In 2013, Kelly, from one side of the Atlantic met Ross, from the other side, you’ll never guess where? Why, way down in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Lord of the Rings territory, New Zealand, of course. 

With a wee bit of love dust at play, they’d booked onto the same GAdventures tour of the South Island. On their initial meeting they instantly clicked and added First Date to Week One of the tour’s itinerary.

And for their proposal? Was it Belgium? I hear you guess, cause you’re getting the picture that this international couple love to travel and travel to love.

Yes, Belgium it was. Bruges to be exact – a surprise trip that Ross had gifted Kelly for Valentine’s Day – that’s one mighty Valentine’s gift – the closest we’ve ever got was a box of Belgian Godiva chocolates – and they were pretty delish.

But it gets better, Ross found the oldest bridge in Bruges and that evening, when the moment was just right, he presented Kelly with his mother’s antique engagement ring.

She said yes, obviously. We would too. And then the next day, surprise ontop of surprise, Ross organised a trip to Antwerp, the diamond center of the world, so Kelly could pick out her own ring and watch it being made, all while sipping champagne, really rather dreamy indeed.  

So for their real wedding abroad Kelly and Ross were keen to share their love of travel with those nearest and dearest so the Cinque Terre, which offers five lands with five distinct characters to explore, seemed perfect.

With family a priority for these two, their wedding also continued the spirit of the engagement ring with Kelly wearing a wedding dress that had been worn by three generations of women in her family. In addition, a moment of romantic nostalgia was created through displaying wedding photos of their ancestors.

It reminded us that it doesn’t matter what time or what place or you are from, love is love and once it takes hold all you need to do is hold on and enjoy the journey, wherever in the world it takes you, just like Kelly and Ross.

Here Kelly and Ross share their travel guide to love and their real wedding abroad in the Cinque Terre

1. Why a real wedding abroad? We chose a destination wedding because Ross is from Wales, and I am from the United States. We thought it was fair that everyone should have to travel to keep our guest list from being one sided. Plus we both love traveling- so I don’t think anyone was surprised we picked a destination wedding!
2. Why the Cinque Terre in Italy? We knew we wanted to get married in Italy, but we had actually never heard of the Cinque Terre! It was on a list of places that allowed destination weddings (I’m sorry, I can’t remember the actual list!), and it was actually the very first venue we looked at. We saw one photo & that was it. Easiest decision we had to make throughout the whole wedding process. We fell in love with the Cinque Terre- specifically Vernazza, through photos & seeing it in person only confirmed we had made the right decision. 
3. How was the planning process? We found the wedding process to be very easy. We are both low maintenance and don’t like too many choices so the piccolo wedding was perfect for us. Plus I was in the process of moving to the UK, so it was nice how relaxed the whole wedding process was in the midst of all the other stress in our lives. Sarah kept in touch and sent reminders when we were close to specific deadlines which was helpful. 
4. Best part of your day? For me (Kelly), the best part was the service Matteo prepared. He had Ross and I fill out questionnaires months before the wedding but I had no idea how Ross had answered the questions. I think while hearing his answers, looking out over the most beautiful view I’ve ever seen (while in amazing weather that was a complete fluke), surrounded by friends and family, I was just so happy. It was exactly how I wanted to feel on my wedding day. For me (Ross), the best part of the day was watching Kelly walk down the aisle towards me. 
5. Top Tip for future Cinque Terre Wedding Brides and Grooms? Top tip for brides and grooms is to just relax and enjoy the process! Some things will be out of your control but in the Cinque Terre your wedding is already a fairytale 🙂

Written by Melina Nicholson

Photos by Pure Wedding Photography

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