We had two fantastic weeks in August...

After our Dubai friends Sam and Chucky put the date of their wedding at Baan Bophut back by a week, we were free to surprise the family by pitching up at my great niece Giada's combined christening and 1st birthday bash in Italy, which had clashed with the original date.

A rather more different call to prayer than we're used to

The celebration with Dom and Fi, my siblings and most of their partners and offspring by Lake Garda, extended to four days of outstanding food, wine and general merriment, amid great company and lovely weather, after the suffocating heat of Dubai. It was also the chance to load up with some fantastic local cheeses and salami for onward transport to Dubai and Koh Samui. We had just 26 hours at home in Dubai before taking-off again for BKK, and once again I was fortunate to be upgraded to Business class (both ways, it turned out).

The wedding at the hotel was our biggest yet, with 48 guests that had arrived from as far away as the UK, the US (actor/rapper Mos Def's dad no less) and New Zealand, together with a large Dubai contingent. The weather was relatively kind in that it didn't rain or, unusual for Samui weddings, have anyone worrying that it would. An onshore breeze picked-up in the afternoon to alleviate some of the affects of the heat and humidity on an otherwise clear, almost cloudless day.

This was the first time that I'd been at Baan Bophut to witness the preparations that go into the making of such a special occasion. There are a lot of moving parts to one of these event and I must say that I was so proud of Lucy and all our staff at the way they pitched-in and got things organized. The flowers were beautiful and the crisp linen on the chairs, each with a little posy of orchids on the back looked splendid.

After the ceremony, while guests headed for the bar (itself beautifully decorated), our staff wheeled-in the eight, large circular tables which they unobtrusively set for dinner, on this occasion a combined buffet and barbecue. The bride's choice, a combo of Thai, western and vegetarian options seemed to go down well and I was pleased to receive several compliments for my fabled, twice-cooked, oven baked ribs. Unused to praising food he hasn't cooked himself, Tik said they needed more pepper.

We met some wonderful people that we hope to stay in touch with, as well as many old friends and Sam's brothers and sisters that we've known and caught up with, on and off, for many years.

Unable to focus, I put the camera away before the fireworks, fire balloons and many guests sought a form of recovery in the pool. For interested family and guests an album of my photos of the day can be found here.

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What else happened during my nine day stay...? Oh yeah, the reception computer crashed and it's having a new motherboard fitted, along with 10 times more memory than it originally started life with. And while we were at it, arranged to upgrade our Internet connection and WiFi coverage to all rooms from an additional all-weather router on the beach bar roof. Hopefully it should all be up and running early next week. Watch this space for either praise or scorn heaped on the contractor, to follow.

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Finally, I watched some of our staff enjoy their twice monthly English lesson, on this occasion with a trainee from Island TEFL, here engaged in an observed teaching practice. Island TEFL is one of two such schools that use Baan Bophut as part of their TEFL teacher development. It's a win-win arrangement judging by the enthusiasm of both the student teacher and our staff who, Lucy tells me, really look forward to these lessons.

Beach weddings at Baan Bophut: a bit of a lottery...

Anita & Richard's wedding, with Carter (left) a popular Samui based wedding Celebrant

With the soaring costs of weddings in UK, Europe and Australasia, tropical beach weddings on Koh Samui are becoming increasingly popular. It's a pity that we're losing some of our enthusiasm for hosting these events.

While we've hosted only five weddings to date and have another couple booked for 2009, we learned quickly that the attraction of guaranteed revenue from booking-out all our rooms to one party, usually for between three and six days, is tempered by being left with vacant rooms either side of the event. And coincidently, on each of the last three occasions, having to turn away enquiries for 14 days and more.

We seem to have less trouble filling our little hotel these days. At least half the rooms are reserved for many months in advance which reduces our ability to accept reservations for the entire hotel.

On balance, room revenue and food/wine sales, together with any commissions paid to us by other participating service providers doesn't always compensate for the inconvenience to other guests we've had to molify; staff overtime, hire of additional seating, linen service and items too numerous to list that come under the general heading : organizational hassle.

An early start: The florists work their magic

Lucy has had to become very selective in deciding which bookings to accept and has declined more than she has accepted, mainly from whom she calls 'Bridezillas'. Her decision, in the end, comes down to whom and when, and is highly subjective. Priority is given to friends and former guests, followed by smaller wedding parties, and those that can book low season dates well in advance.

Chair/table and linen hire. On this occasion, for 36 guests

Unfairly, prospective brides must also possess a hard-to-describe quality that puts them on the same wavelength as Lucy - she must be able to empathize with the bride-to-be, and it helps if they have some idea of what they want and don't want on their special day. Given the issues I've described, the least successful way of securing a wedding booking at Baan Bophut is to ask from the outset "How much discount for booking all your rooms?" And the most successful way? Being her big brother.

Jane and Arash's wedding, with Celebrant, Carter (again)

I've made this sound like it's all downside for us and it's not, of course. We love dressing-up: ourselves, our staff and the hotel to create a very special, memorable day for the bride & groom. If they can get through Lucy's selection process, the couple and their guests are on to an absolute winner.

A typical wedding at Baan Bophut for 35-40 guests that includes three/four course meal with wine, flowers, cake, celebrant (if you don't supply your own) fireworks, professional photographer and an open bar for, say six hours, totals about Thai Baht 175,000 (US$ 5,250, GBP 3,250 currently) at the top end. Room rent is obviously extra, as is an on-site hair and make-up stylist that costs a (very) little bit more, but most wedding parties value this convenience.

Savings can be made by limiting guest numbers, the menu choices, table wine, and free bar. But even at the top-end, our prices offer a much better deal compared to 'Western' wedding costs. Flight costs put some guests off, but if the wedding date can be fixed for far enough in advance, it's possible for guests to plan their annual holiday around the event.

Apart from passing Lucy's selection process, the weather is also a bit of a lottery. There is no time of the Koh Samui year when it can be guaranteed not to rain, and while we have no real alternative venue to the beach for a large number of gueststs, we've always managed so far.

Try as I may, I can't get these random pics below to line up, other than as a long string.