Ash & Chris Young

C hris and I met at university in London where we were both studying law. We were only 19 when we went on our first date at Pizza Express and our love of pizza has remained over the years! We’re both British (although I spent my childhood in Saudi Arabia) and we’ve been living in Dubai for the past 6 years.

In 2009, we got married in the botanical gardens of a 16th century villa overlooking Lake Como, Italy. We then travelled by boat to a restaurant on the edge of the lake where we had our reception dinner. It was a beautiful location.

For our 10th wedding ceremony, we really wanted to have an outdoor ceremony and we chose a wadi in Hatta up in the Hajar Mountains.

Favorite Moments

My favorite moments of the ceremony were when our daughters did their readings and our son read a speech he had written. We couldn’t have been prouder of them. It was also lovely for Chris and I to repeat our original vows to each other. We decided not to rewrite them because they still feel as true as they did a decade ago.

The Wedding Dress

My outfit was made by Barbara at House of Moira Bridal. A friend suggested that I check out her Instagram account and I fell in love with her dip dyed silk skirts. We worked together on the design and it evolved during fittings over a period of several months. There were many samples of the dip dye done to get the colour exactly right and I love the detail and fit of the corset top.

The Wedding Shoes

I had been window shopping for wedding shoes for a while but hadn’t found anything perfect. Then I heard about Shoenvious and was intrigued by the idea of designing some shoes from scratch. As an interior stylist I love any kind of creative process! The website is extremely easy to use and I immediately fell in love with the Scarlette shoe. I love that they look simple and classy from the front but have the glamorous detail of the jewels at the back. I went for the warm taupe which couldn’t have been a more perfect match for my outfit. The gorgeous packaging that the shoes arrived in made them feel even more special and I loved that I was able to have lyrics from our favorite song and the date of our anniversary ceremony engraved on the sole. On the day I wore them from 2pm until 2am and they are without a doubt the most comfortable high heels I have ever owned!

Walking Down The Aisle

I was just really happy to see our friends and family, and of course, Chris smiling at the kids and I. I felt much more relaxed than I did walking down the aisle at our wedding.

The Wedding Planning

One of the most fun aspects of the planning was having our outfits custom made. Chris and Lucas (our son) had the same fabric for their jacket and waistcoat while the girls and I spent a lot of time browsing dresses on the internet before having their favourite designs made by a local dressmaker.

We worked will Liesel from Rock Your Wedding to plan the ceremony, arrange our stunning flowers, coordinate with our celebrant Kerrie and photographer Serena to make sure the day ran smoothly.

The Wedding Venue

Finding a venue was one of the trickiest parts of the planning process. We really wanted an outdoor venue where we would be surrounded by nature. We had one venue lined up but that fell through so we ended up starting from square one about 4 months from the ceremony date. Luckily our amazing planner, Liesel, really understood our vision for the event and was able to find the secluded spot where we conducted the ceremony. She was also totally up for the challenge of creating a set up in the middle of nowhere!

Must Haves

The must haves for me were beautiful flowers and an amazing photographer and videographer. It was also really important to me to have a celebrant who was able to reflect us as a couple and family in conducting the ceremony. Kerrie did a fabulous job of making sure the ceremony was meaningful but was also light-hearted and didn’t feel too much like another wedding. We really wanted it to be a celebration of us as a family as well as Chris and I as a couple.

BRIDE

Ash Young

PHOTOGRAPHER

Serena Genovese

SHOES

Shoenvious

WEDDING PLANNER

Rock Your Wedding

CELEBRANT

The Birds & The Bees

DRESS

House of Moirai

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