Aaron and Roxanne tied the knot in a relaxed blue and pink beach themed wedding.
Names: Aaron Hickling & Roxanne Keys
Length of engagement: 2 years | Wedding Date: 26th May 2018
Wedding location: The Sheraton Fuerteventura | Photographer: Danielle Stack Photography
Wedding coordinator: Rocks and Roses
We met… At secondary school when we were 12/13 & we started our relationship at 16. We are high school sweethearts!
Our proposal… we were holidaying in our favourite UK holiday destination – Cornwall. Aaron had tried for the entire holiday to plan a walk to the beach or a meal together. Because we were with his family, I didn’t want to be rude and clear off! Aaron got so frustrated with me saying no every time he suggested we pop out together that he proposed in the kitchen of our holiday home in the presence of our 2-year-old son. It wasn’t the proposal that fairytales are made of but it was perfect!
Our wedding theme/colours… Our wedding theme was beach. The groom and groomsmen had starfish buttonholes, I had a starfish on my bouquet, a starfish in my hair and also, our table decorations were goldfish bowls of sand & shells. Our colours were soft pastel colours of Blue & Pink.
My dress… was by Venus Bridal. It was chiffon and lightweight, perfect for the hot weather. The neckline was sweetheart and the shoulder straps were gorgeous lace. My dress also had the most gorgeous train. It was pure lace and fell so beautifully. The minute I laid eyes on the train I knew the dress had to be mine. It was the first one I tried on of about 6. After trying it I didn’t want to see any of the others but I was convinced to by my mum and maid of honour. None of the others compared, my heart just knew it was the one for me!
My hair and makeup… My hairstyle was a relaxed beach waved updo. That’s pretty much the description I gave to my hairstylist. Aaron & I wanted our wedding to be calm, comfortable and relaxed and I so desperately wanted to have my hair and makeup in keeping with that. I didn’t mind if pieces of my hair blew loose in the famous Fuerteventuran breeze. It just made the look all the more amazing. Tucked into the top of my relaxed updo I had a hair vine of starfish from Savchenko Designs. As for my makeup, it was a super hot day and I wanted to keep everything natural and light. I opted for a sweep of muted tones of golden browns on my lids, my skin was light and dewy and my lips were a muted rose tone.
His suit… We decided against formal suits for our big day. Especially because we had the idea of comfortable and relaxed in our minds throughout our entire planning process. It would have been silly to opt for full suits. Aaron’s entire outfit top to toe was Ralph Lauren. He wore a lightweight soft blue linen jacket, with sand coloured chino shorts, dark brown plaited belt, a blue and white striped cotton shirt & dark brown leather boat shoes. He looked amazing!
What our bridal party wore… Our bridesmaids wore a soft pink chiffon maxi dress. It was elasticated at the back for extra comfort and the front had a gorgeous strappy design adorned with silver gems and pink pearls. Their hair was a soft updo with a plait at the front and a tidy bun at the back. We had sprigs of gypsophila tucked into the back to add an extra little touch. It looked so pretty. The groomsmen wore top to toe Ralph Lauren just like Aaron, except we switched up the colours. Their cotton shirts were soft pink, they wore light blue chino shorts with the same dark brown plaited belt as Aaron & their shoes were navy blue suede boat shoes.
Our ceremony… was a perfect reflection of us. It was short, sweet and to the point. It was a non-religious ceremony but our celebrant did the most beautiful little prayer for us at the end. Aaron’s dad had prepared a reading. We had no idea what it was going to be but it was a beautiful reading about love, themed around Star Wars – Aaron’s favourite!
We chose our photographer because… after having a look through her portfolio, we knew her style is exactly what we wanted. Her picture quality is impeccable and she excellently captures feelings. She was climbing on rocks and getting down on the floor to get the perfect shots and our wedding photos have turned out even more perfect than the two of us could have ever imagined.
We chose our wedding coordinator because… We had done a ton of online research into planning your own wedding abroad. I was feeling so anxious about there being a language barrier and so searched for wedding planners in Fuerteventura. Rocks & Roses were the first wedding planners on the list. The minute I clicked onto their website I just knew they were perfect for us. I did search some other but after watching Rocks & Roses promotional video & hearing Sue speak so passionately about what she does, there was no doubt in my mind. Rocks & Roses perfectly captured our idea for our wedding day. Everything was so beautifully done & in some places they expanded on our ideas and made them even better than we had hoped. Our entire day was beautiful and we owe it all to Sue and her amazing team!
We chose our venue because… we have been holidaying in Fuerteventura for many years. It’s like our second home and so location wise it was a no-brainer. We decided to chose the Sheraton because it’s a gorgeous hotel, the grounds are beautiful & the rooms are exquisite! The staff are amazing and they looked after our entire wedding party so well on the day. We would definitely recommend having your wedding there.
Our menu…
Starters – Canarian potatoes with mojo, smoked salmon salad, assorted Canarian cheeses & pepper stuffed with crayfish.
Main – Barbecue of beef, chicken & pork sausage, meat brochettes, salad & crudités, and French fries.
Dessert – Fruit brochettes & a selection of patisserie.
Our honeymoon… We are planning our honeymoon in Waikiki, Hawaii. There’s actually a Sheraton hotel there & it seems only right to stay in that hotel!
My favourite part of the wedding day…
Roxanne – There were so many fantastic parts of the day. Rocks and Roses made absolutely sure of that! The thing that stands out the most for me is the few moments I had at the end of the aisle before walking, to catch my breath and compose myself. I was looking around at how beautiful everything looked and our family and friends all looked amazing and were all smiling. Behind the sea of faces, I could just about see Aaron and I was overcome with a rush of excitement. I couldn’t wait to see him, and I felt so happy and content in that moment.
Aaron – My Favourite part was Roxanne putting the ring on my finger. We had played with me putting one on hers for years but never the other way around. In that moment I realised just how much I loved her and the way she looked at me. I don’t ever want her to look at me any different!
My piece of advice for other couples… follow your heart. Plan your wedding around the two of you. It can be so easy to get caught up in wondering what everyone else would like that you can sometimes lose sight of what you actually want. You will never get your day again & it would be a shame to not have it perfect for you for fear of not pleasing others. We actually had a wedding half planned in the UK because we were thinking about our friends & family rather than what we wanted. Once we snapped out of that mentality we went ahead with a wedding in Fuerteventura. And as it turned out, everyone we wanted at the UK wedding made the effort and travelled abroad with us. It was perfect!
Suppliers
Wedding coordinator: Rocks and Roses | Starfish hair slide: Savchenko designs via Etsy | Wedding heels: Betsey Johnson via TKMaxx | Groom/groomsmen attire: Ralph Lauren at Bicester Village | Wedding dress: Venus Bridal via Allison Louise Bridal, Belper Derbyshire | Bridesmaid dresses: Quiz clothing at Next | Wedding favours: Macmillan Cancer support | Passport style Wedding invitations: RodoCreative via Etsy | All decor provided by Rocks & Roses Weddings
