candle had handwritten quotes written on them, from ‘Mr & Mrs Gordon’ to ‘You, me and the sea…’. I kept the colours neutral, using predominantly white, nude, and ivory hues and opted for scalloped edges for the stationery. The wavy style reminded me of the sea’s waves. We also incorporated seashells where possible. We had seashell-shaped place names, table names and fans at the ceremony to keep our guests cool. To my surprise, everyone used the seashell place names as shot glasses, which was a lot of fun!

Additionally, we wrote a personal thank-you note to each of our guests; it felt like an excellent way to express our gratitude, and we thoroughly enjoyed writing them. Almost everything was shipped from the UK – Laura from Lucca Studios designed most of our decor; she was so helpful and did an incredible job bringing our vision to life!

Food & drink

We wanted to embrace the local cuisine, so we offered a mix of our favourite dishes from Barbados, including grilled mahi-mahi, coconut shrimp and ahi yellowfin tuna tartare – it was a Caribbean banquet! As for the drinks, we offered fresh coconuts and Banks Beers on arrival – two of our go-to drinks in Barbados. We had an open bar for the rest of the day and toasted with (my all-time favourite) Veuve Cliquot champagne.

Entertainment

We had steel pan drums, a saxophonist, and a DJ playing throughout the day.

For our wedding ceremony, we chose a rendition of Bob Marley’s ‘Is This Love’ by Luke Burr and an Elvis Presley cover of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Kina Grannis.

For the drink reception, we enjoyed chilled beach music and romantic Caribbean classics accompanied by a live saxophonist.

Our first dance song was ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’, our favourite song! It felt perfect as we were outside and could see the stars above us whilst it was playing.

We wanted fireworks but opted for some giant cold sparklers instead due to some complications – I was so pleased with how they turned out!

However, the best entertainment by far was the part where my bridesmaids and I jumped in the pool! Moments later, my father followed! It was a hilarious part of the night and a moment I will treasure forever!!

Beauty Regime & Wellness

In the lead-up to my wedding, I attended Zero Gravity Reformer Pilates more frequently – It’s been a great way to tone up and relieve stress from last-minute planning, and it helped me feel my best on the day.

In terms of skincare, I swear by Chantecaille, I’ve been using their products for years! Their creams are so lightweight and super nourishing, and they use natural ingredients. I especially love their Radiance Elixir, Rose de Mai Creme, and Gold Eye Serum – they helped me achieve a gorgeous bridal glow! Additionally, I’ve been going to ELEMIS and 111 Skin for regular facials. They leave my skin feeling so refreshed and radiant!

I had my hair and makeup done by local talent on the wedding day. I went for natural, glowy makeup and beachy, boho hair.

Favourite Wedding Gift

We have received some beautiful gifts, but the greatest gift was having our nearest and dearest there; it truly meant the world to us!

Regarding wedding gifts, one of my bridesmaids sweetly bought us a music box that plays our wedding song. I was surprised when I opened it because it was something I would have never thought of. The gift was incredibly unique and thoughtful; it brought tears to my eyes and will be something I will always treasure!

My uncle kindly surprised us with a bottle of champagne from the year we first met, with the grapes he had personally picked (he used to be in that line of business). It was such a lovely gesture.

Lastly, our close friends who couldn’t attend the wedding gave us a beautiful silver seashell-shaped champagne bucket which links to our wedding theme. It’s so chic and elegant, a gift we can’t wait to use!

Honeymoon

We couldn’t be more excited about our honeymoon – we are off to Thailand for three weeks in February! It will be a trip of a lifetime and a perfect way to celebrate our next chapter together. We will be staying at several different locations and hotels, but we are especially looking forward to visiting Koh Kood and staying at the TreeHouse Villas in Koh Yao. We are also especially excited to visit an ethical elephant sanctuary.

Advice

Create a mood board and refer to it throughout the planning process. Rushing decisions or changing your mind can be a costly mistake! I learned this the hard way when I changed my colour scheme halfway through and ended up purchasing two sets of bridesmaid dresses. After that, I created a clear mood board, which helped me stay on track and ensure that everything matched my vision and worked together.
Try to reuse your flowers wherever you can! We spent thousands of pounds on our ceremony flowers, which were only briefly displayed. In hindsight, I wish we had moved them to another area after the ceremony to make the most of them!
Just let go and go with the flow on your wedding day. A few things might not go according to plan, but there’s no need to worry about it. Some things didn’t go as planned on my day, but they’ve turned into the funniest stories. I wouldn’t change a second!