Phuket has become one of the most popular wedding destinations for people around the world. There are many good reasons to choose Phuket for your special day, e.g. good value for money for high-end facilities, variety of ceremonies on offer, e.g. Thai traditional, beach wedding & religious ceremony, many beautiful venues to choose from and lastly, friends & family can take the opportunity to have a nice holiday in Thailand.
Recently, I had my own wedding in Phuket and I’m going to share the most memorable experience of my life with you. This will probably give you some ideas to plan your own special day in Phuket.
My husband and I are Phuket residents and we have been living here for 10 years so we know Phuket very well and what we can get in Phuket for the best value. We set our wedding date on the 8th of April 2017 and we started to plan it around the beginning of Jan 2017.
Talk to wedding planers: This will give you a lot of ideas and many things you need to think about. Before talking to the wedding planers I did some research but after talking to them I had a lot to think about which I did not consider before. They will provide helpful guide lines and they can give you an approximate price for your dream wedding to help you to plan your budget. I talked to 2 wedding planners but at the end I did not use them because I decided to be my own wedding planner as I thought it’s going to be fun to organise my own wedding.
Choosing venues: The concept of our wedding was non-religious, modern, simple and intimate. We invited about 30 people to join us, only family and close friends. Knowing the guest list helped us to look for the most suitable venue. We started to look at hotel packages; many hotels are offering a beach ceremony and a reception in their hotel restaurant or pool side. You have to think carefully to have an outdoor wedding during April-October during the wet season. We did not want to take any risk on this so we decided to go for an indoor wedding. We ended up choosing the Angsana Laguna Wedding Chapel for the ceremony. We made a decision immediately after visiting the Chapel located in the Laguna Complex, right next to a beautiful lake and surrounded by tropical greenery. The Laguna complex is a mix of five star hotels, resorts, golf courses and luxury property estates. The whole area looks clean and well maintained and this created a good impression on our guests who visited the area for the first time.
Here are some photos of the Chapel and the ceremony.
With my handsome uncle
The ceremony started around 4 pm and took only 30 minutes in the Chapel. After that we spent about 40 minutes to take photos with our guests outside the Chapel, then headed to the reception. We choose a sea view villa at Andara Resort & Villas for the evening reception. And again it did not take us long time to make decision to choose a private villa at Andara Resort & Villas for our special evening. The villa was stunning, the space and the layout were just perfect for 30 guests, not too big and not too small. We got a good deal to ensure that we were not going to be bankrupt after the wedding! Let’s see the photos of our wedding reception venue.
Guests arrived at the villa around 5.30 pm and the staff served drinks by the swimming pool. The weather was perfect with a gentle breeze from the sea so it was very relaxing to sit, drink and talk. Our guests enjoyed the view, the sunset and the stunning villa. We started dinner around 7 pm and the party went on until 11 pm. All the guests had great fun dancing. I would say that the service, the staff and the food were five star. The event manager at Andara handled everything perfectly and professionally. I would highly recommend this place.
Here is the cost of the venues;
The fee for using the Chapel was THB 88,000 (USD 2,600) This included the set up of the chapel, flower arrangement, a bridesmaid’s bouquet, a photographer (we received 260 photos), a celebrant, a one night stay for a couple in Angsana hotel and the event manager who helped to organise everything. Our guests were impressed with the Chapel and the ceremony and we were more than satisfied with their service.
The fee of Andara Villa was about THB 200,000 (USD 5,700), this included food, drinks, one night accommodation in the villa (3 bedrooms), venue set up, staff and the event manager who help to create this memorable evening.
Other – Photographer at the wedding reception for 6 hours was THB 16,000 (USD 450) and I received 800 photos from Thana Photography, hair & make up was THB 8,000 (USD 230) by Shine, the flower arrangement at the reception was THB 12,000 (USD 340) which I spent all day on the day before the big day to do it myself. The price also included my bouquet. The flowers would cost about THB 30,000 (USD 850) if I hired a professional to do it. Ps. I watched YouTube and practiced a few times.
Total was THB 324,000 (USD 9,300). When we started to budget we did not want to spend more than THB 350,000 (USD 10,000) so it was successful.
My wedding dress is from a Thai designer called Patinya, and the after party dress is also from a Thai designer called Pitchana. If you want a simple, stylish and high quality tailor dress, you can visit Central Chidlom (ThaiThai Zone) and Siam Paragon in Bangkok where is about 20 designers from Thailand. My earrings are Dior Tribal Earrings and my shoes is MANOLO BLAHNIK They are available worldwide.
Hope this give you some ideas for your wedding in Phuket. If you need advice please feel free to contact me. I would be more than happy to help!
Pim Never Stops 