“Life is better with your best friend… That’s why I married mine.” -Unknown
What comes to mind when we think of the ‘perfect’ marriage? It’s not the wild suspense and rapture of courtship; instead, it’s the solidity and reliability of two people who are always there for one another. It is late-night conversations and confidences; it’s a helping hand to lift us up when we’re down or take a share of the work when we’re overburdened. It’s trust, loyalty, and affection incarnate—it’s the knowledge that you have a best friend for life.
Amy and Luke—the couple hosting the private, loving wedding at King Evelton in Paphos shown below—nurtured the kind of bond described above long before they officially became a couple. “Luke and I knew each other for years before becoming a couple,” says Amy, her eyes brimming with fondness as she recalls the many hours they spent talking together, getting to know each other as slowly and perfectly as a flower gently opens to the sun. “We believe that one of the reasons we have such a good relationship is because we were best friends before anything else… And we still are.”
Though Amy and Luke’s relationship grew slowly, the deep bond of friendship that had so long kindled their romantic spark meant that each of them knew, within the quiet recesses of their hearts, that theirs was a match for life. While on holiday in Paphos in May of this year, they saw no less than three weddings take place at the King Evelton—each seemingly more beautiful than the last—and suddenly the glowing ember of love between them burst vividly to flame. Both Amy and Luke agreed that ‘one day’ they would love to get married there… Only to find themselves booking a holiday at the King Evelton as soon as they got home.
The promise of marriage was made more formally that June, when Luke dropped to one knee during a starlit seaside walk through the Spanish coves. “Amy,” he asked, “Will you marry me?” The answer, of course, was an ecstatic “Yes!”
Upon arriving home from their Spanish trip, the couple found themselves so abuzz with excitement and the desire to finally tie the knot that they both agreed they simply couldn’t wait—even if that meant forgoing planning a big wedding full of friends and relatives. With the blessing of their parents, the couple decided to take their young daughter Eva to the King Evelton with them and book a last-minute wedding ceremony reservation. They were in luck, and soon everything was decided: They would be wed on the 19th of August, then hold a reception later in England where their friends and family could join them.
Any doubts Amy had about having such a private celebration vanished the moment she began to plan her wedding. As she said to me, “When we arrived in Cyprus I started thinking that maybe we had made a big mistake and I wanted our families there, but after meeting the wedding planner and Cristian I became so excited and realised we had made the right decision. Our wedding day was more than I ever could have dreamed of. It was too perfect to put into words…” And here is where she calls upon my images to speak for her, capturing every detail of her loving wedding at King Evelton in Paphos—the culmination of many years of waiting, wishing, dreaming, and creating the kind of love and friendship that speaks the hidden language of the soul.
