This East Quay Venue wedding in Whitstable with Charlotte and Sam was simply stunning! What a way to get married! East Quay Venue is a hidden little gem, nestled on the Kent coastal town of Whitstable, helping create some stunning views. Even with the weather overcast, cold and a little windy, it didn’t stop Charlotte and Sam having one of the coolest weddings of the year. Check out their story here…
First names: Charlotte & Sam
Wedding date: 19th March 2016
Venue: East Quay Venue, Whitstable, Kent
How did you guys meet, tell me all?
We’ve known each other for years – since we were teenagers! Sam used to go to school with my brother and step sister. He was a massive flirt / tart, and I used to advise my friends not to get involved with him! Years later, we bumped into each other while we were both visiting family in the Easter holidays. He asked me to go for a drink, I said no. He asked me out again, and I thought about it. Eventually we did, and the rest is history!
How did you get engaged? Is there a cool story?
Sam took me to Paris for my 30th birthday. Having never been before, Sam took me round all the typical touristy spots so I could tick them off my list. That evening, the last stop was the Eiffel tower before dinner. As we were crossing the road by the Trocadero, he made me walk right into the middle of the road to take a photo of the tower lit up ‘so I would get a clear shot’. After taking the photo – I turned round and Sam was stood with a ring in his hands. I was so taken by surprise, I can’t remember a word of what he said. Thinking he was taking the piss, I very unromantically asked, ‘is this a f**king joke?!’… Before obviously saying Yes!
What made you choose your wedding venue, did you look at many?
Having both lived in Canterbury before moving to London, we knew Whitstable very well. We would often visit the venue for dinner when we started dating. After stumbling across a photographer’s blog that featured a wedding at the venue, we decided to take a look. It was the first venue we’d been to see, and it was perfect. We didn’t need to visit any others and booked it immediately!
What was the inspiration/theme of your wedding?
The inspiration for our wedding would be the venue itself – it has a real industrial feel to it and we wanted everything to feel relaxed. To reflect the industrial look, we decided to trawl junk shops and antique fairs in order to find props to decorate. We then asked our florist to offset all the junky bits and pieces with some vibrant rich flowers spilling out of everything!
What is your first song and why?
All of me – John Legend.
We struggled to find a song for our first dance as we both have quite different music tastes. We settled on this because of the lyrics; ‘you’re crazy, and I’m out of my mind’.
What would be your number one tip to other couples planning their wedding?
Compromise! I’m terrible at this, but Sam and I thought it was really important that our wedding felt very personal and reflected us both. We discussed early on all the things we felt we really wanted for the wedding, and where there were differences, worked out a compromise that we were both happy with.
Check out Charlotte and Sam’s East Quay Venue wedding in Whitstable below.
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Wedding Suppliers
Wedding planner: The Wedding Dolls
Website: http://www.theweddingdolls.co.uk
Hair stylist: Elise Bull
Website: https://www.facebook.com/Elise-Bull-Hair-Stylist-241327082580852/
Make up artist: Lucy Jayne
Website: http://lucyjaynemakeup.co.uk
Brides dress: Suzanne Harrington of Vintage Trosseau
Website: http://www.vintagetrousseau.com
Bridesmaids dresses: Various High street selection!
Website: NEXT, ASOS, Boohoo.com
Suits: Grooms Suit is from House of Fraser
Website: House of Fraser
Florist: Helen Curtis of Blubelle Creative
Website: http://blubellecreative.co.uk
Cake: Cakes by Katie Wallace
Website: https://www.facebook.com/SimplyKake/
Caterer: East Quay Venue supplying main course.
Cripes it’s Crepes providing dessert – Georgie Lucas
Website: http://www.cripesitscrepes.co.uk/Cripes_Its_Crepes/Home.html
Campervan: Dusty Dubs
Website: http://www.dustydubs.co.uk
Photobooth – Shakey Face Photo Booth
Website: http://shakeyface.co.uk
Are you looking for a wedding photographer? Would you like someone who photographs it in an alternative, fun and natural way? Fancy seeing your wedding pictures on my Instagram and on other cool wedding blogs? Get in touch and let me know all about your day! I need to know the date, ceremony and reception details and most importantly all the ideas you have!
I am a Kent wedding photographer who has been featured within Your Kent Wedding Magazine, Rock n Roll Bride and Your Sussex Wedding Magazine, with images also published in the The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Independent, The News Of The World and many other large newspapers and magazines.
