From Tic Tac Toe to Forever: Vanessa & Kevin's Wedding at Sri Panwa Phuket

Author: Natali Grace Levine
Wedding date: 01/10/2026
City: Phuket

Love Story

Vanessa and Kevin met almost ten years ago on a university road trip — young, unhurried, with no particular agenda except getting to know each other. There was no dramatic first moment, no instant declaration. Just two people who found each other easy to be around, and kept finding their way back to each other.
A few years later, Kevin made his move in a way that was entirely, unmistakably him. "Kev asked me out in a very 'him' way through a game of virtual tic tac toe," Vanessa recalls. "He said if he won, he could take me on a date, and if I won, I could delete his number forever. Of course, he won."
After that first date, something settled into place. Not dramatically — gradually, the way the best things usually do. "It grew slowly and naturally over time. We became really good friends first, and then somewhere along the way, we fell in love." Six years later, that ease is still the defining quality of what they have. The kind of relationship that does not need to announce itself.
The proposal happened in Japan, on a trip with friends, at a picturesque park at sunset. Vanessa had no idea it was coming. "I thought it was just another beautiful moment from the trip. Out of nowhere, he got down on one knee and completely caught me off guard." And then — because Kevin is exactly the kind of person who thinks about the details that matter most — her two best friends appeared. He had secretly flown them in. "It was simple, but so meaningful. The setting, the timing, and having the people I love most there made it unforgettable."

About Your Wedding

From the beginning, Vanessa and Kevin knew what kind of day they wanted — and more importantly, what kind of feeling. "Our vision was very much centred around creating a feeling rather than a specific theme," Vanessa explains. "We imagined being surrounded by flowers, with soft, natural light and a calm, intimate atmosphere. It was important to us that it felt personal and not overdone."
The style that emerged was soft, romantic, and timeless — elevated without being stiff, with a palette of green, white, and pink that felt warm and refined rather than bold. Soft textures, layered florals, clean considered details rather than statement pieces. A wedding that looked like them: natural, effortless, and full of warmth.
One hundred guests. One year of planning. Three days of celebration — welcome drinks the evening before, the wedding itself, and a yacht day after. "It gave us the chance to properly hang out with everyone and created moments where people could connect, relax, and feel part of it. That's what made it unforgettable."

Morning Details

The morning of January 10th, 2026, began at Sri Panwa — the same property that would hold the ceremony, the reception, and the memory of the entire day. Invitations had been designed by the ME Events planning team, who had been involved in every detail from the very beginning. Somewhere between the first quiet hour of the morning and the moment everything began to move, the day shifted from something being planned into something being lived.

Bride Getting Ready

Vanessa's dress was by Brides of Becroft — and finding it took almost a year. "It took about a year to find the right dress,"she says simply, which says everything about how seriously she took the search and how much the final choice meant when it arrived. A lace veil, also by Brides of Becroft, completed the look alongside Jimmy Choo heels. The bridesmaids wore Bec & Bridge — chosen to complement the overall palette without prescribing something specific, leaving each of them free to feel their best.
The bouquet was designed by I Am Flower, whose work throughout the venue would go on to define the visual atmosphere of the entire day. Getting ready took place at Sri Panwa itself — the same view outside the window, the same light, the same property where everything was about to happen.

Groom Getting Ready

Kevin got ready at Sri Panwa in a suit by Institu — clean, considered, and entirely right for a man Vanessa describes as calm, grounded, and the kind of person who just quietly gets things done. While Vanessa was putting on her veil on one side of the property, Kevin was preparing for a moment he had been moving toward for six years.

First Look

The first look took place at Tu Bar — the same space where, just a short while later, they would say their vows. Kevin saw Vanessa for the first time in her dress, and whatever he felt in that moment needed no description. Tu Bar, with its light and its views over the Andaman Sea, held them quietly before the rest of the day arrived and the hundred people who love them joined in.

Photoshoot Before The Ceremony

Sri Panwa at its quietest — before the guests, before the music, before everything. The pre-ceremony shoot took place on the grounds of the property, in that particular window of stillness that exists between getting ready and the ceremony beginning. Ammata Eyes, the photography team, moved through the space with them — capturing the light, the setting, and the particular atmosphere of two people on the edge of the most significant moment of their relationship so far.

Ceremony

The ceremony took place at Tu Bar, Sri Panwa — one hundred people gathered around Vanessa and Kevin as they stood together and said what they had come to Phuket to say.
The moment that stands out most, in Vanessa's own words, was simply this: "Standing there together at the altar, surrounded by our favourite people, just taking it all in and thinking, wow, we made it. It was one of those rare moments where everything felt still."
Everything still. One hundred people. Sri Panwa. January light. Six years of friendship and love arriving at the place they had always been heading.

Photoshoot After The Ceremony

Just married, with the ceremony behind them and the reception ahead, Vanessa and Kevin stepped back into the grounds of Sri Panwa for their post-ceremony portraits. The Phuket light in January does something specific at the end of the afternoon — warm and directional, the kind that photographers travel for. Ammata Eyes captured it alongside the couple, building the visual record of a day that had already exceeded every expectation.

Wedding Venue & Decor

Sri Panwa is not a venue that needs much help. Perched above the Andaman Sea on the southeastern tip of Phuket, the property brings its own extraordinary visual weight — water in every direction, the kind of horizon that makes everything feel more significant. Vanessa and Kevin understood this instinctively, which is why their design approach was additive rather than transformative. The palette of green, white, and pink worked with the natural environment rather than against it. Layered florals by I Am Flower filled the space with the soft, abundant beauty that had been central to the vision from the very beginning. Soft textures, warm light, considered details — nothing overdone, nothing unnecessary.
"It was more about how the space felt than any one statement piece," Vanessa says. "A cloudless day that melted into the perfect sunset, then a starry night, set the tone for the entire celebration."
The wedding cake was made by Joob Joob — and the overall effect of the space, by the time guests arrived, was exactly what Vanessa and Kevin had always imagined: intimate, elegant, and full of warmth.

Real Wedding Couple's Advice

"Focus on what actually matters — your people. You've brought all your favourite family and friends to one place, so give yourself the time to actually be present with them. And trust your vendors. They know the venue inside out — I gave our wedding planning team at ME full creative control and they absolutely blew the brief away. It was beyond our expectations. So just trust the process."

Reception

The reception unfolded at Sri Panwa as the sun went down and the stars appeared — exactly as the day had promised it would. The first dance was to Stand by Me by Ben E. King, which said everything about the kind of love story this had always been: steady, faithful, the kind that endures.
And then came the moment that nobody had predicted but everyone will remember. The live band — Ardawan — did something that very few wedding bands manage to do. "Our live band truly made the day feel so special," Vanessa says. "We even all stopped midway through dinner." Not because something went wrong. Because something went so right that a hundred people put down their forks and just listened.
DJ Ben carried the evening forward from there, and the night continued the way the best wedding nights do — with dancing, with laughter, with the particular joy that comes from being surrounded by every person you love in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
The ME Events team, who had been trusted with full creative control from the beginning, delivered something that went beyond what Vanessa and Kevin had imagined possible. "They absolutely blew the brief away. It was beyond our expectations." That trust — placed early, held consistently — made everything else possible.