Ryan and Caro's Wedding

Click on the video for it to start playing

Words from the Newly-Wed Couple

To all the staff at Abo Shamani,

In October 2006, we were privileged enough to be able to experience, along with 50 of our closest friends and family what was described by many as the Wedding of the Decade.

This is no exaggeration. It is difficult to put into words how special our day was because in hindsight it seems a blur of the most incredible images and sensations. From saying "I do" in a protected and private cove on a wild and unspoilt beach, to gliding lazily up an emerald green river with the fish eagles screeching their congratulations, to being greeted by tribal dancers as we arrived at our luncheon in the middle of the most beautiful nowhere you could possibly imagine.

And then there was the lunch itself. How do you prepare a meal that could easily be found in the best restaurants of Europe for 60 people, in the middle of the bush, with no kitchen to speak of? We are still trying to work it out. But the important thing was that we didn't need to work it out - as with so much else on that amazing day, it was largely organised and co-ordinated by the team at Abo Shamani. That is not to say that we did not contribute! What was great about this team was that they provided you with all the resources from which to design and implement your own picture of what a perfect wedding should be and did not dictate to us what we should or could do. Perfect for control freaks like us. Instead of "you can't do that here" or "but that's not been done before" there was only ever "let's see what we can come up with". They weathered our changes of mind and weird ideas with panache and even came up with a few finishing touches that even our own meticulous and well laid plans had somehow missed.

What we still talk about is not the logistics of moving 50 people from their hotels to the beach, up the river, to the luncheon in the bush, and then to the lodge for dinner and dancing (and then back home again!). Neither do we reminisce about how it was possible to have tents for both a sunny day (which it was) and a backup marquee for the unimaginable rains that were promised but never materialised. We also do not spend hours with our friends describing the other minutiae of detail that made our day happen. All of these things were taken care of for us so that we could enjoy the things that will be long and enduring memories: the waves crashing so loud that our guests had to huddle up to us to hear our vows; the "Out of Africa" views of the rhino and zebra grazing in the valley below our hilltop tent; the game drives that our guests enjoyed as the sun set; the spectacular lightning storm that announced the start of our dinner and dancing at the lodge (we weren't allowed fire works, but the team at Abo Shamani, said "we'll see what we can come up with".......) and then the dancing that followed under a clear African sky lit up with a billion stars.

For us, our wedding day was about friends and family and sharing a lifelong commitment. What we never anticipated, was the lifetime of memories that was thrown in as part of the package.

Thank you Abo Shamani.

Ryan and Carolyn von Rüben

Website: Ryan von Rüben Architects

E-mail: info@ryanvonruben.com

Tel: +44 (0)20 7829 8452