If You Are A Lover Of Relaxed Vibe Weddings With Rustic, Lavender Theme And Quirky Artwork, Then You Will Love This Wedding!

Emily and Tom got married at The Marndadee Heritage Hotel, on the banks of the River Pi, Saraphi in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand in November 2018. It was an awesome rustic meets romantic themed wedding, with lavender and soft green hues. 

The couple met in Chiang Mai when they were both working there as expats.  Shooting a wedding can be pretty stressful, but the moment I met Emily and Tom, my nerves started to ease when I was greeted with a bottle of beer and  a hug! They were so much fun, uber friendly and laid back. In fact, perfect clients. 

The wedding was planned by Siam Weddings, a specialist wedding planner for Thailand based out of Krabi. Check our their blog to get the inside scoop on the low downs of the actual wedding plans. 

Inside tip. Pretty much all wedding and event planners I work with tell me how important it is for them to work with easy suppliers. I have a huge amount of stress to get the photos right as there is no second chance. To be fair, it’s the planner who deals with the most stress…all day long and all the pre-planning months. 

The Couple

Emily, originally from the UK and Tom from Australia, met in Chiang Mai’s expat social scene and the rest is history. After a few years of living in Thailand, they moved to Australia to set-up a home and start a new life. Post the marriage proposal, it seemed only natural to host their wedding where they originally met, which also happens to be one of their most favourite places of all time. They say if you’re planning a wedding, hire a wedding planner so you don’t stress and can enjoy every moment of the day.

Here’s their awesome rustic, romantic, laid back Chiang Mai wedding!

Pre-Wedding

Emily and Tom’s wedding plans, where efficiently managed and executed to perfection by Siam Weddings. When I was told the wedding was in Chiang Mai, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited. Even though I am a Thai national, Chiang Mai is still one of my favourite places here. The locals are super friendly and it has an amazing laid back feel. It’s also a refreshing change to a backdrop of the beaches of Southern Thailand. 

The day before the wedding, I met with the bride and groom, a load of their friends and family, in the villa they were renting in the City of Chiang Mai to introduce myself in person so they could relax on the wedding day. We also went through all the little details we had previously chatted through on WhatsApp. 

Getting ready

Emily got ready in one of the rooms in the Lanna Colonial House rooms with the traditional Thai style finishings balanced with a few quirky art pieces. Emily had her hair styled by a local hairdresser but wanted to take control of her own makeup. Emily wore a stunning white lace dress with shoestring straps and nude block heel lace up shoes. 

Tom wore a suit with a grey suit, white shirt, braces and grey suede shoes. They looked relaxed and soooo gorgeous.

My favourite photos of Tom and Emily getting ready for their wedding ceremony.

Emily waiting in anticipation for the ceremony to begin

Tom helping making sure his groomsmen look the part

The Wedding ceremony

The wedding took place on a beautiful sunny day on the lawns at Marndadee Heritage Hotel, in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. 

The romantic ceremony was decorated with local lavender hued flowers and lots of foliage. 

Emily had five bridesmaids to support and Tom had 3 groomsmen. 

A close friend of the bride sang a solo acoustic guitar, which was amazing and a bit of a tear jerker!  After the ceremony they walked up the aisle under a shower of eucalyptus leaf confetti. 

Post ceremony drinks were served straight after the signing of the marriage certificate. 

My favourite photos from Tom and Emily’s Chiang Mai Wedding Ceremony.

Emily and her Dad having a Father / Daughter hug after the ceremony

They both said ‘I do’! Congratulations Mr & Mrs Miller!

The Wedding reception

The wedding reception took place on the banks of the River Ping with a local Thai street food style delicacies served as canapes along with plenty of local beers. The celebrations were kick started with a duo from Chaing Mai. 

The guests got the party started whilst I wandered around the grounds with Emily and Tom taking fun and creative portraits before the light went.

We wedding cake was stunning and a creation of their friend. 

There were no wedding gifts, Emily and Tom wanted guests wanted donations to one of their favourite local charities, Stu and The Kids.  After the meal there were a few speeches and the cake cutting. 

My favourite photo from Tom and Emily’s Chiang Mai Wedding Reception

Tom misbehaving with cutting the wedding cake

The party

The couple kick-started the party with their first dance and the DJ kicked off the party with 60-90s disco hits being played throughout the night. 

The most fun part of the night was that there was access to the swimming pool, making the party massively fun event. Especially when the bride’s Mum and Dad brought the floating giant Flamingo into their dance moves! 

The couple says that if you’re planning a destination wedding in Thailand or anywhere overseas, the biggest piece of advice they could give you is not worry about the small things and hire a planner.

I loved this festival wedding and the couple so much. If you’re getting married and looking for a local Thailand wedding photographer, get in touch. Here are the photos. ENJOY!

My favourite photo from Tom and Emily’s Chiang Mai wedding after party

Emily & Tom busting some moves and sipping bubbles on the dance floor

Want to see more photos from Emily & Tom’s wedding day in Chiang Mai? 

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Thailand Wedding Suppliers – Chiang Mai

Venue: Marndadee Heritage Resort – Saraphi, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Music: Duo – Anna & Hasha & DJ Muninn:

Wedding Planner: Siam Weddings

Cake: Dailycious Bakery

Talk to me about your destination wedding in Thailand 

If you think Thailand could be your ideal location for your destination wedding and you like what you see. Get in touch, I’d love to hear from you.

If you want to see some more highlights from other weddings, head over to my wedding portfolio or if you are just looking for an engagement, honeymoon or fun photoshoot, check out the portfolios here or read up on Triadi & Devi’s luxury Phuket villa wedding.

I get that you want to make a connection with your wedding photographer, hopefully my biography will help you to get to know a little better.

I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

Mas