Melissa & Joe’s – (aka Crocodile Joe) luxury destination wedding photography story from Liberty Hotels Lykia, Ölüdeniz, Turkey. The glamours couple from Lancashire, England tied the knot with a romantic beachfront ceremony which saw the bridal party travelling by golf karts and finished with everyone dancing under the moonlight.
Here is their story…
LIBERTY HOTELS LYKIA WEDDING
Melissa and Joe got married at the luxury 5* Liberty Hotels Lykia Resort in Oludeniz, Turkey. After visiting Liberty Hotels Lykia on 2 different occasions they fell in love with the resort and knew this was the destination for their dream wedding.
Originally called Lykia World, Liberty Hotels Lyika is a justifiably famous and exclusive holiday village, offering complete wedding packages for couples travelling from the UK. Situated just along the coast from Ölüdeniz on a private sandy bay.
This expansive resort has a backdrop of coastal mountains and a private beach area that makes for a picture-perfect ceremony location. Wedding receptions at Liberty Hotels Lykia are held on the resort’s terrace overlooking the beach and sea, which is simply beautiful at sunset.
DESTINATION WEDDING AT LIBERTY HOTELS LYKIA
After being together for 7 years Melissa was lost for words when Joe proposed at Blenheim Palace with a 4-carat diamond ring that he had designed and made himself. Melissa jokes, “I never thought it would happen.”
Both Melissa and Joe have very big families with lots of children, they wanted everyone to enjoy not just the wedding day but also their time at the Liberty Hotels Lykia.
110 Guests travelled out from the UK to attended Mellissa and Joe’s wedding celebrations, the couple say they made the right decision in choosing a destination wedding as it meant they could enjoy time with their family and friends over a couple of days and didn’t feel as though they had to spend their whole wedding day talking to guests and thanking them for coming.
Instead, everyone ate, drank and danced the night away knowing they would see other over the next coming days.
LIBERTY HOTELS LYKIA WEDDING CEREMONY
The day began with Joe getting a traditional Turkish shave at the Liberty Hotel Lykia hairdressers whilst Melissa and the girls got their hair and makeup done in the bridal suite by Flossy and Leigh who had travelled over from the UK.
The ceremony took place on a platform on the sea at the Liberty Hotels Lykia beachfront; it was beautifully decorated with white drapes and flowers. The bridal party travelled in style… and made their way from the bridal suite to the beachfront in golf karts taking in the stunning ocean views and all that Liberty Hotels Lykia has to offer.
Melissa’s father walked her down the aisle to Elvis Presley’s ‘Love me tender’ which is the grooms all-time favourite artist. Once Mellissa and Joe said their vows they walked back down the aisle to ‘Signed sealed delivered’ by Stevie Wonder.
The couple wanted a very relaxed and laid back wedding so, in keeping with their a beach wedding theme, they sent out passports as wedding invitations, planned a sunset bbq cruise for the wedding favour’s together with seashells to hold the invitations and luggage tags as seating plans with lots of other treasures and trinkets in keeping with the theme.
WHAT TO WEAR FOR A DESTINATION WEDDING IN TURKEY
The Bride wore a beautiful dress by Sophia Tolli, she tried on around 80 dresses in numerous shops but finally found the one 15 miles from her home. Melissa said that she instantly fell in love with the Sophia Tolli gown and had a ‘this is the one’ moment and definitely felt like a princess for the day.
The beautifully designed dress by Sophia Tolli was a fit and flair/fishtail/ mermaid style dress covered in crystals and pearls with a long train that was champagne in colour which was perfectly complemented with a gorgeous pair of Badgley Mischka shoes.
The Groom wore his favourite colour which was a royal blue 3-piece suit, a crisp white shirt and tan leather shoes. They had 9 groomsmen in total that all wore the same, although the groom, best man and father of the bride wore different coloured ties.
WEDDING RECEPTION LIBERTY HOTELS LYKIA
Melissa and Joe hired a large events area overlooking the sea at the resort, keeping it casual a hot and cold buffet was served as the wedding breakfast.
The hotel DJ was hired for the evening reception; who played everyone’s favourite songs from a playlist that the newly married couple had put together. The wedding ended with everyone dancing the night away in the Liberty Hotels Lykia nightclub until early hours.
When asked to sum up their wedding, Mellissa and Joe said: “Our wedding was sensationally breathtaking.”
ABOUT LIBERTY HOTELS LYKIA
Liberty Hotels Lykia is a 5-star venue decorated in a Roman style, the accommodation was opened in 1991 and fully restored in 2004. A pebble beach is nearby this attractive hotel and rooms have amazing views over Andes Mountains and many overlook the garden.
The hotel has an outstanding onsite restaurant specialising in international cuisine, a variety of kitchens and multiple bar areas together with a night club. Food and beverage areas include Apollon bar, Apollon Disco, Patara Beach bar, Sarpedon bad, Tylos Forest bar, mine house, lagoon bar and Lykia Childrens bar.
The property offers The Liberty Hotels Lykia Spa & Wellness Centre which draws attention with it’s distinctive, eye-catching Garden of Religions architecture. The wellness area includes a solarium and a hot tub as well as thalassotherapy, Turkish bath and hammam for guests’ relaxation.
Along with the mesmerising breathtaking sunset backdrop of the Mediterranean sea, Liberty Hotels Lykia can offer you a host of stunning venues to stage your dream wedding. Liberty Hotel Lykia offers a unique wedding experience in Turkey at an all-inclusive holiday village with its own beach and crystal clear turquoise waters.
The private beach area makes for an ideal ceremony location and receptions and wedding breakfasts are held on a terrace overlooking the beach and Mediterranean sea. Standard wedding packages at Liberty Hotels Lykia can accommodate 20 to 50 guests.
The nearest airport is Dalaman airport which is located 71 km away. The resort centre of Ölüdeniz is 3 km and resort town of Fethıye, 5 km away.
The address for Liberty Hotels Lykia is: Kidrak Mevki Oludeniz Fethiye, Oludeniz, Turkey.
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY LIBERTY HOTELS LYKIA
When Melissa and Joe booked the 5* Liberty Hotel Lykia Resort in Ölüdeniz, they had no local knowledge of their photographers and didn’t want to leave it to chance. Right from the start of planning their wedding, they knew they wanted to bring a photographer from the UK together with a hair and makeup artist.
Melissa says finding the finest wedding photographer was always her number one priority because “our photographs would be a lasting, permanent impression of our day, a moment frozen in time.”
LIBERTY HOTELS LYKIA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
When researching destination wedding photographers Melissa wanted a UK based wedding photographer who would travel out to Liberty Hotels Lykia resort. She Googled ‘celebrity wedding photographers’ which lead her to Wes Simpson Weddings.
Melissa says “I loved Wes’s documentary style and his portfolio was really creative and impressive. It was important that we remained true to ourselves and we didn’t want the whole day to be spent taking posed fake photographs. Photography was important, we didn’t want to just take a chance with the local photographer included in the package.”
“We met with Wes, and his ideas, approach and enthusiasm really put me at ease. There was also a trust and a connection, that really helped, and that isn’t something you initially think about when researching wedding photographers.”
MAGICAL WEDDING PHOTO
The newly married couple say their favourite picture is when they are stood facing the ocean at sunset and a big wave looks like it is crashing over their heads. Melissa states:
“I don’t even know how Wes created this photo, we had just finished our wedding breakfast and as the sun was setting on a wonderful day, Wes simply suggested that myself and Joe take a couple of minutes for ourselves with a romantic stroll down by the water’s edge at Liberty Lkiya.”
“I remember for a brief second seeing Wes laying on the floor and then him excitedly showing us this picture on the back of his camera! The photo was truly magical and Wes’s enthusiasm was infectious. It was amazing to have a photographer as excited about our wedding pictures as we were.”
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY TESTIMONY
“What we like most about Wes’s work are the ‘in-between moments’ that he captured. From my first point of contact with Wes, I was instantly comforted by his assurance, appetite and admiration for our upcoming nuptials; he was as excited about our destination wedding at Liberty Hotels Lykia as much as we were.
Throughout our entire communications with Wes he was helpful and professional, nothing was too much trouble even when we had to change the wedding date 48hrs before the ceremony – a true gent that genuinely wanted the best for our day.
We have images that are breathtaking and have unquestionably stunned family, our friends and us. Wes’s experience, knowledge and ability to capture our day, as the story unfolded was invaluable! The way he photographed the day meant we were able to showcase our wedding experience to everyone back home.
Our beautiful wedding day is frozen in time can be treasured for future generations to see. A simple and sincere heartfelt thank you to you, Wes for making us feel so comfortable in front of your camera and all you did to capture our big day so we can relive it every time we look through our simply stunning wedding album.”
Lots of love Mr & Mrs McQuade.
DESTINATION WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER UK
I believe hiring a photographer you trust and whose style you like is even more important when planning a destination wedding than getting married at home. Family and friends invest in a holiday to see you tie the knot and everyone back home will want to experience the excitement of your wedding through your photographs.
If you’re planning a wedding at Liberty Hotels Lykia or anywhere else in the world, visit the Destination Gallery to see more examples of work. View our Destination Wedding Photographer page for useful information and check out our guide to the best wedding destinations in Europe for a dream wedding.
