A Poetic Wedding at Four Seasons Resort in Thailand

With Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai as backdrop, a serpentine aisle of white florals led to an altar of rambling blooms where Proud and Jan exchanged vows.

For the wedding reception, silver candelabras with dripping wax reflected soft light from hanging chandeliers and effortlessly draped layers of fairy lights. As if sprouting from the ground, dining tables spilled with flora en mass, while assorted wicker chairs framed the delicate design.

The spacious grounds and surrounding palms lent a feeling of dreamy seclusion, encompassing the day in poetical enchantment. The bride wore three gowns designed by Vatanika with white satin block heels.

The wedding was captured by photographer Vlasta Weddings.

Our Story

Names / Proud Devakula & Jan Köhler

Location / Chiang Mai, Thailand

Wedding Date / December 2, 2023

Guest Numbers / 75

Budget / $100,000

thailand wedding

How We Met

Jan and I met while we were studying at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. When I talked to him for the first time, I didn’t know we would end up married, but I knew we would become great friends as we clicked right away, and my instincts were right! We were best friends for a year until we eventually started falling in love with each other.

Our Engagement Story

On our 5th anniversary, Jan gave me a plane ticket to Chiangmai along with a card of a mountainous view. Right away, I knew he would be proposing there as we had been to this mountain top before, and I thought to myself that it is the perfect spot for a proposal. In late November, we made our way up to the scenic mountain top hidden in the clouds, and there was a picnic set up amongst my favorite flowers, hydrangeas.

While we were enjoying our champagne, a photographer walked in and I knew this was the moment! I ran to the bathroom to touch up my hair and makeup, and as the sun was setting, Jan went down on one knee. We spent the rest of the night stargazing and basking in happiness.

What we love most about each other…

We love that we were best friends before we started dating, so we have a very strong foundation of love. We’ve been together for almost 8 years, and we have grown so much together — from university kids to a married couple. Being each other’s biggest fans, we love spending every minute of the day together.

The Setting

Wedding Location

We had a semi-destination wedding in Thailand, as my family is Thai, and it was the perfect excuse to get Jan’s family and our friends abroad to do one big holiday together. We chose Chiangmai as it’s our favorite province in Thailand, and it’s where we got engaged!

Our first choice for our wedding venue for the ceremony was always The Four Seasons Resort Chiangmai . We stayed there the night after our engagement, and we fell in love with the mountainous backdrop along the rice fields. Beach weddings in Thailand are very beautiful, but the mountains have their own charms too.

For the reception dinner we chose Terra restaurant, right across from The Four Seasons Resort. My family and I have been coming to the restaurant for years as we love the food, atmosphere, and staff. It’s like coming home every time, so we wanted to share this experience with our guests.

Aesthetic

We wanted a timeless, classic, and fairy tale style to our wedding — white flowers, greenery, neutral and pastel tones. We pulled a few photos from Pinterest, and our wedding planner and decorator, The Wedding Bliss, did their magic! They came up with the “Poshness” style and made our visions come to life. The result was more than we could ever dream of.

Preparation

Our wedding did not start until 4PM, so I thought we could have a relaxing morning while getting ready with the bridesmaids. But when I woke up, one of my nails broke off! I stayed calm and went to breakfast with Jan (we stayed at The Four Seasons Resort and they have the best breakfast buffet that I will never miss). Later, Jan drove me to the closest nail salon and I frantically explained to them that I’m getting married in a few hours. Then finally, I got ready with my bridesmaids before doing the first look.

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Photography

We chose Vlasta Weddings as we thought their style was artistic and modern. I have rarely seen wedding photos that look like they could be magazine covers! They are able to capture both candid moments and posed portraits beautifully. Jan and I are also very comfortable posing in front of the camera, and Vladan had a unique eye to how and where we could take photos, I especially loved the photos where he used flash in daylight. Their vision completely aligned with ours, and we had so much fun together at the wedding as well.

Videography

Jan is a wedding videographer, so picking a team for videography was a big task! We chose 101 Cinematography for their warm-toned, elegant, cinematic style. They were incredibly professional, I don’t know how the team managed to capture every moment during the wedding, yet remained invisible and did not distract us at all. The aerial footage and slow motion shots are so special for us.

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Style Notes

Ceremony Décor

The cocktail lawn at The Four Seasons Resort where the ceremony took place is normally a completely empty lawn, so we had a lot of space to fill up, which was both a challenge and an advantage. We wanted to have a curved aisle for the organic look, and we thought it was more unconventional. Instead of having an arch at the altar to block the mountainous view, we opted for a half-moon shaped ground floral to serve as a backdrop instead. We also provided the guests with white fans and parasols incase the sun was too strong, but it turned out great as decor as well.

Reception Décor

The decor at the reception reminded me of the wedding scene in Twilight in the best way possible. We turned the restaurant into a fairy tale garden by hanging fairy lights and chandeliers. The tables were adorned by overflowing lush greenery and white flowers, with silver candelabra and melting candles as center pieces. We arrived at the reception dinner through a candle walk way which felt magical.

Wedding Planner & Stylist

We could not have done this wedding without our planner, decorator, and stylist: The Wedding Bliss. They took care of everything from start to finish that we never had to lift a finger.

Flowers

We weren’t particular about the type of flowers, but we wanted white flowers for how timeless they are; we will be able to look back at our wedding in 50 years and it will remain classically beautiful.

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“We envisioned a curved aisle for its organic elegance, and how the rambling blooms would contrast the geometry of palm trees’ shapes.”

Stationery

Our wedding invitations were hand crafted by Miidear with water color paintings of our venue, along with custom made logo of our initials. We loved that our initials, J and P, could create an infinity sign.

Cake

For the cake, we were not fussed about having a gigantic tiered cake, we just wanted the most delicious chocolate cake from our favorite pastry chef in Chiangmai, Nam from N3 Restaurant. We had her chocolate cake at my sister’s birthday dinner, and we knew right away we wanted it at our wedding. We ended up doing a dessert table filled with different flavors of cakes — chocolate, coconut, strawberry, and cheesecake, along with macarons, fruits, and other French pastries. Unfortunately, they were all finished before we could have any, but it just shows how delicious they were!

Food & Beverages

As the guests arrived to Terra, they were served with refreshing welcome drinks: strawberry daiquiri, rose garden mocktail, and Mollisol spritz. We decided to have a buffet style dinner for a more relaxed atmosphere. We also preferred this option so we did not have to hound each guest for their food preference or stress about last minute cancellations. With buffet style, you can be more flexible and guests can also have a chance to try different types of food. Some of my favorite items on the menu were watermelon blueberry feta cheese skewers, mix berry salad, chicken & pork terrine, baked rainbow trout, and roasted baby chicken.

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Fashion & Beauty Notes

Bride’s Dress & Shoes

I had 3 bridal looks in total: ceremony, reception, and after party. My first cousin, Vatanika, is a fashion designer whom I always admired, and she graciously designed and custom made all 3 looks for me.

As the ceremony venue was a big open space, we wanted a wedding dress that would not get lost in the vast space. Vatanika created an off-the-shoulder 3D beaded lace & silk taffeta gown that required all bridesmaids’ help to get on. She added handmade silk roses in my hair, along with a cathedral length two-tier soft tulle veil that could be seen from the drone shots. I truly felt like a princess!

For the reception dinner, we wanted something practical, as I would be mingling and eating. But I was also doing a father-daughter dance, and a first dance with Jan, so the dress also had to move elegantly. Vatanika designed a draped silk gown with a long train that could hook to my pinky, so it did not drag on the floor during dinner, but the silk was fluid and graceful as I twirled during the first dance. I loved how the dress was hand-draped so it highlighted the curves and lines of my body.

The after party look was one of Vatanika‘s signature designs which I have been in love with for years, a silk draped backless gown. It was perfect for the after party as I could dance and move around freely without restrictions. The fabric and the cut of the dress was so comfortable but yet it was quite sexy with the backless design. I also wore it again during our honeymoon, I really love that I can wear it over and over again on special occasions.

It was a challenge to find the right wedding shoes for the ceremony as the venue was on grass, so I need thick heels that would not sink. Finally, I found a Thai bridal shoes brand called Ceremony, they design shoes specifically for Asian brides which tend to have smaller and narrower feet. I chose white satin block heels for the ceremony which were incredibly comfortable. For the reception dinner, I chose 4-inch heels.

Wedding Rings, Jewelry & Accessories

My engagement ring and wedding band are from Ananta, a fine jewelry brand in Thailand. He designed the engagement ring with 3 diamonds, because we squeeze each other’s hands 3 times to say “I love you” (when we are in spaces where we can’t say it out loud), he also engraved it with “LTS” for love, trust, and support.

Jan’s wedding band is from Tiffany & Co. We went in to try on a few designs, but he ended up choosing the classic Tiffany Forever Wedding Band.

Hair & Makeup

As for my wedding hair and makeup, I also had 2 looks during the wedding day. Tina Derkse and her team were my fairy godmothers who transformed me into a glamorous bride! For the ceremony, I wanted glowing skin with enhanced features, so Tina Derkse created a soft neutral smokey eye with a nude lip, I loved that she used individual lashes so I felt very comfortable. It took almost 4 hours to create the magic but it was worth the wait! We also kept my hair in a simple sleek low bun as we had a few hair accessories. The challenge was the keep my hair sleek enough for the humidity but use minimal products as I was changing into a second look.

After the ceremony, we quickly rushed to transform in to my reception dinner look. Tina Derkse touched up my makeup, added some glitter on my eyelids and lipgloss. While Boom Phasaraporn Wiangtai, the hairstylist, turned my sleek bun into a fun half-up-half-down with soft waves. I was not sure at first if I needed the hair and makeup team to stay for the second look, but it was totally worth it! After all the tears and kisses, it was great to not have to worry about fixing my makeup, and it was fun to play dress up again as well.

Groom’s Attire

Jan wore a black tailored fit tuxedo from Suit Supply, while his groomsmen wore beige suits. It was tough to coordinate the groomsmen’s suits as everyone lived in different countries, but we managed!

The Details

Transport

The Four Seasons Resort were so sweet and decorated a golf cart filled with flowers, and that’s how we arrived to our venue. We also used the resort’s golf carts to transport guests across the street to our reception dinner. After the wedding, I had a bit too much fun at the after party, and Jan carried me to the golf cart to get back to our hotel room as well.

Honeymoon

We had 2 perfect honeymoons! The first one was our friends-and-family-moon, where we flew with our out-of-town guests to Phuket and relaxed in a villa. It was 19 of us in total so it was a blast to enjoy everyone’s companies after the wedding without any stress. I would highly recommend a trip with your guests at a destination wedding, it was a rare moment for us that everyone we loved was in the same city.

After everyone flew home, Jan and I snuck out on our own honeymoon to Krabi, a calm and serene island in Thailand. We stayed at Rayavadee and had a true staycation where we ordered room service and lounged around. It was like the calm after the storm.

Gift Registry

We did not have a specific wedding gift registry as we live in Amsterdam, and it would have been difficult to bring physical gifts back. However, it’s a Thai tradition to gift the bride and groom and envelope of money, so it worked out perfectly for us.

Wedding Songs

Ceremony Song: Can’t Help Falling In Love

After Ceremony Song: This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)

Reception Dinner Entrance Song: The Way You Look Tonight

Father – Daughter Dance: My Girl

Entertainment

We had a local trio playing during the reception dinner, they played classic romantic songs from artists such as Etta James, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis. During the after party, one of our friends is a DJ and he’s played many weddings, so we asked him to wedding DJ for us, he was a big hit as no one left the dance floor!

Celebrant

Our wedding celebrant was provided by The Four Seasons Resort, we had a quick Zoom call with him before our wedding to make sure we were aligned on everything, and everything went perfectly as he’s had plenty of experience.

Readings

We wrote our own vows, but we completely forgot that we had to print them out nicely or many couples tend to write them out in a dedicated book. So I actually wrote my vows on my notes app on the flight to Chiangmai, then one of the groomsmen printed it out the morning of the wedding at the resort. I was still scribbling on it right before the ceremony, but the moment of declaring our vows to each other publicly was still as special as ever.

“Rather than an arch that might obstruct the breathtaking mountain views, we chose a half-moon shaped ground floral installation as a backdrop, allowing the natural beauty to frame our moment.”

Our Advice

A memorable moment…

We planned to have fireworks after the first dance to surprise our guests, but we were truly living in the moment that we forgot we planned that, so we were surprised too! It was so magical to watch fireworks amongst all our loved ones, knowing it’s the beginning of the rest of our lives together.

One thing I wish I knew before I started my wedding plans…

One thing that we did not consider when we decided to do our wedding in Chiangmai, a city in the north of Thailand, was that we had to fly in and accommodate most vendors. There are limited local vendors, and most of the vendors that match our styles and vision were based in bigger cities like Bangkok, Phuket, or abroad. We had to expand our budget for our vendors’ transportation and accommodation, but it was completely worth it.

Having a destination wedding also means you have to prepare a lot for your out of town guests, for example, coordinating fights, finding accommodation in the area, transportation to and from the wedding venue. We ended up creating a dedicated FAQ page on our wedding website, and creating a WhatsApp group to coordinate with our guests.

If I could give other couples one piece of advice…

1. Hire a wedding planner/organizer. We were completely relaxed during the wedding planning process and the wedding day because The Wedding Bliss took everything off our hands. During the wedding day, the team were running the timeline, coordinating with vendors, even feeding me food and water, I truly enjoyed every second of our wedding because I did not have to worry about anything.
2. Don’t sweat the small stuff. It’s easy to get stuck on the details, but at the end of the day, it’s about celebrating your love. For example, we were not fussed about having a grand picturesque wedding cake, we just wanted delicious cakes that we love. Most guests will not notice what is missing or what went wrong.

Sources of inspiration…

We drew most of our inspirations from Pinterest and online wedding magazines! I followed all the bridal/wedding magazines on Instagram, and I would save the images that inspired me into a folder. Later, I would find the similarities on what I love about those photos and channeled it into our wedding.