Faraway Weddings - Meet the Team

Richard
Nationality:  British
Coordination and Marketing Manager
Richard has been a regular visitor to Koh Samui since 1999 when he arrived for the first time on his honeymoon. Together with his wife, he has been a full-time resident on the island since 2005, he has been involved with Faraway Weddings since then and has performed a number of different duties within the company. As an ex writer he’s responsible for producing or editing all of our text and his main job title is Marketing and Coordination Manager. He also performs the duty of Master Celebrant for many of our wedding ceremonies.

Tam
Nationality:  Thai
Events Manager and Coordinator
Born in Donsak, on the mainland, Tam used to visit Samui as a child to stay with relatives and therefore he has an excellent knowledge of the island and its recent history. He has been working as a Faraway Wedding Coordinator since 2004 and as one of the original team members, has helped supervise and coordinate most of weddings. He is a respected member of the team and provides practical ideas and advice to help everyone. Tam lives on Koh Samui with his wife and has been involved in the hotel and hospitality industry since 1992.

Lorraine
Nationality:  Filipino
Wedding and Events Planner
Lorraine arrived on Samui from the Philippines in 2005, where she had been working in customer services for a large US company.
She quickly built an excellent reputation within the hotel industry and her previous role was working as the marketing and events manager, at a well known island resort, where she was responsible for organising several weddings.
Lorraine is extremely professional and she settled instantly into her role within the company. Her friendly manner, knowledge and willingness to learn, makes her a great addition to the Faraway team.

Mod
Nationality:  Thai
Assistant Wedding and Events Planner
Mod always has a smile and is pleasant to be around. Having graduated from university in Suratthani, Mod began working at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. Having now joined the team at Faraway, she is enjoying her work and is very happy to be living nearer to her own province and within easy distance of her home city of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Mod started out performing a variety of jobs from selecting photos for the website to preparing wedding favours, vows and name cards. However, her English language skills, and keenness to learn more, have resulted in her moving into a new position as Assistant Wedding Planner. She now offers support to the planners both in the office and on the all important wedding day.

Off
Nationality:  Thai
Wedding Reservations Manager
Khun Off has returned to the Faraway Team in the role of Reservations Manager. This is a vital position and one which requires professionalism and good English skills. Off has experience of working within large resort groups and he has previously held the same position with Faraway.
He is a larger than life character with an outgoing and likeable personality. There's never a dull moment when he is around and he fits in well with the rest of the team.

Ole
Nationality:  Thai
Wedding Service Team
Ole is a natural entertainer who provides the team with plenty of laughs. Originally from Isaan, Ole has worked on Samui for over 10 years. Most of this was spent working for Montien House Hotel in Chaweng where he was involved in Food & Beverage and bar work. A hard worker, Ole helps with the wedding set up and with serving the guests, but his experience and knowledge of Food & Beverage makes him a very useful and valuable member of the team.

Yan
Nationality:  Thai
Wedding Service Team
Yan is a good friend of Ole and they worked together at Montien House for a long time. Yan is a small but active team member and despite his youthful appearance is actually older and more experienced than you would believe. He is a part of the service team and generally helps with anything required.

Rin
Nationality:  Thai
Wedding Service Team
Rin is a valuable addition to our service team. He has a resort background where he has carried out a variety of roles from resort security to room service.
Originally from Phitsanulok, Rin has lived on Samui since 2008 and has settled happily into his role with Faraway Weddings. He is benefiting greatly from his weekly English Language lessons and is always available with a smile and a helping hand whenever needed.

Pen
Nationality:  Thai
Financial Controller and Office Manager
Pen, or Penpi, as we call her, is one of the original Faraway Weddings team and, as the Office Manager, is in charge of managing and mothering all the other team members. Originally from Bangkok, Pen moved to Koh Samui in 2002 and one of her main roles is taking care of the company’s accounts and finance. Pen is a busy character who is always full of fun and energy. She has two bachelor degrees from a Bangkok university, teaches aerobics in her spare time and currently lives on the island with her two dogs.

Oui
Nationality:  Thai
Accounting Assistant
Oui is also from Nakhon Si Thamarat and enjoys working near her home province. Having previously worked as a cashier at Big C supermarket, she joined Faraway to assist Pen with the company accounting and administration. Oui is another staff member who always has a smile at the ready. She’s a bright and happy team member and an asset to the company.

Thip
Nationality:  Thai
Wedding Service Team
Thip is one of the key members of the Faraway Weddings team. Her gentle and talented touch can be found in every part of a wedding from the handcrafted floral chair decorations to the delicate finishes of a canapé. Originally from Korat, Thip moved to Koh Samui in 2006 to join Faraway Weddings and quickly established herself a popular and vital addition to the team. Thip’s role within the company has been expanded to take over many of the duties previously performed by Mod such as selecting photos for the website and preparing wedding favours, vows and name cards.

Rung
Nationality:  Thai
Villa Manager
Rung is the Faraway Villa manager and long term resident of Samui; having moved here from Chumpon some years ago. Rung is always on the go and busy doing something, and yet she always finds time to be friendly and helpful to everyone attending the villa.

Beer
Nationality:  Thai
Web Site Design
Faraway's newest team member is Beer. Coming straight from Prince of Songkla University, Beer has recently graduated in Computer Science and everyone is excited about the skills she is bringing to the company.
Beer will be helping to maintain and improve our website content as well as developing many of our currently unused websites to assist with our internet presence and to ensure that all of our websites are at the same standard.

Dennis
Nationality:  British
Managing Partner
Originally from the UK, Dennis came to Koh Samui in 2001, via San Francisco, after spending 25 years working for a high-tech computer firm in the Silicon Valley. He is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Faraway Weddings and is responsible for all things technical, both in the office and with all of our websites. He also works alongside Off on the hotel and villa reservations side of things, and he is actively involved in the coordination, marketing and setting up for our weddings.

Darren
Nationality:  British
Managing Partner
The other co-founder and Managing Partner of Faraway Weddings is Darren. Darren is a Samui veteran having lived and worked here since 1995. Prior to this, he was a professional tennis coach in the UK, and he also trained as a chef. He is constantly motivating and encouraging everyone to achieve even higher standards and he’s definitely the main driving force behind Faraway Weddings. Darren plays a principal role in a variety of tasks from the general running of the business, to creating one of the most interactive and user-friendly websites available, and even to designing and making new canapés for the weddings.