A Dog Portrait on Every Detail & Beauty and the Beast on Saxophone: Gladys & Donovan's Wedding at The Naka Phuket
- Author: Natali Grace Levine
- Wedding date: 01/31/2026
- City: Phuket
Love Story
He added her on Facebook after a welcome event for Newcastle University freshers in Singapore. She accepted because she didn’t want to arrive in a foreign country without knowing anyone. That’s the story they tell now - and ten years later, it ended with a beachfront wedding in Phuket.
Gladys and Don met in 2015, spent two years living their best student lives in the UK, traveled through European cities during semester breaks, survived a year of long distance when Don graduated first and moved back to Singapore, and somewhere along the way, as Gladys puts it, “we both realized this could actually become something lasting.”
The proposal happened in a flower field on Jeju Island - but not without a detour. In their Seoul hotel, Gladys opened Don’s backpack looking for her facial mist and found a ring box at the bottom instead. She quietly put it back. Said nothing. Waited. Two days later in Jeju, surrounded by flowers in full bloom and their friends nearby, Don proposed. She eventually came clean that she had known it was coming. “It felt very us - nothing overly grand or flashy, just peaceful, private, and meaningful.”
About Your Wedding
Fifty-five guests, seven months of planning, and a vision Gladys had held since long before they were even engaged. “We wanted the wedding to feel personal, scenic, and almost like a holiday shared with all our favorite people.” A destination wedding - or, as she puts it, that or nothing at all.
Phuket was the only option that ever made sense. They had first visited together when Gladys was 21, and Don was 23, and have returned twice since, choosing it as the first destination they traveled to after borders reopened post-COVID. The city held its history, and The Naka Phuket - an open lawn, the Andaman Sea, a venue she booked before ever seeing it in person - held their wedding.
Morning Details
No formal invitations - just a text, an RSVP website Gladys built herself, and 55 people who said yes without hesitation. “Having a smaller wedding gave us the flexibility to do things in a more relaxed and personal way,” she says, and that flexibility ran through every detail of the morning.
The wedding bands were from Graff - the same house as Gladys’s engagement ring, chosen for their craftsmanship and the sales team that had been consistently lovely throughout the entire process. The morning carried the same considered ease as the rest of the day: nothing excessive, nothing that didn’t feel like them.
Bride Getting Ready
Gladys got ready at The Naka Phuket - the venue, the Andaman Sea somewhere beyond the window, and a Vera Wang Fernanda gown waiting to be worn for the first time. She had known the moment she put it on. “Growing up, I watched a lot of romcoms, and Bride Wars was always one of my favorites. My dress was actually very similar to the one Kate Hudson wore in the movie, and that basically sealed the deal for me.”
She had tried many different styles, only to keep coming back to tulle. “There’s just something about it that feels incredibly soft, romantic, and timeless for a bridal look.” Fernanda’s dramatic layers, paired with a silk satin organza basque waist, delivered exactly that. Her accessories - a cathedral veil, Graff butterfly diamond ear climbers, a VCA Alhambra pendant, a Cartier Love bracelet, and custom block heels from a small Indonesian business - completed a look that was romantic without being heavy, bridal without being predictable. For dinner, she changed into a KYHA gown in full crepe, with custom tulle sleeves she had specifically requested so the softness would carry through. Her bouquet was white carnations, designed by FW Signature Phuket.
Groom Getting Ready
Don got ready at The Naka Phuket in a suit from Joe’s Tailoring - and somewhere on his cufflinks, Sofie’s face looked out at the world. The morning was his own, unhurried, the ocean somewhere beyond, and Gladys somewhere nearby, the day building quietly around both of them.
First Look
“I was excited to see his reaction - but also knowing him, I don’t expect anything dramatic. For Don, a big smile on his face is his version of jumping for joy.” Outside their villa at The Naka, pool beside them, Phuket light filtering through, that smile arrived exactly on cue.
What Don was thinking at that moment was something else entirely. Ten years of memories - the good times, the hard ones, the European semester breaks, the long-distance year - flashed through his mind all at once. “My first thought when I saw her was that she had never looked more beautiful in the entire 10 years we’ve been together. I knew without a doubt that she is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.” She knew not to expect anything dramatic. He smiled. That was everything.
Photoshoot Before The Ceremony
There wasn’t one - and that was entirely by design. The morning was already full of the Chinese tea ceremony, and Gladys had intentionally carved out downtime in between. She wanted pockets of time to rest, breathe, and be present rather than constantly moving and posing. On a day built around intention, that decision was as considered as any other.
Ceremony
Beauty and the Beast, played live on the saxophone, as Gladys walked down the aisle. “It was something I had never fully pictured in my head before - yet it was suddenly happening to me in real life.” The garden lawn at The Naka, white drapery moving in the sea breeze, cloud-like florals in every direction, and 55 people cheering as she walked toward Don.
She remembers trying to take everything in at once - the ceremony design came to life, the ocean backdrop sparkling under the sunshine, the faces of everyone who had flown to Phuket to be there. During the vows, she was so focused on Don and being fully present that she barely noticed what was happening around her. It was only later, when the photos arrived from Terralogical, that she saw her mother wiping tears from her eyes. “I was actually quite surprised because she’s not someone who is usually very sentimental or emotional to the point of crying. Seeing that moment captured made me unexpectedly emotional.”
Photoshoot After The Ceremony
They stayed exactly where they were. The ceremony lawn, the Andaman Sea behind them, the light still golden - “our backdrop was so beautiful, so it made perfect sense.” No need to move, no need to look elsewhere. Everything they needed was already there.
Wedding Venue & Decor
They chose The Naka Phuket before ever seeing it in person - a decision made from videos, reviews, and the knowledge that an open beachfront lawn with the Andaman Sea as the backdrop was exactly what Gladys had always imagined. It turned out exactly as it looked online. “An open lawn, beachfront wedding had always been my dream, and when we found our venue, it felt like everything aligned perfectly.”
The design vision was built around timelessness - “something I could look back on in 10, 20, or even 30 years and still love.” White with touches of green, flowing drapery against the sea, cloud-like florals with texture and movement. And woven through every detail, in subtle and not so subtle ways, was Sofie - their dog, their fur baby, the one their friends and family know them by. A UK-based artist painted her portrait, which appeared across decorative elements throughout the wedding. Don’s cufflinks. The napkin ribbons were printed with each guest’s name. The champagne glass tags. She was everywhere, even without being there.
Couple's Advice
“I would definitely recommend choosing a wedding planner who has extensive experience working at the venue or within the destination itself. The small details really matter for a beachfront wedding - from understanding where the sun hits at different times of the day to anticipating wind conditions. It also helps tremendously when your planner already has a strong working relationship with the hotel’s events team.”
Reception
The Chinese tea ceremony - the one they almost didn’t include - turned out to be one of the most meaningful parts of the entire day. “It gave us an intimate moment to personally interact with family members who have known us our entire lives. In a way, it felt like our way of saying thank you without actually having to say the words.” Chinese families aren’t always verbally affectionate, Gladys notes. This was their version of it.
The cocktail hour brought something The Naka had never seen before: a live Kanom Krok station alongside the charcuterie, serving freshly made Thai coconut pancakes. The hotel’s F&B team told them they were the first wedding couple to do something like that. “Because we were having a destination wedding in Thailand, I really wanted to incorporate something local into the experience while still keeping it elevated and fun for guests.” Dinner followed, the live band from Rosemary Music played, and a cake from Joob Joob Bakery closed out the night.
Behind it all was the team at ME Events - Khun May, Khun Mew, and Khun Momo - who planned the entire wedding from abroad via WhatsApp and delivered something that exceeded every expectation. “Because of them, I was able to genuinely enjoy the entire experience instead of constantly worrying about logistics and details.” The photography team from Terralogical and videography from Leura Film captured every detail with the same ease and professionalism - friendly, present, and efficient long after the day was done. The kind of vendors that don’t just show up and do their job. They show up and make it better.
Wedding Team
- Planner ME Events Phuket
- Venue The Naka Island, Phuket
- Photography @terralogical
- Videography @leurafilm
- Dress @trulyenamoured @verawangbride @kyhastudios
- Suit @joestailoring
- Flowers @fwsignature.phuket
- Content creator @arinello.wed
- Live band @rosemarymusic_bandphuket
- Live painter @daclaystudio
- Hair and makeup @thippawan.makeup @yo_korowathairstylist
- Furniture Rentals @mepropsphuket2015
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