A decade as Mr & Mrs - our Dubai wedding

Ten years. Ten whole years since that warm October day in 2008! I can't believe it's been 10 years already. We were already living in the UAE at the time, in Dubai, and with most of my family being based in the UK, and my husband's family being based in Australia and New Zealand, we decided a Dubai wedding made sense as a kind of middle ground - and would be easier to organise since we were already based there, not to mention we could be fairly certain of a good weather day there!

Having a wedding in a place like Dubai is also something I'd definitely recommend, especially if you don't feel the need to be too hands on... most of the hotels have in-house wedding planners and take care of the majority of the hassles so you don't have to! I was really a bride who didn't feel the need for themes and extras, the location and hotel we chose was already theme enough in its own design in my mind, so I had little more to do than choose a dress and turn up, perfect!

I stayed at the Jumeirah Dar Al Masyaf the night before the wedding, and prepared for the day there with my bridesmaid and family. From there we left for the Anglican Church in Jebel Ali where the ceremony was held.

The Reverend was something of a legend, he was absolutely brilliant, allowing his fun and cheeky personality to shine through, really making it a very fun day for us all. And perhaps you've noticed he has a likeness to a certain someone?! There were several comments at the time on his likeness to Jesus!

After the ceremony cars awaited to take us from the church back to the hotel, this time to the Jumeirah Mina A'Salam where we were having the evening reception.But first, we also had a cocktail reception and blessing ceremony on the beach. My husband loves the beach, and well, it didn't seem quite right not to make the most of such a beautiful location!

The gorgeous Mina A'Salam hotel, complete with backdrop of the Burj Al Arab and later the sunset, certainly made for some great photos!

I really can't believe 10 years have passed already! I'm pretty certain that neither of us thought we would still be living in the UAE by now, but here we are, happier than ever out here and with no plans to leave. There's been lots of love, a little more sickness than we bargained for but still plenty of health to be thankful for, a plethora of 'better' and happily not too much 'worse' along the way. Who knows what the next 10 years will bring, but if they're anything like the last 10, I'm sure there's a lot to look forward to...

Happy 10th Wedding Anniversary to us :D , I hope you've enjoyed the photos!