Choosing The Riverside Glasshouse in Leamington Spa as their venue, Kim and Chris tied the knot in a celebration that was inspired by their love of vintage and DIY with a tropical and Tiki twist. The day stood out with meticulously curated retro-tropical theme, and all the amazing Americana and mid-century modern decor… all of which they made themselves!
“We were introduced to Tiki culture initially from visiting Disney’s Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar, Enchanted Tiki Room, and Polynesian Village Resort, discovering more about it online, and visiting other Tiki Bars like Trader Vic’s in London”, the bride told us. “Soon after getting engaged, we visited Palm Springs and stayed in the restored Tiki-themed Caliente Tropics Hotel. We also have a cat called Tiki (as a shortened version of Tequila, which was her name when we adopted her).”
Kim, a talented graphic designer, took the reins in designing not just the wedding stationery but also the fabric used for the groomsmen’s custom Hawaiian shirts and the groom’s tie and pocket square. The bride wore a genuine 1960s vintage dress which had been made by hand by the previous owner.
Chris, who has a background in set design, contributed to the crafting of the rest of the decor. They had shells as place names, lots of tropical, floral touches and a parrot cake topper! The favours were custom enamel pins, designed by the bride and produced by The Enamel Pin Factory and the ‘guest book’ was a surfboard which was designed and painted by Kim too!
After the ceremony, their first dance was to to Tequila played by a surf-rock band and guests enjoyed custom speciality Tiki-inspired cocktails such as Mai Tais, Singapore Slings, Zombies and a bespoke cocktail which they called Tiki’s Tipple (after their cat).
“The wedding went so fast on the actual day, and it was pretty exhausting!” the couple explained. “Kim ended up getting really stressed and tearful in the morning because we were running late in terms of getting the bridal party over to the venue, and she’d bought some white sunglasses for the photo shoot and couldn’t find them. It didn’t really matter at all (we just used some other sunglasses and the photographer edited them to be white!) Really, it was just all the nerves and anxiety projecting themselves onto the situation.”
“If there was a magical way to do it again without having the same worries that would definitely help, but it’s all part of it”, Kim concluded. “It’s just important to take time to be mindful on the day and really appreciate it. You put so much time and effort into planning something that only lasts a day, so try and enjoy it as much as possible, and expect some things to go wrong!”
