Off The Record: Paradise Special!

Me & Emily are both such firm believers in taking a break and clearing your head, it really is so so so important, especially for your business! We recently took a trip with Kuoni to Maafushivaru in the Maldives and came back feeling more inspired for Bespoke Bride than ever! I really think that some of your best ideas come to you when your head is clear and you’re relaxing. Not only did we arrive home with a peaceful mind and a pretty good tan but we were also armed with a big old list of new things we want to implement on Bespoke Bride! You’ll be seeing some of these changes soon so keep your eyes peeled! For now though, here’s a few of our favourite things from the Maldives…

Jess Loved…

♥ Swimming with Whale sharks!! That has to be one of the absolute highlights for me of staying at Maafushivaru, me & emily were so scared the night before just because they are SO BIG, we know that they’re completely harmless but the size of them is so overwhelming! Anyway when it came to the moment of jumping off the boat into the sea we didn’t even have time to think about it and before we knew it, there was a whale shark, right there swimming past us. Completely unbelievable!!

♥ Frozen strawberry daiquiris! Pretty sure this has taken first place as my favourite cocktail ever! Plus they look amazing!

♥ Experiencing a sea plane for the first time! Taking off in the water and landing in the water is pretty dam amazing! What a way to travel! Plus it was so beautiful to see all of the islands in the Maldives from up above.

♥ Meeting a turtle along our snorkelling travels! We were both dying to see one and were so lucky that we did, he was even kind enough to let us swim along with him for a while!

♥ Just generally waking up in paradise, seriously, the moment we pulled up those blinds in the morning and could see those turquoise waters from our room it was heaven. To be honest I have to keep pinching myself to remind me that it happened, it feels so surreal that we were only there just over a week ago! Amazing.

Emily Loved…

♥ Ok so obviously both mine and Jess’s loves are going to be very similar but it goes without saying that the swimming with Whale Sharks and Turtles have to be my highlight. I have been wanting to swim with Whale Sharks for a long time now and unfortunately missed the opportunity whilst on holiday in Mexico a few years back. I felt like this was my second chance and I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity this time and boy am I glad I didn’t. They are absolutely phenomenal creatures, nicknamed the ‘Giants of the Sea’. They move so slowly and gracefully it is hard to imagine that they can be so elusive.

♥ The first night we were on Maafushivaru we were fortunate enough to catch a talk given by Maafushivaru’s Marine Biologist, Amanda who taught us about some of the wildlife that can be found on the reef around the island. It was so interesting and I was so excited to be shown how biologists identify whale sharks using their spot patterns. You can learn more and follow the work of the Maldives Whale Shark Program here.

♥ I was left completely amazed by a live Teppanyaki show held in one of the restaurants on our Island. We watched as the chef juggled his culinary equipment, flicking omelette into our mouths (just as weird as it sounds) and making an onion volcano! It was here that I discovered my newest taste sensation – Green Tea pancakes! They were absolutely delicious and hopefully I will be sharing how to make these on our blog very soon!

♥ The crystal blue waters and bright white sands. No words or pictures will really do the Maldives justice, it is just so beautiful, too amazing for words!

♥ Smiley, happy, friendly people. I have always said a place is only as good as its people and the people at Maafushivaru were the best. Everyone was so kind, generous and accommodating, we really couldn’t have asked for more.

And since this is a paradise special it only makes sense to fill up our links we’re loving with super exotic and gorgeous content…