16 January, 2015
Weddings

That Bride: Cara McIlroy

16 January, 2015
You might be able to tell, but we’ve got a soft spot for Cara McIlroy here at Sassy. Not only has she previously been one of our That Girls (you can read our interview with her here), but we’ve asked her to return as our That Bride of the month. The gorgeous supermodel, presenter and one of the geniuses behind Genie Juicery (check out our review of the juice cleanse here!) tells all about her romantic destination wedding in Thailand.1.2All love stories have to begin somewhere. How did you two meet?
Jesper and I met in Hong Kong. We were both living in a shared apartment, our room mate was a mutual model friend. I was in a relationship when we met so we were friends before anything romantic happened.

Where was your first date?
I can’t pinpoint our first actual date as we were friends before getting together. We had a lot of really special outings in the early months of dating – I don’t think there was an official first date. We frequented the Hong Kong zoo quite often.

2.2Can you tell us about the first time he said he loved you?
I can’t remember, but he definitely said it first!

Every bride has a proposal story. What’s yours?
It took 7 years for him to pop the question. He took me on a surprise trip to a deserted island in the Philippines where we went camping.  Jesper booked the flights and that’s all that was pre-planned! Once we landed, we had to figure out how to get to this deserted island by ourselves. There were lots of buses, hitchhiking and walking involved. We got there in the end, but had to camp as there was no accommodation available!  It was certainly memorable!

Tell us about the ring.
He didn’t actually have a ring since he knew how picky I am about my antique jewellery, which meant I got to choose my ring! I’m currently onto my third antique ring. The first two broke – they were from the 1800s. The one I’m wearing now is one I found in a little store in HK. I love how unique it is and the fact that no one else has it!

3.2What did you do for your hen party? We want the dirty details.
I went to Bangkok for a long weekend with 20 of my closest friends. What happened in Bangkok stays in Bangkok!

4How did you go about planning your wedding? Did you go the DIY route or did you hire a wedding planner to help you out?
I did all the planning for my wedding. Everything was DIY. Luckily my sister owns a decorations company in HK called iDecorate – this gave me access to everything I needed to put the wedding together myself. My bridesmaids were amazing! I couldn’t have done it without them. We did everything: from carrying light fittings, setting the table to making chairs. The wedding was bohemian chic – everything was white. The bride, groom, bridal party and all of the guests also wore white.

5Tell us about the dress.
I styled my wedding dress off a vintage dress that I already owned and loved. I took it to Shenzhen and had it copied.

6What was the wedding like?
We got married on a beach in Thailand. The ceremony took place on the beach and moved to a place close by to celebrate. We got married in the early afternoon and then all had dinner at the reception. Friends and family flew in from all around the world.

Everyone remembers their first dance. What song did you choose?
Orange Sky by Alexi Murdoch. It was unrehearsed.

What’s the most valuable thing you learned while wedding planning?
Get a wedding planner!

7Have any tips and tricks for brides-to-be?
Enjoy the moment! The day goes so fast so take time to really enjoy the moment with your partner, family and friends. All your energy goes into planning the day and it’s over so quickly.

8What do you remember most about the entire experience?
The look on Jesper’s face when I walked down the aisle. He actually cried! It was the first time I had ever seen him with tears in his eyes – he cried again when India was born!

Is there anything you would have liked to do differently?
I would have gotten a wedding planner. I was so busy rushing around and making sure everything was in place. I wish I had spent the time enjoying the day with friends and family.

And that brings us naturally to your honeymoon. Where did you end up going?
We had to scrap our honeymoon. We were meant to go to Mexico for a backpacking adventure, but then our daughter India was conceived. We ended up having a baby-moon instead in the Maldives and spent the week eating and laying around.

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Got a spot of wedding fever? Check out our Hong Kong wedding services roundups and reviews if you’re planning your own wedding, or see more of our That Bride interviews on the site!

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