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 joins her sister, Ann, as one of our wedding planners and this certainly adds to the team ethic of the company as a whole. She 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.
Her friendly manner, knowledge and willingness to learn, makes her a great addition to the Faraway team.

Ann
Nationality:  Filipino
Wedding and Events Planner
Ann has quickly become an essential member of the Faraway team. She is originally from Manila, where she trained as a nurse, and moved to Samui to live with her family in 2006.
Ann always has a smile on her face and her pleasant manner and people skills make her well liked by her colleagues and by our clients.

Off
Nationality:  Thai
Wedding Reservations Manager
Off grew up in Bangkok and graduated from university with a degree in Business and English. He has worked at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok as a translator for the Thai Tourist Police and before joining the Faraway team was working in reception at the Imperial Samui hotel. Off has taken over as Reservations Manager for Faraway and he brings a big personality to the office. He’s a lot of fun and an excellent addition to the team.

Mod
Nationality:  Thai
Wedding Service Team
Faraway’s latest team member has been a great addition, not just in terms of skills and abilities, but also because of her personality. 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 helps with a variety of jobs from selecting photos for the website to preparing wedding favours, vows and name cards. On wedding days her knowledge of food & beverage makes her a valuable asset in the kitchen when preparing canapés, and she also adds creativity to details such as the chair decorations.

Komon
Nationality:  Thai
Wedding Service Team
Komon is a native of Phuket and is the most recent addition to the Faraway wedding team. Having previously worked in several hotels and restaurants on the island, he is friendly, polite, efficient and keen to help. Komon works as part of the service team and has quickly proven himself to be an invaluable member of staff.

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.

Nong
Nationality:  Thai
Wedding Service Team
Nong is from Phichit, in the north of Thailand, in what is known as “Crocodile Country”. Since graduating from college as a mechanic and moving to Koh Samui in 2001, he has worked in many diverse industries, including a dive shop and for Pepsi-Cola Inc. Nong joined Faraway in 2006 and since then has injected his own sense of fun and humour to the team. He has also evolved into a talented and gifted bartender. His speciality is producing an exceptional Mai Tai or Pina Colada that’s guaranteed to make you come back for more.

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 by complete coincidence actually lives in the same road as Woot. 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 has quickly established herself a popular and vital addition to the team.

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.

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.