Alicia’s Perfect Wedding Day
How did your partner propose? He proposed to me in September 2022 in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia in front of the Twin Towers. It was completely unexpected and a huge surprise, but one that meant a lot to me as I am half Malaysian and have been going to KL since I was a baby.
What’s the best piece of advice you received in the run up to your wedding? It’s YOUR wedding, no one elses! Do what makes YOU happy.
How did you go about finding your wedding dress? I tried many different styles of dresses as I didn’t really know what I wanted or what would suit me.
How many dresses did you try on before you found ‘the one’? I don’t know the exact amount, but I visited 3 other shops before visiting Fross, so I think I probably tried on around 20 before I found mine!
Do you know the name of your dress designer? Sincerity
What made you fall in love with the dress that you chose? I loved the simplicity of it. I had tried on many dresses that I just did not feel comfortable in as I am not someone who is used to dressing up. I didn’t want something that was ‘busy’ or ‘fussy’ in the detailing. I also had some bespoke sleeves made my Kate which just elevated the dress completely as they had tiny pearls on the material.
Did you wear a veil and/or any other bridal accessories? I never wanted to wear a veil as I just didn’t feel like ‘me’ when I tried one on. I had a couple of fresh orchids in my hair and that was is.
Tell us a little about your wedding day – the vibe, what inspired you, etc. Our wedding was on 16th December, so it very much had a Christmas/Winter feel to it. The venue, Buxted Park was decked out with their Christmas decorations and fires too, so it just felt super cosy. Our dress code was Black Tie, and it just made the day feel so special. I always wanted a Winter wedding – I absolutely hate being hot, so for me, I couldn’t think of anything worse than having a wedding in the summer! Christmas is also my absolute favourite time of the year, so it was a no brainer for me. The flowers were a reflection on my Malaysian/Chinese heritage. My flowers were a bouquet of large, trailing ,white orchids, and my bridesmaids were bunches of smaller stem, white , orchids. These were also dotted around the venue. Our wedding favours were personalised gingerbread men and we didn’t have a ‘traditional’ cake in that our ‘cake’ was made of rounds of cheese instead!
What was your favourite moment from the day itself? I have two favourite moments – the first one being our dog, Coco, being our ring bearer and walking down the aisle when the registrar asked for the rings. My second one is that we surprised our guests with a Chinese Lion Dance performance in the evening. No one apart from myself and my husband (and the hotel and photographer!) knew about this, and our photographer made everyone believe we were moving to a room to take a group photo. People’s faces were a picture when the Lion came out and interacted with everyone.
Is there any advice you would be happy to share with other brides? If you can, hire a wedding stylist! It took so much stress and strain off me to know someone was dealing with all of the smaller details and decorations. It was a massive weight off my shoulders. There were things I didn’t even think of that our wedding stylist helped us with. Also, I would recommend a videographer. I initially didn’t want one and wasn’t bothered about having a wedding video, but I am SO glad we did. A videographer captures your day in a different way to a photographer and you get to see things you may not have witnessed on the day as you are trying to socialise with everyone and make ‘the rounds’!.
Are you taking a honeymoon and if so when (in relation to your wedding, ie, immediately after, or sometime later) and what are your plans? As our wedding was so close to Christmas, we didn’t want to leave for a honeymoon straight away. We had a mini-moon for a few days in Bath after the wedding and before Christmas which was amazing as we didn’t have to travel far and got to relax and take it all in before the chaos of Christmas started. We are going back to Malaysia for our honeymoon and will be visiting KL for a few days and then flying to an island called Langkawi which we have never been to before. We leave tomorrow 18th January!
Would you mind sharing details of any other suppliers you used?
Photographer – Lucy Dracott @lucydracottphoto
Videographer – Harry Brooks @northskystudio
Planner/Stylist – Ambience West Sussex @ambiencewestsussex
Venue – Buxted Park Hotel
Shoes – Quiz for heels as I only wore them for the ceremony and then Converse!
Accessories – Jewellery – Kiri & Belle @kiriandbelle
Groom’s suit – Gieves & Hawkes London @gieveslondon
Bridesmaids – TFNC London @tfnclondon
Florist – Sussex Florals @sussexflorals
Cake – Cheese cake – West Country Cheese @westcountrycheese / Cupcakes – Marples Cakery @marplescakery
Entertainment – Blue Lion Band @bluelionband / Lion Dance @liondanceuk / Photobooth, LED Dance Floor & Casino Tables @bigsmilebooth / Caricature @savagecaricatures
Rings – Simon Mile Jewellers @simonmilnejewellers
Catering – Buxted Park Hotel
Stationery – my brother designed our invites
Hair Stylist – Ultra Soft Cuts @ultra_soft_cuts and Styled by Holly @styledbyholly_
Makeup Artist – Catherine Samuelson @catherinesamuelsonmua and Elle Jenkins @beautybyellej
Honeymoon – Trailfinders @trailfindersuk