Sophisticated White Wedding In Dubai 

Sophisticated and timeless, with some fun touches thrown in for good measure, this Dubai wedding will make you smile this Monday morning. Gorgeous newly wed bride Vicky chose the luscious grounds of the Polo & Equestrian Club to say her ‘I DOs’ to her sweetheart Steve, and called upon the wedding planning services of our expert panel member and BCME vendor Clare Ebbs, of The Perfect Moment Dubai, to make sure everything went smoothly. 

Their special day was captured by Goldfish Photography and Video. Below, Vicky talks us through their wedding and leaves our readers with her top tips for expat brides.

The proposal…

Steve and I had been together for seven years when he proposed, so it was always going to be hard for it to be a surprise. However, both our parents were in Dubai, staying with us for a holiday, and we were due to go out for Steve’s mum’s 60^th birthday, so I didn’t think anything of it when he asked me to come out onto our balcony for champagne.

I expected our parents would join us shortly for a pre-dinner drink. Then he dropped to his knee, produced a beautiful ring and asked me to marry him – I was actually very shocked and happily surprised (I had almost given up hope!).

The wedding dress & accessories…

My gown was a beautiful sweetheart, gemmed Sophia Tolli dress from the Bridal Showroom in JLT. It had a full tuille skirt with diamantes and a flower belt. I felt very special. I wore a beautiful lace veil and a very talented lady in the UK designed a hair clip and necklace that dropped down my back – I loved it so much I’m trying to work out where else I can wear it now that the wedding is over.

The wedding theme…

I didn’t choose a specific colour or theme, and so kept it very simple with white and ivory, and went for the sophisticated, chic look. We chose the Polo & Equestrian Club as our venue as I loved the fact that the polo ground, terrace and courtyard, which looked stunning when decorated, would be totally ours. 

The cake…

Sweet Lane Cakes in Dubai created a delicious three-tier cake with salted chocolate caramel, pistachio and lemon, and pistachio and raspberry layers.

Most enjoyable part of the planning process…

Cake tasting! Without a doubt, I had the most fun tasting EVERY flavour that Sweet Lane Cakes offered, before designing our dream cake. Oh, and possibly all the shopping I did online for photo-booth props and cake toppers and all the little bits that make your day unique to you both as a couple.

Most testing part of the wedding planning process as an expat bride…

I probably didn’t encounter as many problems as other people as our wedding planner, Clare Ebbs, navigated everything for us. If I asked for Chiavari chairs, Clare knew where to get them; if I asked for sweet shop jars, Claire had them already. 

Top three tips for expat brides-to-be…

♡ Enlist the help of a wedding planner. If that’s too expensive then definitely hire one just for the actual day, to do the setup and make sure everything runs smoothly, so you don’t have to worry about anything other than touching up your lipstick. I found wedding planning harder than I thought it would be – more so because I only knew what I didn’t like and not what I did like. We enlisted the services of wedding planner Clare Ebbs, who helped us navigate venues and suppliers, and what was an option for our budget. The best tool for wedding planning in any country is Pinterest the pin board App – it is literally amazing!

♡ Start the wedding earlier in the day and not later than 1-2pm. You only get this day once – it goes quickly and costs so much you might as well make the most of it.

♡ Personalise your ceremony. We had a love-lock ritual and included my daughter in sending the key off attached to a giant balloon. We have some special pictures and everyone commented on how unique it was. It was great seeing my vision become a reality on the day – there is literally nothing I would change about our wedding.

The Brides Little Pink Book

Venue: Polo & Equestrian Club / Wedding planner: Clare Ebbs at The Perfect Moment Dubai / Photographer & videographer: Goldfish Photography and Video / Wedding flowers: Vintage Bloom / Cake: Sweet Lane Cakes / Bridesmaids dresses: Two Birds in London / DJ: Sister Rock / Violinist: Nicolas Avr / Magician: James Harrington / Photo booth: Goldfish Photography and Video / Hair and makeup:  Angelique Turner / Groom and groomsmen suits: Royal Fashion JLT

Looking for more real wedding inspiration? Click here.