A Classic Wedding | The One and Only Royal Mirage

Today at BCME, we are delighted to bring you this gorgeous wedding at Arabian Court, located in the stunning One and Only Royal Mirage. Beautifully captured by our talented vendors, Goldfish Photography & Video. Anissa ( French with a Moroccan background), and Adriano’s (from South Africa with an Italian background) wedding took place on 2^nd November 2015, and we’re sure you’ll agree that as well as conveying the spirit of the day, Goldfish have also snapped some fantastic detail shots of the flowers, dress and all those little accessories that go into making a wedding so memorable.

Anissa and Adriano had seventy-five guests, and spent about nine months planning their big day, working in close consultation with the venue’s events planning team. Below, Anissa tells us all about how the wedding came together. Read on for more details, and to see the beautiful images.

Let’s talk wedding gowns. Where did you buy your dream gown?

I purchased my dress in France, as I wanted to live the experience back home with family and friends. It was too much of a big deal and I had to be able to express myself in my native language. The first dress I tried on was the one, and I loved it instantly. I tried on a few more afterwards, but kept on going back to this beautiful strapless mermaid shaped one. So simple but yet fabulous. My mind was made up!

Did you decide upon a wedding theme? If so, talk us through your choice.

We wanted an intimate, classy and romantic celebration which incorporated some elements from both of our cultures. We were offered the choice of different styles and colours for the decoration of our venue and the ballroom, and eventually picked silver as it was one of the colours in our theme, along with lilac and purple. Each table was dressed in an elegant way and decorated with a central bouquet composed of white and lilac flowers. In addition, I bought decorative items which were put on each of the tables.

Talk us through the ceremony…

When we first met our Celebrant, Toni, we all discussed her reading. We told her about our story and she was so great in including aspects we find important into what she said during the ceremony. I walked down the aisle to the musical theme of Christina Perri’s song ‘A Thousand Years’. It was beautiful and so romantic!

My Maid of Honour was my sister, and I also had lovely flower girls in the shape of Adriano’s little cousin and my two nieces. I love children and it was important to me to make the little girls in our two families feel special.

What about your flowers?

I wanted an original and dramatic bouquet as opposed to a traditional one. I searched for ideas on the internet and found something that I loved which was later delivered to my room before the ceremony started. The events team at The One and Only took care of it as well as all the other floral decorations.

Tell us about the awesome wedding cake…

Our cake was made by a dear friend of ours, pastry chef David Croiser. We had little knowledge about how it would taste as this was to be a surprise, but we trusted him 100%. It was a rather different cake in terms of being massive and having smoke, lights and flares! It was actually ten cakes; five of which were crunchy chocolate and the other five raspberry and lemon mousse. It tasted absolutely delicious and looked so stunning that it even had its own special entrance!

What were your favourite moments of the day?

Adriano’s most memorable moment was seeing me walking down the aisle! Mine would have to be when he gave me the wrong hand during the exchange of rings; it made me laugh and actually took off the stress I had been carrying since the morning. It also meant a lot for both of us to have our families and friends travelling and being united to share our special day. We were touched with the making of a beautiful wishes tree by my sisters, and we also loved the speeches by both Adriano’s father and my amazing friend Candice.

Do you have any honeymoon plans?

Our honeymoon is planned for this coming September, and we are excited to be going to see the great migration on safari in Kenya. We have been practically everywhere in the world and this is something that we have not seen yet but have always wanted to experience.

How did you use BCME to help plan your wedding?

I found the Bride Club ME website extremely helpful in looking for and finding a great wedding celebrant and a fabulous team of photographers and videographers (Goldfish) We really appreciated every team member of Goldfish’s kindness and professionalism.

What are your top three tips for a bride-to-be?

♡ You will spend lots of time and energy planning something that will be over in a flash, so enjoy every second of it.

♡ As nice as it is to want to please and accommodate others, it is ok not to on your wedding day. Make sure you are doing what is right and important to you, and everyone else will be happy as it is the reason they are there; to share in your happiness!

♡ Stressing over the small details will only take some of your glow away. Really, try to relax! For your special day to be a success all you have to do is to enjoy it with your spouse and loved ones. The greatest memories in life are about how good we felt.

Check out Anissa and Adriano’s gorgeous wedding video by Goldfish Photography & Video below

The Bride’s Little Pink Book

Venue: Arabian Court, One & Only Royal Mirage – Photographers: Goldfish Photography & Video – Dress and accessories: Pronovias – Groom’s tuxedo: Boggi Milano – Cake: David Croiser – DJ: DJ Kel – Catering and flowers: One & Only Royal Mirage

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