Don Carlos Resort – Don Carlos Beach Club, Elviria, Marbella
Shiobhan and Phil´s Special Day
Don Carlos Resort and beach club is a popular venue for weddings here on the costa del sol. The spectacular tropical gardens are the perfect setting to hold a ceremony and that is why Shiobhan and Phil chose this very location. I met with Shiobhan and Phil a few days before their wedding day when there first arrived in Spain just to go over any last minute queries or questions they may have. It is not always possible to meet with Bride and grooms before there wedding day so if it is not possible to meet personally then I do like to have a Skype chat with my clients as it is always good to chat face to face. This is always nice as it good to be complete strangers on your day.
Please see below the images more about there day.
Below are just a few of my personal favourite images and the story of their day…
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Shiobhan and Phil’s day
Preparation
When meeting Shiobhan I had a strong feeling when hearing what they had to say that their wedding would be a relaxed and romantic event to be remembered and it turned out to be just that. As I arrived at the Don Carlos hotel room where Shiobhan was preparing herself for her big day, there was in fact the relaxed and chilled yet fun atmosphere that she had indicated she wanted. There was an absence of nerves in the room as they all helped each other out and may I say it almost felt like preparing for a night out with the gals, instead of a wedding. Their matching dressing gowns with “bride” and “bridesmaids” embroidered on the backs were a nice touch and I remember thinking that Shiobhan’s beautiful daughter that was in the room with them was so cute, with her cheeky grin but so well behaved on her mums important day. I popped across to Phil and the boys who were getting ready before they headed down to the bar to await the arrival of guests. Back up to the brides room again and just in time to catch a shot that I always like to get, the buttoning up of the dress. I ran downstairs once more to capture shots of the guests that were gathering in the gardens under the shade of the palm trees, waiting in anticipation of the arrival of the Bride.
Ceremony
Shiobhan accompanied by her Mum walked down the aisle to a happy and smiley Phil. There was a reading by a close friend and her cute daughter brought tears to everyone’s eyes as she recited an adorable and very emotional poem that she had written herself. The Bride & Groom then lit candles, exchanged some meaningful vows and placed rings on each others fingers. They both looked quite choked but gazed lovingly into each others eyes as a harpist played, the ceremony was now complete and a very smiley married couple walked back up the aisle to the hugs and kisses of congratulations from guests and we all headed together to the bar for cocktails and canapés.
Reception
The Bride & Groom followed me to a wonderful covered area of the tropical gardens for some relaxed and natural portraits and a couple of romantic ones as the beautiful early evening summer sun had created the perfect environment for this. I captured some creative images, leaving them there and running quickly down to the nearby beach club to capture some photos of their planned simple but classy reception theme with table areas overlooking the sea. The layout, lights and lanterns by Laura of Reviva Weddings looked very romantic indeed and the bridesmaids added some personal touches and surprises to the décor. Guests were seated and the happy couple looked delighted as they walked over from across the pool area and sat for some meaningful speeches and toasts, the speeches were fairly short as far as wedding averages go, but were certainly sincere which is surely much more important. As a 3 course banquet of fantastic food was enjoyed by all a Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin tribute act sang and entertained everyone.
Party
Before it got too dark, Shiobhan, her mum and the bridesmaids all headed to the beach for some “girly” and informal group shots, this was also an ideal time for the Bride to throw her bouquet too. We then went back up and over to a 2 tier but very tall gateaux wedding cake that they carefully cut with an extremely long but traditional sword. The first dance was to a Frank and Dean song, blending into the wedding extremely well as they continued to sing a few more songs after. People started to get up and dancing before everyone was asked to relocate over to the cove where DJ Rob and the bar was. I left them to party the night away and understand that they did just that.
It was pleasure to meet such lovely group and look forward to seeing them all again as I have since been booked to photograph Shiobhan’s sisters wedding.
I wish Shiobhan and Phil much success in their endeavours together as Husband & Wife.
