Why did you choose to get married in Santorini and at the Santorini gem?

An abroad wedding wasn’t our first thought, but due to not finding any venues locally we immediately loved we talked ourselves into it. Once we were decided on an abroad wedding we quickly decided on Greece, as we have always loved the country and have had many holidays there over the years. Looking online at potential venues we thought Santorini looked amazing, and once we visited the island to check out some venues our decision was made – the views were breathtaking and it looked like the perfect location for a wedding!

How many guests did you invite to your wedding and how many accepted and attended?

We invited 140 guests and we had 98 attend.

Tell us about your beautiful dress

The dress was by ‘Maggie Sottero’. I went to 4 different bridal shops over a few different weekends and every time I found a dress that I loved, but it was in the final shop that I found my perfect dress.

And your accessories?

My shoes were a bargain from Asos! Accessories from a variety of places. ranging from borrowed jewellery to high street shops

And the groom?

Jake wore trousers and a waistcoat (no jacket) which was purchased from Asos. We looked in all major suit shops first but found it difficult to find the colour and material we wanted.

Tell us about the bridesmaids.

The bridesmaid dresses were Celadon green, and were bought from JJs House

What was the idea or inspiration behind your wedding theme, flowers or colour?

We went for a simple and elegant theme, with whites greens and gold – we didn’t want anything too extravagant.

Best memory?

It was such a perfect day so everything! But two main things stand out, One. Standing under the canopy for the ceremony, looking into each others eyes with the amazing backdrop behind us two. Returning to our seats for dinner after going off for our couple photo shoot, our amazing wedding singer playing one of our favourite songs and all of our guests up singing, dancing and having a great time whilst welcoming us back to the party!

What do you think makes a wedding abroad stand out from a wedding in the UK?

We loved that it was so much more than one day and became a week of celebrations. We got married on the Friday, and our guests arrived at different times throughout the week – meaning there was lots going on in the week building up to the wedding, including a pre wedding cocktail party we hosted on the Wednesday evening. This also meant that everybody had already met and knew each other by the time of the wedding day which was great!

Any advise for other couples?

Definitely visit the venue if you can to be sure of your choice, photos don’t always do it justice. Give yourself plenty of time at your destination country prior to your wedding day, even if just to relax in the days building up to the big day. Don’t feel guilty about the cost for guests, it’s something we worried about and we shouldn’t have – everyone had such a good time and enjoyed a brilliant holiday as well as just the wedding day!

Photography by the incredible https://www.lanavisual.com/