After a romantic and intimate proposal on a beautiful little deserted beach in Sri Lanka, Rachel was ready to start planning her dream wedding with her other half Paul.

What made you choose your venue?

“We initially wanted something more low-key than ISHQ, but when we viewed it, we felt it was perfect. We wanted to rent a villa for a few days so that it was more intimate with less staff and no other hotel guests etc. Also, our bridesmaids and groomsmen stay could with us, which was brilliant! The interior is gorgeous and it’s located right on the beach. And surprisingly, on our first visit, we discovered you could see the beach where we got engaged from the villa, so it seemed like fate.”

What were the hardest decisions to make during the wedding planning stages?

“Personally, it was choosing my wedding dress before I eventually found it at Mirka. There are so many beautiful designs out there, so it was hard to determine if I had found the perfect dress for me, my style, the weather, the location etc, until of course I did and all the others were forgotten about! I was beginning to lose faith in finding “the one” perfect dress, but was glad to have my faith restored.”

Photographer: Mariana Sharabura, Photo Sunny Days

Venue: ISHQ Villa, Talpe, Sri-Lanka

Wedding Planner: Catherina @srilanka_wedding