Alisha and Arthur said "I do," surrounded by their loved ones at The Duke of Marlborough. Photos from the day capture the couple having the time of their lives, celebrating and embracing every emotion.
Alisha looked incredible in Charlie by Forget Me Knot, a satin gown featuring a fold over band detail across the sweetheart bodice, extending into off the shoulder sleeves, and a pleated A-line skirt, finished with a striking split, perfect for movement and dancing the night away.
Keep scrolling for gorgeous photos and Alisha's heartfelt advice for other brides to be. Enjoy!
What was it that made this particular wedding dress catch your eye and fall in love?
Even though I never really knew what kind of dress I wanted, I knew I wanted to be comfortable, and I knew that I didn’t want a train. Those were my two requirements going in! The gown I chose was perfect because even with the train cut off, it still carried a sort of drama to it. The big pleats at the waist meant it had a lot of fabric through the skirt, which was perfect for giving that full look. It was also extremely comfortable, and when I saw myself in it in the mirror, I felt like a bride.
Tell us about your search for the dress and the experience at Astra Bridal.
My experience with Astra Bridal was so easy!! I never thought I’d get married growing up, so I never had any idea about what I was looking for in terms of a dress. Ilyese was super helpful and supportive; I only ended up trying on four or five dresses before I made my decision!
Tell us your story, how you both met, and the proposal.
Arthur and I met at the start of 2023 while playing social football at the same place. We were introduced through a mutual friend. We both went home that day and looked each other up on Instagram, but neither of us followed the other. A few months later, we finally connected online and realised we had a lot in common. It wasn’t until a few months after that that we started hanging out, and we were pretty much inseparable from there. We told each other we loved each other a month after our first date!
When it came to the proposal, I’m pretty hard to surprise, so Arthur decided the way to do it would be to go fishing (which we do often) on the wharf in Russell. It was about 11pm, and we’d been fishing for a couple of hours. We caught more fish than we ever had there that night. We were about to leave when he proposed. I was definitely shocked lol. It was perfectly us.
What was your favourite part of the day?
It’s hard to pick a favourite part. The whole day felt perfect. The weather turned out amazing, our vision for the bridal party came together perfectly, and the vibes were so high. If I had to pick, I would say sharing our vows. Arthur and I are both quite romantic, so our vows were deeply personal. Mine included a poem I had written for him when we first started dating. We both cried a lot, and so did our guests hahah. It was a perfect way to share our love not only with each other, but with all of the people we hold closest too.
Tell us about your wedding day as a whole.
The day was perfect! The weather was clear and sunny, but not too hot. Since we got married at The Duke, I was staying in a room upstairs, so my bridesmaids and I got ready on the balcony, looking out across the water. It was a perfect morning filled with mimosas, platters, laughs, and Stormzy (if you know me, you know Stormzy was a necessity for getting ready music).
Getting to just walk downstairs for the ceremony was so easy! I was pretty much the calmest I’d ever felt the whole day, because everything just worked. It also helped that I had an amazing bridal party who did everything and didn’t tell me anything until the next day hahah.
The ceremony flowed easily into the reception, as it was in the same spot. Guests got to take photos on the lawn and have a cocktail by the beach. It felt so relaxed. Arthur and I decided to go upstairs immediately after the ceremony to soak in the moment (and avoid a receiving line), and it was the sweetest time to share together. Freshly married, sharing a drink on the balcony, and just revelling in the fact that we were now husband and wife!
I could go on forever about our day, but basically, it was perfect!
Finally, what is your biggest piece of advice for brides to be?
Let the experts do their thing! Don’t worry about the little details, get someone else to worry about them for you! I had no idea what my final florals would look like until they arrived on the day, but they were perfect. We gave everyone our briefs and explained what we expected, and they did all the finalising and thinking for us. Trust the people who’ve done it a million times. They know that you’ve probably never done it before and will help you in any way they can!
My second biggest piece of advice is to tell everyone to do an Irish goodbye! In my speech, I asked everyone to please just sneak off when they were ready. Don’t pull us off the dance floor. We only have one night, and we didn’t want to spend it saying goodbye when we would see everyone again soon! Instead, we told everyone to meet us at the beach the next day to say bye, and it was the best thing we did. No one dragged us away, I didn’t have to hear “thank you and congrats” 100 times while I was trying to dance, and we just partied hard. By the end of the night, I had no idea who was or wasn’t still there.
