Names: Chris Pennock & Nicola Wadsworth
Length of engagement: 2 years
Wedding Date: 27th May 2018
Wedding location: Dunas Douradas Beach Club, Vale Do Lobo
Photographer: James Hardie Photography
We met… Knew of each other as we attended the same school. I always fancied Chris from our days both being on the school athletics team. When he returned from living in America we both got chatting through social media and it went from there.
Our proposal… Chris proposed on the beach one evening on Olhos D’Agua where my parents have a property. We took a picnic and a bottle of wine to the beach. He was pointing at something on the cliffs in the distance and when I turned around he had the ring out in front of him.
Our wedding theme/colours… Our theme was neutral colours with a Portuguese influence. So our stationery had the Portuguese tile pattern on them and our table names were named after places Chris and I have visited in the Algarve.
Things we DIY’d/made ourselves… Nothing!! We did make booklets which had a snippet from each of us about each guest at the wedding so they all knew a bit about each other. Got them designed and printed professionally though. We also brought lots of our own fairy lights to make the setting more romantic on the evening.
My dress… My dress was Martina Liana. I tried on A LOT of dresses but both mums were in tears when they saw this so I knew it was the one!
My hair and makeup… Joanna at JAR Studios did our hair. She was brilliant. After having a number of makeup trials in the Algarve, my sister actually did my makeup. She has always been really good at the kind of thing but we had a lesson and bought all the right products.
His suit… Chris’s suit was from Debenhams. Plain navy with just a waistcoat and no jacket given the heat.
What our bridal party wore… My bridesmaid wore a custom dress from Jarlo. Really plain and elegant and the back was similar to mine with the buttons all down the back and train. Our flower girl wore a dress from Monsoon.
Our ceremony… We got married on the grass overlooking the sea at Dunas Douradas Beach Club. Our celebrant was Leonard Beard. We met Leonard the year before in the village where my mum and dad have an apartment. He was great and really tailored the ceremony to how we wanted it.
We chose our photographer because… we really wanted a video package as both our grans couldn’t fly over for the wedding. James & Kellie also had the drone which was really cool.
We chose our venue because… we loved the location and it ticked all the boxes. The staff were brilliant, the food was second to none and we really loved that everything was outside. The setting was perfect. We also knew someone who had been married there before.
Our menu… We visited the venue the year before to try all of the options. We went for a smoked duck starter
followed by chicken wellington and we finished with a berry cheesecake. Everyone commented on how good the food was and how generous the portions were. The chef also came to see us the next day to see how everything went which really surprised us.
Our honeymoon… Our honeymoon was amazing. We went to Thailand – Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Koh Samui. We
visited temples, floating markets, bathed with elephants and so many other things… it was the holiday of a lifetime and we can’t wait to go back.
My favourite part of the wedding day… Our favourite part of the day was the ceremony.
My piece of advice for other couples… Don’t stress. On the day, the small detail that we had put so much effort into, we didn’t even notice. Focus on the big things like the photographer, dress, band etc. Our band and musician were so good. Leandro Russo played during the ceremony and Daddy Jack on the night. All of our guests commented on both and so many people said they have never seen a better band than Daddy Jack.
Suppliers
Wedding venue: Dunas Douradas Beach Club | Photographer and videographer: James Hardie Photography | Musician: Leandro Russo | DJ: Daddy Jack Band | Hair: JAR Studios | Makeup: My sister & Maid of Honour! | Dress: Martina Liana | Suit: Debenhams | Bridesmaids dresses: Jarlo London | Groomsmen outfits: Debenhams | Caterer: Dunas Douradas Beach Club | Cake: The Cake Shop, Armacao de Pera – Sonia | Celebrant: Leonard Beard
