Marisa and Chris met while working on a cruise ship. “Even though we’re both British, we wound up meeting in Texas,” says Marisa. “We quickly became best friends, his sarcastic sense of humour matched mine, and he made me laugh. Our friendship was completely platonic for four years before we fell in love in the summer of 2019. It happened very naturally and was a dream come true because we got on so well and knew everything about each other. Our story was very much like a movie where the partner of my dreams turned out to be my best friend all along!”
The couple didn’t have a traditional proposal. “We decided to get married, because life is so precious, and after the pandemic, I think more and more people realised this and so we thought why waste time?” shares the bride. “Like a typical man, Chris didn’t mind when or where we got married. Painshill start hosting weddings in June, so we were the first one of the year! Weather in the UK is always unpredictable, so we prayed for sunshine, and we were lucky that our day was very hot!”
Marisa and Chris chose organic heart-shaped coconut soaps as favours. "We wanted to give our guests something useful and fragrant while also helping a local business," reveals the bride. "The two children were given a wedding activity book each, with crayons so they could doodle while we ate. We also put a pack of mints on every napkin, with our names and date on, as another little keepsake. Finally, I painted a few nautical designs on mini-canvases that people could take, along with some painted shells and sealife figurines."
"The night before the wedding, my mum and I decorated the reception room," says Marisa. "We put white chair covers on, and my mum expertly tied the best-looking aqua-coloured bows you've ever seen around each chair. Flower vines were placed on a mantlepiece, and I added little photo stands with pictures of Chris and I from around the world. I had found vintage Barbie and Ken dolls that kind of looked like us and dressed them in similar outfits to what we wore on the day – these were displayed on the cake table with a little alpaca and Peruvian print to represent my Peruvian heritage. Instead of a guest book, we had a poster that we got everyone to sign in blue and gold ink, which we framed afterwards. We wanted something we could look at all the time instead of a book that might get dusty on a shelf."
Although things went wrong on the day, it was still perfect. "I decided once we got to the venue to go the toilet before the ceremony, and I couldn't hitch the dress up," says Marisa. "Poor Chris had to help me out of the whole dress in the disabled toilet. Not at all a glamorous experience to start the day with.
This was followed by my dad making jokes while he walked me down the aisle instead of paying attention and looking at the photographer. The violinist's stand almost blew over and would have smacked my brother in the head, but her quick reflexes caught it before serious brain damage was inflicted!
My godfather, who was the celebrant conducting the ceremony, lost the rings for ages, and it ended up being in one of his pockets. Later, as we darted down the hill on a golf cart, my bouquet launched off and bounced away, luckily the videographer grabbed it because I didn't even notice!"
Cake
Ceremony venue
Dress alterations
Entertainment
Groom's suit
Hair and make-up artist
Photographer
Reception venue
Transport